Sam Moore of Sam & Dave is born. (1935)
The late Melvin Franklin of the Temptations is born. (1942)
After a concert in Sydney, Australia, Little Richard announces he wants to give up rock and roll. "If you want to live for the Lord, you can't take rock and roll too. God doesn't like it." When his sax player, Clifford Burks, dares Richard to prove his "faith in God," Little Richard tosses four diamond rings, valued at $8,000, into Sydney's Hunter River. Richard flies to Los Angeles the next day to be baptized a Seventh Day Adventist and "to prepare for the end of the world." (1957)
Neil Sedaka's "Oh! Carol" enters the pop chart at #73. The song was written by Sedaka for his friend and Brill Building songwriting colleague Carole King. The tune spends 18 weeks on the charts topping at #9. (1959)
Little Richard headlines a concert at New Brighton Towne, Liverpool. One opening act is the Beatles. The once peerless rocker and the soon-to-be peerless stars reportedly get along well. (1962)
Billboard observes hot-rodding songs are the latest teen fad, replacing surfing songs. Foremost among the souped-up tunes is the Beach Boys' "Little Deuce Coupe," #15 on the pop charts. Capitol Records is supplying DJ's and record retailers with a book of hot-rod terms. (1963)
The Jimi Hendrix Experience is formed in London. (1966)
John Sebastian leaves the Lovin' Spoonful to begin his solo career. (1968)
A mysterious phone caller urges DJ Russ Gibb, at Detroit underground radio station WKNR, to listen to the Beatles' "Revolution #9" backwards. He does and listeners think they hear a voice saying, "Turn me on, dead man." Thus the "Paul is Dead" craze approaches Orson Welles' "War of the Worlds" radio broadcast as a great media hoax. (1969)
"Jesus Christ Superstar" is released with a presentation at St. Peter's Lutheran Church in New York where rock-opera composers Anrew Lloyd Weber and Tim Rice explain their project. (1970)
Bill Graham holds an auction of rock Memorabilia and artifacts at New York's Fillmore East to benefit peace candidates. Among the items on the block are a guitar smashed to bits by the Who's Pete Townshend, Ian Anderson's flute, a multi-colored bra tossed to the Grateful Dead's Jerry Garcia by an audience member and a spiral notebook with the original scrawled lyrics to Joni Mitchell's first album, "Songs to a Seagull." (1970)
Gene Vincent, who had a monster hit with "Be-Bop-a-Lula," dies of a bleeding ulcer. He was 36. (1971)
Elton John gets a gold record for his two record set, "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road." It's his third straight Number One album. (1973)
Rod Stewart and the Faces play their last gig together. The split occurs because of Stewart's solo success and his wanting to further it. (1975)
Veteran soul group the Spinners earn another gold record. Off their sixth album, "Happiness Is Being with the Spinners," comes their big hit single, "The Rubberband Man." It goes up to number two on the pop charts and Number One on the R&B. (1976)
Ex-Sex Pistol Sid Vicious' girlfriend Nancy Spungen is found dead of abdominal knife wounds in their room at Chelsea Hotel in New York. Vicious, nearly unconscious due to the effects of several different drugs, is charged with her murder, mailed and then released. Months later, he dies of a heroin overdose before the case ever comes to trial. (1978)
At a Madison Square Garden concert, Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull suffers a minor eye injury when a fan throws a rose at him and one of the thorns pierces his eye. Two shows have to cancelled before Tull resumes the tour. (1979)
The Clash open for the Who at Shea Stadium for the first of two New York City shows on what the Who call their "Farewell Tour." (1982)
The film documentary "The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus" was released. It had been filmed in December 1968 but was put on the shelf for nearly 28 years, supposedly because the Stones were afraid that The Who upstaged them. (1996)
Singer/songwriter John Denver is killed in a plane crash, when the 2-seater he was piloting crashed into Monterey Bay. (1997)
"My Girl" - The Temptations - YouTube
(BOBBYORR)
Today In Rock History Oct 12
Linear Mode
