On this day in 1957, John Lennon and Paul McCartney met for the first time

Early on a Saturday afternoon a 15 year old Paul McCartney decided to attend a local church fete with a friend. This small church event would see performances from several  local acts, one of them being The Quarry Men, a sixteen year old Lennon’s skiffle group.

The Quarry Men had been formed by Lennon in 1956, after his mother taught him to play banjo, teaching him and friend Eric Griffiths how to tune their instruments and play simple chords and songs. Lennon and Griffiths then recruited their classmates Colin Hanton, Rod Davis, Pete Shotton and Len Garry to fill up the band. Their name was a tongue-in-cheek reference to the song of their school, Quarry Bank High School, which lyrics included “Quarrymen, old before our birth. Straining each muscle and sinew.”

The afternoon began with a short parade, with The Quarry Men playing on the back of a moving truck. This presented a challenge for the young band, as they struggled to stay upright and continuing to play as they made their way along. In the evening, the band played again in the church hall, alongside another band. After the show, McCartney’s friend Ivan Vaughn, who had on occasion played with The Quarry Men, introduced Paul to the band. 

McCartney spoke with John for a while, showing him a new method of tuning his instruments. Afterwards, he played a few songs, including a medley of Little Richard songs, Eddie Cochran’s “Twenty Flight Rock” and Gene Vincent’s “Be-Bop-A-Lula”. Both musicians were impressed by the other, and just weeks later McCartney would be invited to join the band.

Before long, the band would begin to move away from skiffle towards rock and roll, and soon after Lennon and McCartney began writing their own songs together. George Harrison would be next join in February 1958, as other members of the band left for various reasons. The next step would be changing the band’s name, which was done several time before settling on The Beatles. Several years later in  1962, Ringo Starr would join the band, completing the iconic line-up.

Interestingly, the original crew of The Quarry Men (minus Lennon and McCartney) would reunite in 1997 for the anniversary of the fete concert, and afterwards released several albums and went on several tours around the world.

On this day in 1969, the Jimi Hendrix Experience’s original line-up played together for the last time

The Jimi Hendrix Experience started out in London in 1966, and rapidly grew into one of the premier acts of the era, with Hendrix as the frontman and guitarist, Noel Redding on bass and Mitch Mitchell on drums. By 1969 however, tensions had begun to rise within the band for a number of reasons. Firstly, the sessions for their third and final album Electric Ladyland had proven to be difficult for the band. Hendrix’s perfectionism had them recording an estimated 40-50 takes per song. On top of that Hendrix’s partying led to the sessions often being overly crowded and generally unproductive. 

Hendrix’s wild behaviour was made worse by his increasing use of drugs and alcohol. Festival promoter Barry Fey recalled several members of the band say they were finished with the group as early as September 1968, after Hendrix had discovered heroin and reportedly became more difficult to deal with. Onstage however, Hendrix was the same great performer. His trademark wild performances and incredible guitar skills still drew massive crowds and his jovial attitude on stage belied the tensions behind the scenes. 

The final blow would come in Denver on June 29th of 1969. The Denver Pop Festival had a number of major artists performing, but Hendrix was considered by most to be the main draw. A crowd of around 62,000 gathered at Mile High Stadium over three nights for the seventeen booked acts that included Frank Zappa, Joe Cocker and Creedence Clearwater Revival. The event would be marred however by violent clashes between police and and the attendees. On the Saturday night, the police decided to crack down on a group of supposed gate-crashers using tear gas. 

The following night, the night of Hendrix’s performance, festival organisers attempted to make a plan with the police, one which was quickly reneged after the show began. Several of the gate-crashers refused free tickets, claiming instead to be there to fight with police. Shortly after rocks would be pelted at the authorities, leading to more violence and more tear gas. Onstage, Hendrix would joke about the tear gas, before launching into a set featuring a number of classics such as Purple Haze, Fire as well as a version of A Star Spangled Banner that would soon bring a lot of attention at the upcoming Woodstock.

