BIRTHDAYS
1943: Bert Jansch
1945: J. D. Souther
1946: Nick Simper (Deep Purple)
1952: Del Palmer (Kate Bush band)
1967: Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree)
EVENTS
1957: Sun Records released “Great Balls of Fire”, by Jerry Lee Lewis. The single went on to sell over five million copies worldwide, a No.1 in the UK & No.2 in the US.
1972: Steely Dan released their debut album, ‘Can’t Buy A Thrill’.
1973: David Bowie scored his 2nd UK No.1 album with ‘Pin Ups’. It stayed at that spot for 5 weeks.
1979: ‘The Long Run’ by Eagles began a 9-week run at the top of the US chart, their 4th No.1 album.
1996: Death of singer, Eva Cassidy [aged 33].
2002: Santana hit No.1 on the US chart with ‘Shaman’, their 4th US No.1 album.
Happy 57th Birthday to Steven Wilson: Musical genius of the 21st century! Check the t-shirt… đ
BIRTHDAYS
1941: Bruce Cripps a.k.a. Bruce Welch (The Shadows)
1944: Keith Emerson (The Nice / Emerson, Lake & Palmer)
1947: Dave Pegg (Fairport Convention)
1961: Kathryn Dawn Lang a.k.a. KD Lang
EVENTS
1966: Death of guitarist / singer / songwriter, “Mississippi” John Hurt [aged 74].
1967: Cream released their second album, ‘Disraeli Gears’.
1973: John Lennon released his ‘Mind Games’ album.
1973: Ringo Starr released his ‘Ringo’ album, which featured guest performances and songwriting contributions by all three other former Beatles.
1974: George Harrison became the first Beatle to undertake a solo world tour, which began in Canada.
1978: Singer, Brian Connolly quit Sweet.
1980: Rory Gallagher released his live album, ‘Stage Struck’.
2007: Led Zeppelin’s eagerly-awaited reunion concert in London was postponed for two weeks, after Jimmy Page broke a finger.
2018: Death of jazz trumpeter, Roy Hargrove [aged 49].
2018: Death of guitarist Glenn Schwartz, of James Gang / Pacific Gas & Electric [aged 78].
2021: Death of singer / multi-instrumentalist, Ronnie Wilson, of The Gap Band [aged 73].
Keith Emerson would have been 80 today… sadly, he took his own life on 11 March, 2016 :(reportedly, due to depression, because of deteriorating ability in his fingers, to be able to play). What a brilliant, pioneering keyboard player he was! Check out this smokin’ version of âFanfare for the Common Manâ with John Entwistle, Simon Phillips, Jeff âSkunkâ Baxter & Joe Walsh. Fine selection of Emerson, Lake & Palmer vinyl here!
BIRTHDAYS
1946: Rick Grech (Traffic / Blind Faith)
1957: Lyle Lovett
1962: Anthony Keidis (Red Hot Chili Peppers)
1963: Rick Allen (Def Leppard)
EVENTS
1969: The Beatles scored their 13th US No.1 album with ‘Abbey Road’.
1973: Roxy Music released their third album, ‘Stranded’ (the first LP since Brian Eno had left the group).
1975: Sweet released their double album, ‘Strung Up’. The first LP was recorded live during a concert at the Rainbow Theatre, London on 21 December 1973. The second LP contains some of their hit singles, plus three previously unreleased songs (“Burn On the Flameâ, “Miss Demeanourâ & “I Wanna Be Committedâ).
1994: Tom Petty released his ‘Wildflowers’ album.
2008: Death of drummer, Jimmy Carl Black of Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention [aged 70].
2015: Death of percussionist, Raul Rekow of Santana [aged 61].
Here’s a tribute to bassist, Rick Grech [1 November 1946 – 17 March 1990]. This rare clip captures Rick with Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood & Ginger Baker live in London in 1969. A beautiful song from their short-lived group, Blind Faith ~ “I Can’t Find My Way Home”…
BIRTHDAYS
1937: Tom Paxton
1945: Russ Ballard (Argent)
1949: Bob Siebenberg (Supertramp)
1952: Bernard Edwards (Chic)
1961: Larry Mullin (U2)
1963: Johnny Marr (The Smiths)
1963: Mikkey Dee (Motorhead / Scorpions)
EVENTS
1967: Iggy and the Stooges made their live debut when they played at a Halloween party in Michigan.
1970: Led Zeppelin started a 4-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with ‘Led Zeppelin III’.
