1960 - This is the day The Beatles began their first gigs away from England, at the Top Ten club in Hamburg, Germany, where they played non-stop, a few sets a night, seven nights a week, and became a great little live rock'n'roll group. Four years later on the same day, The Kinks released their signature song, You Really Got Me. What a great band were the Kinks. Along with the Small Faces, in the scheme of things, very underrated. The Kinks were a powerhouse of a band, completely original, quirky, and brilliant live. I was lucky enough to see them in Perth, Australia, supporting the Rolling Stones, around 1964. My theory is that the Kinks were the originators of riff rock, later adopted by so-called heavy metal. Not to mention the overtones of pre-punk music. Love this song, total rock'n'roll. Ray Davies remains one of rock's great song writers, his lyrics amongst the best written for rock music.
1968 - Deep Purple's smash hit Hush was released today. Written by American Joe South (who then sported a Justin Bieber hair cut), this song has since been covered by quite a few acts, the first of which was Deep Purple. Interestingly, each version has been a hit, although Russell Morris' version was only a hit in Australia. But we have three versions her for you, dear reader, so you choose which one you'd prefer. Wish we could show you Joe South's version but I couldn't find one anywhere. So...first up Deep Purple, then Russell Morris's from Uptight TV in Australia, then Kula Shaker's from a live concert T In The Park, just a few years ago.
1969 - After three days, the Woodstock Music and Art Fair in New York came to an end today, and if you want a bird's eye view of Woodstock go check out *BACKTRACK* archives, or our search engine. Moving forward 12 months, and Chicken Shack keyboard player, Christine McVie, joined Fleetwood Mac today, as the group's first female member. Through the various incarnations of the group, the only consistent members of Fleetwood Mac have been drummer Mick Fleetwood and bassist John McVie - the rhythm section that provided the band with its name - and ironically, they had the least influence over the musical direction of the band. Originally, guitarists Peter Green and Jeremy Spencer provided the band with its gutsy, neo-psychedelic blues-rock sound, but as both guitarists descended into mental illness, the group began moving toward pop/rock with the songwriting of pianist Christine McVie. She was also a big fan of Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac. By the mid-'70s, Fleetwood Mac had relocated to California, where they added the soft rock duo of Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks to their lineup. Nobody can deny the commercial phenomenon that was later Fleetwood Mac, but for me the real Fleetwood Mac was Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac. Accordingly, here's 1969's Oh Well, followed by Christine McVie's Mac and their first hit, written by Christine.
1974 - Patrick Moraz replaced Rick Wakeman in Yes, as Wakeman moved into a solo career, and on the same day, same year, Bad Company's Can't Get Enough was released, and this is a video of the song, live, and introduced by the late Keith Moon.
1977 - The Police played their first gig without original guitarist Henri Padovani at Rebecca's Club in Birmingham, England, today, and on the same day in 1983, Prince released Delerious. A year later, again on the same day, on the first night of his Breaking Hearts Tour, Elton John announced that he was retiring from touring. he's still touring today. From his show at Wembley Stadium that night, this is Rocket Man.
1984 - Motley Crue gave its performance debut at the Monsters of Rock festival at Castle Donington, England, today, and two years later on August 16 def Leppard's Rick Allen played his first concert with his band since losing his left arm in a car accident. And two years after that, same day, 42 people were beaten or stabbed at a Run D.M.C. concert in Long Beach, California. In
1995 on this day, Dave Gahan from Depeche Mode attempted suicide by slashing his wrists at a Sunset Strip hotel. He was hospitalized and recovered. Speaking of tragic, on the same day and year, security guards carried Courtney Love offstage after she began fighting with Hole fans because they weren't cheering loud enough during the last night of the Lollapalooza tour in Mountain View, California. Poor old Courtney.
1968 - Deep Purple's smash hit Hush was released today. Written by American Joe South (who then sported a Justin Bieber hair cut), this song has since been covered by quite a few acts, the first of which was Deep Purple. Interestingly, each version has been a hit, although Russell Morris' version was only a hit in Australia. But we have three versions her for you, dear reader, so you choose which one you'd prefer. Wish we could show you Joe South's version but I couldn't find one anywhere. So...first up Deep Purple, then Russell Morris's from Uptight TV in Australia, then Kula Shaker's from a live concert T In The Park, just a few years ago.
1969 - After three days, the Woodstock Music and Art Fair in New York came to an end today, and if you want a bird's eye view of Woodstock go check out *BACKTRACK* archives, or our search engine. Moving forward 12 months, and Chicken Shack keyboard player, Christine McVie, joined Fleetwood Mac today, as the group's first female member. Through the various incarnations of the group, the only consistent members of Fleetwood Mac have been drummer Mick Fleetwood and bassist John McVie - the rhythm section that provided the band with its name - and ironically, they had the least influence over the musical direction of the band. Originally, guitarists Peter Green and Jeremy Spencer provided the band with its gutsy, neo-psychedelic blues-rock sound, but as both guitarists descended into mental illness, the group began moving toward pop/rock with the songwriting of pianist Christine McVie. She was also a big fan of Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac. By the mid-'70s, Fleetwood Mac had relocated to California, where they added the soft rock duo of Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks to their lineup. Nobody can deny the commercial phenomenon that was later Fleetwood Mac, but for me the real Fleetwood Mac was Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac. Accordingly, here's 1969's Oh Well, followed by Christine McVie's Mac and their first hit, written by Christine.
1974 - Patrick Moraz replaced Rick Wakeman in Yes, as Wakeman moved into a solo career, and on the same day, same year, Bad Company's Can't Get Enough was released, and this is a video of the song, live, and introduced by the late Keith Moon.
1977 - The Police played their first gig without original guitarist Henri Padovani at Rebecca's Club in Birmingham, England, today, and on the same day in 1983, Prince released Delerious. A year later, again on the same day, on the first night of his Breaking Hearts Tour, Elton John announced that he was retiring from touring. he's still touring today. From his show at Wembley Stadium that night, this is Rocket Man.
1984 - Motley Crue gave its performance debut at the Monsters of Rock festival at Castle Donington, England, today, and two years later on August 16 def Leppard's Rick Allen played his first concert with his band since losing his left arm in a car accident. And two years after that, same day, 42 people were beaten or stabbed at a Run D.M.C. concert in Long Beach, California. In
1995 on this day, Dave Gahan from Depeche Mode attempted suicide by slashing his wrists at a Sunset Strip hotel. He was hospitalized and recovered. Speaking of tragic, on the same day and year, security guards carried Courtney Love offstage after she began fighting with Hole fans because they weren't cheering loud enough during the last night of the Lollapalooza tour in Mountain View, California. Poor old Courtney.