As the show finished and the band retreated to avoid tear gas that was drifting back towards the stage, Noel Redding, shocked by the events of the evening, decided this was the final straw and said goodbye before catching the first plane back to London, thus ending the classic line-up. Mitch Mitchell would follow soon after, and Hendrix hired a revolving crew of musicians to back him through the remainder of his career.

On this day in 1968, Otis Redding’s first posthumous album hits number one in the UK

Otis Redding had been a popular singer since around 1964, releasing six studio albums that were increasingly well received as well as appearing at the highly influential Monterey Pop Festival in 1967. Following this performance, Redding focused on making music for the second half of the year. In early December he recorded a song called (Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay, written alongside his friend Steven Cropper. Tragically this would be the last song Redding would work on.

On December 10th 1967, Redding and his backing band The Bar-Kays would take a small private flight from Cleveland to Wisconsin to play at the Factory nightclub that evening. The small plane took off in bad weather, with heavy rain and fog. Just under 6 km from their destination, the plane would crash into Lake Monona, leaving no survivors aside from Bar-Kays member Ben Cauley. Cauley was asleep until the impact and soon awoke again in freezing cold water, clinging to a seat cushion. The bodies of the other passengers would be retrieved from the lake the following day, as well as some of the wreckage, though the cause of the crash was never determined.

The song Redding had been working just days before his tragic death, (Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay was finished and released in January of 1968. It became his only number one single, and the first single in the US to reach that spot posthumously. This success led to the compiling of an album, The Dock of the Bay, featuring several of Redding’s earlier singles and B-sides, as well as some prior album tracks, and of course the number one song that gave the album it’s name. This album would also sell very well, reaching number four on the Billboard Top LPs chart and number one on their Hot R&B LPs list in early April, 1968. 

Soon after, the album crossed over and began selling well in the UK, and on June 22nd, it would become the first posthumous album in the country to reach number one. This success led to more of Reddings material being compiled for posthumous albums, with another three being released in the following two years and one more later on in 1992, though none would match the success of The Dock of the Bay. As well as its number one spots, the album would be listed at number 161 on Rolling Stone’s 2003 list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, and maintained that position in the 2012 revision of the list.

On this day in 1966, The Beatles released their twelfth American album, Yesterday and Today

American audiences commonly missed out on smaller releases from The Beatles, including compilations and some singles. This, combined with the US industry’s preference for shorter LP’s, led to the compiling of releases for North American audiences. In this case, Capitol Records, EMI’s US counterpart, took charge of the album.

Yesterday and Today consists of songs from The Beatle’s two most recent LP’s, Rubber Soul and Help! as well as both sides of single Day Tripper / We Can Work It Out and several yet to be released tracks from the upcoming Revolver. Due to the compiling from different albums, the release covers a range of styles from the band’s musical development. The eclectic nature of the collection infuriated The Beatles as well as their manager Brian Epstein and producer George Martin.

One of the band’s primary issues with the album was the inclusion of unreleased material. Though the songs from Revolver were complete and set to be released the following month, Yesterday and Today had undermined the plans for the more significant LP’s release. In addition, the versions used were wrong, with duophonic (“fake stereo”)  mixes being utilised on the stereo version and completely different mixes appearing on the mono version of the album. Lennon later complained in 1974 that the band “put a lot of work into the sequencing” of their albums and were told that there was a rule against releasing the 14 track LPs in the US, necessitating the release of albums such as Yesterday and Today.

The biggest controversy for the album, however, would come from its original album artwork.  Shot by photographer Robert Whitaker, renowned for his love of the surreal, the photograph featured the band wearing white coats and holding body parts from baby dolls and raw meat. The band themselves decided on the butcher photo, intended as as a statement of the band’s opposition of the Vietnam War. Around 750,000 copies of the LP were prepared with this cover before outrage from retailers and disc jockeys slowed sales of the album, forcing Capitol and Epstein to decide on an alternative, a much more tame photo of the band posed around an open steamer trunk.

