Aug 28 2008
Hendrix, The Beatles First and Last, and more
Ummmm … anybody for a slightly-used guitar?
Remember how the great Jimi Hendrix usedta set fire to his guitars onstage from time-to-time? Well, the first time he did it was at the Finsbury Astoria in 1967, when he burned a ‘65 Fender Stratocaster.
And now that very same guitar (well, what’s left of it, anyway!) is goin’ on the auction block in London on 4 September! The Fame Bureau is expectin’ to get about £500,000 for the axe!
Oh … didja know that Jimi played his final concert in the UK at the Isle of Wight this month 38 years ago? A month later, he overdosed, and … well, you know the rest of the sad story.
THE BEATLES’ FIRST AND LAST
Now, this little room was where The Quarrymen had their first paying performance in 1959. It was known as The Casbah Club and was in the basement of a lady named Mrs. Mona Best (sound familiar? Yep … Pete’s mum!). But John, Paul, George and guitarist Ken Brown (no drummer) shared one microphone connected to the house PA system and played six Saturday night gigs for 15 shillings each per night.
It’s a far cry from their last paid performance at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park seven years later (1966). As I mentioned a coupla posts ago, the combo of the “Jesus” statement, the Philippine incident and the cherry-bomb in Memphis had much to do with the band retiring from the stage.
But the interesting connection between the two dates above (Quarrymen and Beatles) is that they began their paid concerting on August 29, 1959 and ended it seven years’ later to the day: August 29, 1966!
MORE INTERESTING AUGUST NOTES
This month in 1990, Canadian singer/songwriter Paul Anka finally became an American citizen! But, while he was taking the oath inside, his car was towed off outside for illegal parking!
In 1993, the Late Show with David Letterman debuted on CBS. His first musical guest was Billy Joel.
In August, 2003, Rolling Stone Magazine named Jimi Hendrix the best guitarist of all time!
Now … it’s 4:28 AM EST, and the time has come (seems there’s a song in those words … ‘course if my time were to come, I’d wonder why it took so long. I mean, after all, I subscribed to the magazine three years ago!) to get some shut-eye.
So, until tomorrow, remember:
Keep your eyes on the skies, your feet on the ground, your heart with the music …
and I’ll see ya on the flip side!
