Pick a Day

Music History Events: Final Performances

June 26, 1977 Elvis Presley's last concert takes place in Indianapolis, Indiana. He dies on August 16.

November 25, 1976 Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Eric Clapton, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Neil Diamond, The Staple Singers, Ronnie Hawkins, and Dr. John join The Band for The Last Waltz, a farewell concert for the ages.More

November 28, 1974 John Lennon makes his last concert appearance when he joins Elton John on stage at Madison Square Garden, reciprocating for Elton's appearance on "Whatever Gets You Thru The Night" and making good on a bet he lost: Elton wagered that "Whatever Gets You Thru The Night" would hit #1 in the US, and when it did, Lennon owed the appearance. The pair perform that song and also do The Beatles' "I Saw Her Standing There" and "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds."

February 9, 1974 At The Palace in Detroit, The Stooges play their last show until their 2003 reunion. An imploding Iggy Pop taunts the crowd, which responds with various projectiles. The opening act is a young band called Aerosmith.More

September 20, 1973 Jim Croce is killed in a plane crash in Natchitoches, Louisiana, at age 30. More

June 17, 1972 Grateful Dead keyboard player and founding member Ron "Pigpen" McKernan plays his last show with the band at a Hollywood Bowl concert. Health problems force him to stop touring, and he dies in March 1973 at age 27.

August 30, 1970 Jimi Hendrix rocks the Isle of Wight Festival in his last British concert appearance. The show is plagued by technical problems, with the guitarist's amplifier picking up signals from the security radios. Other artists appearing onstage include Free, Joan Baez and The Moody Blues. The festival closes with a dawn performance by Richie Havens, who also opened at Woodstock.

August 23, 1970 Lou Reed plays his last gig with The Velvet Underground at the club Max's Kansas City in New York. His father brings him home to Long Island and puts him to work in his accounting firm, where he stays for two years before signing a solo deal.

August 12, 1970 At Harvard, Janis Joplin performs what will be her final concert, ending with a version of Gershwin's "Summertime."

January 14, 1970 At the Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas, The Supremes play their last concert with Diana Ross, who introduces her replacement, Jean Terrell. Ross performs with the group just once more: at the Motown 25 TV special in 1983.

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

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

August 3, 1963 The Beatles play The Cavern Club in Liverpool for the last time. They played the first of their 292 shows there in 1961 when they made their debut performance.

December 2, 2023 At Madison Square Garden, Kiss play their last show - in physical form, at least. At the end of their set, they play a video introducing their avatars. "The band deserves to live on because the band is bigger than we are," Paul Stanley says.

August 11, 2023 The Hip Hop 50 Live concert goes down at Yankee Stadium, celebrating 50 years since Kool Herc birthed the genre in the Bronx. Performers include Snoop Dogg, The Sugarhill Gang, Lauryn Hill, and Run-D.M.C. in their last performance.

November 19, 2006 The ill-fated Bob Dylan musical tribute The Times They Are A-Changin' closes on Broadway after a scant 28 showings.

November 9, 2006 At the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York, Alicia Keys and David Bowie perform "Changes" at a benefit for the Keep a Child Alive organization, which helps disadvantaged children in Africa. It is Bowie's final performance, as his health deteriorates and he withdraws from the public eye.

April 24, 2005 After 94 performances, the Broadway musical and Beach Boys tribute Good Vibrations closes.

November 26, 2002 After nearly 40 years, The Statler Brothers play their last concert ever at the Civic Center in Salem, Virginia.

October 30, 2002 The entire episode of The Late Show with David Letterman is dedicated to Warren Zevon, who has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. He plays three songs (his last performances), chats candidly with the host, and offers this sage advice: "enjoy every sandwich."

May 4, 2000 Letters to Cleo play their last concert in Boston; they disband the following month.

November 27, 1999 Influential independent rock icons Pavement announce they have broken up. During their show at London's Brixton Academy, bandmember Stephen Malkmus tells the crowd that the show will be the band's last.

August 16, 1997 The seventh annual Lollapalooza tour comes to a close at the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, California, with Korn, Snoop Dogg and Tool headlining. With alternative music on the wane, it's the last Lollapalooza until 2003, when a more limited version of the tour is launched.

August 19, 1990 Leonard Bernstein conducts his final concert, playing Benjamin Britten's "Four Sea Interludes" and Beethoven's Seventh Symphony with the Boston Symphony at Tanglewood in Massachusetts.

March 9, 1990 At The Central in Seattle, Mother Love Bone play their last show, as their lead singer Andrew Wood dies of a heroin overdose 10 days later. Jeff Ament and Stone Gossard from the band form Pearl Jam later that year.

December 4, 1988 In Akron, Ohio, Roy Orbison plays his last concert (his final song: "Running Scared"). The legendary singer dies of heart failure two days later.

August 22, 1985 Rick Nelson and Fats Domino begin filming the PBS special Rockin' With Rick And Fats, which will turn out to be Nelson's last television appearance before his untimely death in a plane crash.

June 17, 1980 Led Zeppelin begin what will be their last tour with a concert in Dortmund, Germany.

May 16, 1980 The Carpenters' last TV special, Music, Music, Music, airs on ABC. Guest stars include Ella Fitzgerald, John Davidson, and Nelson Riddle.

April 13, 1980 The musical Grease closes on Broadway after a record 3,883 performances.