ON THIS DAY IN 1970, LED ZEPPELIN PERFORMED AMONGST OTHERS AT THE BATH FESTIVAL OF BLUES AND PROGRESSIVE MUSIC

Organised by Freddy Bannister and wife Wendy, this festival was an escalation of a smaller blues festival held the year before.

Joining Led Zeppelin was an immense lineup, featuring greats like Pink Floyd, Jefferson Airplane, Frank Zappa, Santana and The Moody Blues. Meanwhile, an alternative festival was held in an adjacent field where bands like the Pink Fairies, Genesis and Hawkwind played on the back of a flatbed truck. Unfortunately, wet wether caused Jefferson Airplanes set to be aborted partway and The Moody Blues set to be cancelled.

Nonetheless, a significant crowd of approximately 150,000 fans showed up for the festival, causing numerous logistical difficulties for organisers and security staff. A problem with stolen receipts also led to a largely decreased profit. This may be why the festival was not repeated, although it reportedly inspired Michael Eavis to plan and hold the first event of what would later transform into the Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts.

ON THIS DAY IN 1970, JIMI HENDRIX RECORDED AT HIS NEWLY BUILT ELECTRIC LADY STUDIO IN NEW YORK FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME

The studio is widely known, largely thanks Hendrix’s final studio album, after which the facility is named. The studio was born after Hendrix and his manager Michael Jeffery purchased a newly defunct nightclub on 8th Street in Greenwich Village, New York, a venue that had played host to the legendary guitarist a number of times for impromptu shows and jam sessions. The duo’s original plan was to continue the live venue model of the club but advisors and friends convinced Hendrix to instead convert it into a professional recording studio, as the studio fees for the Electric Ladyland album were skyrocketing. From there, famed architect and acoustician John Storyk was brought in to manage all the structural details and from there Electric Lady studio, and the only artist-owned studio of the time, was born.

Construction of the studios took double the amount of time and money originally allocated, and had to be saved by a significant loan from the Warner-Brothers company. After it’s completion, Hendrix was tragically only able to record there for four weeks before his untimely death at age 27.  Since then Electric Lady has played host to a number of legendary recording artists including John Lennon, Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Erykah Badu, Stevie Wonder and Led Zeppelin, as well as more modern artists like Kanye West, Frank Ocean, Lana Del Rey and Mark Ronson, who gave a tour of the studio last year.

Though the studio wasn’t opened until August 26th, today marks the anniversary of the first time Hendrix was able to record at his new studio alongside friends Steve Winwood and Chris Wood from Traffic. The group worked on a number of classic Hendrix and Traffic songs which were later included on various studio albums, including Hendrix’s classic final studio contribution, Electric Ladyland.

ON THIS DAY IN 1970, LED ZEPPELIN POWERED THROUGH ONE OF THEIR SPECTACULAR SHOWS OF THEIR FOURTH NORTH AMERICAN TOUR

This show however, was located in Montreal, Canada. The concert was momentous as it marked the first occasion that the venue, the Montreal Forum had been sold out by any act in it’s long history. The group had set a new attendance record, with over 17,500 excited fans awaiting the band, and the event grossed a staggering $93,000. The shows attendance smashed the previous record set by The Beatles, despite receiving mixed reviews.

A number of the critics that attended the show reviewed it poorly, though the show took place during the bands infancy when bad reviews were still somewhat common. Ritchie Yorke was able to attend the next stop on their tour in Ottawa and in his review, he states that it was far from their best show, but largely due to their venue choices of a stark concrete arena, designed to be used for hockey games. Ritchie goes on to say, however, that the bands high volume and finesse make them a potent group, and the most exciting since The Beatles. Ritchie’s original review of that show, which includes a quick conversation with Jimmy Page, can be found here.

Unfortunately, not a great deal of media exists for this show. Other than the press reviews available online, there are no bootlegs of the set and few photographs and posters. This show was only the beginning for the band and their concerts in Canada, however, as they enjoyed a long history of sold-out shows in the area, including a set years later that would be recorded and made available.

