On This Day:
In 1965 The Beatles second feature film “Help!” premiered at The Pavilion in London, England. The band was given the opportunity to make another film after the commercial and critical success of their first one, “A Hard Day’s Night.” The Beatles later said the film was shot in a “haze of marijuana”.
In 1966 Bob Dylan was seriously injured in a mysterious motorcycle accident near Woodstock, New York.
In 1967 The Doors’ “Light My Fire” hit number one on Billboard’s Hot 100. It transformed the band from cult favorites of rock connoisseurs into international pop stars and avatars of ’60s counterculture.
The International Love-In Festival took place at London’s Alexandra Palace featuring Pink Floyd, The Animals, Tomorrow and many others.
In 1968 The first recording session of The Beatles seven-minute epic “Hey Jude” took place at Abbey Road studios in London. The Paul McCartney song was written about John Lennon’s son Julian.
Gram Parsons quit The Byrds on the eve of a tour of South Africa, refusing to play to segregated audiences. He had only been in the band for three months. He went on to form The Flying Burrito Brothers with another former Byrd, Chris Hillman.
In 1973 Led Zeppelin had more than 200-thousand-dollars in cash stolen from their safety-deposit box at New York City’s Drake Hotel.
In 1974 Mamas & the Papas singer Cass Elliot died in her sleep from a heart attack after playing a sold out show in London, England. She was staying at Harry Nilsson’s London flat when she died.
In 1990 Elton John checked into a Chicago clinic to cure bulimia and an addiction problem, taking over a year off from touring and recording.
In 1991 Metallica released the single “Enter Sandman.”
In 1993 Rare Earth’s Ed Guzman died. He was 49. His death was due to complications of diabetes and according to some, neglect.
In 2005 Bee Gee Robin Gibb received an honorary degree from the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts — a school former Beatle Paul McCartney helped establish. McCartney presented Gibb with the “rock and roll” diploma.
In 2006 Kid Rock and Pamela Anderson were married in a ceremony on a yacht near St. Tropez, France. It was the first of three wedding ceremonies the couple held to mark their union. Anderson filed for divorce four months later.
In 2007 Ozzy Osbourne was released from a Denver-area hospital, where he’d undergone a procedure for a blood clot the previous night.
In 2008 Alice Cooper’s eighteenth studio album “Along Came a Spider” was released. The album chronicles the activities of a psychopathic serial killer known as Spider and the eventual undoing of his plans.
In 2011 A statue honoring rock and roll legend Chuck Berry was unveiled in University City, Missouri.
In 2015 Guitarist and co-founder of The Eagles, Glen Frey played his last show with the band. He died on January 18, 2016.
In 2019 The record for longest run at the top of US singles chart was set by country rap single “Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X, remixed with Billy Ray Cyrus, reaching No. 1 for 17 weeks
Comments