This magazine is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.
After being diagnosed with throat cancer earlier in the year, 49-year-old Gene Clark, vocalist for The Byrds, died after suffering a heart attack. He wrote or co-wrote many of the Byrds’ best-known originals from their first three albums, including “I’ll Feel a Whole Lot Better”, “Set You Free This Time”, and...
The Doors begin their run as the house band at The Whisky a Go Go, opening for every group to play there from May 23 to August 21, 1966. For most dates, they performed two sets per night.
The Beatles attained their eighth Billboard number one hit with “Ticket To Ride”. The song was the first of four number one singles in a row on the American charts, and their seventh consecutive number one hit in the United Kingdom. Both John Lennon and Paul McCartney have given different meanings to the title, with...
Rudy Lewis, the lead singer of The Drifters on their hits “On Broadway” and “Up On The Roof”, died under mysterious circumstances the night before the group was set to record “Under the Boardwalk”. He was 28 years old. Rather than reschedule the studio session to find a new front man, former Drifters backup singer...
In May of 1969, the members of the band Chicago needed to unwind. After an exhausting tour opening for Jimi Hendrix, the band needed an afternoon away from the pressure of performing alongside one of the most prolific guitarists in the world. Peter Cetera, Walter Parazaider, Danny Seraphine, and Terry Kath headed down to Dodger...
FBI agents visit Wand Records to investigate the lyrics to “Louie Louie” by The Kingsmen. They would eventually release a statement that said that it was impossible to exactly decipher the lyrics from “the unintelligible rendition as performed by The Kingsmen.”
The Animals record “House Of The Rising Sun” in one take at De Lane Lea Studios on Kingsway in London. The song would top the UK singles chart the following July and reach number one in America two months later. In 1999, the record was given a Grammy Hall of Fame Award
Peter Criss dropped out of KISS and was replaced by drummer Eric Carr. Carr was first heard on the concept album, “The Elder” in 1981. Both Ace Frehley and Criss had been opposed to the idea of “The Elder” and when it bombed, Frehley also quit the band. Criss had co-written KISS’ biggest hit single, “Beth”, and the...
Ronnie James Dio, the powerful voice for Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio and Heaven & Hell, lost his battle with stomach cancer at the age of 67.
The Byrds enter the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time with their version of Bob Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man”, which will climb to #1 by June. Becoming the first record to be dubbed “Folk Rock” by the US music press, it will also top the charts in England, Ireland and South Africa.
When I found out she used to teach English at Gainesville high School, I asked her if she had ever taught a student named Tom Petty....
Bo Diddley’s tune “Bo Diddley” debuts on the Billboard R&B chart, where it will stay for eighteen weeks, including two at #1. The song will become his most successful record and introduces what will be known as the Bo Diddley beat. In 1998 it received a Grammy Hall of Fame Award and has been added to the Rock and Roll Hall...
The Rolling Stones release “Paint It Black”, one of the first Rock records to use a sitar. The single will hit number one in both the UK and the US and enjoyed a lengthy chart run in both countries. It was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2018, and Rolling Stone magazine ranked the song at #213 on their list of the...
The English Rock band Procol Harum release their debut single, “A Whiter Shade Of Pale”. The song will top the UK singles chart and reach #5 in America. It is one of the most commercially successful singles in history, having sold more than ten million copies worldwide. In 1998, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of...
Bob Marley, the uncontested King Of Reggae, died of a brain tumor at the age of 36. Seven months earlier he had collapsed on stage during a concert in the US. He was given a state funeral and buried near his birthplace in St. Ann’s Parish, Jamaica. His last words were reported to have been, “Money can’t buy life.”