ON THIS DAY IN 1969 JOHN AND YOKO BOARDED A TRAIN BOUND FOR OTTAWA VIA MONTREAL, TRAVELLING FROM TORONTO. HE WAS ACCOMPANIED BY RITCHIE YORKE, RONNIE HAWKINS AND JOHN BROWER, AS WELL AS PERSONAL ASSISTANTS AND SECURITY.

The purpose of this trip was to meet with the then-Canadian Prime Minister, Pierre Trudeau and health minister John Munro on the following day, the 23rd December 1969. The Lennon’s arrived in Ottawa at 2am and immediately retired to the Chateau Champlain Hotel until their meeting at 11am. Scheduled for 30 minutes, the meeting ran overtime by 20 minutes and when asked why on their exit, Yoko replied that they had been enjoying the conversation and continued to call him a beautiful person. John was similarly impressed and stated that “if all politicians were like Mr Trudeau there would be world peace.”

The couple then met with John Munro for 2 hours, the subject of their discussion the possibility of a music festival organised with peace as its central theme at Mosport Park. This festival eventually reformed as the Toronto Rock ’n’ Roll Revival festival, organised in part, again, by Ritchie Yorke and was immortalised by Rolling Stone magazine as the second most important event in rock history.

Following these meetings, John and Yoko flew back to Toronto, then onto London, marking the end of their peace campaign in Canada for the time being. When asked why Lennon had chosen Canada to start the campaign, he said it was “because there’s a bit of hope here. Canada’s vibes are good. We like Canada, we like your image. We like the things you do.”

These meetings were John Lennon’s first with any world leader, and indeed set a new precedent for the power and influence of musicians as an instrument for social change. This is Lennon’s real legacy, enabling the musicians following his path to use their voice to make a difference to the world around them.

On this day in 1969, Led Zeppelin’s second album, Led Zeppelin II, was released in the US

The album was written while the band toured with their first release and recorded in short sessions in between concerts in various studios throughout the UK and North America. Some of these studios were clearly ill-equipped with one studio in Vancouver, credited as “a hut” had an 8-track recording set-up with no proper headphone facilities.

Several songs on the album were a result of experimentation during live performances, especially during the instrumental sections of “Dazed and Confused”. The songs featured an evolution of the sound they had created with their debut album and was later called the blueprint for heavy metal.

Critically, the album was a huge success with popular critics reviewing it positively, speaking on its sophistication, intelligence and simplicity. Led Zeppelin II also performed well commercially, becoming the group’s first album to reach number one in the US, knocking The Beatles Abbey Road from the top spot twice. It also reached top five spots in Australia and Canada. Ritchie Yorke commented on the album to Billboard, stating that it was considered unsuitable to North American Top 40 radio stations, who were “dreary and detached from the mainstream of contemporary rock music”.

ON THIS DAY IN 1969, JOHN LENNON AND THE PLASTIC ONO BAND RELAXED IN TORONTO AFTER MAKING THEIR DEBUT AT THE TORONTO ROCK AND ROLL REVIVAL FESTIVAL THE DAY BEFORE

The gig itself nearly never went ahead after difficulties assembling the musical giants of the group like Eric Clapton and Lennon himself. Ritchie Yorke joked in his book that he was responsible for the breakup of The Beatles by encouraging and eventually convincing John and Yoko to show up and play in Toronto. As Lennon arrived at the airport in Britain, he was quoted as saying “I’m going to Toronto to play in a great rock and roll show with all the greats, and it’s the first gig for The Plastic Ono Band”.

The debut performance of The Plastic Ono Band was the surprise headliner of the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival festival, a one day, 12 hour gig organised by famed Canadian promoters John Brower and Kenny Walker, with Ritchie’s help. Also in attendance were Alice Cooper, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard and The Doors, amongst others. This came at a very reasonable $6, bringing forth an audience of over 20,000. Interestingly, this performance also spawned the popular audience reaction of lighting matches and lighters and waving, created by famed record producer, and the Plastic Ono Band’s introducer, Kim Fowley as a means to ease Lennon’s nervousness.

