March 16th: The Anniversaries of Today

Former Free Bassist Andy Fraser Dead at 62 (2015)

Source: Michael Putland/Getty Images

Fraser, a founding member of the band Free, died in his home following a heart attack caused by atherosclerosis. He was a member of Free from its formation until 1972, and is also known for his tenure with Sharks as well as The Andy Fraser Band. 

ABBA, The Hollies, and Genesis Are Inducted Into the R&R Hall of Fame (2010)


During the 2010 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Ceremony, the aforementioned bands were inducted by the following artists, respectively: Barry and Robin Gibb (Bee Gees), Steven Van Zandt (E Street Band), and Trey Anastasio (Phish). You can read more on the Hall of Fame's class of 2010 here.

Rare Led Zeppelin Recording of 1971 Gig Unearthed and Sold (2010)

A Recording of Led Zeppelin's gig on November 16th, 1971 at St. Matthew's Baths Hall located in Ipswich, England was found by Vic Kemp. He found the footage while going through a CD stand at a local car boot and purchased it for "two or three pounds". 

John Lennon Lodges Appeal With US Immigration Office (1972)

Lennon, who was served with deportation orders stemming from a marijuana possession charge back in 1968, successfully lodged appeal with the immigration office in New York. He officially became a US citizen four years later.

Simon & Garfunkel and The Carpenters Win Grammy Awards (1971)

Simon & Garfunkel won three awards for Bridge Over Troubled Water, which included record of the year, song of the year, and album of the year. The Carpenters were voted the best new act, and awarded for the best vocal performance on "Close To You".

Birthdays:

Nancy Wilson (1954-)
Source: Ricky Steel/Richard Steel Images

Nancy Lamoureux Wilson is best known as the guitarist and backing vocalist of Heart. Her and her older sister, Ann Wilson, became the first women to front a hard rock band in 1973.

Michael Bruce (1948-)

Michael Owen Bruce is best known as the guitarist, keyboard player, and founding member of the original Alice Cooper band. He helped to write some of the band's biggest hits and sang lead vocals on "Beautiful Flyaway".

Fred Neil (1936-2001)

Fred Neil was a folk singer and guitarist active from 1964-1975. One of his most popular songs, "The Other Side of This Life", has been covered by Jefferson Airplane, The Lovin' Spoonful, The Animals, The Youngbloods, and Peter Paul & Mary.
Hey there! I'm Olive, and I'm a part-time blog writer hoping to share my love of older music and countercultural history. I started this blog during my freshman year of college as a means to get a head start doing what I love most - writing. I've always loved writing and music, and wanted to do something that would involve doing both. Now, I've got this cool (totally not biased) blog page!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Good News! This Blog is Evolving Again!

Hey there! I would like to start off with an apology for the recent inactivity. I know it has been almost an entire week since my last blog post, and I've been too busy to update until now. Thankfully, I have some news that hopefully makes it worthwhile: I'm looking to expand the amounts of content available to readers starting June 1st, when I start offering more posts dedicated to important events in countercultural history. My most recent post on the Kent State Massacre really got me thinking about how much more I could be covering, and I figured that it wouldn't be a bad idea. While I am unsure on how frequent these posts will be, I want them to operate on an actual schedule unlike my current music-related posts. I will be sure to send out another update when more of the details are worked out.  As the year goes on, I am also hoping to throw new content into the music side of this blog as well. It will hopefully be scheduled like the countercultural history posts, but d...
Read more

April 7th: Today's Many Anniversaries in Brief

Image
Anniversaries: Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Brian Jones Meet for the First Time (1962) Credit: Mark and Colleen Hayward/Getty Images The three then-future members of The Rolling Stones met at Ealing Jazz Club in West London. Jones was still using the moniker of Elmo Lewis at the time and was working as a guitarist for Paul Jones, who was performing under his real name, P.P. Pond. The Rolling Stones officially formed that same year. Alice Cooper Accidentally Hangs Himself in Near-Fatal Rehearsal (1988) During a rehearsal on his European tour in 1988, Vincent Furnier, known professionally as Alice Cooper, accidentally hanged himself when a safety rope snapped. He reportedly dangled there for a few seconds before one of his roadies saved him. Veteran Music Producer and Engineer Andy Johns Dead at 61 (2013) Johns, who had been active as a producer since the '60s, has worked with many artists and bands including Free, Humble Pie, Blodwyn Pig, Jack Bruce, The Rolling Stones, Led Zepp...
Read more

Peace Sells: When John Lennon's Handwritten Lyrics for "Give Peace a Chance" Sold for Almost $800,000

Image
In 2008, a piece of paper with the handwritten lyrics for the John Lennon-penned " Give Peace a Chance " sold for $790,000 at auction after being estimated to be worth about $400,000 or so. Credit: Christie's/The Canadian Press The owner, author Gail Renard was given the lyrics when she was sixteen years old by Lennon during he and Yoko Ono's bed-in against the Vietnam War at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Canada. Renard was with them for all eight days, helping to keep fans and press controlled and looking after Ono's five-year-old daughter, Kyoko. She also had a hand in the first recording for the song, among many other guests, including Timothy Leary, Tommy Smothers, Petula Clark, and Alan Ginsberg.  She credits Lennon for kicking off her career, with one of her first paid submissions being an interview they had set up.  If you are interested in learning more about her eight day experience, she talks in-depth about it in her book, titled John Lennon: Gi...
Read more