This month in Rock and Roll History - June

June 21, 1948: CBS introduces the Long Player. Prior to the long play, recording time was limited to three minutes because of the width of the groove and the limitations of recording technology. Recordings were limited to short pop songs and comic monologues as well as seriously edited classical pieces. Many of the early classical recordings had entire sections omitted to allow for them to fit into the three-minute format. Strangely enough, these edited versions became the genuine versions to the listening public. The long play had initially been developed for dictation machines and movie soundtracks but Columbia moved the technology to the music industry. By using 12-inch vinyl discs, microgrooves, an improved stylus and a synchronized motor to turn the disc at 33 1/3 RPM's, the Long Play changed the way music was recorded and presented. In his demonstration of the technology, Dr. Peter Goldmark stacked the new discs next to a pile of 78's. It took an eight-foot high stack of 78's to contain the same amount of music as a stack of 15 Long Play discs.

June, 1956: Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps release "Be Bop A Lula". In 1955, while recovering from a motorcycle accident, Gene Vincent co-wrote the song with a fellow hospital patient named Don Graves. However, the co-writing credit was later co-opted by a DJ named Sheriff Tex Davis who later became Vincents manager. When the song was originally recorded, it was to be a B-side to a song they had recorded entitled "Woman love". However it was felt that "Woman love" was too suggestive as a title so "Be Bop A Lula" became the A-side. Dripping in echo, Vincent's vocal treatment of the nonsense lyrics was carried along by the sterling guitar work of Cliff Gallup. By April 1957, the record had sold more than 2 million copies and it has been covered by practically every one from Elvis and the Everly Brothers to Foghat and the Stray Cats.

June, 1964: The Animals release "The House Of The Rising Sun". Originally a "traditional" American song whose actual authorship is unknown, "The House Of The Rising Sun" had been recorded in the 30's. The song was reworked by folkie Dave Van Ronk in New York and was subsequently recorded by a young Bob Dylan for his 1962 debut album. In the U.K., the Animals were so impressed by Dylan's treatment, they set out to record their own version. Containing haunting arpeggios and a mesmerizing organ work, the Animals version was released as their second single. It went to #1 in the U.K. almost immediately. According to Animals drummer John Steel, Dylan had said that "he was driving along in his car and [House] came on the radio … he pulled the car over and listened, jumped out of the car and started hitting the hood". Some say that this was the impetus that showed Dylan he could make the move from acoustic folk singer to electric rock poet.

June 1, 1967: The Beatles release "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band". There has been no album before or since that has had such impact on rock and roll. Relieved of touring, The Beatles finally had the luxury of extended time in the studio to craft what all the members of the band considered to be their master-work. Using what was, at the time, cutting edge 4-track technology, Sgt. Pepper brought the album form from being nothing more than a music delivery system into a collective of both raucous and reflective music, conceptual lyrics and pop art, creating in effect, the total package. The album itself was an infusion of interconnected songs without the traditional 3-second breaks between tracks all done by the fictional band, Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band. To date, the album has sold 11.7 million units worldwide and is still noted by many musicians, fans and critics as one of the most important albums in rock and roll history.

June 16, 1967: Fresh on the heels of the release of Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band, the second event that kicked the Summer Of Love into high gear occurred with the Monterey International Pop Festival. Held over three days, over 200,000 people attended the Festival that brought together thirty-three acts from various countries as well as genre's of music. The line up included acts as diverse as The Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin, Simon and Garfunkel, Lou Rawls, Ravi Shankar, Hugh Masakela and The Association. But one act is most often referred to when most folks speak of Monterey; The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Monterey was Jimi Hendrix's first appearance in the United States after he turned the U.K. on its ear. Shortly after Monterey, Jimi Hendrix took America by storm and the changed the role of the electric guitar in rock and roll. Monterey also set the stage for the Woodstock Festival held two years later.

June 16, 1978: The Rolling Stones release "Some Girls" Through the sixties and the early to mid-seventies, The Rolling Stones were generally accepted as The Worlds Greatest Rock and Roll Band. However as the decade rolled on, it became apparent that the Stones were not going to be able to rest on their collective laurels as younger musicians, namely punk rockers, were calling them out. Countless punks in various interviews referred to The Stones as "fossils" and "dinosaurs" and essentially pointless regarding the future of rock and roll. In 1977, Keith Richards was busted for drugs in Canada and faced life imprisonment if convicted. The future of the Rolling Stones seemed in peril. However Keith beat the rap and The Stones released "Some Girls" which was welcomed as their re-invention for the times. Mick Jagger, who had become a proficient guitarist in his own right, pressed the band for mostly fast songs and although Richards voiced his disdain for what Mick had suggested, "Some Girls" incorporated several of Jaggers ideas. The disc included tracks sounding in everything form country, classic Stones, R&B and the unlikely disco smash, "Miss You". This album solidified the strength of the Stones for decades to come.

June 25, 1984: "Purple Rain" is released. The album, technically a soundtrack to the semi-autobiographical movie of the same name, propelled Prince and The Revolution into superstardom. Although Prince wrote all the tracks on the album, the disc was the first that was recorded with his back up band, The Revolution and it showed. The disc was much heavier than his first five discs, which were one-man works. "Purple Rain" was ripe with layered guitar tracks, rich synthesizer work, keyboards and pounding bass and became the yardstick by which all of Prince's future work would be measured. It is also very clear from that album alone how skilled Prince is as a guitarist and how heavily influenced he was by Jimi Hendrix. "Purple Rain" sold 13 million units in the U.S, spent 24 weeks consecutive at #1 on the Billboard Chart and is regularly listed as one of the greatest albums of all time.



Notable June Birthdays:

6/1/47: Ron Wood
6/3/42: Curtis Mayfield
6/7/57: Prince
6/8/44: Boz Scaggs
6/9/1893: Cole Porter
6/11/1864: Richard Strauss
6/15/37: Waylon Jennings
6/18/42: Paul McCartney
6/20/42: Brian Wilson
6/20/24: Chet Atkins
6/23/48: Todd Rundgren
6/24/42: Mick Fleetwood
6/24/44: Jeff Beck
6/25/45: Carly Simon
6/28/02: Richard Rogers of Rogers and Hammerstein