Rock History... a day like today, October 26

 

1962, The Rolling Stones (known as The Rollin' Stones), and consisting of Keith Richard, Mick Jagger, Brian Jones pianist Ian Stewart and drummer Tony Chapman recorded their first demo tape at Curly Clayton Studios in Highbury, London. They recorded three songs, Jimmy Reed's 'Close Together', Bo Diddley's 'You Cant Judge A Book By The Cover' and Muddy Waters' 'Soon Forgotten.'
1968, The two day San Francisco Pop Festival was held at Alameda County Fairgrounds. The Animals, Procol Harum, Iron Butterfly, Jose Feliciano, Deep Purple, Creedance Clearwater Revival and Canned Heat all appeared.

1970, A wake was held at the Lion's Share in San Anselmo, California to celebrate the life of Janis Joplin. The singer who died of an accidental drugs overdose had left $2,500 in her will to throw a wake party in the event of her demise. The party was attended by her sister Laura and Joplin's close friends; Brownies laced with hashish were unknowingly passed around amongst the guests. Joplin was cremated in the Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Mortuary in Los Angeles; her ashes were scattered from a plane into the Pacific Ocean and along Stinson Beach.
1979: AC/DC appeared at Mayfair , supported by Def Leppard
1981:, Iron Maiden made what seemed like a shocking change at the frontman position – but one that, in hindsight, clearly hurtled them toward superstardom.
Still, as Bruce Dickinson took the stage for the first time at the Palasport of Bologna, Italy, all that was known for sure was that Iron Maiden had already released two well-received albums with Paul Di’Anno. As yet unheard was the band’s career-making third album, The Number of the Beast, which changed everything.

1984, 19-year-old John D. McCollum killed himself with a .22 caliber handgun after spending the day listening to Ozzy Osbourne records. One year later, McCollum's parents took court action against Ozzy and CBS Records, alleging that the song "Suicide Solution" from the album Blizzard of Ozz contributed to their son's death. The case was eventually thrown out of court.
1991, Ozzy Osbourne broke his foot after an accident on stage at a gig in Chicago, causing him to cancel the remaining dates of a US tour.
2004, Apple launched the U2 Special Edition iPod as part of a partnership between Apple, U2 and Universal Music Group. The new U2 iPod held up to 5,000 songs and featured a red Click Wheel and custom engraving of U2 band member signatures. The iPod was being introduced as the band released their new album 'How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb.'
2007, 1,730 guitarists played the immortal Bob Dylan classic, 'Knocking On Heaven's Door' in a bid to break a record in the state of Meghalaya, North East India. The guitarists hoped their achievement would earn them a place in the Guinness Book of World Records. The current Guinness World Record was held by a guitar-ensemble from Kansas City in the US when 1,683 guitarists, played Deep Purple's 'Smoke On The Water'.

2008, AC/DC went to No.1 on the UK album chart with 'Black Ice' the Australian bands fifteenth studio album which went on to become a No.1 hit in 29 different countries and the second-best selling album of 2008.
2011, Aerosmith were forced to delay a concert in South America after Steven Tyler fell in his hotel bathroom. The singer suffered cuts to his face and lost two of his teeth ahead of a concert in Asuncion, Paraguay. He was said to have received stitches and had emergency dental work, forcing the gig to be postponed by 24 hours.

2011, A coroner's inquest on the death of Amy Winehouse reached a verdict of misadventure. The report explained that Winehouse's blood alcohol content was 416 mg per decilitre at the time of her death, more than five times the legal drink-drive limit. According to the coroner ‘The unintended consequences of such potentially fatal levels was her sudden death’.

BIrthdays
1946, Born on this day, Keith Hopwood, guitar, Herman's Hermits, (1964 UK No.1 single 'I'm Into Something Good', 1965 US No.1 single 'Mrs Brown You've Got A Lovely Daughter').
1951, Born on this day, Bootsy Collins, bass player, James Brown, Parliament, Funkadelic, Bootsy's Rubber Band
Album Anniversaries:
Crosby Stills Nash and Young – Looking Back (1999)
1963 Natalie Merchant

Number 1 In The Charts On October 26
1991 U2: ‘The Fly’ UK 45