Category: Music

Today in 1958, a study by Esso (formerly one of the bazillion Standard Oil companies, now ExxonMobil) reported that drivers drove faster and therefore waste more gas when listening to rock music.

If a driver wastes (however you define that) gas, the oil companies sell more gasoline. It’s unclear to me why the oil companies would consider that to be a bad thing, particularly in the 1950s when cars got all of 12 or so mpg.

Today in 1968, Sly and the Family Stone failed to appear at a free concert in Chicago.

A riot ensued.

Today in 1977, John Lennon did not get instant karma, but he did get a green card to become a permanent resident, five years after the federal government (that is, Richard Nixon) sought to deport him. So can you imagine who played mind games on whom?

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Today in 1965, the Rolling Stones were to release “Beggar’s Banquet,” except that the record label decided that the original cover …

… was inappropriate, and substituted …

… angering one member of the band on his birthday.

The number one single …

… and album today in 1975:

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Today in 1964, a member of the audience at a Rolling Stones concert in the Empress Ballroom in Blackpool, England, spat upon guitarist Brian Jones, sparking a riot that injured 30 fans and two police officers.

The Stones were banned from performing in Blackpool until 2008.

Today in 1967, the Beatles and other celebrities took out a full-page ad in the London Times calling for the legalization of …

… marijuana.

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Today in 1963, high school student Neil Young and his band, the Squires, recorded in a Winnipeg studio a surf instrumental:

Today in 1965, the Beatles asked for  …

The number one single — really — today in 1966:

Today in 1979, Iran’s new ruler, Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini, banned rock and roll, an event that inspired a British band:

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Today in 1965, Rolling Stones Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Bill Wyman were fined £5 each in London after they were found guilty of “insulting behavior” — to wit, urinating on the wall of a gas station after the owner refused to let them use the bathroom.

Four years later, Aretha Franklin was arrested for disorderly conduct in a Detroit parking lot. Franklin posted $50 bail, and expressed her opinion of the police by running over a road sign with her car.

Today in 1972, the Who asked listeners to …

Today in 1987, a New York jury ruled that singer Morris Albert had plagiarized the 1956 song “Pour Toi” for his “Feelings.” Which brings to mind this question: Why?

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Today in 1968, Iron Butterfly’s “In-a-Gadda-da-Vita” reached the charts. It is said to be the first heavy metal song to chart. It charted at number 117.

That was the short version. The long version takes an entire album side:

At the other end of the charts was South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela:

Quite a selection of birthdays today, starting with T.G. Sheppard:

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David Bowie fans might remember today for two reasons. In 1974, his “Diamond Dog” tour ended in New York City …

… six years before he appeared in Denver as the title character of “The Elephant Man.”

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