ON THIS DAY IN 1969, JOHN LENNON RECORDED ONE OF HIS BEST KNOWN SOLO SINGLES, “COLD TURKEY”

The song was Lennon’s second solo effort, following “Give Peace a Chance”, and it’s dark lyrical content was considered a departure from the usually cheerful music of The Beatles. “Cold Turkey” was, unsurprisingly, about Lennon and Ono’s attempts to quit their brief heroin habits, which apparently brought on a creative outburst from Lennon. There is another rumour as to the songs origin however. Apparently, it may have been inspired by a bout of food poisoning suffered by John and Yoko after eating Christmas leftovers, primarily cold turkey.

“Cold Turkey” was written and rehearsed all afternoon and then recorded in the evening, with the help of Ringo Starr. It did not publicly appear however until it was performed with the Plastic Ono Band at the Live Peace in Toronto event in September, which was recorded and later released as Live Peace in Toronto 1969. The song was initially barred from BBC and reviewed negatively amongst critics, however they soon changed their tune as the song quickly made the UK top 20 and US top 30. As the song began to dip in the charts, Lennon returned his MBE, stating “I am returning this MBE in protest against Britain’s involvement in the Nigeria-Biafra thing, against our support of America in Vietnam, and against Cold Turkey slipping down the charts. With love, John Lennon of Bag.”

Today, the song is well recognised as one of Lennon’s best and most popular solo songs in his immense catalogue. It has since been covered by numerous artists, including Lenny Kravitz and Alice Cooper and is in lists for the Greatest Guitar Tracks of All Time.

ON THIS DAY IN 1969, ALL FOUR MEMBERS OF THE BEATLES MET UP AT EMI STUDIOS FOR THE LAST TIME

The band at the time had some internal animosity and no actual music was recorded on the day. They did however work on the mixing for “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” for their Abbey Road album.

The group also worked on the sequencing for the album, deciding to change the ordering of the tracks and reverse the sides before the final master was set 5 days later.

The Beatles did meet at Abbey Road again, but with a vacationing Lennon not joining them or appearing on the song. Within a year of this final Abbey Road meeting, the final touches would be put on the last-ever Beatles session.

ON THIS DAY IN 1969, ONE OF THE MOST ICONIC MUSIC FESTIVAL IN ROCK HISTORY BEGAN WHEN WOODSTOCK KICKED OFF

Attracting an audience of over 400,000, the festival was the biggest ever held at the time and became a symbol for the hippy counterculture movement.

Planning the festival was an extensive process and at least two other venues were selected and then cancelled due to public outcry. The venue crisis was solved when a dairy farmer named Max Yasgur held the event on his property. This change occurred only three days before the event, which didn’t give organisers enough time to sort out security and ticketing booths and so a decision was made to make the festival free. This nearly left the organisers and promoters bankrupt, until the soundtrack and documentary film released in 1970 helped recuperate the losses.

Some of the biggest names in rock played at Woodstock, giving it it’s legendary status. Bands like Canned Heat, Jefferson Airplane, The Who, The Band and The Grateful Dead ensured great entertainment and big numbers for the festival. The event has since been called a pivotal moment in rock history as well as a definitive nexus for the upcoming counterculture generation.

ON THIS DAY IN 1969, THE ROLLING STONES PLAYED A FREE FESTIVAL IN HYDE PARK, LONDON

The gig, named The Stones in the Park, was organised by the band as a way of introducing their new guitarist, Mick Taylor. However, as usual for the Stones, things didn’t go to plan after the death of guitarist Brian Jones just two days earlier. This turned the event into a memorial of sorts, as Mick Jagger read a eulogy and released a sack full of white butterflies before the group played.

The festival was undoubtedly an important one, as the group had rarely played in the last two years due to difficulties with Brian Jones. Mick Jagger stated beforehand that he felt that the band was best live and he was keen to return to the stage. He also claimed making the festival free would make the experience more enjoyable for the attendees, though the costs were covered by selling exclusive television rights to Granada Television.

Also performing at the festival was King Crimson, Screw, Third Ear Band and more. Interestingly, King Crimson had yet to release an album and were hired on the strength of word-of-mouth. The Stones set is considered by many to be a poor performance due to out of tune guitars and lack of practice, though this caused more intense preparation for their next tour. Park rangers were concerned by the mess at the end of the gig, but impressed with the Stones commitment to clearing up, as well as their recruitment of fans to help, with the promise of a free LP for every full sack of rubbish returned.