BIRTHDAYS
1942: Kim Fowley
1948: Steven Georgiou a.k.a. Cat Stevens a.k.a. Yusuf Islam
1955: Howie Epstein (Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers)
1961: Jim Martin (Faith No More)
EVENTS
1971: Black Sabbath released their third album, ‘Master of Reality’. It was the first Sabs LP I bought back in the 70s and is still one of my all time favs! You may notice similarities in the colours of my ROCKSTUFF logo. 😉
1990: Roger Waters’ production of ‘The Wall’ took place at the Berlin Wall in Potzdamer Platz, Berlin.
2002: Death of producer, Gus Dudgeon [aged 59].
2004: Death of composer, Jerry Goldsmith [aged 75].
2005: Death of blues singer / songwriter, Long John Baldry [aged 64].
2007: Death of music mogul, Don Arden [aged 81].
2016: Death of bassist, Lewie Steinberg, of Booker T. & The M.G.s [aged 82].
2017: Death of singer, Kenny Shields of Streetheart [aged 69].
Happy 71st Birthday, Yusuf, a.k.a. Cat Stevens! The Cat wrote many wonderful songs… his music always reminds me of my Dad.
BIRTHDAYS
1945: John Lodge (Moody Blues)
1947: Carlos Santana
1956: Paul Cook (The Sex Pistols)
1964: Chris Cornell (Soundgarden / Temple of the Dog / Audioslave)
1966: Stone Gossard (Pearl Jam / Green River / Mother Love Bone / Temple of the Dog / Brad)
EVENTS
1968: Cream started a four-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with ‘Wheels of Fire’.
2017: Death of Roi / Roy Colbert, Dunedin music writer / journalist and owner of legendary “Records Records” shop [aged 67]. I visited Roy’s vinyl store in Stuart Street many, many times in the late 70s / early 80s (and still have most of the LPs I bought there).
2017: Death of singer, Chester Bennington of Linkin Park & Stone Temple Pilots [aged 41].
Birthday thoughts go out for singer, Chris Cornell of Soundgarden (who would have been 55 today) & guitarist, Stone (yes, that is his real name) Gossard, who is 53 today. They are both shown in the photo above, as bandmates in Temple of the Dog, but Stone has been in many other cool bands (Pearl Jam, Green River, Mother Love Bone & Brad). I always loved the Temple of the Dog album! C.C. R.I.P.
BIRTHDAYS
1947: Brian May (Queen)
1947: Bernie Leadon (Eagles)
1952: Allen Collins (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
1960: Kevin Haskins (Bauhaus)
EVENTS
1967: The Beatles were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with “All You Need is Love”.
1980: Queen scored their third UK No.1 album with ‘The Game’.
1986: Genesis went to No.1 on the US singles chart with “Invisible Touch”. The group’s former lead singer, Peter Gabriel was at No.2 with “Sledgehammer”.
2008: The second concert of the first G-TARanaki Festival in New Plymouth, featured Glenn Hughes, Joe Satriani, Vernon Reid, Uli Jon Roth, and others. I was there!
Happy 72nd Birthday to Mr. Brian May, guitarist / singer / songwriter of Queen! He’s pictured here playing his famous guitar, “The Red Special”, which he built with his father in 1963, and completed in 1965. When I interviewed Brian in 1991, he explained the whole story of the handcrafted guitar. The body was made from an old oak table and the neck constructed from the mantle of a fireplace, which was over 100 years old at the time. So, Brian will always be younger than his guitar and he is still rocking the world with his fantastic playing! But, here is Queen in the glory days…
Guitarist, Allen Collins of Lynyrd Skynyrd would have been 67 today. He managed to survive the tour plane crash in 1977, but died in 1990 after a series of tragic events in his life. He wrote this timeless song with Ronnie, back in ‘73… “Free Bird!”
BIRTHDAYS
1929: Jalacy “Screamin’ Jay” Hawkins
1931: Papa Dee Allen (War)
1938: Ian Stewart (The Rolling Stones) “Stu” contributed piano, organ, electric piano and/or percussion to nearly all Stones albums released between 1964 and 1986. He was also the band’s road manager and a greatly respected friend and musician. He played piano on two Led Zeppelin songs ~ “Rock And Roll” & “Boogie With Stu”, which they named after him. Ian passed away on 12th of December, 1985 [aged 47].
