Today in Rock and Roll History

BarnBuster

Virtually Unknown Member
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Breathless promotion on the local radio station. Tickets selling out in a single day. Thousands of teenagers, hours before show time, lining up outside the biggest venue in town. The scene outside the Cleveland Arena on a chilly Friday night in March more than 50 years ago would look quite familiar to anyone who has ever attended a major rock concert. But no one on this particular night had ever even heard of a “rock concert.” This, after all, was the night of an event now recognized as history’s first major rock-and-roll show: the Moondog Coronation Ball, held in Cleveland on March 21, 1952.

The “Moondog” in question was the legendary disk jockey Alan Freed, the self-styled “father of rock and roll” who was then the host of the enormously popular “Moondog Show” on Cleveland AM radio station WJW. Freed had joined WJW in 1951 as the host of a classical-music program, but he took up a different kind of music at the suggestion of Cleveland record-store owner Leo Mintz, who had noted with great interest the growing popularity, among young customers of all races, of rhythm-and-blues records by black musicians. Mintz decided to sponsor three hours of late-night programming on WJW to showcase rhythm-and-blues music, and Alan Freed was installed as host. Freed quickly took to the task, adopting a new, hip persona and vocabulary that included liberal use of the phrase “rock and roll” to describe the music he was now promoting. As the program grew in popularity, Mintz and Freed decided to do something that had never been done: hold a live dance event featuring some of the artists whose records were appearing on Freed’s show. Dubbed “The Moondog Coronation Ball,” the event was to feature headliners Paul Williams and his Hucklebuckers and Tiny Grimes and the Rocking Highlanders (a black instrumental group that performed in Scottish kilts). In the end, however, the incredible popular demand for tickets proved to be the event’s undoing.

Helped along by massive ticket counterfeiting and possibly by overbooking on the part of the event’s sponsors, an estimated 20,000-25,000 fans turned out for an event being held in an arena with a capacity of only 10,000. Less than an hour into the show, the massive overflow crowd broke through the gates that were keeping them outside, and police quickly moved in to stop the show almost as soon as it began. On the radio the very next evening, Alan Freed offered an apology to listeners who had tried to attend the canceled event. By way of explanation, Freed said: “If anyone…had told us that some 20 or 25,000 people would try to get into a dance—I suppose you would have been just like me. You would have laughed and said they were crazy.”
 

injinji

Well-Known Member
2004 - Ozzy Osbourne
Ozzy Osbourne was named the nation's favourite ambassador to welcome aliens to planet earth. The 55-year-old singer came top of a poll as the face people want to represent them to alien life. The poll of internet users was carried out following the discovery of signs of water on Mars. Ozzy won 26 per cent of the vote. A spokesman for Yahoo! News said: 'As the world waits desperately for signs of alien life, we decided to ask our users who they thought was best suited for this most auspicious of roles. Ozzy is a great choice but I'm not sure what the Martians would make of his individual approach to the English language.'

 

BarnBuster

Virtually Unknown Member
1975 - Led Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti album hits #1, where it will stay for six weeks. (Saw them in Cleveland and Philadelphia for this tour, bb)
 

injinji

Well-Known Member
March 22nd
1956 - Carl Perkins
While driving to New York for appearances on 'The Perry Como Show', and 'The Ed Sullivan Show', the car that Carl Perkins was traveling in was involved in an accident putting Perkins in hospital for several months. The singer received four broken ribs and a broken shoulder, his brother Jay was killed in the accident.


He was a huge influence in rock and roll. Including these guys from Athens.

 

injinji

Well-Known Member
1974 - Marvin Gaye and Diana Ross
Marvin Gaye and Diana Ross entered the UK singles chart with ‘You Are Everything’ which was originally recorded by the Philadelphia soul group The Stylistics. Released as the second UK single from the Diana & Marvin album, the song reached No.5 in the UK Singles Chart in this year.
 

Amos Otis

Well-Known Member
1974 - Marvin Gaye and Diana Ross
Marvin Gaye and Diana Ross entered the UK singles chart with ‘You Are Everything’ which was originally recorded by the Philadelphia soul group The Stylistics. Released as the second UK single from the Diana & Marvin album, the song reached No.5 in the UK Singles Chart in this year.
Clearly the low point of Mr Gaye's career.
 

injinji

Well-Known Member
1966 - Simon and Garfunkel
Simon And Garfunkel made their UK singles chart debut with 'Homeward Bound.' Paul Simon is said to have written the song at Farnworth railway station, Widnes, England, while stranded overnight waiting for a train. A plaque is displayed in the station to commemorate this, although memorabilia hunters have stolen it many times. The song describes his longing to return home, both to his then girlfriend, Kathy Chitty in Brentwood, Essex, England, and to return to the United States. The song was also a No.5 hit in the US.
 

injinji

Well-Known Member
1963 - Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash recorded the June Carter/Merle Kilgore song 'Ring Of Fire.' The song was originally recorded by June's sister Anita Carter, on her 1963 album Folk Songs Old and New as '(Love's) Ring of Fire'. Cash claimed he had a dream where he heard the song accompanied by 'Mexican trumpets'. It became the biggest hit of Johnny Cash's career, staying at No.1 on the US charts for seven weeks.

