This week in rock history, Eric Clapton announced the end of Cream, Smokey Robinson left the Miracles, Chuck Berry went to jail, Live Aid raised millions for Africa and nude photos of Madonna surfaced in the media.
July 10, 1968 - Eric Clapton announced that Cream were breaking up
Rock`s original supergroup cut ties after just two days together. Yet despite their brief tenure, the power trio left formidable influence over all blues-rock bands to follow: singer/bassist Jack Bruce, guitarist/singer Eric Clapton, and drummer Ginger Baker sold over 15 million records while together, and their soulful riffs (fed through the now-ubiquitous wah-wah pedal) paved the way for Led Zeppelin, the Allman Brothers, the White Stripes and many more psychedelic/blues acts.
Cream`s stadium-ready bend on traditional blues led them to the top of the charts throughout their short career: "Crossroads," "Sunshine of Your Love," and "I Feel Free" were runaway successes in both their native England and likewise the United States. Their band name was derived, immodestly but not inaccurately, from the players` belief that they represented the "cream of the range" of the large British acts they`d left behind (as easily as young musicians in general): prodigal six-stringer Clapton was previously in the Yardbirds, Baker came from the Graham Bond Organisation, and Bruce was in Manfred Mann.
But shared blues-rock idolatry couldn`t keep Baker and Bruce from arguing savagely; their creative and personal rivalry exhausted Clapton, who once stopped playing while onstage with them (and as he suspected, neither bandmate noticed). Clapton privately considered disassembling the set for a twelvemonth before they all agreed to break during a contentious May 1968 tour of the United States.
Cream played their last appearance on November 26 at London`s Royal Albert Hall. In 2005, with a few decades of solo records and drug-addled misadventures under their belts, the trio reunited for a chain of shows at the same theater.
July 16, 1972: Smokey Robinson makes his final show with the Miracles
In the 1970s, William "Smokey" Robinson understood the show business better than anyone: he was the dreamy lead vocalist of Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, one of the top R&B and doo-wop acts in America, and he too served as Vice President of the wildly profitable Motown Records. It was no small decision to allow the Miracles, his circle of nearly two decades and his label`s signature act.
Robinson met his Miracles bandmate Ronald White while in primary school; together, they reinforced the grouping into a chart-topping vocal quintet and scored their first hit 1 in 1960 with "Shop Around." Their effortless poise and sleek harmonies helped make the burgeoning Motown Records; "You Really Got a Book On Me," "That`s What Jazz Is Made Of, "Ooo Baby Sister" and many more songs hit the Top 20. Robinson announced in early 1972 that he would allow the group to be with his children (with wife/bandmate Claudette Rogers) and focus on his Motown Records leadership duties. He then crossed the state with the Miracles on a six-month farewell tour. The last show took office on July 16 at the Carter Barron Ampitheatre in Washington, D.C. during the show, Robinson introduced the group`s new lead singer, Billy Griffin.
Robinson went on to play at Motown through 1988, as good as enjoy a really successful solo R&B career as the singer/songwriter behind "Baby That`s Backatcha," "Ebony Eyes," "Cruisin`," and more. He was inducted into the Stone and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, and silence records and performs occasionally.
July 10, 1979: Chuck Berry sentenced to 5 months in jail
Whoops. Just a month after rock & roll pioneer Chuck Berry performed at the White House at the petition of President Jimmy Carter, he went to prison for tax evasion.
By the Seventies, the fleet-fingered rock guitarist/singer was in frequent demand as a live performer of his classic Fifties songs ("Maybellene," "Rock and Roll Music," "Johnny B. Goode"), and he insisted upon being paid in cash for each gig, which he failed to study in his taxes. The IRS came calling throughout the 1970s, finally threatening criminal sanction in 1979, so Berry pled guilty. He served four months in gaol and performed 1,000 hours of community service (via benefit shows). It was Berry`s second clip in the slammer, as he had been convicted of armed robbery as a teenager.
Berry`s tax evasion scandal was brought back to clear this summer, when a statue of the player was sanctioned to be reinforced in his native St. Louis, Missouri. Some residents expressed indignation that their tax dollars would honor Berry; we surmise that Berry, the author of "Have Mercy Judge," thoroughly enjoyed the irony.
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