Today in Music History

The roadies of The Who visited the London Battersea Dogs Home to obtain a guard dog to protect the band's equipment. While they were inside, thieves stole their unattended van and drove away with equipment worth £5,000. The empty van was later found.

Elvis Presley completed his work on the soundtrack for Double Trouble.

Actress Salma Hayek was born. She also worked in musical theatre.

The Who performed at the Locarno Ballroom in Basildon, Essex, England.

“ Ode To Billie Joe” by Bobbie Gentry remained at number one after five weeks. “All You Need Is Love” by The Beatles remained at number two, while The Supremes moved from number eight to number three with “Reflections”. “Light My Fire” by The Doors completed an exceptionally strong top four.

Elvis Presley’s album Double Trouble reached number 34 on the UK album chart.

Pink Floyd, The Move, Soft Machine, Fairport Convention, The Nack and Denny Laine performed at the UFO festival at the Roundhouse in London's Chalk Farm district.

The Beatles’ album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band remained at number one on the US album chart for the tenth consecutive week.

Guitarist Robert Buck of 10,000 Maniacs was born.

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.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience released a cover version of Bob Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower”, nine months after the original version was released. The song became Hendrix’s biggest US hit and reached the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100. It later also influenced Dylan’s live performances of the song.

American singer and songwriter Cedric Renard Hailey, known as K-Ci, was born in Monroe, North Carolina. He became known as a member of Jodeci and K-Ci & JoJo.

On September 2, 1970, Elvis Presley performed at the International Hotel in Las Vegas. The recorded Dinner Show included “That's All Right”, “I Got a Woman”, “Love Me Tender”, “I've Lost You”, “I Just Can't Help Believin'”, “You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'”, “Polk Salad Annie”, “Johnny B. Goode”, “The Wonder of You”, “One Night”, “Blue Suede Shoes”, “Hound Dog”, “Bridge Over Troubled Water” and “Suspicious Minds”. The recording also includes “Can't Help Falling in Love”.

Genesis published an advertisement in Melody Maker seeking a drummer and musicians “determined to break through stagnant musical forms”. Nineteen-year-old Phil Collins responded to the advertisement and eventually joined the group.

Folk singer Kristie MacColl was born.

The Rolling Stones performed at Olympic Stadium in Helsinki, Finland.

On September 2, 1971, Elvis Presley performed the Dinner Show at the International Hotel in Las Vegas. The documented setlist included “That's All Right”, “I Got a Woman”, “Amen”, “Proud Mary”, “Sweet Caroline”, “Polk Salad Annie”, “Johnny B. Goode”, “It's Impossible”, “Love Me”, “Blue Suede Shoes”, “Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On”, “Heartbreak Hotel”, “Teddy Bear”, “Don't Be Cruel”, “Hound Dog” and “Suspicious Minds”. The show concluded with “Can't Help Falling in Love”.

Grateful Dead released their second live album, simply titled Grateful Dead. Rolling Stone magazine reported that Jerry Garcia had originally wanted to call it “Starfuck”. The album became the group’s first to reach the Top 25.

Former Grateful Dead manager Lenny Hart was arrested for embezzling $70,000 from the group’s funds.

The Rolling Stones sued their former manager Andrew Loog Oldham over unpaid royalties.

Elvis Presley performed at the hotel Hilton in Las Vegas in an evening Dinner Show followed by a Midnight Show. Each performance was attended by approximately 2,200 people.

The Erie Canal Soda Pop Festival was held for three days on Bull Island near Griffin, Indiana. Organizers expected more than 50,000 fans, but more than 200,000 arrived. Many bands cancelled their performances as the festival gradually descended into chaos. Performers included Flash Cadillac & the Continental Kids, Black Oak Arkansas, Cheech and Chong, Foghat, Albert King, Brownsville Station, Canned Heat, Flash, Ravi Shankar, Rory Gallagher, Lee Michaels and Frosty, The Eagles, The Amboy Dukes and Gentle Giant. Three attendees drowned in the Wabash River, and at the end of the festival the crowd set fire to the remains of the stage.

“Alone Again (Naturally)” returned to number one on the US Billboard Hot 100. In the same year, the song also reached number one in Canada and France and the Top 3 in the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand and Australia.

Rod Stewart was at number one on the UK singles chart with “You Wear It Well”, his second UK single to reach the top. The song came from the album Never A Dull Moment.

The Eagles performed at Dane County Coliseum in Madison, Wisconsin, during their first tour as a band.

Elvis Presley performed at the Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas in a special concert at 3:00 a.m. for Labor Day, for which he received a fee of $27,000 in addition to his regular performances. On the same day, he also performed a Dinner Show at 8:15 p.m. and a Midnight Show at midnight; both regular performances had an attendance of 2,200.

David Bowie performed at the Universal Amphitheatre in Universal City, California, as part of a series of concerts during the Diamond Dogs Tour, held from September 2 to 8, 1974.

Elvis Presley performed his final evening and midnight shows in Las Vegas as part of his engagement at the Hilton Hotel. During the final evening, he delivered a long and personal monologue in which he spoke, among other things, about his relationship with Priscilla, who was in the audience with Lisa Marie.

American heavy metal singer Jill Janus was born in New York. She became best known as the frontwoman of Huntress, The Starbreakers and Chelsea Girls.

Actor and singer Nate Richert was born.

Singer Tony Thompson of Hi-Five was born in Waco, Texas. He grew up in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. In 1991, the group had the US number-one hit “I Like The Way, The Kissing Game”, which reached number 43 in the UK.

Elvis Presley performed on tour at Curtis Hixon Hall in Tampa, Florida. The concert began at 8:30 p.m. and was attended by approximately 7,500 people.

Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five became the first rap act to perform in a theater when they played their first major concert at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem. They presented various DJ techniques along with rap interplay and choreography.

The first issue of Musician magazine was published.

Lyricist and composer René Goscinny died at the age of 51.

The Commodores remained at number one on the Adult Contemporary chart with “Three Times A Lady”.

Thin Lizzy released the album “Bad Reputation”. The group appeared as a three-piece on the recording after guitarist Brian Robertson left during the recording sessions. The album included the songs “Dancing in the Moonlight”, “Dear Lord” and “Killer Without a Cause”.

George Harrison, 35, married Olivia Trinidad Arias, 30, a secretary at his record company Dark Horse, in a private ceremony. Their son Dhani was born on August 1. The couple remained together until Harrison’s death in 2001.

Teddy Pendergrass, former lead singer of Harold Melvin And The Blue Notes, promoted the album “Life Is A Song Worth Singing” with a concert exclusively for women. The concept was highly successful, and further similarly themed performances sold out.

The Grateful Dead performed before an audience of 66,000 at Giants Stadium in New Jersey.

The Grateful Dead performed at the Civic Center in Augusta, Maine.

Prince released the single “Controversy”.

Fleetwood Mac played the second concert of their 33-date Mirage Tour at the Omni Coliseum in Atlanta, Georgia. Men at Work were the opening act, and their debut album Business as Usual was rapidly climbing the US charts. Two weeks after the tour ended in October, Men At Work embarked on their own tour as the headlining act.