1939: Brian Auger
1945: Danny McCullock (The Animals)
1950: Richard Branson
1955: Terry Chambers (XTC / Dragon)
1957: Keith Levene (Public Image Ltd)
1962: Jack Irons (Pearl Jam / Red Hot Chili Peppers)
1966: Lou Barlow (Dinosaur Jr)
1975: Daron Malaklan (System of a Down)
EVENTS
1953: Truck driver, Elvis Presley made his first ever recording when he paid $4 at the Memphis recording service singing two songs, “My Happiness” and “That’s When Your Heartaches Begin”.
1978: Def Leppard made their live debut at Westfield School, Sheffield, England.
1988: Death of singer, Nico (The Velvet Underground) [aged 49].
1992: The Orb went to No.1 on the UK album chart with ‘U.F. Orb’.
2008: I met Glenn Hughes at G-TARanaki Festival in New Plymouth.
2008: The first concert of the G-TARanaki Festival in New Plymouth featured Alex Skolnick Trio, Uli Jon Roth, etc. I was there!
Nico = Icon! Time to remember the former Velvet Underground singer, who tragically died on this day, 31 years ago. Here is a very rare clip of Nico, put to the music of The Velvet Underground, filmed in 1967 by Andy Warhol. “I’ll Be Your Mirror” features Nico on gorgeous lead vocals.
BIRTHDAYS
1941: Spencer Davis
1947: Wolfgang Flur (Kraftwerk)
1948: Ron Asheton (The Stooges)
1949: Mick Tucker (Sweet)
1949: Terry “Geezer” Butler (Black Sabbath)
1966: Lou Barlow (Dinosaur Jr)
EVENTS
1967: Death of John Coltrane [aged 40].
1968: The Beatles animated film ‘Yellow Submarine’ premiered at The London Pavilion.
1975: Bob Marley & The Wailers played the first of two nights at The Lyceum, London ~ both shows were recorded for his ‘Live!’ album.
1979: Gary Moore quit Thin Lizzy during a US tour and was replaced by guitarist Midge Ure.
1992: A tour featuring Guns N’ Roses, Metallica & Faith No More opened in Washington.
1996: Death of bassist, Chas Chandler of The Animals / Manager of Jimi Hendrix [aged 57].
1998: Death of singer / songwriter, Marc Hunter of great New Zealand band, Dragon [aged 44]. Rest in Peace, Marc.
Photo taken by Murray Cammick
Happy 70th Birthday to Geezer Butler of Black Sabbath. Not only a legendary bassist, but he also wrote most of the lyrics for the band. Rock on, Geez!
BIRTHDAYS
1952: Stewart Copeland (Curved Air / The Police)
1971: Edward Kowalczyk (Live)
EVENTS
1966: Ginger Baker, Jack Bruce & Eric Clapton announced the formation of Cream.
1969: The Beatles worked on two new George Harrison songs, “Here Comes the Sun” & “Something”.
1981: Death of singer / songwriter, Harry Chapin [aged 38].
1993: The 3-day Phoenix festival in England began, featuring Sonic Youth, Faith No More, Black Crowes, Julian Cope, Pop Will Eat Itself, Radiohead, Living Colour, Manic Street Preachers, & Pulp.
1996: Death of drummer, John Panozzo of Styx [aged 48].
2000: Coldplay went to No.1 on the UK album chart with their debut release ‘Parachutes’.
2012: Death of keyboard player, Jon Lord of Deep Purple [aged 71].
2014: Death of guitarist, Johnny Winter [aged 70].
2016: Death of singer, Alan Vega of Suicide [aged 78].
2019: Death of singer / songwriter / musician / activist, Johnny Clegg [aged 66].
Good Lord, Jon was Great! Seven years gone and never to be forgotten. The Maestro of the Hammond organ, Mr. Jon Lord…
BIRTHDAYS
1945: Peter Lewis (Moby Grape)
1946: Linda Ronstadt
1947: Peter Brockbanks a.k.a. Peter Banks (Yes / Flash)
1948: Artimus Pyle (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
1949: Trevor Horn (The Buggles / Yes + Producer)
1952: John Genzale a.k.a. Johnny Thunders (The New York Dolls)
1956: Joe Satriani
1956: Ian Curtis (Joy Division)
1966: Jason Bonham (Bonham / UFO / Foreigner / Black Country Communion / The Circle / California Breed / Led Zeppelin)
1973: John Dolmayan (System of a Down)
1977: Ray Toro (My Chemical Romance)
EVENTS
1978: The Rolling Stones started a 2-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with ‘Some Girls’.