1974: Led Zeppelin launched their record label ‘Swan Song’.
1986: Roger Waters went to the high court to attempt stopping Dave Gilmour & Nick Mason from using the name Pink Floyd.
1989: The Ramones played a concert at The Powerstation, Auckland ~ I was there!
1993: Death of River Phoenix [aged 23].
1996: Slash announced that he was no longer a member of Guns N’ Roses.
Gabba Gabba Hey! I feel lucky to have experienced a real live Ramones gig ~ 36 years ago today! 1, 2, 3, 4…
BIRTHDAYS
1939: Eddie Holland (Motown songwriter)
1939: Otis Williams (The Temptations)
1939: Grace Slick (Jefferson Airplane / Starship)
1946: Chris Slade (Manfred Mann’s Earth Band / Uriah Heep / David Gilmour / The Firm / AC/DC / Asia)
1947: Timothy B. Schmit (Eagles)
1960: Joey Belladonna (Anthrax)
1967: Gavin Rossdale (Bush)
EVENTS
1971: John Lennon & The Plastic Ono Band went to No.1 on the UK album chart with ‘Imagine’.
1971: Pink Floyd released their sixth album, ‘Meddle’.
1998: The original members of Black Sabbath reunited to play “Paranoid” on David Letterman Show.
2002: Death of Jason Mizell a.k.a. Jam Master Jay of Run-DMC [aged 37].
2003: Death of Pink Floyd manager, Steve O’Rourke [aged 63].
2007: Death of Ramones manager / real estate agent to the stars, Linda Stein [aged 62].
2007: Eagles released their first album in over 28 years, ‘Long Road Out Of Eden’.
2010: Paul Weller played the second gig, of three nights in a row at The Powerstation, Auckland. I was there!
2016: Death of songwriter, Claude “Curly” Putman [aged 85].
2023: Death of drummer, Aaron Spears [aged 47]. Over the years, he performed with Ariana Grande, Usher, Carrie Underwood, Chaka Khan, Alicia Keys and many others. He played drums on Saturday Night Live, American Idol, the 2004 & 2005 Grammy Awards.
Happy Birthday, Chris Slade ~ 78 today! He’s played drums for Uriah Heep, David Gilmour, Jimmy Page and of course, AC/DC, who he rejoined in February 2015 (until Phil Rudd got his job back in 2020). I took this photo of Chris, backstage on AC/DC‘s ‘Razor’s Edge’ tour in Auckland, 16th November, 1991. Following Chris, signing autographs, is Brian Johnson, Angus Young and Malcolm Young.
BIRTHDAYS
1944: Denny Laine (The Moody Blues / Wings)
1944: Robbie van Leeuwen (Shocking Blue)
1946: Peter Greenbaum a.k.a. Peter Green (Fleetwood Mac)
1955: Roger O’Donnell (The Cure)
EVENTS
1971: Death of guitarist / singer / songwriter, Duane Allman of The Allman Brothers [aged 24].
1983: Pink Floyd’s ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ became the longest chart-listed album in history after 491 weeks on the US chart!
1984: Deep Purple released their ‘Perfect Strangers’ album, having reformed earlier that year. It was the first time that the Mk II line-up (Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Jon Lord & Ian Paice) had played together since 1973.
1990: Led Zeppelin released their self-titled, re-mastered 4CD boxed set.
1992: Red Hot Chili Peppers played a concert at Mt. Smart Supertop, Auckland — I was there!
1996: The Stone Roses announced their disbandment.
2018: Death of singer / songwriter, Jimmy Farrar of Molly Hatchet [aged 67].
Today would have been the 78th Birthday of Peter Green! Not only a truly original blues guitarist with pure tone, but also a brilliant songwriter! Hereâs some vintage footage of Peter performing one of his own numbers, âOh Wellâ from 1969, with the group he formed in 1968, Fleetwood Mac. Rest in Peace, Peter Green:Â 29 October 1946 – 25 July 2020
BIRTHDAYS
1927: Clementina Campbell a.k.a. Cleo Laine
1941: Brian Rankin a.k.a. Hank Marvin
1969: Ben Harper
EVENTS
1977: Queen released their sixth album, ‘New Of The World’.
1977: The Sex Pistols released their only studio album, ‘Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols’.
1996: Yes released their album, ‘Keys to Ascension’.
2009: Lloyd Cole played a concert at The Cabana, Napier ~ I was there.
2022: Death of legendary rock and roll pianist / singer / songwriter, Jerry Lee Lewis [aged 87].
