2020

It’s an odd day in the College of Rock n’ Roll Knowledge today. Aside from two entries, all of the events seem to have happened in 1968. It was, as Frank Sinatra said, a very good year musically. Devastating in others.

Here’s today’s lesson:

December 28, 1968: The Doors released Touch Me. Believe it or not, the song’s opening guitar riff was inspired by the opening of C’mon Marianne by The Four Seasons. I shit you not. (And I think that’s probably the only song I like by The Four Seasons, come to think of it.) Touch Me would peak at #3 in America.

These other musical events also happened on this day:

The Beatles’ ninth studio album, The Beatles (aka, The White Album), hits #1 in the US.

The Rolling Stones‘ Beggars Banquet debuts at #3 on the Album chart.

Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull, Jeff Beck and The Pretty Things appeared at the Flight to Lowlands Paradise II festival at the Margriethal-Jaarbeurs in Utrecht, Netherlands.

Marvin Gaye remained at #1 on the R & B chart with I Heard It Through The Grapevine. I’ll say it again, he remade Gladys Knight’s version, which was released in 1967. Hers also went to #1. I love Marvin, but the record needs to be set straight.

In what could be viewed as a dry run for Woodstock, Joni Mitchell, Three Dog Night, The Turtles, Fleetwood Mac, Marvin Gaye, The Grass Roots, Chuck Berry, Steppenwolf, The Box Tops, Canned Heat, Jr. Walker & The All Stars, Procol Harum, The Grateful Dead, Jose Feliciano, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band and others performed at the Miami Pop Festival at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale, Florida.

Whew.

December 28, 1970: John Lennon released the song Mother.

December 28, 1983: Depressed by mounting debt and his personal problems, Dennis Wilson of The Beach Boys drowned while diving near his boat in Marina Del Rey, California. Brian Wilson, dealing with his own issues, did not attend the funeral.

Born On This Day

December 28, 1914: Roebuck “Pops” Staples, songwriter/guitarist/singer for The Staple Singers (I’ll Take You There, Respect Yourself) was born in Winona, Mississippi.

December 28, 1938: Charlie Neville (The Neville Brothers) was born in New Orleans, Louisiana.

December 28, 1946: Edgar Winter, multi-instrumentalist, leader of The Edgar Winter Group, and younger brother of Johnny, was born in Beaumont, Texas.

December 28, 1948: Joseph “Ziggy” Modeliste, drummer for The Meters, was born in New Orleans, Louisiana.

And that is today’s lesson from the College of Rock n’ Roll Knowledge!

Meanwhile…Back at The College of Rock n’ Roll Knowledge: 12/1/2020

Good Morning from the office of the chief researcher and writer (also the programmer, marketing director, music researcher, and various other tasks). We have a short one in comparison to other days, but still informative.

Here’s today’s knowledge from the college:

December 1, 1964: The Who played the first of 22 consecutive nights at the Marquee Club in London.

December 1, 1965: The Rolling Stones played at the Vancouver Auditorium in Canada as part of their North American Tour on this night.

December 1, 1966: Jimi Hendrix signed a management deal with Yameta, a company founded by managers for the Who, Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp.

December 1, 1967: The Who (again) finished their first tour as headliners in the US at the Long Island Arena in Commack, NY. Vanilla Fudge was the opening act.

December 1, 1968: The White Album by The Beatles starts a seven-week run at number one on the UK chart.

Also on this date, Janis Joplin plays her final gig with Big Brother & The Holding Company in San Francisco.

December 1, 1969: Delaney & Bonnie perform with Eric Clapton at Royal Albert Hall. Friends George Harrison and Ringo Starr are in attendance.

December 1, 1971: Yes plays the Palace Theater in Waterbury, Connecticut.

Also on this day, John Lennon releases Happy Xmas (War Is Over) in the US.

December 1, 1975: The Allman Brothers Band played at the Civic Center in Springfield, MA (and I was there!).

December 1, 1979: The Grateful Dead played Stanley Hall in Pittsburgh, PA.

December 1, 2016: The Rolling Stones released Blue & Lonesome, a great 12-song collection of Blues classics. It is their first studio album since 2005’s A Bigger Bang, which peaked at #3 in the US.

Born On This Day

December 1, 1944: John Densmore, drummer for The Doors, was born in Los Angeles.

And that is today’s rather abbreviated lesson from The College of Rock n’ Roll Knowledge. We shall be back with the Tuesday Bluesday line-up shortly.

Today’s History Lesson From the College of Rock n’ Roll Knowledge: 11/25/2020

Good Morning, Students! Today is a short lesson in comparison to the last couple of day, but still an interesting read.

***Commemorating a momentous musical moment in rock history.***

Here’s today’s musical lesson:

November 25, 1966: The Jimi Hendrix Experience make their live performance debut at the Bag O’ Nails Club in London.

