This Date in Rock Music History: July 1

1959:  Dave Brubeck recorded "Take Five" at the CBS Recording Studio in Manhattan, New York.
1962:  Gene Vincent and the new group the Beatles performed at the Cavern Club in Liverpool, England.
1963:  The Beatles recorded "She Loves You" and "I'll Get You" at EMI Studios in London.
1966:  Janis Joplin moved into the house owned by Big Brother & the Holding Company in Lagunitas in the San Geronimo Valley in California.  








1967:  Procol Harum had an amazing hit on their hands as "A Whiter Shade Of Pale" rocketed up from 80 to 28.









1967:  One of the great times of the Rock Era, the Summer of Love, and it was off to a great start.  The Association took over at #1 with their classic "Windy", one of The Top 100 Songs of the Rock Era*.  "Groovin'" by the Young Rascals was #2 followed by "Little Bit O' Soul" from the Music Explosion.









1967:  It was another famous date of the Rock Era as the Beatles first hit #1 on the Album chart with Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.  After debuting at #8 (back then it was much tougher to debut in the Top 10 than it is now), the Beatles closed the deal to #1.












1968:  The Rascals released the single "People Got To Be Free" on Atlantic Records.
1968:  John Lennon unveiled a set of drawings called "You Are Here" at the Robert Fraser Gallery in London.
1969:  Sam Phillips, the genius who first recorded Elvis Presley, sold Sun Records.
1969:  John Lennon and Yoko Ono were involved in a serious car crash in the Highlands of Scotland that required John to have 17 stitches.

1972:  We didn't realize at the time how little time we had to enjoy him.  Jim Croce's first song, "You Don't Mess Around With Jim" debuted on this date.  Croce, who would soon record "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" and "Time In A Bottle", among others, would die a little over a year later in a plane crash.
1972:  "Outa-Space" by Billy Preston was the top R&B song.
1972:  Elton John's Honky Chateau moved from 37-7 after just three weeks on the Album chart.  This was the first sign that he was becoming a megastar.
1972:  "Song Sung Blue" by Neil Diamond was #1 for a fifth week on the Adult chart.







1973:  "Song Sung Blue" became Neil Diamond's 28th hit, his seventh Top 10 song and his second #1 (following "Cracklin' Rosie") on this date.  Sammy Davis, Jr. fell with "The Candy Man" while Billy Preston's instrumental "Outa-Space" remained at 3.  The timeless "Lean On Me" from Bill Withers rose to #4 and Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose were at 5 with "It's Too Late To Turn Back Now".  The rest of the Top 10:  Jimmy Castor Bunch with "Troglodyte", Gallery were on their way down with "Nice To Be With You", Elton John moved "Rocket Man" from 14-8, America landed in the Top 10 again with "I Need You" and Wayne Newton had a hit with "Daddy Don't You Walk So Fast".
1973:  Jesus Christ Superstar closed after 720 performances on Broadway in New York City.


1975:  10cc had the #1 U.K. song with "I'm Not In Love".
1975:  Connie Francis received a $2.5 million judgement against Howard Johnson's Lodges, as she was raped at a Howard Johnson's in New York two years earlier.  Francis spent the entire $2.5 million on victim's rights groups.
1977:  Pink Floyd played a sold out show in the first of four concerts at Madison Square Garden in New York City.









1978:  Joe Walsh had the fastest climber as "Life's Been Good" moved from #50 to #31.
1979:  The Doobie Brothers celebrated their 10th anniversary with a jam at Friar's Club in Los Angeles.
1981:  John Morey, bassist of Steppenwolf, died in an automobile accident in Santa Barbara, California at age 32.
1983:  The new group Bon Jovi signed a recording contract with Mercury Records.
1986:  Back when the "M" in MTV stood for music instead of mundane, the channel hosted a competition in which the winner (Lisa Barber) attended a world premiere of Prince's movie Under a Cherry Moon in Lisa's hometown of Sheridan, Wyoming.  As part of the prize, Lisa and 200 of her friends viewed a private concert by the Purple One.
1989:  R.E.M., Joe Jackson, the Robert Cray Band, Lou Reed and Elvis Costello were at the Rock Torhout Festival in Torhout, Belgium.
1989:  "Batman" by Prince was the #1 song in the U.K.  






                    The Fine Young Cannibals moved to challenge for #1...

1989:  Music fans in 1989 chose Milli Vanilli as the #1 song.  Probably the same people who like rap and can't distinguish between normal people and Dangerous Inmates (LOL).  The Fine Young Cannibals were second with "Good Thing" while the previous #1 "Satisfied" from Richard Marx fell to 3.  Neneh Cherry remained at #4 with "Buffalo Stance".  Simply Red's "If You Don't Know Me By Now" entered the Top 10 at #5.  The rest of the Top 10:  "Express Yourself" from Madonna moved from 13-6, Donna Summer was at 7 with "This Time I Know It's For Real", Cyndi Lauper moved to #8 in an active Top 10, Natalie Cole had song #9 with "Miss You Like Crazy" and New Kids on the Block tumbled to #10 with "I'll Be Loving You (Forever)". 
1995:  R.E.M., the Cure and the Cranberries performed at the Rock Torhout Festival in Torhout, Belgium.