2022: Death of drummer, Darren Henley a.k.a. D.H. Peligro [aged 63]. Drummer for The Dead Kennedys, Peligro had a brief stint with Red Hot Chili Peppers and played for several punk bands, including The Hellations, Jungle Studs, Nailbomb, The Feederz and Lock-Up.
Happy Birthday to Ben Harper ~ he’s 55 today. If you ever get the chance, check out Ben live in concert, for some pure musicianship. Play that Weissenborn slide, man!
BIRTHDAYS
1939: John Cleese
1949: Garry Tallent (Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band)
1951: Ken “KK” Downing (Judas Priest)
1967: Scott Weiland (Stone Temple Pilots)
1978: Vanessa-Mae
1984: Kelly Osbourne
EVENTS
1962: The Rolling Stones recorded their first demo tape at Curly Clayton Studios in Highbury, London.
1969: Muddy Waters was seriously injured and three people were killed in a car crash in Illinois.
1970: Black Sabbath played their first live show in the US at Glassboro State College.
1979: Elton John collapsed on stage, due to exhaustion, at Hollywood’s Universal Amphitheatre.
1980: Death of Stephen Porter a.k.a. Steve Peregrin Took of Tyrranosaurus Rex [aged 31].
2002: Death of record producer, Tom Dowd [aged 77].
2013: Death of singer / songwriter / poet / musician, Lou Reed [aged 71].
The Stones keep on Rolling! Hard to believe that they recorded their first demo 62 years ago today! Check out the young lads in the 1963 photo above (Keith Richards, Brian Jones, Mick Jagger, Charlie Watts, Bill Wyman). And this classic Rock ânâ Rolling Stones footage is 59 years old! Chuck Berry’s “Around and Around”…
BIRTHDAYS
1951: William “Bootsy” Collins (Parliament / Funkadelic)
1951: Maggie Roche (The Roches)
1952: David Was (Was Not Was)
1963: Natalie Merchant (10,000 Maniacs)
EVENTS
1958: Bill Haley and his Comets played the first rock ‘n’ roll concert in Germany.
1965: Queen Elizabeth II presented The Beatles with their MBEs at Buckingham Palace, England.
2016: Steven Wilson played his first ever concert in New Zealand, at The Powerstation, Auckland ~ I was there!
2019: Death of Little Feat guitarist / singer / songwriter, Paul Barrere [aged 71].
Wow ~ has it been eight years already! Steven Wilson performed a brilliant gig in Auckland, on his ‘Hand. Cannot. Erase.’ tour on this day in 2016. And he returned to New Zealand in 2019! đ
This live footage gives some idea of the calibre of musicianship required to be in SW’s band. Before this, guitarist Dave Kilminster had recently completed service on Roger Waters’ world tour for ‘The Wall’, keyboardist Adam Holzman had made history and played in NZ with Miles Davis, while Nick Beggs has played bass for Steven since 2011.
Also, Happy Birthday to super-funky bassist / singer, Bootsy Collins. Check out this smokinâ jam session, featuring the late legendary sax man, David Sanborn (y’know Bowie’s ‘Young Americans’ & all that), drummer Omar Hakim and a scorching lead guitar break from Hiram Bullock. Get the funk out, Bootsy!
BIRTHDAYS
1944: Jon Anderson (Yes)
1947: Glenn Tipton (Judas Priest)
1951: Richard Lloyd (Television)
1956: Matthias Jabs (Scorpions)
1962: Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers)
EVENTS
1968: Led Zeppelin made their live debut as New Yardbirds, at Surrey University, England.
1985: Death of singer / songwriter / actor, Gary Holton of Heavy Metal Kids [aged 32].
1988: Bryan Ferry performed a concert at Mt. Smart Supertop, Auckland ~ I was there!
1991: Death of promoter Bill Graham [aged 60].
1993: Death of Vincent Price [aged 82].
2015: Death of bassist / singer / songwriter, Jack Bruce of Cream [aged 71].
2024: Death of bassist / singer / songwriter, Phil Lesh of Grateful Dead [aged 84].
Happy Birthday, Jon Anderson of YES! Unique singer, musician, songwriter ~ trying to save the planet, whilst living totally on another ~ Jon is 80 today! (Photo by Deborah Anderson, Jon’s daughter).
Here is what Jon considers as the ultimate Yes piece, “Awaken”. Jon performed this amazing rendition with Icelandic orchestra and band in 2013. A MUST watch!!!Â