Pick a Day

Music History Events: Memorable Concerts

December 9, 1984 The Jacksons' Victory tour comes to an end with a show at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. It would be the only tour featuring all six members of The Jacksons (including Michael).

August 12, 1984 Lionel Richie performs his hit song "All Night Long (All Night)," with special lyrics written for the occasion, at the closing ceremony of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. One of his backing dancers is a young Cuba Gooding Jr.

June 5, 1983 U2 play the Red Rocks amphitheater in Colorado. Despite rain, the concert is intimate and energetic; it is later released as a concert film called Under a Blood Red Sky.

February 13, 1983 Marvin Gaye performs a very memorable national anthem at the NBA All-Star Game in Los Angeles, doing a sultry version with a beat.More

December 17, 1982 The Who play the last show of their farewell tour at Toronto's Maple Leaf Gardens, which is filmed for an HBO special called Who's Last. They re-form to play Live Aid in 1985, then tour again in 1989.

June 12, 1982 As part of the "No Nukes" movement during the Cold War, the largest political rally in US history takes place when about 750,000 people go to New York's Central Park for the Rally for Nuclear Disarmament, which features performances by Bruce Springsteen, Jackson Browne, James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, and Gary "U.S." Bonds.More

June 6, 1982 The "Peace Sunday: We Have a Dream" concert takes place in Los Angeles, featuring Tom Petty, Stevie Nicks, Bob Dylan, Jackson Browne and Stevie Wonder. 85,000 attend the show, which supports nuclear disarmament.

October 11, 1981 Opening a show for The Rolling Stones at Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, Prince gets booed off the stage. The Stones have good intentions in bringing in a rising star, but his act isn't a good fit for this crowd, and when he opens his trench coat to reveal bikini briefs, it gets ugly. Prince never again performs as an opening act.

September 23, 1980 Bob Marley plays his final concert: a 20-song set at the Stanley Theater in Pittsburgh with his group, The Wailers.More

August 17, 1980 At the Toledo Speedway Jam II in Toledo, Ohio, ZZ Top headline the show with AC/DC, Sammy Hagar and Humble Pie on the undercard. (Also advertised on the poster: 800 kegs of beer, drinking age 18 in Ohio!) It is the last time AC/DC is a support act until 2003, when they open for The Rolling Stones.

July 7, 1980 In West Berlin, Led Zeppelin play their last concert with drummer John Bonham, who dies in September.

April 29, 1980 Black Sabbath launch their first tour with Ronnie James Dio as lead vocalist, replacing Ozzy Osbourne.

December 21, 1979 At the San Diego Sports Arena, Linda Ronstadt holds a fundraising concert for her boyfriend, California governor Jerry Brown, who is running for president. Chicago and the Eagles also perform.

November 1, 1979 Bob Dylan debuts the songs from his new album, a Christian polemic called Slow Train Coming, on the first night of his new tour in San Francisco, California. A shocked audience boos the new material throughout the set.

September 21, 1979 Bruce Springsteen debuts his song "The River" at a show in Madison Square Garden. He is performing as part of Musicians United For Safe Energy (MUSE) in a protest against nuclear power. Other artists that go on before him have to contend with the constant droning of "Broooooooooooooce," as he's the main attraction. Bonnie Raitt doesn't figure out until after her set that the crowd was not booing her, just anticipating Springsteen's performance.

September 19, 1979 James Taylor, Jackson Browne, The Doobie Brothers, Graham Nash and Bonnie Raitt perform at Madison Square Garden for the first of five "no nukes" concerts.More

May 2, 1979 At the Rainbow Theatre in London, The Who play their first concert following the death of drummer Keith Moon. Their new stickman is Kenney Jones, formerly of Faces.

December 14, 1978 Billy Joel plays Madison Square Garden for the first time, which growing up he considered a "temple." He later becomes the first musical act to hold residency at the Garden.

November 16, 1978 Replicating their infamous promo stunt for the single, Queen are joined onstage at Madison Square Garden by several dozen nude, rotund women during their performance of "Bicycle Race." (Rotund because the single mentions "Fat Bottomed Girls," the title of the other half of the A-side.)

September 2, 1978 Teddy Pendergrass plays a midnight "For Women Only" concert at Avery Fisher Hall in New York to promote his album Life Is A Song Worth Singing. It's ladies only in the crowd, and they are treated to white chocolate and lollipops. It proves very popular and more women-only shows are held to capitalize on Pendergrass' appeal to the opposite sex.

July 15, 1978 Bob Dylan performs at the biggest open-air concert in history for a solo artist, playing for over 200,000 at "The Picnic at Blackbushe" at Blackbushe Airport in Hampshire, England.

July 1, 1978 The Texxas Jam takes place at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas, with Aerosmith, Van Halen, Journey and Ted Nugent performing. 80,000 fans brave the 100 degree heat, cooled down by fire hoses brought in by the organizers. For Aerosmith, it marks a low point in their career as drug use and infighting are about to break up the band, and their performance suffers.

April 22, 1978 Bob Marley headlines the historic One Love Peace Concert in Jamaica, the singer's first appearance in his home country since an assassination attempt two years before. At the concert, Marley manages to unite Jamaican Prime Minister Michael Manley with rival Edward Seaga, who had both been using local warlords to battle for power.

March 3, 1978 Van Halen begin their first world tour, opening for Journey at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago. The band, which released their debut album three weeks earlier, had been playing clubs for about four years.

October 19, 1977 In Greenville, South Carolina, Lynyrd Skynyrd play their last show before the plane crash that kills three of their members. Nazareth is the opening act.

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

April 30, 1977 Led Zeppelin play to 76,229 fans at the Pontiac Silverdome, breaking their own record (56,800 at a 1973 show in Tampa) for largest attendance for a single-act concert.

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

September 2, 1976 Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five become the first rap act to play a theater when they do their first major gig, performing at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem. They introduce various DJ techniques along with rap interplay and choreography.

August 10, 1976 Elton John begins a record-breaking 10-night run of concerts at Madison Square Garden in New York City.