1968: June

12:55 PM GMT 21/02/2008

3 – Andy Warhol is shot in his New York loft by frustrated writer and marginal Factory-hanger-on, Valerie Solanas. The Pop Art guru barely survives and will face physical repercussions until his death in 1987.

5 – Having won the California Primary, Robert Kennedy addresses a thronging crowd of ecstatic supporters at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. As he leaves the stage he is led through the hotel pantry. At 12:13am, 24-year old Sirhan Sirhan shoots the Senator in the head. Busboy Juan Romero is photographed holding Kennedy’s head and placing a rosary in his hand. The senator's wounds prove fatal and he is pronounced dead at 1:44am.

6 – As news of the assassination spreads across the globe, The Rolling Stones head back to Olympic Studios and start to work on the recently re-christened Sympathy For The Devil. Jean Luc Godard captures the shaping of the song on film. Mick Jagger will later admit he is nonplussed by the filmmaker’s vision: "He’s completely freaky,” he says. 12,000 miles away in the canyons surrounding L.A., Stephen Stills begins to pen Long Time Gone.

9 – Canadian born singer-songwriter, Joni Mitchell plays her first L.A. date at Doug Weston’s Troubadour Club.

10 – A fire at Olympic Studios brings the filming of Godard’s film to a standstill.

11 – In Abbey Road, Studio 3, John Lennon begins work on his experimental freak-out Revolution 9, while Paul McCartney picks up an acoustic guitar and enters an adjoining room to record Blackbird. Later in the day, Paul is filmed listening to a playback of Mary Hopkin’s first recordings.

12 While promoting their album Truth, The Jeff Beck Group make their US debut. Ronnie Wood, Aynsley Dunbar and one Rod Stewart act as the guitar-slinger’s back-up band.

27 – 6pm, Burbank Studios, California. Elvis Presley takes the stage for the first time in seven years with original players Scotty Moore and DJ Fontana. The resulting TV show, the ’68 Comeback Special, is broadcast in December.

28 – Aretha Franklin headlines the Soul Together Concert at New York’s Madison Sqaure Garden. Sonny & Cher, Sam & Dave, Joe Tex and King Curtis complete the bill. Proceeds are given to the Martin Luther King Memorial Fund. A single audience member donates $5000. His name is Jimi Hendrix.

29 – Pink Floyd headline the UK’s first major outdoor concert in London’s Hyde Park. Jethro Tull, Roy Harper and Tyrannosaurus Rex also appear throughout the day.

...JULY

Posted by Ross_Bennett at 12:55 PM GMT 21/02/2008

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