Today in Rock n' Roll History

[Koala]

1966 Pink Floyd perform for the first time at London's UFO Club, home the the burgeoning "London Underground" scene.

1969 Elton John and Bernie Taupin begin writing songs together.

1977 Cat Stevens converts to Islam, changing his name to Yusef Islam.

1991 James Brown sues the producers of the movie "The Commitments" claiming his name and likeness were used without his permission (he loses the case five years later).

[Koala]

1967 Hello Goodbye ( The Beatles) was a hit.

1977 "How Deep Is Your Love," the Bee Gees' first single from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, hits #1 for the first of three weeks. Remaining in the Top Ten for 17 consecutive weeks, it sets a 'Billboard' chart record for longevity.

[Koala]

1966 I'm a Believer (The Monkees) was a hit.

1976 Boston hits #5 with "More Than a Feeling".

1976 'Hotel California' enters the album charts for the first of 107 weeks.

1976 Elton John hits #6 with "Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word".

[Koala]

1963 Capitol Records releases the Beatles' "I Want To Hold Your Hand" in the United States.

1965 The Sounds of Silence (Simon & Garfunkel) was a hit.

1967 The Beatles' "Magical Mystery Tour" film debuts on BBC-TV.

1968 Led Zeppelin arrive for their first U.S. tour

1969 'Let It Bleed' by The Rolling Stones enters the charts.

1981 AC/DC hits #1 with "For Those About to Rock We Salute You".

[Koala]

1969 Led Zepprlin II' tops the U.S. album charts for the first of seven weeks; it will reach #1 in the U.K. in February 1970.

1975 Queen's 'A Night at the Opera,' featuring the seven-minute rock operetta "Bohemian Rhapsody," tops the U.K. album charts. The album reaches #4 in the U.S. while an edited "Bohemian Rhapsody" climbs to #9.

1980 "(Just Like) Starting Over," by John Lennon, reaches #1 for the first of five weeks.

[Koala]

1955 Barbra Streisand makes her first recording, at the age of 13.

1962 Ray Charles hits #1 on the R&B chart and #7 on the pop chart with "You Are My Sunshine".

1966 The Beatles begin recording "Penny Lane".

1973 Led Zeppelin hits #20 with "D'yer Mak'er".

1973 The Who hit #76 in the US with "Love Reign O'er Me" from their rock opera 'Quadrophenia'.

1973 Emerson, Lake & Palmer hit #11 in the US with 'Brain Salad Surgery'.

[Koala]

1967 The Beatles reach #1 with "Hello Goodbye".

1968 Frank Sinatra records "My Way".

1978 Emerson, Lake & Palmer break up.

1999 George Harrison is stabbed by an intruder in his home (but manages to subdue the assailant).

[Koala]

1961 The Beach Boys perform for the first time using that name, in Long Beach, California.

1970 Paul McCartney files suit to dissolve the Beatles partnership.

1982 The last ABBA concert is held, in Stockholm.

1994 Rod Stewart performs on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro for an audience of 4.2 million people. He make into the Guinness Book of World Records for staging the largest outdoor concert in history.

2002 Eric Clapton surprises the guests at his daughter's christening by marrying her mother at the service

[Ive always been a dreamer]

I think that is interesting factoid about Paul McCartney filing a suit to desolve The Beatles on the very last day of 1970. Hmmm - I wonder if lots of lawsuits are filed on New Year's Eve??? And thanks Koala for taking the time to keep this thread going during the holidays. Even though I don't often respond to it and other similar threads, I really do enjoy reading them.

[Brooke]

Just read this snippet in the latest Rolling Stone:

"Bad PR Move of the Decade

Labels Sue Fans

Recording Industry Association of America: What the hell were you thinking? General Motors didn't hire a team of ninjas to slash the tires of people who bought Camrys! (Actually, that might have saved Detroit. Also, we love ninjas.) Yet in 2003, the tone-deaf record-industry lobbyists, in an effort to curb music piracy, began suing illegal file-sharers in what RIAA president Cary Sherman described as "a tough-love form of education." Defendants included a 12-year-old girl, a grandmother who didn't even own a computer and Colin Powell. (OK, not Powell.) By the time the RIAA finally retired the policy earlier this year, the trade group had sued 35,000 fans."

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I wonder if Don knows they've retired the policy?!