Good morning! Today we've got some beautiful Beatles nostalgia—from Paul McCartney and John Lennon collaborations to Ringo Starr's recent run-in with a clueless influencer. Plus, Pink Floyd's Nick Mason opens up about the making of Wish You Were Here, Queen's Brian May surprises Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi, and Bob Dylan gets the deep-dive treatment. Grab your coffee and settle in!
Have a Rockin Day,
Hippy Pete
TODAY IN CLASSIC ROCK
1955 – Johnny Cash released "Folsom Prison Blues" on Sun Records. The song became one of Cash's most iconic tracks, reaching #4 on Billboard's Country And Western chart.
1956 – Elvis Presley made his 50th and final appearance on the live radio show Louisiana Hayride in Shreveport, Louisiana. At the end of the set, promoter Horace Logan used the now-famous phrase "Elvis has left the building" to quiet rowdy fans.
1959 – The Everly Brothers recorded "Let It Be Me" at Bell Studios in New York. The song would reach #7 in America in February 1960, with former Crickets drummer Jerry Allison playing drums on the session.
1962 – The Beatles played two separate shows at the Majestic Ballroom in Birkenhead, Merseyside. At midnight, the first-ever "Mersey Beat" poll awards show took place. As poll winners, The Beatles closed the show at 4:00 a.m.
1964 – The Beatles released their album Beatles '65.
1964 – Dusty Springfield was deported from South Africa after performing in front of a multiracial audience at a show near Cape Town.
1966 – The Beatles recorded trumpets and cellos for "Strawberry Fields Forever" at Abbey Road Studios in London.
1967 – The Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour LP was certified Gold in the U.S., just weeks after its release. It would top the Billboard Hot 200 for eight weeks and eventually sell over 6 million copies in the U.S. alone.
1967 – The Beach Boys met Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in Paris to learn transcendental meditation.
1967 – The Who released their third studio album, The Who Sell Out, in the U.K. The LP featured fake radio commercials inserted between tracks and would chart at #13 in the UK and #48 in the US.
1968 – Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane appeared in blackface and raised a black-leather glove in a power salute at the conclusion of "Crown of Creation" while performing on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.
1969 – John Lennon performed his final UK concert at The Lyceum Ballroom in London with the Plastic Ono Band for UNICEF's "Peace For Christmas" benefit. George Harrison, Eric Clapton, Billy Preston, and The Who's Keith Moon also performed.
1973 – Charlie Rich hit #1 on the US singles chart with the country ballad "The Most Beautiful Girl," his only #1 single. It also reached #2 in the UK.
1973 – Aerosmith performed their first single, "Dream On," on American Bandstand.
1975 – Parliament released their album Mothership Connection, taking the George Clinton-led group into their own funky universe. The album cover showed Clinton emerging from a spaceship.
1975 – Paul Simon released the single "50 Ways To Leave Your Lover."
1975 – The Eagles released the single "Take It To The Limit."
1979 – Pink Floyd's "Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2)" hit #1 on the UK singles chart, where it stayed for five weeks. It was Pink Floyd's only UK chart-topper.
1979 – U2 performed at the Windsor Castle Pub in London. Admission was free.
