DJ Fred’s Rock N’ Roll Factoids For August 13th [VIDEOS]

A band that would soon turn into a big deal for the San Francisco music scene made their live debut on this date in 1965.  Was the lead singer wearing a bra?  Probably not.

The Jefferson Airplane took the stage at the Matrix Club in San Franciso. Featuring Grace Slick, Marty Balin, Paul Kantner, Jack Cassady and Jorma Kaukonen, the group would quickly turn into a mainstay of the psychedelic rock era.  Pretty heavy stuff, all the while being filled with peace and love, and worldly groovy-ness.

In 1966 another groovy song hit #1 - Summer In The City by the Lovin' Spoonful!   It stayed on top of the charts for three weeks.  The song begins with the sound of a car horn.  Have you ever wondered what type of car produced that sound?  Have you ever wondered why chickens don't have lips?  Why you can't kiss a hooker?  Anyway, it came from a Volkswagen Beetle!  Of course it did, it was the sixties!  Far out man.

What some critics have called the Beatles finest album, Revolver, hit #1 on the album charts in 1966.  The band began their period as "studio innovators" with this album, and their continuing experiments would eventually evolve into producing Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.  Revolver refers to how a vinyl record spins and to a handgun, a Beatles play on the word.

By the way, on this date in 1971, John Lennon flew to New York City, and would never set foot on British soil again.

It was on this date in 1980 that four masked men broke into a house owned by Todd Rundgren in New York.  They tied up Todd, stole a bunch of paintings and stereo equipment.  Todd told the cops that one of the burglars had been humming his hit song I Saw The Light..

Woodstock 94 was held on this date in 1994.  Peace and love abounded rockers gathered in Saugerties, New York, to hear reen Day, Nine Inch Nails, Aerosmith and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. It was the 25th anniversary of the original Woodstock concert and was billed as "2 More Days of Peace and Music."  Like the original, the concert area turned into a huge mud pit as Mother Nature took a piss on rock and roll, again.

The late Dan Fogelberg was born on this date in 1951.  Dan had big hits like Leader of the Band, Longer and Same Old Lang Syne.  Dan and his family lived for many years in Deer Isle, and one of his more popular songs in our area was The Reach, a song about the waters and the fishermen who made their living in the area.  Unfortunately, Dan Fogelberg passed away of prostate cancer in 2007.  Locals remember him as a good guy.