Rock 'n' Roll History for
July 3


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1965 - ClassicBands.com

July 3
15,000 people were on-hand when The Beach Boys' Summer Spectacular Tour stopped at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California. On the bill that night were The Righteous Brothers, Sam The Sham And The Pharaohs, Donna Loren, Ian Whitcomb, Dino, Desi And Billy, B.J. And The Prophets, Sonny and Cher, The Byrds, The Liverpool Five, The Sir Douglas Quintet, and The Kinks.

1967 - ClassicBands.com

July 3
A Stamford, Connecticut band called The Fifth Estate reaches #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 with a Rock and Roll version of "Ding Dong the Witch Is Dead" from the 1939 movie The Wizard Of Oz.


1968 - ClassicBands.com

July 3
Tiny Tim's "Tiptoe Through the Tulips With Me" peaks at number 17 in the US. The original version of the song, recorded by Nick Lucas in 1929, held the #1 position for 10 weeks. Although Tim's falsetto performance caused many to believe that he had no real talent, he actually possessed a beautiful voice which he showcased during live performances.

July 3
Despite selling millions of records and being voted "The Most Listened-To Band of 1967" by Billboard Magazine, The Buckingham's latest release, "Back in Love Again" falls off the US charts shortly after it peaked at #57. It would prove to be their last chart appearance.

1969 - ClassicBands.com

July 3
The Beatles' "The Ballad of John and Yoko" hits #8 on the US singles chart despite being banned by many radio stations because of the lyrics, "Christ, you know it ain't easy ..." Lennon and McCartney recorded the song without George Harrison, who was out of the country, and Ringo Starr, who was filming The Magic Christian.

July 3
The Rolling Stones original lead guitarist Brian Jones was found dead in his swimming pool, just three weeks after he was kicked out of the band. The official cause was recorded as "death by misadventure." Reports say that Jones had sunk into substance abuse and he was frequently strung out on barbiturates, L.S.D. and alcohol and was no longer able to function as a musician.

1971 - ClassicBands.com

July 3
While on sabbatical in France, The Doors' lead singer, Jim Morrison died of heart failure and acute respiratory distress. News of his death wasn't made public until after his burial in a Paris cemetery on July 9th.

1973 - ClassicBands.com

July 3
61-year-old Perry Como, the crooner who scored a string of hits in the 1950s, makes an unlikely return to the US record charts when his recording of Don McLean's "And I Love You So" cracks the Top 30. The guitar you hear in the background was played by Chet Atkins.

July 3
David Bowie ends a 60-date tour with a show at the Hammersmith Odeon in London, England. Just before the encore, he shocks the crowd by saying, "This night shall always be special in my memory. Not only is it the last show of my British tour... but it is the last show I will ever do." He disbanded his backing group, The Spiders From Mars, and went to Paris to record a solo album. Bowie's retirement was short-lived however. Less than a year later, he was back on stage in the US with the Diamond Dogs tour.

July 3
Clint Holmes received a Gold record for his US #2 single, "Playground in My Mind". Although he would never achieve that measure of success again, Holmes continued singing in nightclubs and became the announcer for The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers from 1986 to 1988. He was a Las Vegas headliner for many years.


1975 - ClassicBands.com

July 3
Chuck Negron of Three Dog Night is arrested for possession of cocaine in his Louisville hotel room on the opening night of the group's tour. The charge is dropped in October when a Kentucky court determines the warrant used for the bust was granted on the basis of unfounded information. Negron's drug addiction, which he chronicled in his book Three Dog Nightmare, would eventually lead to him being kicked out of the band for good.

1977 - ClassicBands.com

July 3
The Marshall Tucker Band's Country cross-over hit "Heard It In a Love Song" peaks at number 14 in the US. Interestingly, there was no one named Marshall Tucker in the band. The group named themselves after the blind piano tuner who had tuned a piano in their rented rehearsal space before the band leased it. His name was inscribed on the door key. The real Marshall Tucker died on January 20, 2023, at the age of 99.

1981 - ClassicBands.com

July 3
On the 10th anniversary of Jim Morrison's death, the surviving members of The Doors, Robby Kreiger, Ray Manzarek and John Densmore led fans in a graveside tribute in the Paris cemetery where Morrison is buried.

1982 - ClassicBands.com

July 3
The Human League started a three week run at the top of the US singles charts with "Don't You Want Me", also a UK #1.

1986 - ClassicBands.com

July 3
The lead singer for Harold Melvin And The Blue Notes, Teddy Pendergrass, who was already paralyzed from a 1982 auto crash, was critically injured when the specially-equipped van he was driving slammed into a utility pole in Philadelphia.


1996 - ClassicBands.com

July 3
During a rain delay at the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships, Cliff Richard launches into a seemly spontaneous concert, where he led spectators through some of his old hits. It was later learned that Sir Cliff had planned the moment as a publicity stunt.

2005 - ClassicBands.com

July 3
Audrey Brickley of The Orlons, who placed five songs in the Billboard Top 20 in the early 1960s, including "The Wah Watusi" (#2), "Don't Hang Up" (#4) and "South Street" (#3), died of acute respiratory distress syndrome. She was 58.

2007 - ClassicBands.com

July 3
Boots Randolph, the saxophone player best known for the 1963, Hot 100, #35 hit "Yakety Sax", died from a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 80.

2008 - ClassicBands.com

July 3
Colin Cooper, saxophonist for The Climax Blues Band who sang lead vocal on their 1977, #3 hit "Couldn't Get it Right", died of cancer. He was 69.

2012 - ClassicBands.com

July 3
Meat Loaf launched a legal battle against tribute artist Dean Torkington who had registered the domain name meatloaf.org in 2000. Although he was seeking $100,000 in damages, Meat Loaf would later settle for $25,000 and control of the website, which now re-directs to meatloaf.net.

July 3
KISS announced that they were set to release a guitar size book containing unseen photographs from their 40-year career. The limited edition called Monster carried a $4,299 price tag and at 3 feet tall, 2.5 feet wide, was reported to be the largest music book ever published.

2019 - ClassicBands.com

July 3
Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul And Mary was uninvited from the Colorscape Chenango Arts Festival in New York because of an indecency case that dated back nearly fifty years. In March, 1970 Yarrow pleaded guilty to taking "immoral and improper liberties" with a 14-year-old girl on August 31st, 1969 at the Shoreham Hotel in New York City. He served three months of a one to three year prison term, and was pardoned by U.S. President Jimmy Carter in 1980. Yarrow later recalled the incident as "the most terrible mistake I have ever made."




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