Saturday, May 23, 2020

Music History Today: May 24, 2020

May 24, 1977: At Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky, Emerson, Lake & Palmer began a grand, eleven-month tour. It was a financial disaster.  
Early on the morning of the very first gig, at Freedom Hall, Louisville, Kentucky; it was noticed that a vital weld in the massive lighting rig had come apart, leaving the huge array precariously suspended, ready to crash down at any moment.

 

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Had it not been spotted and repaired, it could have brought a couple of band members, and the tour, to a sudden end. In hindsight, that broken weld could be seen as the first in a series of omens warning one of the most successful super-groups of the ‘70s not to embark on an ill-starred, 11-month long trek which would bring to them to the edge of financial ruin and set them on the road to dissolution.
Read more: Countdown to Bankruptcy
May 24, 1969: "Get Back" by The Beatles shot to Number 1 on Billboard's Pop chart, where it would remain for 5 weeks.
They hated each other. The version of the Beatles who got together to record the Let It Be album in 1969 was, from a chemistry standpoint, the very worst version of the Beatles. Ringo Starr had already quit the band for two weeks, and his band-mates had to track him down and convince him to return. During the sessions, George Harrison quit, too. He stormed out for five days and, when he came back, he demanded that the band abandon the album’s whole central idea.  
Read more:  Stereogum


May 24, 1975: The nine-piece band known as Earth, Wind & Fire saw their song "Shining Star" reach the top of the Billboard singles chart and the Cashbox Magazine best sellers list. 
"I was writing about my life," Maurice White once told the late journalist Timothy White. Yet in the mid-to-late 1970s, his funk juggernaut Earth Wind & Fire resonated with millions. They were arguably the biggest black rock band in the world, scoring nearly a dozen gold and platinum albums, and charting Top 10 singles like "Shining Star," "Sing a Song" and "After the Love Is Gone."    
Read more: Rolling Stone


May 24, 1982: Grateful Dead, Jefferson Starship, Boz Scaggs, and Country Joe & the Fish played a benefit concert for Vietnam vets at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.  
On this day in 1982, concert promoter Bill Graham, organized a concert to benefit Vietnam Veterans. The show was set in San Francisco at the Moscone Convention Center. The lineup included The Jefferson Starship, The Grateful Dead and Country Jo McDonald . 
Read More:  The Whale 99.1 FM


Fanfare For The Common Man
Emerson, Lake & Palmer

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