ON THIS DAY IN MUSIC

May 26th

1964 - Marianne Faithful

Marianne Faithful recorded the Mick Jagger and Keith Richards song 'As Tears Go By', accompanied by future Led Zeppelin members Jimmy Page on guitar and John Paul Jones on bass.

1966 - The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Paint It, Black', their sixth UK No.1 single. It was originally titled 'Paint It Black' without a comma. Keith Richards has stated that the comma was added by the record label, Decca. It was the first No.1 single to feature a sitar on the recording.

1966 - The Beatles

The Beatles recorded 'Yellow Submarine' at Abbey Road studios in London. Recovering from a case of food poisoning, producer George Martin missed this recording, EMI engineer Geoff Emerick worked on the session. The track features John Lennon blowing bubbles in a bucket of water, shouting "Full speed ahead Mister Captain!"

1968 - Little Willie John

US blues artist Little Willie John died in prison after being convicted of manslaughter. Co-wrote and was the first to record a 'Fever' (covered by Peggy Lee in 1958), and 'Need Your Love So Bad' covered by Fleetwood Mac. James Brown recorded a tribute album 'Thinking Of Little Willie John... And A Few Other Nice Things'.

1968 - OZ Magazine Benefit

Pink Floyd, Blonde On Blonde and The Pretty Things all appeared at the OZ magazine benefit at the Middle Earth Club, Covent Garden, London, England. OZ was a satirical humour magazine, founded by Richard Neville and based in Sydney, Australia from 1963. In its second and better-known incarnation it became a counter-culture magazine, based in London from 1967 to 1973.

1969 - John Lennon

John Lennon and Yoko Ono began an eight-day 'bed in', in room 1742 of The Hotel La Reine Elizabeth, Montreal, Canada, to promote world peace. They recorded 'Give Peace a Chance' in the hotel room (Petula Clark can be heard on the chorus). The song was credited to Lennon & McCartney, even though Paul had nothing to do with the record.

1972 - 'The Great Western Express'

The first day of the four day UK festival 'The Great Western Express' near Lincoln featuring; The Faces, Rory Glagher, Joe Cocker, Humble Pie, Slade, The Groundhogs, Ry Cooder, Don McLean, Brewers Droop plus a special appearance by Monty Python.

1972 GREAT WESTERN EXPRESS FESTIVAL

• Up to 40,000 pop pilgrims descended on Bardney (Tupholme) over the Whitsun Bank Holiday weekend of 26th – 29th May 1972 to pay homage to their pop idols. As the pop event momentum gained, so did the freezing wind and rain, which lashed the site relentlessly. By Saturday the site was a quagmire, knee deep in mud.
• The festival was organised by the Great Western Festival Company and backed by Lord Harlech and Stanley Baker. Worried villagers, landowners and councillors sought a High Court Injunction, to stop the event, without success. However, the Vicar, Peter Clarke, agreed to hold a bond of £10,000 pounds to pay for any damages caused by " hooligans."
• Admission charges were:
• Fri-Mon/£5.00p; Sat-Mon/£4.50p; Sun-Mon/£3.50p; Mon/£2.00p
• Security arrangements for the festival included a 7,000-yard, 12ft-high corrugated metal fence with searchlights on top and a 300-strong security force, which consisted of members of the CID disguised as hippies.
• The local Salvation Army and the Y.M.C.A. had stands to supply emergency food for anyone with no money.
• Sleeping bags were available at 50 pence each and polythene sheeting was free.

1972 Itinerary Poster

• The itinerary was as follows:
• Friday May 26th: D J Bob Harris
• Alexis Korner; Doctor Ross; Buddy Miles; Rory Gallagher;
• Saturday May 27th: D J John Peel
• Nazareth; Locomotive GT; Roxy Music; Heads, Hands and Feet; Wishbone Ash; Helen Reddy; The Strawbs; Stone the Crows; The Faces;
• Sunday May 28th: D J John Peel
• Natural Acoustic Band; Focus; Brewers Droop; Spencer Davis; Incredible String Band; Lindisfarne; Average White Band; Persuasions; Slade; Monty Python's Flying Circus; The Beach Boys;
• Monday May 29th: D J John Peel
• Jackson Heights; Atomic Rooster; Vinegar Joe; Sutherland Brothers; Genesis; Status Quo; Don McLean; Humble Pie; Sha Na Na; Joe Cocker;
• Some travelled from as far away as Australia and New Zealand for the event, but not everyone stayed the course. It is reported that due to the weather, the weekend made a loss for the sponsors.
  
  

  

  
  

1979 - Blondie

'Sunday Girl' gave Blondie their second UK No.1 hit single. The track was taken from the group's 'Parallel Lines', which went on to become the biggest selling album of 1979.

1996 - Eric Clapton

A fire at the home of Eric Clapton caused over one and a half million pounds worth of damage; Firemen arrived on the scene to find Clapton braving the blaze to save his collection of guitars.

2015 - B.B. King

US authorities were investigating the death of blues legend B.B. King after two of his daughters claimed he was poisoned. Karen Williams and Patty King said the musician had been given "foreign substances to induce his premature death" by his business manager Laverne Toney. King died in his sleep at his Las Vegas home on 14 May of this year, aged 89.

Rolling Stone - Announcement of BB King's death

Guitar World - Ten of the Best BB King moments

BIRTHDAYS

1940 - Levon Helm

Levon Helm, drummer and singer with The Band. He died of throat cancer aged 71 on 19th April 2012. Helm formed his own high school band, the Jungle Bush Beaters, at 17, he later joined The Hawks (Ronnie Hawkins's backing group), who then became known as The Band and also backed Bob Dylan on his US tour in 1965 and world tour in 1966. Helm sang on Band classics like 'The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,' 'Up on Cripple Creek,' 'Rag Mama Rag,' and 'The Weight.'

1904 - George Formby

George Formby, UK singing comedian and ukulele player. He made over 20 films and his best-known song is 'Leaning On A Lamp Post'. He was made an OBE in 1946, and died on March 6th 1961. Formby was a major influence on George Harrison