Today in Rock n' Roll History

[Troubadour]

I just saw a mention of the anniversary of Michael Jackson's death on FB. It's hard to believe it's been two years, isn't it?

[Koala]

1964 During a world tour, The Beatles played two shows at Town Hall, Dunedin, South Island, New Zealand. The flight from Auckland to Dunedin was tense due the receipt of an anonymous threat that a "germ bomb" had been placed on board the aircraft.

1965 The Byrds went to No.1 on the US singles chart with their version of Bob Dylan's 'Mr Tambourine Man'. Only Roger McGuinn from the band played on the song, the drummer Hal Blaine played on the track also played on 'Bridge Over Troubled Water'.

1977 Elvis Presley made his last ever live stage appearance when he appeared at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis. Presley would die less than two months later. The last two songs he performed were ‘Hurt’ and ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water.’ Before the show Elvis was presented with a plaque commemorating the 2 billionth record to come out of RCA’s pressing plant.


1999 Elton John was reported to be in talks with a City finance house to secure a £25 million ($42.5 million) loan, using his back catalogue of hits as security. It had been reported that Elton had been spending £250,000 ($425,000) a week on credit cards.

2005 Tickets for a forthcoming Rolling Stones gig at the Hollywood Bowl were set to become the most expensive in rock 'n' roll history. Fans would have to pay up to £249 for a seat - £2 per minute to watch the Stones.

2008 Total Guitar magazine voted Celine Dion’s rendition of the AC/DC track ‘You Shook Me All Night Long’ as the world's worst cover version ever, the magazines editor Stephen Lawson said Dion's cover was "sacrilege". In the best cover versions list, Jimi Hendrix was voted into first place with his version of the Bob Dylan song ‘All Along the Watchtower,’ The Beatles' rendition of ‘Twist and Shout’, (first recorded by the Top Notes), was in second place, followed by the Guns N' Roses version of the Wings song ‘Live and Let Die’.

[Freypower]

I'm sorry, but the Guns & Roses version of Live & Let Die was horrible; almost as horrible as their version of Knockin' On Heaven's Door. I never understood why people liked them.

[WalshFan88]

I'm sorry, but the Guns & Roses version of Live & Let Die was horrible; almost as horrible as their version of Knockin' On Heaven's Door. I never understood why people liked them.

I love Guns N' Roses. As far as 80s rock bands go - they were the very best IMO.... I love Appetite For Destruction, one of my favorite albums. I think they were a great band. FWIW, I prefer the original version of Live And Let Die but I prefer their cover version of Knockin' On Heaven's Door over the original by Dylan.

[WalshFan88]

(jk)

For me GnR is one of my favorite hard rock bands. I love bands like AC/DC, Aerosmith, Def Leppard, and Guns N' Roses. I like hard rock with high pitched vocals and loud dirty guitars. I even sometimes can get into bands like Ratt or Motley Crue. But I much prefer GnR and Def Leppard for 80s rock.

As far as me preferring the cover GnR version of "Knockin' On Heaven's Door", I have to admit the original by Dylan doesn't do much for me. Same with "All Along The Watchtower". I prefer the rockin' Hendrix cover. Same with "Hey Mr. Tambourine Man", I much prefer the Byrds cover. I also prefer the Stones version of "Like A Rolling Stone". Bob Dylan is a great, amazing songwriter but his singing does nothing for me and he tends to do his songs a bit slower, hence why I like the more rockin' faster covers.

[EaglesFanatic]

I'm in agreement with FP on this one. Their version of Live and Let Die wasn't good at all. And I honestly am not a Bob Dylan fan, but Knockin' On Heaven's Door is the one song of his that I like... And I think Guns & Roses completely butchered it with their rendition.

[Koala]

1964 Peter and Gordon went to No.1 on the US singles chart with the Lennon & McCartney song 'A World Without Love', also a No.1 in the UK. Peter Asher went on to become James Taylor and Linda Ronstadt's manager.

1970 Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, The Byrds, Canned Heat, Steppenwolf, Jefferson Airplane, Johnny Winter, Frank Zappa And The Mothers of Invention, Dr. John, The Moody Blues and Fairport Convention all appeared at the 3-day Bath Festival of Blues and Progressive Music in Bath, England, tickets £1.10s.

1970 Freddie Mercury made his live debut with Smile (guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylors' group) at Truro City Hall, Cornwall, England.

1981 Michael Jackson had his first solo UK No.1 with 'One Day In Your Life' a song recorded by Jackson for his 1975 album, Forever, Michael.

1992 Genesis hits #12 in the US with "Hold On My Heart".

1995 A four-disc, 82-track Jackson 5 box set, 'Soulsations!: The 25th Anniversary Collection', is released. It includes hits, rarities, unreleased tracks and solo cuts.

2002 John Entwistle of the Who dies of a heart attack in Las Vegas, NV

[TimothyBFan]

I'm sorry, but the Guns & Roses version of Live & Let Die was horrible; almost as horrible as their version of Knockin' On Heaven's Door. I never understood why people liked them.

I LOVE my Guns N Roses!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!! Loved both of these covers and they have a cover of Cats In The Cradle that is the BEST!!! Long live Duff, Steven (my fave GNR drummer), Axl, Izzy and one of my favorite sexy rock Gods....SLASH!!!!

[luvthelighthouse]

Just have to jump in to say, I loved GNR! Their sound was amazing and Axel's voice... it all worked perfectly! Too bad that Axel is who he is, because I feel GNR could have been a band to stand up to the decades if they had stayed together and kept creating new music.

This "new" GNR is not for me...

[Koala]

1968 Working at Abbey Road studios The Beatles recorded ‘Good Night’, John Lennon’s lullaby for his 5-year-old son Julian with Ringo singing the lead vocal. The track appeared on the White Album.

1969 Fleetwood Mac, Led Zeppelin, Nice, John Mayall, Ten Years After, Taste, Liverpool Scene and Chicken Shack, Keef Hartley, Taste and Savoy Brown, all appeared at The Bath Festival of Blues in England, the DJ was John Peel. Over 12,000 fans attended, tickets cost 18/6.

1975 The Eagles started a five-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with 'One Of These Nights'.

1977 Elton John achieved a life long ambition when he became the Chairman of Watford Football Club.

1986 Wham! were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with their fourth and final UK No.1 'The Edge Of Heaven'. Also on this day Wham! played their farewell concert in front of 80,000 fans at Wembley Stadium, London.

1997 The classic Pink Floyd album ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ spent its 1056th week on the US album chart. It was rumoured at the time that if the album was played while watching The Wizard of Oz movie, and started exactly when the MGM lion roared the third time during the movie’s intro, very interesting connections could be made between the two.

2007 Benno Goldewijk, from Holland, and Spaniard Alfredo Pecina Matias were killed and two other men were injured during an accident dismantling the stage after a Rolling Stones concert in Madrid. Three of the workers fell 10m (33ft) from a metal structure and landed on a fourth. The Stones were currently on the European leg of their A Bigger Bang world tour.