This Day in Rock & Roll History for July 29

Thursday, July 29th, 2010 at 8:26 am

neon rock n roll REO Speedwagon keyboardist Neal Doughty is born. (1946)

Geddy Lee, bassist and vocals for Rush, was born (1953)

Bruce Springsteen’s wife, E Street Band guitarist and vocalist Patty Scialia celebrates a birthday. (1956)

The Isley Brothers record “Shout.” (1959)

Dick Clark premieres his summer stage show, the Dick Clark Caravan of Stars, at the Steel Pier in Atlantic City. (1961)

After a four year hiatus, the Newport Folk Festival in Newport, Rhode Island reopens. Those getting thumbs-up from the crowd include Joan Baez, Peter, Paul & Mary and Bob Dylan. (1963)

Peter, Paul and Mary’s “Blowin’ In The Wind” is released. (1963)

The Beatles film “Help!” debuts at London’s Pavillion Theatre. Another sell-out crowd attends while critics are bemused. (1965)

Bob Dylan crashes his Triumph 55 motorcycle while riding near Woodstock, New York. He is sent to Middletown Hospital with several broken neck vertebrae, a concussion and cuts on his face and scalp. He remains in serious condition for a week suffering mild amnesia, paralysis and internal injuries for about a month. The rumor mill begins with Dylan in a coma, becoming a vegetable, never performing again, dodging the draft, passing on or lost his mind due to drug use. (1966)

The Temptations’ “You’re My Everything” is released. (1967)

The Byrds leave on their tour of South Africa without Gram Parsons. He refuses to set foot in a country where apartheid is official policy. (1968)

The Rolling Stones’ contract with Decca Records has expired and they’re talking about starting their own label. They inform their business manager, Allen Klein, that “neither he nor ABKCO Industries have any authority to negotiate recording contracts on their behalf.” (1970)

Led Zeppelin, in the middle of a very successful U.S. tour, are the victims of one of the largest cash thefts in New York City. $180,000 is taken from the band’s deposit box at the Drake Hotel. The money is mostly cash receipts from the first of two night at Madison Square Garden. (1973)

Mama Cass Elliot, a one-time member of the Mama’s & Papa’s, dies in London. A postmortem the following day shows she died as a result of choking on a sandwich and from inhaling her own vomit. It’s later revealed that she suffered a heart attack. She was 32. (1974)

Eric Clapton begins his first tour of Britain in five years. He stays three weeks, starting off at Hempstead’s Pavillion Theatre. (1976)

Earth, Wind & Fire enter the soul chart with their version of the Beatles “Got to Get You into My Life,” from the “Sgt. Pepper” soundtrack. It makes it to number one for a week in September. (1978)

Kenny Loggins “Whenever I Call You Friend” is released. (1978)

David Bowie makes his theatrical debut as the title role in “The Elephant Man.” Bowie will leave the Denver production and take the lead role in the New York production on Broadway. The critical reaction was favorable. (1980)