This Day in Rock & Roll History for May 17
Bill Bruford, drummer with Yes, is born. (1948)
Bob Dylan and Joan Baez team up with Pete Seeger at the first Monterey Folk Festival. (1963)
"Don’t Look Back," D.A. Pennebaker’s film documentary on Bob Dylan’s 1965 British tour, debuts at the Presidio Theater in San Francisco. Dylan will later denounce the movie and file a court injunction to bar it being shown. (1967)
The Chicago Transit Authority release their self-titled debut double album. The band was later sued by the real Chicago Transit Authority and had to shorten their name to Chicago. (1969)
The New Musical Express announces for the the first time ever, album production and sales outdid production and sales of singles in Great Britain, in 1968. (1969)
Associated Television fails in its bid to take over Beatles music company Northern Songs’ offer for all shares expiring with only 47-percent of stock committed. (1969)
Yes receive gold records for both "Yessongs" their triple-record live set and "The Yes Album." (1973)
Elton John was awarded a platinum record for his album Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy. It was the first album to sell one million copies on its first day of release. (1975)
Just two weeks before the start of the Rolling Stones’ long Tour of the Americas ’75, Mick Jagger puts his right hand through a window at Gorman’s restaurant in Montauk, on Long Island. It takes 20 stitches to make it like new. No real damage is done and the tour goes on as scheduled. (1975)
Lou Reed starts a week long series of shows at the Bottom Line club in New York City. He uses portions of the recordings for his upcoming live album, "Take No Prisoners." (1978)
Thank God It’s Friday, a movie celebration of disco which is Casablanca Records chief Neil Bogart’s response to Saturday Night Fever, premieres in Los Angeles. It stars Donna Summer as a singer looking for her big break in a "typical" Hollywood disco on a "typical" Friday night. Summer’s song "The Last Dance" is introduced and it goes on to top the pop charts and wins the 1978 Academy Award for Best Song. The film meantime, is a flop. (1978)
Kiss drummer Peter Criss, the one who wore the catlike makeup, leaves the group for a solo career. (1980)
Joe Walsh releases "All Night Long" from the "Urban Cowboy" movie soundtrack. The film starred John Travolta. (1980)
A fire destroys Tom Petty’s Los Angeles home and causes $800,000 worth of damage. It was later discovered to be the work of an arsonist. (1987)
At the Cannes Film Festival, Who lead singer Roger Daltrey said he wanted to become a doctor of Chinese medicine. He said he never felt that singing and acting were proper careers and that he wanted to study herbal medicine and acupuncture. (1989)
Lawrence Welk dies of complications from pneumonia. He was 89 years old. (1992)
Genesis has to end a show after two songs during a stop in Tampa, Florida for their "We Can’t Dance" tour after Phil Collins comes down with a sore throat. Police arrest several concert-goers who got upset when the show stopped. (1992)
Producer Bruce Fairbairn, who had worked with Aerosmith, Van Halen, AC/DC and more, died in his Vancouver home at age 49 of unknown causes. (1999)





One week after resigning from WINS, Alan Freed signs with WABC, New York where he’ll work in both radio and television. Earler today, Freed was arraigned on charges of inciting the May 3 attack on a policeman. (1958)
Singer/songwriter and producer Brian Eno is born. (1948)



































