Today is The Who's legendary drummer Keith Moon's birthday. He would have been 78 had he not died of a drug overdose on September 7, 1978. The hard- living, alcoholic Moon is considered one of the greatest rock 'n' roll drummers for his unique playing style and his influence on other drummers in the genre. We've got two relatively early songs in The Who's catalogue that only begin to scratch the surface of Moon's legacy (but we like 'em): 1965's "The Kids Are Alright," and 1967's "I Can See For Miles."
Today is Pete Townshend's 78th birthday. The Who's guitarist and principal songwriter, Townshend co- founded the band in 1964 along with singer/guitarist Roger Daltry and bassist John Entwhistle, who were soon joined by drummer Keith Moon. Rock innovators whose music inspired future power rock and punk rock bands, The Who are also noted for
December 3, 1965 was a red letter day in rock (especially British rock) history: two landmark albums, The Who's first studio album,"My Generation," and The Beatles' sixth studio album, "Rubber Soul," were released in the UK. (Both albums were released in the US in 1966 with somewhat different song lists.) We're picking one song from each UK album, Pete Townshend's "The Kids Are Alright" and George Harrison's "If I Needed Someone" (Harrison passed away 20 years ago (!) on November 29, so pour one out for him). Hope you enjoy.
January 15 was an auspicious day in the history of 20th century music. In 1962, The Supremes signed a recording contract with Motown Records and the rest, as they say, is history. Their third number 1 single, "Come See About Me," is a Holland-Dozier-Holland creation, and was released in October 1964.
In 1965, The Who released the first single under their name, "I Can't Explain." A Pete Townshend composition, it rose to number 8 on the British charts, but it barely made the top 100 here (there's no accounting for taste it seems). It's one of our favorites, though. (Their next single, the iconic "My Generation," really cemented their place in the British Invasion).
Fifty years ago this summer, tens of thousands of mostly young people began to flock to San Francisco to participate in a cultural phenomenon that came to be known as the "Summer of Love." Dubbed "hippies" or "flower children," these people embraced a "counter culture" that largely embraced Timothy Leary's mantra to "turn on, tune in, and drop out." One of the early, defining events of the Summer of Love was June 1967's Monterey Pop Festival, which John Phillips of The Mamas & The Papas helped to organize. Major acts ranged from Otis Redding to Jefferson Airplane to Janis Joplin to Jimi Hendrix to the Grateful Dead. The festival was immortalized in one of the greatest documentaries of its generation, "Monterey Pop," by filmmaker D.A. Pennebaker; if you've never seen it, you're missing a gem that captures the period and the music brilliantly.
Today, we're featuring three songs that were performed at the Monterey Pop Festival (a set list can be found here). "San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair)" was written by Phillips and sung by Scott McKenzie. It was the next- to- last song performed at the festival. "Living in the U.S.A." was one of only two songs performed by the Steve Miller Band, and "Pictures of Lily" (snicker) was performed by The Who, one of only three British acts that appeared at Monterey. We'd like to say "I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now," but that's not true! Hope you enjoy.
Happy 57th (!) Birthday today to Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, native Jane Wiedlin who co-founded the popular all-female New Wave band The Go-Go's in 1978 with vocalist Belinda Carlisle. Wiedlin, the rhythm guitarist, also wrote or co-wrote most of The Go-Go's songs, including this infectious hit from 1981, "Our Lips Are Sealed" (she's the one with the dark hair in a pixie cut):
We also want to note a belated Happy Birthday to founder of The Who, Pete Townshend, who turned 70 (!) yesterday. Here's one of The Who's early hits, "The Kids Are Alright," with Pete doing his patented "windmill" guitar strokes toward the end:
