woodstock

This Day in Music — August 18

1955 : Pete Seeger testifies before the House Un-American Activities Committee, where he is asked if he has performed for communists. Seger replies: “I have sung for Americans of every political persuasion, and I am proud that I never refuse to sing to an audience, no matter what religion or color of their skin, or situation in life. I have sung in hobo jungles, and I have sung for the Rockefellers, and I am proud that I have never refused to sing for anybody.”

1969 : Jimi Hendrix closes out the Woodstock festival with “Hey Joe.” He was supposed to perform the previous night, but the festival ran long and he went on the morning after Woodstock was supposed to end.

1973 : Jazz drumming legend Gene Krupa plays what is to be his last live show, a gig with the Benny Goodman Quartet in New York City.

1977 : Elvis Presley’s funeral is held in at Graceland, where 150 guests are invited inside and about 75,000 fans pay their respects outside

2011 : During a severe storm, high wind and heavy rain cause a stage to collapse while Chicago band Smith Westerns are performing. Four are killed and over 70 injured. Organizers decide to cancelled the festival, where Eminem, Face to Face and Foo Fighters were scheduled to perform.

 

This Day in Music History — August 12

1958 : On “compassionate leave” from the Army, Elvis Presley travels to Memphis’ Baptist Memorial hospital to be by the side of his mother, Gladys, who is quickly deteriorating from acute hepatitis.

1966 : The Beatles begin the US leg of their last tour, playing a date at the International Amphitheater in Chicago, IL.

1967 : Fleetwood Mac make their stage debut at the National Jazz and Blues Festival in Windsor, England, alongside such acts as Donovan, Cream, The Small Faces, and Chicken Shack, featuring a young Christine Perfect (later known as Christine McVie).


1970 : At Harvard, Janis Joplin performs what would be her final concert, ending with a version of Gershwin’s Summertime.

1994 : Woodstock 2 – officially “Woodstock ’94,” begins in Saugerties, New York with Sheryl Crow, Todd Rundgren and The Violent Femmes performing. The festival is a success, drawing a crowd of about 350,000.

2008 : The man who shot and killed John Lennon, Mark David Chapman, is denied parole for the 5th time.