Thursday, October 27, 2011

This Week In Rock History


1957—Before a show in Los Angeles, Elvis Presley is warned by the police not to shake his hip, or face an arrest for violating obscenity laws. The police tape the entire show for review, however Elvis is not charged.

1961—Brian Epstein, owner of the Liverpool-based North-End Music Store, receives a special order for the single My Bonnie by Tony Sheridan and The Beat-Makers. After listening to the recording, Epstein would track down the backing band, who played a daily lunchtime show at the Cavern Club. He was so “overwhelmed with their talent” that he immediately offered to manage the band. Epstein would remain manager of band, The Beatles, until his death in 1967.

1970—Doors front man Jim Morrison is sentenced to six months in jail and fined $500 for exposing himself during a concert in Miami. The case would still be on appeal when he died on July 3rd, 1971.

1970—John Lennon files suit against the US Government claiming his phone has been tapped and he is under constant, and unwarranted, surveillance.

1974—English folk-singer, Nick Drake, dies of an overdose of anti-depressants. While only releasing three, moderately successful, albums before his death, Drake would have a profound and lasting influence on future generations of songwriters and performers.

1975—Bruce Springsteen appears on the cover of both Time and Newsweek magazines.

1978—Just in time for Halloween, KISS is featured in an animated cartoon called "KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park" on NBC-TV.Watch it here!

1984—19 year old John D. McCollum shot himself with a .22 caliber handgun after spending the day listening to Ozzy Osbourne records. A year later, McCollum's parents sued Ozzy and CBS Records, alleging that the song "Suicide Solution" contributed to their son's death. The suit was eventually dismissed.

1988—John Forgerty, former lead-singer/songwriter for the band Creedence Clearwater Revival, is sued for plagiarizing himself. His former label Fantasy Records claims that the song “The Old Man Down The Road' from Forgerty's solo album Centerfield is too similar to the Forgerty-penned CCR hit “Run Through The Jungle.” The case is ultimately dismissed.

1991— Concert promoter Bill Graham, founder of San Francisco's legendary Fillmore West (which helped launch the careers of The Who, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Janis Joplin, The Band, Bob Dylan, The Allman Brothers Band, Jefferson Airplane , and The Grateful Dead) is killed when the helicopter he is flying in crashes into a transmission tower

1997—Johnny Cash announces that he has been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. This diagnosis will later prove to be wrong.

2008—Patti LaBelle is highly criticized after her rendition of the national anthem sung before game 4 of the World Series. During the performance LaBelle changes parts of the tune and a number of the lyrics, singing "sky lights last gleaming” (instead of twilight), “through the perilous flight” (instead of light) and “lamp parts” (instead of ramparts).See it here!

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