MAGE MUSIC: On This Day 28 October

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

On This Day 28 October

When one door closes, another is opened.

1966 28 October On This Day Yardbirds, Dick Clark's Caravan of the Stars Tour

1966 The Yardbirds - Dick Clark Caravan of Stars tour, Amarillo at Tri-State Fairgrounds Coliseum
1967 The Yardbirds - St. Louis, MO at Washington University, Francis Fieldhouse
1972 Led Zeppelin - Montreux, Switzerland at Pavillion Montreux (day 1)
1988 Jimmy Page Outrider Tour - Uniondale, NY at Nassau Complex, Mitchel Field Complex

1966:

Joining the Dick Clark tour might have been the straw that broke the camel's back for Jeff Beck and the Yardbirds.

The tour was a grueling endurance test for the participants, who were treated anything but like stars. Every show each act got to do a few songs and then the next band was up. Soon as the show was over everyone got in the bus with the other acts and their gear and were hauled off to the next gig. They did this day after day for a month at a time with no breaks.

It was trial by fire.

At this point, both Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page were playing lead guitar, though it wasn't for long. Not long into the tour, Beck took off. While it must have been traumatic for the band, it was the opportunity for Jimmy Page and The Yardbirds' manager, Peter Grant, to move the band into a new musical direction, one that would ultimately morph into Led Zeppelin.

1972:
Claude Knobs introduced Led Zeppelin at Montreux as the greatest rock and roll band in the world. As Chris Charlesworth said in his Melody Maker review of the two shows, "it was a description taken for granted by many, but which suits only a few".