 

BarnBuster

Virtually Unknown Member
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March 26, 1971 - The Rolling Stones' lips and tongue logo appears for the first time when it is used on VIP passes for their show at the Marquee Club in London.

The logo was designed by John Pasche, a student at the prestigious Royal College of Art in London (where Storm Thorgerson, who designed the Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon album cover, also attended). Stones management called the school looking for a student to design a poster for their 1970 European tour, and Pasche was chosen. That project went well, so he was given another assignment: "Create a logo or symbol which may be used on note paper, as a program cover and as a cover for the press book."

Pasche met with Mick Jagger, who showed him a picture of the Indian goddess Kali, rendered sticking out a long, pointed tongue. Using that as a basis, Pasche came up with the tongue and lips logo, earning £50 (about $75) for his efforts.

Pasche did not base the design on Jagger's lips, but he says he may have done so subconsciously. The logo is bold and compact - perfect for small spaces. It has an anti-authority vibe with plenty of sexual overtones, which is exactly what the band stands for.

After debuting on the VIP passes, the logo appears in April on an insert for the Sticky Fingers album, which features a real, working zipper on the cover designed by Andy Warhol. The logo is so successful, the band uses it for their label, Rolling Stones Records, and puts it on every subsequent album, as well as most of their promotional materials, T-shirts and other merchandise.

"It's kind of a universal statement, sticking your tongue out at something," Pasche says. "It's a protest, really."
 

injinji

Well-Known Member
March 26, 1971 - The Rolling Stones' lips and tongue logo appears for the first time when it is used on VIP passes for their show at the Marquee Club in London.

The logo was designed by John Pasche, a student at the prestigious Royal College of Art in London (where Storm Thorgerson, who designed the Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon album cover, also attended). Stones management called the school looking for a student to design a poster for their 1970 European tour, and Pasche was chosen. That project went well, so he was given another assignment: "Create a logo or symbol which may be used on note paper, as a program cover and as a cover for the press book."

Pasche met with Mick Jagger, who showed him a picture of the Indian goddess Kali, rendered sticking out a long, pointed tongue. Using that as a basis, Pasche came up with the tongue and lips logo, earning £50 (about $75) for his efforts.

Pasche did not base the design on Jagger's lips, but he says he may have done so subconsciously. The logo is bold and compact - perfect for small spaces. It has an anti-authority vibe with plenty of sexual overtones, which is exactly what the band stands for.

After debuting on the VIP passes, the logo appears in April on an insert for the Sticky Fingers album, which features a real, working zipper on the cover designed by Andy Warhol. The logo is so successful, the band uses it for their label, Rolling Stones Records, and puts it on every subsequent album, as well as most of their promotional materials, T-shirts and other merchandise.

"It's kind of a universal statement, sticking your tongue out at something," Pasche says. "It's a protest, really."
They've got their money's worth on that one.
 

injinji

Well-Known Member
And the Grammy for Irony goes to. . . . .

1970 - Peter Yarrow
Peter Yarrow of Peter Paul and Mary pleaded guilty to 'taking immoral liberties' with a 14 year old girl in Washington D.C. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three months in jail. Just days earlier, the trio had won a Grammy Award for Best Recording for Children for their album, 'Peter, Paul and Mommy'.
 

injinji

Well-Known Member
2000 - Santana
Santana started a two-week run at No.1 on the UK album chart with 'Supernatural.' The album went on to win eight Grammy Awards including Album Of The Year, Record Of The Year (for 'Smooth') and Song Of The Year.

 

injinji

Well-Known Member
1966 - Roy Orbison
During an UK tour, Roy Orbison fell off a motorbike while scrambling at Hawkstone Park, Birmingham fracturing his foot. He played the remaining dates sat on a stool and walking on crutches.


 

injinji

Well-Known Member
1971 - Brewer & Shipley
New York radio station WNBC banned the song 'One Toke Over the Line' by Brewer & Shipley because of its alleged drug references. Other stations around the country followed.

I loved the part in Ken Burn's Country Music where the Cash kids were telling the story of Mother Maybelle telling them they should learn that gospel song, One Toke over the Line Sweet Jesus. They had to tell her what it meant.

 

injinji

Well-Known Member
1973 - Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin released their fifth studio album, Houses Of The Holy in the UK. The album title was a dedication by the band to their fans who appeared at venues they dubbed 'Houses of the Holy'. The cover is a collage of several photographs which were taken at the Giant's Causeway, Northern Ireland, by Aubrey Powell of Hipgnosis. The two children who modelled for the cover were siblings Stefan and Samantha Gates.


 
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