Pick a Day

Music History Events: Recordings

September 26, 1976 Marvin Gaye records a live album at the London Palladium (his first appearance in England in ten years).

November 19, 1975 The J. Geils Band records Blow Your Face Out at Cobo Hall in Detroit.

October 24, 1975 Bob Dylan records "Hurricane," his song about the incarcerated boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter.

February 13, 1975 Jefferson Starship records "Miracles."

January 16, 1975 Paul McCartney and Wings arrive in New Orleans to begin sessions on their Venus and Mars album at Allen Toussaint's Sea Saint studios. They stay through Mardi Gras.

January 6, 1975 Pink Floyd begin recording their album Wish You Were Here after abandoning an earlier concept of an album recorded entirely with household objects.

July 8, 1974 David Bowie releases David Live, recorded at Tower Theater in Philadelphia. It is Bowie's first official live album.

July 5, 1974 Linda Ronstadt records her breakthrough hit "You're No Good" at the Sound Factory in Hollywood with producer Peter Asher.

May 10, 1974 Eric Clapton records "I Shot The Sheriff," a cover of a Bob Marley song. He's reluctant to do it, but it becomes the only #1 hit of his career on the Hot 100.

March 8, 1974 John Denver records "Annie's Song" and "Thank God I'm A Country Boy" at RCA's Music Center of the World studios in Los Angeles.

November 19, 1973 Led Zeppelin begin recording the demos for their new album, Physical Graffiti, including a new song entitled "Driving To Kashmir" (today known as "Kashmir").

September 9, 1973 Following up on his plan to use the concert audience for the background vocals on the left stereo channel for his song "Sons Of 1984," Todd Rundgren records the crowd at a show in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, which is disrupted because of a pot bust. The right channel vocals came from a show in New York.

June 23, 1973 B.W. Stevenson records "My Maria."

June 17, 1973 Dolly Parton records "I Will Always Love You," a song written about her mentor, Porter Wagoner.

May 11, 1973 Stevie Wonder records "Higher Ground."

June 9, 1972 After several years playing the New Jersey bar scene, Bruce Springsteen signs with Columbia Records and begins recording his first album, Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J.

May 22, 1972 The Guess Who record their Live At The Paramount album in Seattle, Washington.

March 20, 1972 Ringo Starr records "Back Off Boogaloo."

January 13, 1972 Aretha Franklin performs the first of two concerts at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles that are recorded for her live album Amazing Grace, which sells over 2 million copies when it is released in June. Film footage is also shot, but the documentary doesn't appear until 2019, after Franklin's death.

December 20, 1971 The Main Ingredient records "Everybody Plays The Fool."

November 18, 1971 Procul Harum record their album Procol Harum Live with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. The extracted version of "Conquistador" climbs to #16 the following year.

June 7, 1971 Don McLean records "Vincent."

June 6, 1971 John Lennon makes his first stage appearance since 1969 when he and Yoko Ono jam with Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention at the Fillmore East in New York. The show is recorded and released as a bonus disc with the Lennon/Ono album Some Time In New York City.

May 31, 1971 Badfinger record "Day After Day."

February 16, 1971 Aretha Franklin records "Spanish Harlem."

February 7, 1971 Linda Ronstadt and James Taylor record backup vocals for Neil Young's "Heart Of Gold," which becomes his biggest hit.

January 15, 1971 Chase records "Get It On."

December 17, 1970 Andy Williams records "Theme From Love Story."

November 20, 1970 The Kinks' Ray Davies flies to London to re-record a section of the lead vocals for the group's latest single, "Apeman." Radio stations are objecting to the line "The air pollution is foggin' up my eyes," claiming "foggin'" sounds too much like another f-word.

November 8, 1970 Jim Morrison of The Doors makes the spoken-word recordings that would later become the basis of the group's album An American Prayer.