October 24, 1962 - TONIGHT'S the night fledgling soul superstar, James Brown, taped a live performance at the legendary Apollo in Harlem, New York City, a taping his record company didn't want him to release as a record. Somewhat naively, King Records strongly believed that a live album featuring no new songs, only early Brown standards, would not be profitable. Brown subsequently financed the recording himself, the label finally relenting, and releasing the live recording, James Brown Live At The Apollo, Volume 1. The record became Brown's take-off moment that lasted four decades, and took King Records by surprise at the time. Brown defiantly and openly then recorded for opposition label, Smash Records. Nobody ever messed with his show business instinct again. The break-through live album by James Brown and The Famous Flames was ranked number 24 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, and is now in the American Library of Congress. Brown's live performance that night, also raised the bar, his dynamic onstage energy and dance moves totally jaw-dropping. From Michael Jackson to Mick Jagger, Steven Tyler and many modern lead singers, they all owe more than a nod to James Brown's unique style. Following is a JB compilation dance routine that demonstrates this clearly…and then, if you have a spare seven minutes, a brief docoblog on Brown, from the BBC.

1939 - OK, this was a special night in 1985, a night of magic at the New York Marriott Marquis, when Benny Goodman and his stella orchestra held an uplifting night of song and pure swing, entitled Let's Dance. This was in reference to the song that was recorded by Benny Goodman and his orchestra 71 years ago to the day. Defy you not to smile and tap your feet to the 'king of swing'. Pure magic!

1963 - IT'S almost a half century to the day since the Beatles left London for their first-ever tour outside their homeland. A couple of days' previous, though, they appeared in Manchester, in the UK north. Such was the enormity of the event, Pathe News made a special filmed news item, which was to be played at cinema houses prior to the main movie, as was the custom with all screen newsreels in the fifties and sixties.


1969 - HUMBLE Pie appeared at the Empire, Sunderland, England, tonight, and their support act was David Bowie. Humble Pie was the real deal rock'n'roll band from England, finding success both in the UK and the US. It was a supergroup of sorts, with the original band lineup featuring Steve Marriott from Small Faces, Peter Frampton from The Herd, Spooky Tooth's Greg Ridley on bass, and seventeen-year-old drummer Jerry Shirley. The group's debut album featured one of rock's classic songs, Natural Born Boogie (or Bugie), which was a hit around the world, and quickly followed by the album, As Safe As Yesterday Is. This was the album that garnered praise in a 1970 Rolling Stone review, which also described the album as 'heavy metal', one of the first references to the term. It may well have been seen like that 41 years ago, but in hindsight, Humble pie were rock'n'roll pure and true, with one of rock's greatest voices in Steve Marriott.


1970 - AT the turn of the decade, rock music took off in all kinds of genre directions, epitomised clearly by the music of Pink Floyd and Santana. The former today were at #1 on British charts with their album, Atom Heart Mother, the group's first chart topper. For videos of Floyd go to our archive search engine. Across the pond, on the same day and year, the #1 album in USA was Santana, with Abraxas, an album mix of rock, blues, jazz, salsa and other influences, making it a newborn classic that defined Santana's early sound, and showed a musical maturation from their debut album. Ironically, it was not their song that became their own, but the song written by early Fleetwood Mac co-founder and leader, Peter Greene. The song first appeared as a Fleetwood Mac single in various countries in 1968, but it was Santana's version, this following version, that became Santana's defining song, and kick-started a career for Carlos Santana that has made him a bona fide superstar four decades on.


1974 - AS far as rock'n'roll movies with a plot go, Stardust remains near the top of the heap, and 37 years ago today the movie had its debut in London. there are those who claim it to be the best rock'n'roll movie ever made, starring as it does, David Essex, Adam Faith, Keith Moon, Paul Nicholas, Dave Edmunds, and even the Jesus of Cool, Nick Lowe had a small scene, too. It was perfect casting, with the band in the film  called Stray Cats! A great rock 'n' roll film, and a sobering cautionary tale for anyone obsessed with rock'n'roll fame. check out this fun clip from the flick.


1980 - PAUL McCartney is history's all-time best selling songwriter and recording artists and it was recognised by the Guinness Book of World Records today when they gave him a rhodium-plated disc to commemorate the occasion. From 1962 to 1978, McCartney had written or co-written 43 songs that had sold over a million copies each. Seven years later and Michael Jackson topped worldwide charts, with Bad, and a year later Fantasy Records demonstrated with crystal clarity how corporate business doesn't give a toss about creative music when the company began legal action against John Fogerty. His crime? They accused him of plagiarizing his own song, Run Through The Jungle, when he wrote The Old Man Down The Road. Forgerty's career has had its notable stumbling blocks due to corporate record company's greed and obsession with power over creativity. In the long run, John Fogerty has won out. In this case, though, even if he did plagiarise himself, so what? Here are the two songs, both written by John Fogerty, what do you think?



1989 - A momentous moment happened tonight in New York City, 21 years ago, when Hank Ballard, Holland-Dozier-Holland, Bobby Darin, the Four Tops, the Four Seasons, Holland-Dozier-Holland, the Kinks, Carole King and Gerry Goffin, the Platters, the Who, and Simon & Garfunkel were all inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. This is the resulting spontaneous, disjointed, and disappointing super jam from that night, where the main questions were, "what key, what tempo, what song, who's in charge?


1993 - AN 80s band, doing a comeback in the 90s, Duran Duran cancelled the remainder of their comeback tour, today, after Simon LeBon supposedly tore a vocal chord. But before he tore, Duran duran performed this sub-standard performance of very ordinary song.