Today in Rock and Roll History

2014 - Jack Bruce
Jack Bruce, best known as one third of Cream died of liver disease aged 71. Bruce played bass, sang and was the principal songwriter in Cream, and his CV reads like a comprehensive guide to the British blues boom, with spells in Alexis Korner’s Blues Inc, the Graham Bond Organisation, John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers and Manfred Mann.

October 26th
2019 - Paul Barrere
American musician Paul Barrere died age 71. He was a member of Little Feat, which he joined in 1972. Barrere later played with Phil Lesh and Friends and also toured with Bob Dylan.

A scary good show.


And another for good measure.

I had office relief yesterday, and it was a camp night. So I didn't post yesterday, but with the help of my trusty time machine. . . .

October 28th
1972 - The Who
The United States Council for World Affairs announced it was adopting The Who song 'Join Together' as it's official theme tune.

October 29th
1965 - The Who
The Who released the single 'My Generation' in the UK. The song was named the 11th greatest song by Rolling Stone on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and 13th on VH1's list of the 100 Greatest Songs of Rock & Roll. It reached No. 2 in the UK, the Who's highest charting single in their home country but only No. 74 in America.

1971 - Duane Allman
Duane Allman of The Allman Brothers Band was killed when he lost control of his motorcycle on a Macon, Georgia street while trying to swerve to avoid a tractor-trailer and was thrown from the motorcycle. The motorcycle bounced into the air, landed on Allman and skidded another 90 feet with Allman pinned underneath. He was three weeks shy of his 25th birthday.

October 31st
1964 - Ray Charles
Ray Charles was arrested by Logan Airport customs officials in Boston and charged with possession of heroin. This was his third drug charge, following incidents in 1958 and 1961. Charles avoided prison after kicking the habit in a clinic in Los Angeles, but spent a year on parole in 1966.

1990 - Billy Idol
During a gig in Seattle, Washington, Billy Idol dumped 600 dead fish in Faith No More's dressing room. They responded by walking on stage, naked during Idol's set.

November 1st
1990 - Ray Pohlman
American session musician and arranger Ray Pohlman died of heart failure at the age of 60. He is credited with being the first electric bass player in Los Angeles studios in the 1950s. He was a member of The Wrecking Crew, who recorded with Phil Spector and The Beach Boys. He was the musical director of the house band, The Shindogs, on the 1960s television show Shindig!

November 2nd
1967 - Cream
Cream released their second studio album Disraeli Gears which became the group's American breakthrough, becoming a massive seller in 1968, and reaching No.4 on the American charts. The album features the two singles 'Strange Brew' and 'Sunshine of Your Love'.

2018 - Glenn Schwartz
American guitarist Glenn Schwartz the original guitar player of the James Gang died at the age of 78. He later joined the Los Angeles based blues band Pacific Gas & Electric and in 1970, scored a national top 20 hit with the song ‘Are You Ready?’

1970 - David Bowie
David Bowie released his third studio album, The Man Who Sold the World in the US - the first with the nucleus of what would become the "Spiders from Mars", backing band. The album was released in the UK in April the following year.

1977 - Joni Mitchell
The Last Waltz, the movie of The Bands final concert premiered in New York. The Martin Scorsese movie also featured Joni Mitchell, Dr John, Neil Young, Van Morrison, Neil Diamond, Eric Clapton.

November 5th
1966 - Monkees
The Monkees were at the top of the Billboard singles chart with ‘Last Train To Clarksville’, the group’s first No. 1. Bobby Hart who co-wrote the song got the idea for the lyrics when he turned on the radio and heard the end of The Beatles' 'Paperback Writer'. He thought Paul McCartney was singing "Take the last train", and decided to use the line when he found out McCartney was actually singing 'Paperback Writer'.


This song does sound a lot like the Beatles.

2005 - Link Wray
Guitarist Link Wray died aged 76. Wray was credited with inventing 'fuzz' guitar after punching a hole in a speaker giving him a distorted guitar sound. Famous for his 1958 US No.16 single 'Rumble' which was banned on several radio stations, on the grounds that it glorified juvenile delinquency. A rare feat for a song with no lyrics.

November 6th
1967 - Bob Dylan
During a three hour session Bob Dylan recorded ‘All Along The Watchtower’ and ‘John Wesley Harding’ at Columbia Recording Studios in Nashville, Tennessee. The Jimi Hendrix Experience later recorded their version of ‘All Along the Watchtower' on January 21, 1968, at Olympic Studios in London after Hendrix had been given a tape of Dylan’s recording by publicist Michael Goldstein, who worked for Dylan’s manager Albert Grossman.

The first and most famous cover.


I have no actual stats to back this up, but I would bet this is the most covered song of all time.