November 25, 1967: Incense And Peppermints by Strawberry Alarm Clock goes to #1 in the U.S. The song was co-written by the band’s guitarist, Ed King, who would later become a member of Lynyrd Skynyrd. (This is a fucking great psychedelic-era song. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.)

November 25, 1968: The Beatles (better known as The White Album) was released in the US, spending 101 weeks on the chart and peaking at #1. It has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide and is listed as No. 10 on Billboard’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

Also on this day in 1968, more than 10,000 fans see Cream play their final two concerts at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

November 25, 1971: Carly Simon releases Anticipation.

November 25, 1976: The Band, another one of those bands whose greatness can never be denied, goes out with a bang with The Last Waltz. They celebrate an unbelievable career with friends Van Morrison, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Neil Young, The Staple Singers, Ronnie Hawkins, and Dr. John. Thank you, Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko, Levon Helm, Richard Manuel, and Garth Hudson.

November 25, 1997: The original members of The Zombies reunite on stage for the first time in 30 years at London’s Jazz Cafe to promote a new box set called Zombie Heaven.

November 25, 2000: The Beatles’ album, which is very simply titled ‘1’ — a collection of the ir US and UK chart toppers — goes to #1 in Great Britain. It would do the same in America the following week. It will also become the best-selling album in 28 countries worldwide.

Born On This Day

November 25, 1940: R & B singer Percy Sledge (When A Man Loves A Woman) is born in Leighton, Alabama.

November 25, 1944: Bev Bevan of The Electric Light Orchestra is born in Sparkhill, Birmingham, England.

And as quick as this, we’re done for today. Oh, yeah, shit happened to Madonna, Beyonce, JayZ, but you aren’t hearing about that here. Wrong channel.

Your Brain Might Be Full After Today’s College of Rock n’ Roll Knowledge: 11/22/20

It’s one pistol of a day at the College of Rock n’ Roll Knowledge! We have got a lot of musical news for your history lesson today. I don’t know how we could possibly put anybody but The Beatles in the main photo today. You’ll see why.

***We couldn’t possibly put anybody but The Beatles in this blog post today.***

Here’s today’s musical historical happenings:

November 22, 1957: Two sixteen-year-olds named Paul Simon & Art Garfunkel appeared on ABC-TV’s American Bandstand as Tom & Jerry where they sang Hey Schoolgirl. The rest, as they say, is history.

November 22, 1961: Bob Dylan completes the recording of his debut album.

November 22, 1963: The Beatles release their second album in the UK called With The Beatles. It knocked their debut album out of the #1 spot, and then proceeded to give The Beatles 51 consecutive weeks at the #1 position on the UK Album Charts.

November 22, 1965: Stevie Wonder releases his hit Uptight (Everything’s Alright).

November 22, 1967: George Harrison begins recording the soundtrack to the movie Wonderwall.

November 22, 1968: The Beatles release their self-titled double album set called The Beatles. It becomes better known as The White Album.

November 22, 1969: The Beatles sit atop the album charts with the spectacular Abbey Road.

November 22, 1981: Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Woods of The Rolling Stones join Muddy Waters on stage at the Checkerboard Lounge in Chicago.

November 22, 1983: The Pretenders release their great single, Middle of The Road.

November 22, 1986: Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble launch their 149-date American and European tour at the Towson Center in Towson, MD.

November 22, 1988: Pink Floyd released their live album, The Delicate Sound of Thunder.

November 22, 1990: Freddie Mercury of Queen issues a public statement confirming the rumor that he has AIDS. He passes away on November 24, 1991 from the illness.

November 22, 2010: After just one week of availability on ITunes, The Beatles’ music sold more than 450,000 albums and 2 million individual songs.

November 22, 2010: The Beatles (aka, The White Album) returns to the Top 10 of the Billboard 200 chart after its 50th anniversary reissue on November 9.

Born on This Day

November 22, 1943: Floyd Sneed, drummer for Three Dog Night, is born in Calgary, Ontario, Canada.

November 22, 1944: Jesse Colin Young, lead singer and bassist for The Youngbloods, is born in Manhattan.

November 22, 1946: Bass Guitarist Aston “Family Man” Barrett of Bob Marley & The Wailers is born in Kingston, Jamaica. Seems the nickname “Family Man” was a good one. He is reported to have fathered 41 children.

November 22, 1950: Steven Van Zandt (aka, Little Steven), songwriter, guitarist, arranger and producer with Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, is born in Winthrop, MA.

Tina Weymouth, founding member and bass player with Talking Heads, is born in Coronado, CA.

November 22, 1963: President John F. Kennedy is shot and killed in Dallas, Texas. His death inspires many songs, including The Beach Boys’ Warmth of the Sun, and Bob Dylan’s 2020 release, Murder Most Foul. We will play Murder Most Foul this evening at 10:00 p.m.

And that is it for Sunday at The College of Rock n’ Roll Knowledge. Stay tuned for today’s line-up!