The cover’s controversy has only increased the value of the recalled version of the album to collectors, with some original copies selling for over $2000. This rarity was only compounded upon when Capitol decided to delete the album from the bands catalogue in 1986 in an attempt to simplify the discography. Regardless of the artwork drama, the album surged to the top of charts in both the US and Canada, though it would seen be dwarfed by the release of Revolver.

On this day in 1969, Brian Jones officially left the Rolling Stones

Jones started The Rolling Stones in 1962, when he advertised for bandmates to join his new group after leaving his previous band Blues Incorporated. The ad was answered by Ian Stewart, Keith Richards, Mick Jagger, Tony Chapman and Dick Taylor, though Taylor would soon be replaced with Bill Wyman and Chapman with Charlie Watts, forming the classic Rolling Stones line-up that would soon become global stars. The “Rolling Stones” name was chosen by Jones during a phone call to the Jazz News, where a journalist asked for the new group’s name. A Muddy Waters LP on the floor provided the answer, with one of the track’s being called Rollin’ Stone. 

The band quickly built a massive following throughout the 1960’s and were commonly positioned as rivals of The Beatles, despite a long friendship between the two groups. As their popularity grew, so too would the controversy surrounding the band. Their rough image and often brash music prohibited them from playing at a number of venues and saw them banned them from certain countries.  A number of these issues stemmed from the bands increasing drug use, with a number of the Stones being arrested in possession throughout the decade.

Despite most members clearly suffering from substance abuse issues, the one hit the hardest was arguably the band’s founder, Brian Jones. The charismatic guitarist had been found in possession of several drugs on two occasions, and this increasing usage led to Jones starting to miss practices and shows. Tensions also rose over the uneven splitting of the band’s profit amongst the members, with many claiming Jones was being paid much more than the others. Finally the rift between members became too big to ignore and on June 8, Jones was officially dismissed from the band, though their press statement on the matter would claim that he had left of his own accord to focus on other music. The following day, Jones would release his own statement, claiming “I no longer see eye to eye with the others over the discs we are cutting… I want to play my own music, which is no longer the Stones music.”

Whether Jones had actually intended to produce more music remains unknown, as the singer was tragically found drowned in his swimming pool the following month on July 3rd, at the age of 27. Over time bizarre conspiracy theories have surfaced claiming Jones was murdered, with one theory even naming a killer, Frank Thorogood, who had recently completed some building work for the musician. None of these theories have ever been proven and the coroner’s report stated “death by misadventure” as the official cause. Two days after Jones’ tragic death, the Stones played a free show in Hyde Park, originally intended to showcase their new guitarist Mick Taylor but instead acting as a tribute to their founder and friend. Before the show, Mick Jagger read excerpts from the poem “Adonais”  and stagehands released hundreds of white butterflies, before the band opened with one of Jones’ favourite songs, I’m Yours and I’m Hers by Johnny Winter.

On this day in 1969, John Lennon and Yoko Ono record Give Peace A Chance

As Lennon and Yoko Ono’s honeymoon “Bed-in” in Montreal came to a close, Lennon decided to write and record a song from the bed and requested a recording engineer. The idea for the song’s title and main lyric came from one of Lennon’s responses to a reporter asking what he hoped to achieve by staying in bed – “just give peace a chance.”  

The requested recording engineer arrived with a simple four track tape recorder and four microphones with which to record the song. Lennon played acoustic guitar, joined by Tommy Smothers of the Smothers Brothers. Also in attendance were numerous journalists and celebrities, such as Dick Gregory, Derek Taylor, Murray the K as well as Ritchie Yorke. Most visitors sang along, contributing backing vocals to the song.

Give Peace a Chance was released in early July and was met with immediate success. The song surged through the charts, reaching number 14 in the US and number 2 in the UK. It quickly became an anthem for the anti-war and counterculture movements of the late 1960s and early 1970s. It would also be significant as the first “solo” single released by one of The Beatles, and was later one of three solo Lennon songs inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s “500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll”, alongside Instant Karma! and Imagine.

