Today in Acoustic-Rock History

1961 – Garth Hudson joins Levon Helm, Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko and Richard Manuel in the Hawks, who serve as Arkansas rockabilly singer Ronnie Hawkins’ backup band. These same individuals would later form The Band.

1977 – “Decade,” a triple-album Neil Young retrospective personally assembled by the artist, is released.

1982 – The Who play what they refer to as the “last concert of our farewell tour” at Toronto’s Maple Leaf Gardens. The show is simulcast around America on pay-per-view satellite-cable TV to closed-circuit arena outlets. The video rights are sold to Home Box Office and video-cassettes of the event will be sold later.

1986 – The Doobie Brothers reunite for a benefit in Palo Alto, CA. The performance inspires a reunion tour the following year.

BIRTHDAY:

Mike Mills (R.E.M.) 1958

Paul Rodgers (Bad Company) 1947