1964- The Beatles play Red Rocks. Prior to the concert The Beatles stayed at the Brown Palace Hotel. They took to the stage at 9.30pm; during the show they frequently felt out of breath due to the thin air in Denver, so oxygen canisters were placed on the stage for them to use.
Tickets were $6.60.
It was not a sell out (lack of public transportation for the younger teen audience was blamed), but despite the unsold tickets, with this show The Beatles set a box office record for Red Rocks. The event was the earliest notable rock ‘n’ roll performance at the venue.
Setlist from the night:
Twist and Shout
You Can't Do That
All My Loving
She Loves You
Things We Said Today
Roll Over Beethoven
Can't Buy Me Love
If I Fell
I Want to Hold Your Hand
Boys
A Hard Day's Night
Long Tall Sally
1968 - The Beatles release "Hey Jude". Paul McCartney wrote this as "Hey Jules," a song meant to comfort John Lennon's 5-year-old son Julian as his parents were getting a divorce. The change to "Jude" was inspired by the character "Jud" in the musical Oklahoma! (McCartney loves show tunes). This was the Beatles longest single, running 7:11, and at the time was the longest song ever released as a single.
1970 - Jimi Hendrix opened Electric Lady Studios in New York City. He died a few months later, but the studio lived on, with many major acts recording there over the years.
1970 - Recording with Eric Clapton for what would become the double album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, producer Tom Dowd took Clapton and his band to an Allman Brothers concert where Clapton, already a fan of the guitarist, first heard Duane Allman play in person. After Clapton invited the whole band back to the studio that night, he and Allman formed an instant bond that provided the catalyst for the Layla album. Over ten days Allman contributed to most of the tracks on the album.
2000 - Allen Woody (bass guitarist for The Allman Brothers Band and co-founder of Gov't Mule) dies from an indeterminate cause at age 44.
2003 - Rolling Stone magazine named Jimi Hendrix the greatest guitarist in rock history. Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Chuck Berry, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Ry Cooder were also in the top 10 list.
2014 - Kate Bush made her stage comeback at London's Hammersmith Apollo to an ecstatic response from fans at her first live concert for 35 years. The 22 shows had completely sold out in less than fifteen minutes, after tickets were released in March of this year. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)
2019 - Ed Sheeran's d (divide) tour comes to an end as the highest-grossing tour of all time, earning over $775 million.
Birthdays:
Jet Black, the drummer for The Stranglers, is 83.
Maureen "Moe" Tucker (drummer for The Velvet Underground) is 79.
Valerie Simpson, from husband-and-wife songwriting-production team Ashford and Simpson, who wrote hits such as 'Ain't No Mountain High Enough', 'You're All I Need To Get By', 'Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing', and 'Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)' is 75.
Leon Redbone was born on this day in 1949.
Bill and Dick Cowsill from The Cowsills, who the Partridge Family was based on, were born today in 1949.
Jazz saxophonist Branford Marsalis is 61.
On This Day In Music History is sourced from This Day in Music, Song Facts, The Beatles Bible, The Paul McCartney Project, Setlist.fm and Wikipedia.