1995:  Cracked Rear View by Hootie & the Blowfish, which ranks 12th in the Rock Era for the longest time to reach #1 on the Album chart, returned back to #1 after taking a week off.  The Soundtrack to "Pocahontas" was #2 followed by Pulse from Pink Floyd, which fell to #3 after just one week at the top.  TLC's CrazySexyCool was #4 and Live's great album Throwing Copper was #5.  The rest of the Top 10:  The Soundtrack to "Batman Forever" moved from 15-6, the debut from John Michael Montgomery came in seventh, Soul Asylum was at 8 with Let Your Dim Light Shine, the great second album from Boyz II Men was at 9 and another great one from Blues Traveler, four, entered the Top 10.





1995:  Wolfman Jack, one of the most famous disc jockeys of the Rock Era and host of the popular Midnight Special, died in Belvidere, North Carolina at the age of 51.
 1999:  John Popper, harmonica player of Blues Traveler, experienced chest pains and underwent angioplasty at a hospital in Los Angeles.  The band postponed concerts for a month.







1999:  Guy Mitchell, one of the early stars of the Rock Era, died in Las Vegas at the age of 72 of complications from cancer surgery.
2000:  Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band performed at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
2000:  Kylie Minogue had the top song in the U.K., with "Spinning Around", a song written by Paula Abdul.
2000:  Michael "Cub" Koda of Brownsville Station ("Smokin' In The Boys' Room" from 1973) died from kidney disease in Chelsea, Michigan at the age of 51.  (Note:  some websites mistakenly say he died June 30.  He became seriously ill on June 30 but died July 1, according to the newspaper 'The Los Angeles Times'.)
2001:  Ron Wood of the Rolling Stones was asked to paint a group portrait of regular diners at the Ivy, a West End restaurant in London.  Elton John and Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys were two of the regular customers who were to be painted.
2002:  Six stamps designed by Sir Paul McCartney went on sale in the Isle of Man--all proceeds went to the charity Adopt-A Mine field.

2003:  Herbie Mann ("Hijack") died of prostate cancer in Pecos, New Mexico at the age of 73.  (Note:  the notorious 'Allmusic.com' falsely says he died in Santa Fe, New Mexico.  According to the much more reliable newspaper 'The New York Times', he died in his cabin in Pecos.)
2004:  In today's episode of "Inmates Run Rap Music", rapper Ja Rule was arrested and changed with marijuana possession and driving with a suspended license.







2005:  Soul singer/songwriter/producer Luther Vandross died at the JFK Medical Center in Edison, New Jersey at the age of 54.  He had suffered a major stroke two years before.
2005:  Renaldo "Obie" Benson of the Four Tops died of lung cancer in Detroit, Michigan at the age of 69.
2006:  Robert Cray and Suzanne Vega performed at the inaugural Hyde Park Calling festival in London.
2006:  Busta Rhymes had the top album with Big Bang.
2008:  Rolf Harris ("Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport") was inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Hall of Fame.  Not so fast.  In 2014, his place in the ARIA Hall of Fame was taken when he was found guilty of 12 counts of indecent assault against four girls.
2008:  Mel Galley, guitarist for Whitesnake, died from cancer of the esophagus at the age of 60 in Cannock, Staffordshire.
2010:  The Eagles were in concert at the Verizon Center in Little Rock, Arkansas.


Born This Day:
1915:  Willie Dixon, blues singer and guitarist who wrote "I Can't Quit You Baby", a song Led Zeppelin later did, was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi; died of heart failure in Burbank, California January 29, 1992.
1932:  Bobby Day, who wrote and sang "Rockin' Robin", was born in Fort Worth, Texas; died of cancer July 27, 1990 in Los Angeles.
1939:  Delaney Bramlett of Delaney & Bonnie was born in Pontotoc, Mississippi; died December 27, 2008 in Los Angeles from complications of gall bladder surgery.

1945:  Debbie Harry of Blondie was born in Miami, Florida.
1946:  June Montiero, singer with the Toys ("A Lover's Concerto"), was born in Queens, New York.
1948:  John Ford of the Strawbs was born in Fulham, London, England.
1951:  Fred Schneider, lead vocalist of the B-52's, was born in Newark, New Jersey.
1952:  Dan Aykroyd of the Blues Brothers and of course Saturday Night Live was born in Ottawa, Canada.
1952:  Leon Chancler, session drummer and percussionist, was born in Shreveport, Louisiana; played on "Billie Jean" for Michael Jackson and also worked with Donna Summer, Santana, Frank Sinatra, Kenny Rogers, Lionel Richie, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock and many others
1960:  Ted Key, original bassist of the Housemartins, was born in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England.
1963:  Roddy Bottum (real name Roswell Christopher), keyboardist for Faith No More, was born in Los Angeles.

1971:  Missy Elliott was born in Portsmouth, Virginia.
1971:  Adam MacDougall, keyboardist of the Black Crowes, was born in New York City.