This Date in Rock Music History: May 10
1960: The Liverpool group the Beatles changed their name to the Silver Beetles. The group, which included Stu Sutcliffe on bass and drummer Tommy Moore, along with John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison, auditioned to be the backing group for Billy Fury, Johnny Gentle or Duffy Power at the Blue Angel (formerly known as the Wyvern Social Club), a club owned by manager Allan Williams. Fury, Gentle, and Power were all looking for bands, and four other groups, including Gerry and the Pacemakers, auditioned the same day. Moore was late, so the group used Johnny Hutchinson, the drummer from the group the Casanovas, another auditioning group. Despite the fact that the drummer had never practiced with them, the Silver Beetles were still the class of the five. Fury indicated that this was the band for him. Moore then came staggering through the door and took over on drums. Not too long afterward, Fury abruptly decided that he didn't need a band, and the Silver Beetles were subsequently assigned to back Gentle on an upcoming tour of Scotland. (Note: some websites claim that the group changed their name to the Silver Beetles on May 20, but according to the book 'The Beatles As Musicians: The Quarry Men Through Rubber Soul' by Walter Everett, the name change occurred on May 10. Some websites say that the group changed their name from Johnny & the Moondogs to the Silver Beetles on this date. According to 'The Beatles Bible', the group stopped using the name Johnny & the Moondogs in January, and briefly called themselves the Beatles before switching to the Silver Beetles.)
1963: The Rolling Stones recorded their first songs, including their version of Chuck Berry's "Come On", at Olympic Studios in London.
1964: Dusty Springfield made her television debut singing "I Only Want To Be With You" on the CBS program The Ed Sullivan Show.
1965: The Beatles recorded "Dizzie Miss Lizzy" and "Bad Boy".
1965: The Rolling Stones recorded part of "Satisfaction" at Chess Studios in Chicago.
1966: Janis Joplin was invited to San Francisco by her friend Chet Helms. Helms wanted her to audition for a group he was managing--Big Brother and the Holding Company.
1967: British police arrested Mick Jagger, Keith Richard and Brian Jones for various drug offenses.
1968: Jim Morrison, seeing what he thought was abuse of audience members by policemen, incited a riot at a Doors concert at the Chicago Coliseum.
1969: Tricia Nixon, daughter of United States President Richard Nixon, invited the Temptations and the Turtles to perform at a White House Ball.
1969: She sang backup for Eric Clapton, Joe Cocker, Leon Russell and Delaney & Bonnie but on this date, Rita Coolidge debuted on the chart with her own first single--"Turn Around And Love You".
The Moody Blues~To Lovely To See You
