1968 - In the wake of the assassination of Robert Kennedy, The Rolling Stones added the line, "Who killed the Kennedys?" to the lyric of their unreleased-at-the-time "Sympathy For The Devil."
1970 - Syd Barrett played his first gig since leaving Pink Floyd at the Extravaganza 70, at London's Olympia Hall, England, backed by a band that included his old friend Floyd guitarist David Gilmour. Barrett baffled the audience (and his musicians) when he abruptly took off his guitar during the fourth number and walked off stage.
1971 - John Lennon and Yoko Ono went onstage for the first time together since 1969, joining Frank Zappa for a jam at the Fillmore East.
The performance is particularly bizarre. The three-song collaboration starts off with a blues-ish number, “Well (Baby Please Don’t Go),” a song that Lennon says he hadn’t played since his Liverpool days. Yoko Ono is caterwauling throughout this entire performance, an asset that comes into the limelight on the next song, “King Kong”. Zappa seems at times both amused and annoyed by the vocal contribution. They finish off the session with a jam on something called “Scumbag”, a free-form jam based on the word scumbag.
Some of these recordings were released in 1972, on John Lennon's third post-Beatles album, Some Time in New York City.
1993 - The Velvet Underground re-formed for the first time in 24 years for a show at London's Wembley Arena. Sadly, past tensions arose on the tour and the band split again. They would reunite for a one off when inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame in 1996.(Photo credit should read SHAUN TANDON/AFP via Getty Images)
2006 - Billy Preston died of kidney failure. The Grammy-winning keyboard player collaborated with some of the greatest names in the music industry, including The Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Nat King Cole, Little Richard, Ray Charles, George Harrison, Elton John, Eric Clapton and Bob Dylan.
2019 - Dr John known for music combining blues, pop, jazz, boogie woogie and rock and roll died at the age of 77. Born Malcolm John Rebennack his career started in the late 1950s, when he became prominent as a pianist and singer on the New Orleans music scene. He also worked with the Rolling Stones, Carly Simon, James Taylor, Neil Diamond, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Bob Seger and Joe Walsh.
Birthdays:
Levi Stubbs (lead vocalist for The Four Tops) is born in 1936.
Gary U.S. Bonds is 83.
Dwight Twilley (I'm On Fire 1975) was born on this day in 1951.
Tony Levin is 76. Levin has played on over 500 albums, including those by John Lennon, Sarah McLachlan, Stevie Nicks, Pink Floyd, Paul Simon, Dire Straits, Lou Reed, David Bowie, Tom Waits, Warren Zevon, Bryan Ferry, Laurie Anderson and Yes. Levin helped to popularize the Chapman Stick and the NS upright bass.
Guitar wizard Steve Vai is 62.
Jeremy Gara, Arcade Fire drummer, is 44.
On This Day In Music History sourced from This Day in Music, Live for Live Music, Far Out Magazine, Song Facts and Wikipedia.