Music History Events: Memorable Concerts
July 12, 1969 Blind Faith, a supergroup with Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood, begin their US tour with a show at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Their album isn't released yet, but the show is still a sellout thanks to Clapton's star power.
January 30, 1969 The Beatles stage their famous rooftop concert on the roof of Apple Records in London. After performing a few songs, including "Get Back" and "Don't Let Me Down," the police shut them down as a large crowd gathers. It is The Beatles' last public performance.More
December 26, 1968 Led Zeppelin's first US tour begins in Denver. They're the opening act for Vanilla Fudge.More
April 5, 1968 With tensions high the night after Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated, James Brown goes ahead with his concert at the Boston Garden, agreeing to televise the show to help keep calm in the city.More
January 13, 1968 Johnny Cash plays two shows for inmates at Folsom Prison in California. Unlike his previous prison concerts, they are recorded and packaged into his acclaimed live album At Folsom Prison.More
July 17, 1967 Jimi Hendrix plays his eighth and final show as the opening act for The Monkees, which understandably does not go well as Monkees fans want nothing to do with Hendrix.
July 14, 1967 The Who launch their first large-scale American tour, playing the first of 55 dates with... Herman's Hermits.
July 8, 1967 In Jacksonville, Jimi Hendrix opens for The Monkees in a musical train wreck. Hendrix plays seven more shows with the pop stars before leaving the tour.
June 21, 1967 Must be the Summer of Love: There's a free concert in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park celebrating the Summer Solstice. The Grateful Dead, Big Brother & the Holding Company, and Quicksilver Messenger Service all perform.
January 14, 1967 Upwards of 25,000 people turn up at Golden Gate Park for "A Gathering of the Tribes for a Human Be-In" - a prelude to the Summer of Love.More
January 1, 1967 As a thank you to the citizens of San Francisco who helped raise bail money for two of their members who were jailed the previous day during a parade, the Hells Angels stage a concert at Golden Gate Park with performances by the Grateful Dead and Big Brother & the Holding Company (lead singer: Janis Joplin). The event is christened "The New Year's Wail."
August 29, 1966 The Beatles play their last paid concert, wrapping up their tour at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Jaded by poor sound systems and the rigors of the road, they turn their attention to studio work.More
July 5, 1966 Chas Chandler of The Animals sees Jimi Hendrix perform at the Cafe Wha? in New York. Chandler goes on to become Jimi's manager and takes him to London, where The Jimi Hendrix Experience forms.
June 24, 1966 The final Beatles world tour begins in Munich. Moving forward, they concentrate on studio efforts, resulting in the landmark album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
January 21, 1966 The first Trips Festival, a three-day event, begins at the Longshoreman's Hall in San Francisco. It's a landmark event in the evolution of psychedelic music. More
August 15, 1965 The Beatles play Shea Stadium in New York - home of The Mets - marking the first time a rock band headlines a stadium in America. With Beatlemania in full force, the screaming girls drown out the band in a less-than-intimate, but very memorable performance in front of a sold-out crowd of 56,000.More
May 8, 1965 On their first American tour, The Rolling Stones stop in Jacksonville, Florida. In the audience is 17-year-old Ronnie Van Zant, who decides then and there that he wants to be a singer in a rock band. He later forms Lynyrd Skynyrd.
March 3, 1965 Eric Clapton plays his last show with The Yardbirds, leaving to join John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. He is replaced by Jeff Beck.
August 28, 1963 At the March On Washington, where Martin Luther King, Jr. gives his "I have a dream" speech, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Odetta and Mahalia Jackson sing for equal rights.More
May 17, 1963 The very first Monterey Folk Festival begins at the Monterey Fairgrounds in California. Over the weekend, Bob Dylan makes his first West Coast performance, Jerry Garcia's band wins an amateur competition, and Janis Joplin draws a crowd on the second stage.More
April 13, 1962 The Beatles begin their legendary stint at the new Star-Club in Hamburg, Germany. Performing three to four hours a night for 48 days (with only one day off), the group logs a total of 172 hours of performance. When they return to England, they're already stars with a recording contract.
January 24, 1961 Bob Dylan arrives in New York after dropping out of the University of Minnesota. He immediately gets to work, playing a show at the club Cafe Wha? in Greenwich Village.
December 27, 1960 Returning from Hamburg, Germany, The Beatles play a show in their hometown of Liverpool, England, with Chas Newby filling in for Stu Sutcliffe, who stays in Germany and never rejoins the band. The show gets a lot of attention, and is an early taste of Beatlemania.
February 2, 1959 At the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa, Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper play their last show as part of the "Winter Dance Party" tour. Admission: $1.25. The last song of the night: The Big Bopper's "Chantilly Lace."
January 31, 1959 17-year-old Bob Dylan (known as Robert Zimmerman) sees Buddy Holly perform at the Duluth Armory in Minnesota. Three days later, Holly dies in a plane crash.
January 1, 1959 Johnny Cash plays one of his first jailhouse shows when he performs at San Quentin prison in San Rafael, California. Among those in the captive audience is Merle Haggard, who is serving time for burglary.More
January 8, 1957 Rock and roll comes to Australia when Bill Haley, LaVern Baker and The Platters kick off a tour at Newcastle Stadium that continues on to West Melbourne Stadium and Sydney Stadium. It's the first rock stadium show, pre-dating the Beatles Shea Stadium concert by eight years.
September 8, 1955 In an attempt to hide the wrinkles in his suit, Chuck Berry does the duck walk for the first time.More
March 21, 1952 Cleveland stakes a claim on rock history when the Moondog Coronation Ball is held at the Cleveland Arena. Organized by the WJW DJ Alan Freed ("Moondog" on the air), it is widely considered the first rock concert. It may also be one of the shortest, as it is shut down after one song.More
January 16, 1938 Clarinetist Benny Goodman, who many call an improvisational genius, breaks through cultural barriers to play the first-ever jazz concert at Carnegie Hall.More
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