On this day in 1969, Led Zeppelin and The Who appeared on the same bill for the first and only time

The show, held at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Maryland, was fairly early in both of the bands careers. However, The Who had been performing for longer and therefore took the headline spot, with Led Zeppelin as openers.

Zeppelin started the night off with a set including several blues standards and some songs from their newly released debut album. The band would also perform a new song, showing Whole Lotta Love for only the second time. The set would also run overtime, forcing a member of the crew to pull the plug to get them off stage.

In between the sets, the crowd grew increasingly rowdy, and according to some reports began smashing various parts of the stadium. Regardless, The Who took the stage and played a set featuring several of their hits, as well as most of their new rock opera Tommy. The band finished the set by smashing their instruments across the stage.

Both bands would soon be performing as headliners soon, meaning the two wouldn’t appear on the same bill again. The rare combination of two rock’s biggest acts even caused the price of memorabilia from the show to skyrocket, with an original poster selling for over $9000 in 2010.

On this day in 1969, Led Zeppelin and The Who appeared on the same bill for the first and only time

The show, held at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Maryland, was fairly early in both of the bands careers. However, The Who had been performing for longer and therefore took the headline spot, with Led Zeppelin as openers.

Zeppelin started the night off with a set including several blues standards and some songs from their newly released debut album. The band would also perform a new song, showing Whole Lotta Love for only the second time. The set would also run overtime, forcing a member of the crew to pull the plug to get them off stage.

In between the sets, the crowd grew increasingly rowdy, and according to some reports began smashing various parts of the stadium. Regardless, The Who took the stage and played a set featuring several of their hits, as well as most of their new rock opera Tommy. The band finished the set by smashing their instruments across the stage.

Both bands would soon be performing as headliners soon, meaning the two wouldn’t appear on the same bill again. The rare combination of two rock’s biggest acts even caused the price of memorabilia from the show to skyrocket, with an original poster selling for over $9000 in 2010.

On this day in 1969, Led Zeppelin and The Who appeared on the same bill for the first and only time

The show, held at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Maryland, was fairly early in both of the bands careers. However, The Who had been performing for longer and therefore took the headline spot, with Led Zeppelin as openers.

Zeppelin started the night off with a set including several blues standards and some songs from their newly released debut album. The band would also perform a new song, showing Whole Lotta Love for only the second time. The set would also run overtime, forcing a member of the crew to pull the plug to get them off stage.

In between the sets, the crowd grew increasingly rowdy, and according to some reports began smashing various parts of the stadium. Regardless, The Who took the stage and played a set featuring several of their hits, as well as most of their new rock opera Tommy. The band finished the set by smashing their instruments across the stage.

Both bands would soon be performing as headliners soon, meaning the two wouldn’t appear on the same bill again. The rare combination of two rock’s biggest acts even caused the price of memorabilia from the show to skyrocket, with an original poster selling for over $9000 in 2010.

On this day in 1964, The Animals released their biggest song yet, a cover of The House of the Rising Sun

Lead singer Eric Burdon first heard the song at a club in Newcastle and was drawn to its unique sound. The band began to play the cover during a concert tour with Chuck Berry, favouring it as it provided a distinctive end to the set, standing out from other bands who would close with more traditional rock songs.

The audience reaction to the song was overwhelmingly positive, and so the band decided to head to De Lane Lea Studios in London to record their version. Remarkably, the song was recorded in just one take, with some accounts claiming that it took less than an hour to complete. 

Most of the band have since expressed some bitterness towards the songs producer Alan Price, as his name was the only one to appear on the original record label and therefore received the majority of the royalties for the song. Regardless, the song made them a household name and launched the band to the top of both the UK and US charts.

The House of the Rising Sun has gone on to appear on numerous lists, including the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s “500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll” and Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Songs of All Time”. In 1999 it received a Grammy Hall of Fame Award and in 2005 was voted Britains fourth favourite number one song.