60 YEARS AGO TODAY:
7/29/66 – Bob Dylan crashes his motorcycle near his home in Woodstock, New York, breaking his neck in the process. He will be sidelined for several months (Karma for plugging in that electric guitar???)
Also on 7/29, Cream make their debut live performance at The Twisted Wheel in Manchester, England. Their first official concert will happen two days later at the Sixth Annual Windsor Jazz & Blues Festival
Also on 7/29, “Datebook,” a popular magazine for teenagers, publishes portions of the interview that John Lennon did with British journalist Maureen Cleave back in March during which he states that The Beatles are “bigger than Jesus right now.” Radio bans Beatles music throughout the south and Beatles bonfires are right around the corner. (You can chalk this up as Definitive Reason #2 as to why The Beatles decided to give up touring for good a couple of months later)
Ironically, when the article originally ran several months ago in Great Britain, there was no controversy or reaction at all. In fact, even here in The States, after The New York Times Magazine picked up excerpts from this same interview and ran them in July, nobody seemed to notice …
But for whatever reason, the Datebook publication lit the torch that put their very lives in danger the moment they set foot on American soil. And an American tour was scheduled to take off next month.
Also on 7/29, Country Singer Martina McBride is born
