Tag Archives: June Music et al

June 6 Music et al

June 6 Music et al 

Beatles

June 6, 1962: [source: Beatles Bible] two days after signing with EMI, the Beatles (with Pete Best on drums) recorded their first demos for EMI at Abbey Road Studios under the direction of George Martin and his assistant, Ron Richards.

George Martin let Ron Richards handle the session which saw the band record ‘Besame Mucho,’ ‘Love Me Do,’ ‘PS I Love You’ and ‘Ask Me Why’. Richards didn’t like what he heard or saw. Norman Smith, who was the engineer for the session liked “Love Me Do” and decided he should get George Martin to hear it. Martin didn’t share Ron Richards opinion of the band or the music.

Norman Smith has said, “We gave them a long lecture about their equipment and what would have to be done about it if they were to become recording artists. They didn’t say a word, not a word, they didn’t even nod their heads in agreement. When he finished, George said ‘Look, I’ve laid into you for quite a time, you haven’t responded. Is there anything you don’t like?’ I remember they all looked at each other for a long while, shuffling their feet, then George Harrison took a long look at George and said ‘Yeah, I don’t like your tie!’ That cracked the ice for us and for the next 15-20 minutes they were pure entertainment.” (see June 11)

June 6 Music et al 

Chapel of Love

June 6 – 26, 1964, “Chapel of Love” by The Dixie Cups #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

June 6 Music et al 

Hello Dolly!

June 6 Music et al 

June 6 – June 12, 1964, the original cast album of Hello Dolly! the Billboard #1 album.

June 6 Music et al 

Beatles on Sullivan

June 6, 1966: appeared taped on the Ed Sullivan Show. (see June 20)

June 6 Music et al 

The Road to Bethel/Work begins

June 6, 1969:a twenty-one person crew arrived in Wallkill to begin work. They will live at Rosenburg’s family retreat in nearby Bullville. Among them: Mel Lawrence, Michael Lang, Penny Stallings, Lee Mackler (friend of John Morris), Bill & Jean Ward and five University of Miami artists.

Bands signed

June 6/7/8?, 1969: Sweetwater and Blood, Sweat and Tears ($15,000) signed for festival. (see Woodstock Chronology for expanded story)

The Fourth Annual Memphis Country Blues Festival

and the

First Annual W.C. Handy Memorial Concert

June 6 Music et al

June 6 – 8, 1969: its poster read:  The Memphis Sesquicentennial Inc. in conjunction with The Memphis Country Blues Society proudly presents The Fourth Annual Memphis Country Blues Festival and First Annual W.C. Handy Memorial Concert (see WC for expanded story)

John Lennon and Yoko Ono

June 6, 1971: John and Yoko appeared on stage for the first time since 1969 when they join Frank Zappa for a show at the Fillmore East. [Ultimate Classic Rock article] (see July 1)

June 6 Music et al 

June 5 Music et al

June 5 Music et al

 Elvis Presley

June 5, 1956:  Elvis Presley’s second appearance on The Milton Berle Show when he set his guitar aside and put every part of his being into a blistering, scandalous performance of “Hound Dog.” Elvis had already made six appearances on Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey’s Stage Show, and on April 3, he appeared for the first time with Uncle Miltie. But every one of those appearances featured Elvis either in close-up singing a slow ballad, or full body but with his movements somewhat restricted by the acoustic guitar he was playing. It was on his second Milton Berle Show appearance that he put the guitar aside and America witnessed, for the very first time, the 21-year-old Elvis Presley from head to toe, gyrating his soon-to-be-famous (or infamous) pelvis.

Reaction to Elvis’ performance in the mainstream media was almost uniformly negative. “Mr. Presley has no discernible singing ability….For the ear, he is an unutterable bore,” wrote critic Jack Gould in the next day’s New York Times. “His one specialty is an accented movement of the body that heretofore has been primarily identified with the repertoire of the blonde bombshells of the burlesque runway. The gyration never had anything to do with the world of popular music and still doesn’t.” In the New York Daily News, Ben Gross described Presley’s performance as “tinged with the kind of animalism that should be confined to dives and bordellos,” while the New York Journal-American’s Jack O’Brien said that Elvis “makes up for vocal shortcomings with the weirdest and plainly suggestive animation short of an aborigine’s mating dance.” Meanwhile, the Catholic weekly America got right to the point in its headline: “Beware of Elvis Presley.”

June 5 Music et al

Bob Dylan

June 5, 1959: Dylan graduated from high school. One of his uncles left some records by Leadbelly. Dylan found the music and lyrics more meaningful than the songs he’d been covering and began to learn how to play folk music. (see

June 5 Music et al

William French

June 5, 1961: a grand jury cleared William French of charges associated with the April 30 Washington  Square demonstration. (see NYC bans for expanded chronology)

June 5 Music et al

Running Scared

June 5 – 18, 1961, “Running Scared” by Roy Orbison #1 Billboard Hot 100. The song is unusual in that it has no chorus, but simply builds to a vocal climax.

June 5 Music et al

Rolling Stones

June 5, 1964, the Rolling Stones started their first US tour. (see Oct 25) Keith Richards quote from From Time Is On Our Side site: Actually (our first ever American) gig was in San Bernardino. It was a straight gas, man. They all knew the songs and they were all bopping. It was like being back home. Ah, love these Americans and Route 66 mentioned San Bernardino, so everybody was into it… 

June 5 Music et al

Mississippi River Festival

June – July 1969: the Mississippi River Festival at Southern Illinois University had a variety of performers many  of whom would later play at Woodstock in August. (see Mississippi for expanded story)

June 3 Music et al

June 3 Music et al

Fear of Rock

June 3, 1956: Santa Cruz city authorities announced a total ban on rock and roll at public gatherings, calling the music “Detrimental to both the health and morals of our youth and community.”

It was a dance party the previous evening that led to the ban. Some 200 teenagers had packed the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium on a Saturday night to dance to the music of Chuck Higgins and his Orchestra, a Los Angeles group with a regional hit record called “Pachuko Hop.” Santa Cruz police entered the auditorium just past midnight to check on the event, and what they found, according to Lieutenant Richard Overton, was a crowd “engaged in suggestive, stimulating and tantalizing motions induced by the provocative rhythms of an all-negro band.” Lt. Overton shut down the dance. (see July 1)

June 3 Music et al

Howl and Other Poems

June 3 Music et al

June 3, 1957: police arrested and jailed Shig Murao, manager of the City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco for selling Howl and Other Poems to an undercover San Francisco police officer. City Lights publisher Lawrence Ferlinghetti was subsequently booked for publishing the book.  (BG, see Sept 5, 1957; FS, see June 17; Howl, see Oct 3)

Grateful Dead

June 3 Music et al

June 3, 1966:  the first appearance by the Grateful Dead at the Fillmore Auditorium. Along with the Dead, the Quicksilver Messenger Service who got top billing on the poster, and the Mothers joined. Created by the legendary rock artist Wes Wilson , the poster’s central image is a fairly simple one of a mushroom shape surrounded by circles. (see June 10 – 11)

June 3 Music et al

Aretha Franklin

June 3 – 30, 1967: “Respect” by Aretha Franklin #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. [NPR story] [see Respect for more]

The Road to Bethel and the Woodstock Festival

June 3, 1969: Michael Lang met Wes Pomeroy to discussed Pomeroy’s attitude toward security. Pomeroy explained that the attendees must feel that there is no threat from security. Lang agreed. (see Road for expanded story)

June 3 Music et al