June 9, 1978 – The Rolling Stones release Some Girls, the first studio album recorded with Ronnie Wood.  The album goes on to sell over 6 million in the U.S.

June 9, 1979 – The 2nd annual Texxas Jam takes place at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. The bill includes bands in this order:  TKO, Sammy Hagar, Nazareth, Van Halen, Boston, Heart and Blue Öyster Cult.  Yes, BÖC headlined.

June 9, 1970 – Bob Dylan receives an honorary Doctorate in Music from Princeton University.  In part, his citation reads, “Paradoxically, though he is known to millions, he shuns publicity and organizations, preferring the solidarity of his family and isolation from the world. Although he is approaching the perilous age of 30 his music remains the authentic expression of the disturbed and concerned conscience of Young America.”  Dylan leaves immediately after the event accompanied by his friend David Crosby, who had been inexplicably licking half an orange throughout the ceremony.

Listen to Bob Dylan’s Nobel Lecture in Literature

Classic Rock Birthdays

June 9, 1941 – Jon Lord, keyboards (Deep Purple, Whitesnake) (d. 2012)
June 9, 1954 – Paul “Tonka” Chapman, guitar (UFO) (d. 2020)
June 9, 1915 – Les Paul (born Lester William Polsfuss), inventor of the Gibson Les Paul guitar (d. 2009)
June 9, 1950 – Trevor Bolder, bass (Spiders From Mars, Uriah Heep) (d. 2013)

Backstage Access:
My New Les Paul Guitar: A Personal Journey

Rock Remembrances

June 9, 2020 – Paul “Tonka” Chapman, guitarist of UFO, dies on his 66th birthday. Chapman replaced Gary Moore in the original Skid Row in 1971, and then went on to play on four UFO albums – No Place to Run, The Wild, The Willing and the Innocent, Mechanix and Making Contact. After they disbanded in 1983, Chapman reunited with former UFO member Pete Way in the band Waysted for two albums, and then played in various bands including the southern rock band Gator Country, with a bunch of Molly Hatchet veterans.