TOMMY BOLIN
Tommy Bolin was born on this date in 1951 but only lived to reach 25 years of age. (Didn’t even make it into the 27 Club.) Tommy never seemed to feel at home in a band, bouncing from Zephyr to James Gang to Deep Purple. Part of the problem was his misfortune in having to […]
Ahmet
Ahmet Ertegun was born on this date 101 years ago today. He, along with folks like Berry Gordy, Clive Davis, Jerry Wexler, David Geffen, and the Chess brothers, were instrumental in the release of mountains of music we know and love. As co-founder and president of Atlantic Records, Ahmet personally helped launch the careers of […]
Dylan and Zeppelin
This date marked the beginning of one legend’s rise and the end of another’s. On July 24, 1965, for the first time one of Bob Dylan’s performances charted in the U.S. It still might be the best song he ever wrote, Like a Rolling Stone. Other artists, notably Peter, Paul and Mary, had previously charted […]
All That Glitters Is Not Gold
On July 23, 1968, The Iveys got their big break. Any up-and-coming band would have traded places with them because they were the first band signed to The Beatles’ new record label, Apple with the contract signed 56 years ago today. What could be better? Paul McCartney had written a song called Bad Finger Boogie […]
Carlos!
There are precious few guitarists who, with a single note or a single lick, you can immediately identify. One of them turns 77 today, Carlos Devadip Humberto Santana Barragan. His father, a mariachi musician, taught him violin at five and guitar at eight. But his big break came with a coin flip. In early […]
And still going strong at 62
The first concert of what would prove to be the longest-touring rock band in history* took place at the famed Marquee Club on this date in 1962. And Mick and Keith are still rolling (double entendre) 60 years later. The Marquee Club also served in 1967 as the stage for the first concert by another […]
Rock and Roll!
Another contender for the birth date of rock and roll is July 11. On this date way back in 1951, Alan Freed broadcast his first Moondog House Rock and Roll Party marking the first known use of the phrase “rock and roll” on radio (giving Freed a claim on inventing the phrase). Freed was also […]
The Allman Brothers At Fillmore East!
There really weren’t many live rock albums released before 1970 for several reasons. First, live recordings, like concerts themselves, were not capable of high fidelity sound. Second, the record suits didn’t see live recordings as marketable. Third, bands wanted to promote new material, mainly in the form of singles, to promote themselves. The Beatles put […]
Our Independence
We all know that today is to celebrate the Declaration of our independence. But here are a few facts you may not know about its author and be even more impressed with him for the struggles he endured. Before 1776, Thomas Jefferson had five daughters and one son. All of them but one died before […]
Mick and Mick
On this date in 1969, Mick Taylor was announced as the replacement for Brian Jones in the Stones, ushering in what many people (including yours truly) see as the golden era of the band as a live juggernaut. Not only did Taylor elevate the band’s sound on classics like Brown Sugar, Can’t You Hear Me […]
