Today in Rock n' Roll History

[Koala]

1964 The Animals record "House Of The Rising Sun"

1967 John Lennon and Paul McCartney sang backing vocals on The Rolling Stones track 'We Love You' during a session at Olympic Studios, London.

1988 Fleetwood Mac played the first of six sold out nights at Wembley Arena, London on their The Tango In The Night Tour.

2005 Elvis Presley is named the most successful artist of all time by the Guinness Book of Records. The tally is bizarrely based on the total number of weeks he spent on the UK singles and album charts. In at No. 2, Cliff Richard.

2008 Neil Diamond went to No.1 on the UK album chart with ‘Home Before Dark’, also a US No.1.

[Koala]

1945 Pete Townshend is born.

1976 Rolling Stone Keith Richards crashed his car near Newport Pagnell, Bucks, after falling asleep at the wheel; marijuana and cocaine were found by the police resulting in another fine for the guitarist.

1978 Dire Straits released their first major label single 'Sultans Of Swing', recorded on a £120 budget.

1979 Eric Clapton held a party at his Surrey house celebrating his recent marriage to Patti Boyd. Clapton had set-up a small stage in the garden and as the evening progressed Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr ended up jamming together along with Clapton, Ginger Baker and Mick Jagger. The all-star band ran through old Little Richard and Eddie Cochran songs.

1984 On this day, Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon has been on the American charts for 10 years solid.

[Freypower]

1978 Dire Straits released their first major label single 'Sultans Of Swing', recorded on a £120 budget.

120 quid? Outrageous!

(and the Sultans play creole... creole)....

[Prettymaid]

I remember when that song first came out. Loved it then, still love it today.

[Koala]

1944 Joe Cocker is born.

1946 Cher is born.

1964 Rudy Lewis of The Drifters died aged 28 under mysterious circumstances the night before the group was set to record 'Under the Boardwalk'. Former Drifters backup singer Johnny Moore was brought back to perform lead vocals for the recording session.

1966 Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey of the Who grew tired of waiting for John Entwistle and Keith Moon to arrive for their gig at the Ricky Tick Club in Windsor, England so they took to the stage with the bass player and drummer of the local band that opened the show. When Moon and Entwistle finally arrived in the middle of the set, a fight broke out, with Townshend hitting Moon on the head with his guitar. Moon and Entwistle quit the band, (and rejoined a week later).

1997 U2 caused traffic chaos in Kansas City, Missouri after they paid for traffic control to close down five lanes so they could shoot the video for ‘Last Night On Earth’. Apart form major traffic jams a passing Cadillac crashed into a plate glass window trying to avoid a cameraman.

2006 Heavy metal monsters Lordi became Finland’s first ever Eurovision Song Contest winners after their song Hard Rock Hallelujah won in Athens. The band won the Eurovision public vote after singing their heavy rock anthem dressed in horror costumes.

2008 The US Congress passed a resolution designating May 13th as Frank Sinatra Day to honor his contribution to American culure.

[EagleLady]

1944 Joe Cocker is born.

1946 Cher is born.

1964 Rudy Lewis of The Drifters died aged 28 under mysterious circumstances the night before the group was set to record 'Under the Boardwalk'. Former Drifters backup singer Johnny Moore was brought back to perform lead vocals for the recording session.

1966 Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey of the Who grew tired of waiting for John Entwistle and Keith Moon to arrive for their gig at the Ricky Tick Club in Windsor, England so they took to the stage with the bass player and drummer of the local band that opened the show. When Moon and Entwistle finally arrived in the middle of the set, a fight broke out, with Townshend hitting Moon on the head with his guitar. Moon and Entwistle quit the band, (and rejoined a week later).

1997 U2 caused traffic chaos in Kansas City, Missouri after they paid for traffic control to close down five lanes so they could shoot the video for ‘Last Night On Earth’. Apart form major traffic jams a passing Cadillac crashed into a plate glass window trying to avoid a cameraman.

2006 Heavy metal monsters Lordi became Finland’s first ever Eurovision Song Contest winners after their song Hard Rock Hallelujah won in Athens. The band won the Eurovision public vote after singing their heavy rock anthem dressed in horror costumes.