2000: Death of singer, Paul Young of Mike & The Mechanics [aged 53].
The late Peter Banks was the original guitarist in Yes. Here is the first track from their first album, (this rendition being live in Paris, ’69). Peter also played all guitars on the second Yes LP, ‘Time and a Word’. Sadly, there are now two Yes members who are no longer with us, as Chris Squire passed away on 27th of June, 2015. Peter would have been 72 today.
BIRTHDAYS
1912: Woody Guthrie
1965: Igor Khoroshev (Yes)
Happy 54th Birthday to gifted Russian keyboard player, Igor Khoroshev. He played for Yes (1997 to 2001) and can be heard on their albums ‘Open Your Eyes’ and ‘The Ladder’. Igor featured on tours for those albums, along with the ‘Masterworks’ shows and on the live ‘House of Yes: Live from House of Blues’.
1971: Nick McCabe (The Verve)
EVENTS
1967: The Who began their first North American tour, appearing as support act to Herman’s Hermits.
1973: Death of guitarist, Clarence White of The Byrds [aged 29].
1980: Death of singer, Malcolm Owen of The Ruts [aged 26].
1982: Pink Floyd‘s ‘The Wall’ had it’s movie premier in London, England.
Yes, it was 37 years ago that Pink Floyd released their film, ‘The Wall’ into theatres. With Bob Geldof cast as Pink, a depressed, alienated rock star, the movie features amazing graphics by Gerald Scarfe and ~ of course ~ a fantastic soundtrack! It was the brain child of Roger Waters, who decades later took ‘The Wall’ out onto the world’s stages, with massive success.
BIRTHDAYS
1942: Roger McGuinn (The Byrds)
1961: Lawrence Donegan (Lloyd Cole & The Commotions)
EVENTS
1973: Queen released their self-titled debut album.
1985: ‘Live Aid’ concerts were staged around the world and broadcast live on television to over 2 billion viewers.
1990: Curtis Mayfield was badly injured when a lighting rig fell on him, during a concert in Brooklyn, New York.
1997: Red Hot Chili Peppers singer, Anthony Kiedis underwent five hours of surgery after being involved in a motorbike accident in Los Angeles.
1997: The Prodigy started a five-week run at No.1 on the UK album chart with ‘The Fat of the Land’.
34 years ago today, Queen stole the show with their outstanding performance at Live Aid, exactly 12 years after releasing their debut album on 13th July, 1973. I remember staying up all night watching Live Aid, recording all the best acts on my VHS. The amazing line-up included a reformed Led Zeppelin, original Black Sabbath, David Bowie, Elton John, The Who, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Santana, Sade, Judas Priest, Tom Petty, Pretenders, Dire Straits, Paul McCartney & many more. Here is Queen’s incredible set, which has been voted as the “Best Rock Concert Ever”!
BIRTHDAYS
1943: Christine McVie (Fleetwood Mac)
1947: Wilco Johnson (Dr. Feelgood)
1950: Eric Carr (Kiss)
1962: Dan Murphy (Soul Asylum)
EVENTS
1954: 19-year-old Elvis Presley signed a recording contract with Sun Records. He also gave in his notice at his day job at The Crown Electric Company.
1962: The Rolling Stones made their live debut at the Marquee, London (with Dick Taylor on bass & Mick Avory on drums ~ no photo available of those two guys).
1979: Ian Paice joined Whitesnake.
1995: Jon Anderson, Steve Howe, Chris Squire, Rick Wakeman & Alan White met in L.A. to re-group as Yes.
1996: Death of keyboard player, Jonathan Melvoin of The Smashing Pumpkins [aged 34].
2017: Death of South African guitarist / singer, Ray Phiri [aged 70]. The jazz / reggae musician was best known for his work on Paul Simon’s ‘Graceland’ & ‘Rhythm of the Saints’ albums and tours.
Happy Birthday to wonderful singer / songwriter / musician, Christine McVie, of Fleetwood Mac. She has been part of the band (on and off) since the late ‘60s and today she turns 76. Here’s one of her classic Mac songs from over 40 years ago…
