The Van Halen brothers formed their first band, the Broken Combs, in 1964. As they gained popularity playing backyard parties and local high school functions, they changed their name first to the Trojan Rubber Co, then in 1972 to Genesis, later to Mammoth when they discovered Genesis was already in…
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Directed by Richard Lester , A Hard Day’s Night involved the band for six weeks in March–April 1964 as they played themselves in a musical comedy.
Who biographer John Atkins wrote that the group’s early test sessions for Pye Records in 1964 show that “they seemed to have understood just how important was … Moon’s contribution.” Contemporary critics questioned his ability to keep time, with biographer Tony Fletcher suggesting that the timing on Tommy was “all…
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They had intended the album, recorded between August and October 1964, to continue the format established by A Hard Day’s Night which, unlike their first two LPs, contained only original songs.
Moon played a four- and later a five-piece drum kit during his early career. During much of 1964 and 1965 his setups consisted of Ludwig drums and Zildjian cymbals . He began to endorse Premier Drums in late 1965 and remained a loyal customer of the company. His first Premier…
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As preparations were made for a tour of the US, the Beatles knew that their music would hardly be heard. Having originally used Vox AC30 amplifiers, they later acquired more powerful 100-watt amplifiers, specially designed for them by Vox , as they moved into larger venues in 1964; however, these…
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Later in the summer of 1964, teenagers Van Zant, Rossington, and Burns all became acquainted while playing on rival baseball teams. The trio decided to jam together one afternoon after Burns was injured by a ball hit by Van Zant. They set up their equipment in the carport of Burns’…
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The foundations for what would become the Velvet Underground were laid in late 1964. Singer-songwriter and guitarist Lou Reed had performed with a few short-lived garage bands and had worked as a songwriter for Pickwick Records (Reed described his tenure there as being “a poor man’s Carole King “). Reed…
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In 1964, they beat the Beatles as the number one United Kingdom band in two surveys.
In January 1964 the band released a self-titled EP , which became their first No. 1 record in the UK.