Music History

Pink Floyd played the first of three concerts at the Avalon Ballroom in San Francisco, held from August 2–4.

The Fifth Dimension performed at Steel Pier in Atlantic City for a fee of $11,000, with the then-unknown singer Helen Reddy as their opening act.

The first Newport Pop Festival was held on August 3–4 in Costa Mesa, California. The two-day festival attracted more than 100,000 attendees.

Yes played their first concert at East Mersey Youth Camp in East Mersey, England.

Jimi Hendrix performed at the Sam Houston Coliseum in Houston, Texas.

The second and final day of the two-day Newport Pop Festival took place in Costa Mesa, California. Performers included Blue Cheer, Eric Burdon & The Animals, Grateful Dead, Illinois Speed Press, Iron Butterfly, Jefferson Airplane, Quicksilver Messenger Service, and The Byrds. More than 100,000 people attended the festival.

The Who performed at the International Amphitheater in Chicago, Illinois.

The Who performed at the Music Hall in Boston, Massachusetts.

The Who vystoupili v Wollman Skating Rink Theater v New Yorku.

Deep Purple, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Ten Years After, The Nice, Ginger Baker, Traffic, John Mayall, Spencer Davis, Taste, Jerry Lee Lewis and Arthur Brown performed at the three-day National Jazz & Blues Festival at Kempton Park Racecourse in Sunbury-on-Thames, England.

James Brown & The Famous Flames performed at Balboa Stadium in San Diego, California.

Janis Joplin performed at Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis, Missouri.

Jerry Lee Lewis, Marmalade, Taste, The Herd and Timebox performed on the first day of the three-day National Jazz & Blues Festival at Kempton Park Racecourse in Sunbury-on-Thames, England. Jerry Lee Lewis whipped the crowd into such a frenzy during his performance that organizers cut his set short and asked him to leave the stage.

Pink Floyd played the first of three concerts at Eagles Auditorium in Seattle, Washington. Blue Cheer appeared as the opening act, with the light show provided by Retina Circus Light Company.

Jimi Hendrix performed at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago.

The second day of the National Jazz & Blues Festival at Kempton Park Racecourse in Sunbury-on-Thames, England, featured Alan Haven, Deep Purple, Ginger Baker, Jeff Beck Group, Joe Cocker, Mike Westbrook, Ronnie Scott, T. Rex, Ten Years After, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, The Don Rendell & Ian Carr Quintet, and The Nice.

On August 12, 1968, Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass performed at the Civic Center in Charleston, West Virginia, as part of an eleven-day concert tour across the United States and Canada. The tour began on August 3 at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado and continued through several major cities. The Checkmates Ltd. accompanied the group on the tour.

The Who began a three-night concert series at the Fillmore West in San Francisco, performing on August 13, 14, and 15, 1968. On the final night, they performed as the headline act.

On August 14, 1968, British pop group Herman’s Hermits performed at the Charleston Civic Center in Charleston, West Virginia, during their North American concert tour. The group was known for hit songs including “Mrs. Brown, You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter,” “I’m into Something Good” and “There’s a Kind of Hush.”

Bruce Springsteen's new group Earth played their first concert on August 16 at the Off Broad Street Coffee House in Red Bank, New Jersey. Eighteen-year-old Springsteen sang and played guitar; the repertoire included songs by Cream, Hendrix and Traffic as well as original blues jams. The group existed for only six months.

Pink Floyd played the first of two concerts at the Sound Factory club in Sacramento, California.

The Who performed at Phoenix Municipal Stadium in Phoenix, Arizona.

The Who performed at the Kelker Junction Night Club in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

The band performed at the Fillmore West in San Francisco alongside Kaleidoscope and Albert Collins. The set included, among others, “Dark Star”, “The Other One”, “Alligator” and “Caution”.

The Who performed at Municipal Auditorium Music Hall in Kansas City, Missouri.

