1965 - This was the day Keith Richards reportedly purchased a brand new Gibson fuzz-box, leading him to start writing the band's first #1 American hit record, Satisfaction. According to the guitarist, he came up with the song's opening guitar riff in his sleep, waking up in the middle of the night, recording the riff and the words "I can't get no satisfaction" on a cassette recorder, before falling back to sleep. He and Mick Jagger finished writing the song at the Jack Tar Harrison Hotel in Clearwater, Florida. Jagger reportedly wrote most of the lyrics after being confined to their hotel room. According to Stoneslore, Richards was concerned the riff sounded too much like Martha and the Vandellas' Dancing in the Street. The Rolling Stones first recorded the track on May 10, 1965 at Chess Studios in Chicago, with a harmonica solo and riff played by Brian Jones, but this version was later scrapped. At the time, Richards saw his fuzz guitar riff as a indicator for what a horn section could be playing.
1971- Today is exactly 40 years since Ike and Tina Turner received their only gold record, for Proud Mary, which was written by Creedence Clearwater's John Fogerty. This is a brilliant arrangement, though, done by the demon-fuelled Ike, who contributed far more to rock'n'roll than history has given him credit for. This performance is from London, and Tina is so, so sexy here, the Ikettes...soooooooo horny with their hip wiggling and their micro-minis...oozing pure raw sex.
1972 - Rocket Man (I Think It's Going to Be a Long Long Time) is a song composed by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, and released today in 1972. Produced by Gus Dudgeon, who also produced David Bowie's 1969 song Space Oddity, the song first appeared on John's 1972 album Honky Château and became a worldwide hit single. The song supports the notion of astronauts no longer being perceived as heroes, but in fact as fulfilling an everyday occupation: "She packed my bags last night, pre-flight. Zero hour: 9 a.m. And I'm gonna be high as a kite by then." The lyrics were supposedly inspired by a short story of the same title, written by sci-fi writer Ray Bradbury, and then lyric-written by Taupin.
1973 - This was the day in 1973 that Paul Simon began his first tour, in Boston, without Art Garfunkel; four years later, same day, and Dolly Parton made her New York singing debut, and in the same year Led Zeppelin set a new record - for the time - for the largest audience at a single-act concert. 76,229 people were at a show in Pontiac, MI. Couldn't find this video, but howzabout this one from the home of grunge, Seattle, thanks to the bootleg from youtuber thewisemonkey. Led Zeppelin perform Stairway to Heaven and then a very,very gem-bootleg of the old Jerry Lee Lewis/Jack Clement country rock classic It'll Be Me, shot on 8mm film in Los Angeles. Have fun with these, folks. You can find them on the official Led Zeppelin Video Channel.
1978 - Years before Bob Geldof's Live Aid, The Bee Gees announced the launch of UNICEF benefit concerts, today in 1978, also in the same year, same day, the soundtrack to the Saturday Night Fever movie started an 18 week run at No.1 on the UK album chart. The album, which features seven Bee Gee songs, went on to sell over 30 million copies worldwide. What a cultural phenomenon this movie and soundtrack were.
1984 - Strange duo, but Mick Jagger and Michael Jackson chose this day to record a rock/funk combo record State of Shock. This is a makeup video, but a good one.
1991 - Madonna’s so-called ‘warts and all’, documentary film ‘Truth Or Dare In Bed with Madonna’, premiered in Los Angeles 20 years ago today. Not exactly Truth Or Dare, but close enough...just strike a pose.
1994 - Pearl Jam filed a complaint with the U.S. Justice Department against Ticketmaster. The charge was the company had a monopoly on the concert ticket business. Two weeks earlier, this was the band rehearsing for Saturday Night Live.
1995 - James Taylor and Natalie Cole received honorary degrees at Berklee College of Music's 50th anniversary commencement, and two years later, in 1997, the first Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony was held in Cleveland. Among those inducted were Crosby, Stills & Nash, the Jackson 5, the Bee Gees, Buffalo Springfield, Joni Mitchell, the Young Rascals, Parliament-Funkadelic (meaning George Clinton), and many more.
2002 - It's May 6, and R&B legend Ray Charles is presented with an honorary doctorate of philosophy degree at Albany State University in his hometown of Albany, Georgia, and in the same year, same day, song writer Otis Blackwell died of a heart attack. Blackwell wrote dozens of hit songs, including Don’t Be Cruel, Return To Sender and All Shook Up for Elvis Presley. If you want to see other *MUSICBACKTRACK* references and videos, go to our search engine, and type in Don't Be Cruel or the other song titles. Still on the same day, same year and Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody was voted the UK’s favourite single of all time in a poll by the Guinness Hit Singles book. Imagine by John Lennon was voted in at No.2 and Hey Jude, The Beatles No.3, while Abba's Dancing Queen was fourth and Madonna's Like A Prayer came in at number five. Bohemian Rhapsody consists of six sections: introduction, ballad, guitar solo, opera, rock, and outro. This format, with abrupt changes in style, tone, and tempo, was unusual to rock music. An embryonic version of this style had already been utilised by the band in My Fairy King. The New York Times commented that “the song’s most distinct feature is the fatalistic lyrics”. Following the single’s release, Mercury said:"It’s one of those songs which has such a fantasy feel about it. I think people should just listen to it, think about it, and then make up their own minds as to what it says to them…Bohemian Rhapsody didn’t just come out of thin air. I did a bit of research although it was tongue-in-cheek and mock opera. Why not?"