2008 The US Congress passed a resolution designating May 13th as Frank Sinatra Day to honor his contribution to American culure.

What is up with Pete using his guitar as a weapon?

[Koala]

1966 The Byrd's "Eight Miles High" is banned by some radio stations because of the lyrics' alleged drug references.

1979 Elton John becomes the first western act to tour the U.S.S.R.

1980 Joe Strummer of The Clash was arrested at a much-troubled gig in Hamburg, Germany, after smashing his guitar over the head of a member of the audience; he was released after an alcohol test proved negative.

1983 Michael Jackson’s album ‘Thriller’ went back to No.1 for the third time on the UK charts and stayed at the top for another five weeks.

[Koala]

1950 Bernie Taupin is born, Elton John's long-time song writing partner. Rod Stewart, Cher, The Motels, John Waite, Starship and Alice Cooper have all recorded his songs.

1959 Steven Morrissey is born (The Smiths).

1958 As Jerry Lee Lewis begins a British tour, a scandal erupts over his marriage to a barely teenage relative, as well as his two prior divorces. Lewis is booed offstage, the tour is canceled after three shows, and he returns to the U.S. to find himself mired in controversy.

1964 The Beatles arrived back from their first US trip at Heathrow Airport and were greeted by thousands of fans. Also on this day The Beatles scored their second US No.1 album with 'The Beatles Second Album'. It displaced 'Meet The Beatles!' from the top of the charts.

1982 Madness went to No.1 on the UK album chart with 'Complete Madness', their first No.1 album.

2006 Led Zeppelin and conductor/artistic director Valery Gergiev are awarded the 15th annual Polar Music Prize on by His Majesty King Carl Gustaf XVI of Sweden. The prestigious prize is presented during a nationally televised ceremony from Konserthuset, the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra’s concert hall, where the annual Nobel Prize ceremony is held.

[Koala]

1978 Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band kick off their first major arena tour in Buffalo, New York. It ends seven months and 109 cities later in Cleveland on January 1, 1979.

1998 Teen heart-throb group Hanson notches a sellout in less than 20 minutes in the Detroit market for a June 29 show at the Pine Knob Amphitheatre.

2000 Oasis release a statement saying that songwriter Noel Gallagher has left the band’s European tour. It’s believed he had fought with brother and bandmate Liam over his drinking.

2002 winners at the 47th Ivor Novello awards included, Dido for Songwriter of the year, Best song went to U2, ‘Walk On.’ Kylie Minogue won The Dance Award and Most Performed Work and International Hit for ‘Can’t Get You Out Of My Head.’ Hear’say won Bestselling UK single for ‘Pure And Simple’. Mick Hucknall won Outstanding Song collection and Kate Bush was awarded Outstanding contribution to British music.

2002 ‘Up For Grabs’ opened at London’s Wyndham’s Theatre featuring Madonna in the lead role. The first night crowd complained that the singer was lacking in vocal power and strained to hear her lines.

[Koala]

1941 Bob Dylan was born.

1968 The Rolling Stones released the single 'Jumpin Jack Flash' in the UK, the track gave them their seventh UK No.1 hit.

1980 Genesis fans turning up at the Roxy Club box office in Los Angeles to buy tickets for a forthcoming gig were surprised to find the band members Phil Collins, Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford selling the tickets themselves.

1986 Peter Gabriel releases "Sledgehammer" with an acclaimed and innovative claymation video. The single hits #4 in the UK and #2 in the US.

1991 Founder member of The Byrds Gene Clark died of a heart attack aged 49. Wrote The Byrds hits 'I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better', and 'Eight Miles High', member of McGuinn, Clark and Hillman and solo.

1999 Freddie Mercury was featured on a new set of millennium stamps issued by the Royal Mail. The Queen front man who died in 1991, was featured on the 19p stamp. The singer was a keen stamp collector, and his collection was bought by the Post Office in 1993. The stamp marked his contribution to the Live Aid charity concert in 1985.

2003 Paul McCartney made his first ever live performance in Russia when he appeared in-front of 20,000 fans in Red Square.