Pink Floyd performed for two consecutive nights at The Bank in Torrance, California, on August 23 and 24, 1968, during their 1968 US tour.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Soft Machine and Big Brother And The Holding Company performed at the New York Rock Festival at the Singer Bowl in Flushing Meadow Park in Queens, New York. Janis Joplin also performed with Big Brother And The Holding Company. The concert was part of The Jimi Hendrix Experience's North American tour and attracted approximately 18,000 people. The atmosphere was disrupted by a heavy police presence because of a violent fight involving thrown chairs that had taken place at the same venue during the previous festival day on August 2.

James Brown performed at the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, Tennessee.

Blues musician Albert King performed at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, Michigan.

Howlin’ Wolf performed on August 30 and 31 at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, Michigan, as part of a two-day concert series.

The first edition of the Isle of Wight Festival was held, with Jefferson Airplane and The Crazy World of Arthur Brown as the headliners.

Janis Joplin performed on the first of two evenings at the Palace of Fine Arts festival in San Francisco.

Yes performed at the Civic Centre in Welwyn, Hertfordshire, England.

At the first Isle of Wight Festival, held from August 31 to September 1 over two days at Hells Field near Godshill, The Move, The Pretty Things, The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown, Orange Bicycle, Jefferson Airplane, Fairport Convention and Tyrannosaurus Rex performed. Tickets cost 25 shillings.

The Doors were forced to perform as a trio at a concert in Amsterdam after lead singer Jim Morrison collapsed while dancing during Jefferson Airplane’s performance.

Pink Floyd performed at the Middle Earth club at the Club House, Richmond Athletic Club, in Richmond, England.

The New Yardbirds, the forerunners of Led Zeppelin, played their first live concert at a club in Gladsaxe, Denmark.

Jimi Hendrix gave a legendary performance at London's Roundhouse.

Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and John Bonham performed live together for the first time on September 7, 1968, at the Gladsaxe Teen Club on the outskirts of Copenhagen, Denmark, as The New Yardbirds. Approximately 1,200 young people attended the concert at Egegård School. Club chairman Lars Abel introduced The New Yardbirds on stage and accidentally introduced Robert Plant as Robert Plata. The local review described their performance as absolutely flawless. The group was still fulfilling commitments from the previous tour and adopted the name Led Zeppelin permanently several weeks later. The original Yardbirds did not break up until after this concert had been arranged, so the group was also billed as The Yardbirds for the performance.

The Beach Boys performed at Patio Gardens in Farmington, Utah.

The Doors played the first of two nights at The Roundhouse in London during their first visit to the UK. They played twice each night, and the sold-out concerts were filmed by Granada TV. The footage was later broadcast under the title “The Doors Are Open”. Members of The Rolling Stones and Traffic were among those in attendance.

Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and John Bonham performed publicly together for the first time as The New Yardbirds at the Teen Club in Gladsaxe near Copenhagen. Approximately 1,200 young people attended the concert. The New Yardbirds were the forerunners of Led Zeppelin and changed their name to Led Zeppelin approximately six weeks later.

Cream began their farewell tour with a concert at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in California. The tour included 22 concerts at 19 venues and ended on November 26 at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

Led Zeppelin, then still billed as The Yardbirds or The New Yardbirds, made their UK concert debut on October 4, 1968, at the Mayfair Ballroom in Newcastle upon Tyne. The performance was part of an autumn UK tour; Terry Reid's Fantasia was listed as the support act, and the ticket cost 10 shillings and 6 pence. The group adopted the name Led Zeppelin later in October.

Cream began their farewell tour of the United States.

Pink Floyd performed at The Country Club in Belsize Park, London.

Jose Feliciano performed a controversial, slow, jazz- and blues-influenced version of the US national anthem “The Star-Spangled Banner” before Game 5 of the World Series between the Detroit Tigers and St. Louis Cardinals in Detroit. His long and unconventional performance generated thousands of complaints and led some radio stations to stop playing his music. Tigers pitcher Mickey Lolich complained that he had to warm up his arm again because of the lengthy performance.

Cass Elliot made her solo debut at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, where she was scheduled to perform two shows a day for three weeks at $40,000 per week. Before the first performance, she came down with tonsillitis and her band was not sufficiently rehearsed. After the disastrous opening performance, the remainder of the engagement was canceled, and Elliot subsequently underwent throat surgery.

Jimi Hendrix performed at Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco.