January 18, 1971 The McCann-Erickson advertising agency takes a meeting with British songwriters Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway to record a Coca-Cola commercial with the group the New Seekers, which becomes "I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing."More
January 2, 1971 George Harrison's All Things Must Pass, his first album released after the breakup of The Beatles, begins a seven-week run at the top of the US albums chart.More
November 7, 1970 MGM Records president Mike Curb announces that his label is dumping 18 acts that "exploit and promote hard drugs through music."More
October 15, 1970 Music video director Chris Cunningham is born in Reading, Berkshire, England. Before working with artists like Björk ("All Is Full Of Love"), Madonna ("Frozen"), and Aphex Twin ("Windowlicker"), Cunningham starts his film career in model-making and prosthetic make-up. Hand-picked by renowned director Stanley Kubrick, he does animatronic work on what becomes the Stephen Spielberg film AI: Artificial Intelligence.More
October 4, 1970 Janis Joplin is found dead at the Landmark Hotel in Los Angeles after a heroin overdose. She was just 27.More
October 1, 1970 Rolling Stone reports that Curtis Mayfield is leaving The Impressions, the group he formed with Jerry Butler in 1958. In his time with the group, Mayfield wrote and produced songs for The Impressions that defined the sound of Chicago soul in the '60s, including "It's All Right" and "Keep On Pushing."
October 1, 1970 Janis Joplin makes her last recordings, singing "Mercedes Benz," which is included on her posthumous Pearl album a capella. She also records a goofy version of "Happy Trails" as a birthday present for John Lennon. Joplin dies three days later.
September 25, 1970 The Partridge Family's self-titled TV show debuts on ABC. Two months later, their song "I Think I Love You" hits #1 in America.More
September 18, 1970 Jimi Hendrix is found dead in his basement. He had taken nine pills of the barbiturate Vesparax, that along with alcohol, caused a fatal overdose.More
August 29, 1970 Edwin Starr's "War" hits #1 for the first of three weeks. According to Starr, the song isn't specifically about the Vietnam War, but deals with gang violence and other domestic disputes.
August 26, 1970 The five-day Isle of Wight festival kicks off in England, boasting a very impressive lineup, including Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Donovan, Jethro Tull, Miles Davis, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, The Doors, The Who, The Moody Blues, Chicago, Procol Harum, Sly and the Family Stone, Free and, in his last concert appearance in England, Jimi Hendrix.More
August 26, 1970 After an all-night jam, The Allman Brothers' Duane Allman asks Eric Clapton if he can attend the recording sessions for his new group, Derek & the Dominos. Clapton agrees, only on the condition that Allman also play on the sessions.
August 25, 1970 The little-known 23-year-old singer Elton John plays his first live show in the United States, co-headlining with the singer/songwriter David Ackles at The Troubadour in West Hollywood. The show gets rave reviews, giving him a huge career boost in America.More
August 22, 1970 Derek & the Dominos begin recording their famous album, Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs. The band features Eric Clapton, who in an attempt to lay low, downplays his involvement.
August 12, 1970 At Harvard, Janis Joplin performs what will be her final concert, ending with a version of Gershwin's "Summertime." She dies less than two months later at age 27 after overdosing on heroin.
August 1, 1970 Music video director Harold "Hype" Williams is born in Queens, New York. He breaks into directing rap videos in the early '90s with clips from Puff Daddy, The Notorious B.I.G., and Nas before adding work with Kanye West and Jay-Z to his resume in the ensuing decades.More
June 21, 1970 Art Garfunkel makes his acting debut in the movie Catch-22. Paul Simon was also slated for a role in the film, but was dropped, leading to a rift that broke up Simon & Garfunkel.
June 3, 1970 With the BBC refusing to air The Kinks' new single "Lola" because of its reference to "Coca-Cola" (brand names being a no-no for the corporation), lead singer Ray Davies flies all the way from London to New York to re-record the line as "Where you drink champagne and it tastes just like cherry-cola."More
May 4, 1970 Later memorialized in the Neil Young song "Ohio," the Ohio National Guard fires on protesters at Kent State University, killing four students, two of whom weren't even protesting. This shameful event in American history leads to the formation of Devo, as Mark Mothersbaugh and Jerry Casale are both on campus and horrified by the events.More
April 11, 1970 Fleetwood Mac founding member Peter Green announces he is leaving the group to devote himself to "what God would have me do." After a few member changes, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks join the band for their most successful lineup in 1974.
March 11, 1970 The 5th Dimension win the Record of the Year Grammy for "Aquarius/Let The Sun Shine In." Blood, Sweat & Tears, nominated for a record 11 awards, win three, including Album of the Year. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young win Best New Artist.
February 14, 1970 After failing to get a suitable recording during their US tour, The Who play a standout show to 2,000 boisterous fans at Leeds University in England that becomes their classic album Live at Leeds.
January 31, 1970 "Whole Lotta Love" reaches #4 in the US, the highest Led Zeppelin will ever chart on the Hot 100. Most of their songs, including "Stairway To Heaven," are not released as singles.
January 26, 1970 The Simon & Garfunkel album Bridge Over Troubled Water is released, with the title track simultaneously issued as a single.More
December 15, 1969 John Lennon and Yoko Ono launch the "War Is Over" campaign with billboards declaring peace around the world.More
December 12, 1969 The movie The Magic Christian, starring Ringo Starr, premieres in the UK. The film includes three Badfinger songs, including "Come And Get It," written by Paul McCartney.
December 6, 1969 The Rolling Stones headline the Altamont concert at a speedway in California. It's a free event with Jefferson Airplane and Santana also on the bill, but it turns violent when the Hells Angels motorcycle gang, who are hired as security, kill a crowd member. The concert is documented in The Stones movie Gimme Shelter.More
December 5, 1969 The Rolling Stones release the foreboding album Let It Bleed, with the classic tracks "Gimme Shelter" and "Midnight Rambler." The next day, a fan is killed during their performance at the Altamont Speedway.
December 2, 1969 On the way to their fateful Altamont concert of December 6, The Rolling Stones stop at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios in Alabama, where they spend three days recording the songs "Wild Horses," "You Gotta Move" and "Brown Sugar."
November 8, 1969 "Wedding Bell Blues" by The 5th Dimension hits #1 in America. The song was written and originally recorded by Laura Nyro.
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