Dave Swanson

On Aug. 12, 1968, in a small space on Gerrard Street in the west end of London, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and John Bonham played together for the very first time. The first song the band -- which would later be named Led Zeppelin -- tore into was 'The Train Kept A-Rollin',' which was a fixture in Page's previous band, the Yardbirds.

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On Aug. 9, 1968, the Beatles were in the middle of the recording sessions that would yield 'The Beatles,' the double LP better known as 'The White Album.' One song that got finished that day was Paul McCartney's 'Mother Nature's Son.'

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It was 45 years ago that Yes began their live career on a very inauspicious note, as they performed their first gig on Aug. 3, 1968 at the East Mersea Youth Camp in Essex.

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On Aug. 3, 1963, the Beach Boys' fifth single, 'Surfer Girl,' hit the Billboard charts. The song would eventually make it's way to No. 7.

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The era of the big rock festival is littered with the legendary, the local, and the forgotten. Woodstock and Monterey may have the cache, and Altamont the tragedy, but among the ruins of the rock festival era sits an interesting curiosity known as the Newport Pop Festival. On Aug. 3-4,1968, the all-but forgotten festival took place at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa Calif.

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On July 31, 1966, the Sixth National Jazz and Blues Festival was held at the Royal Windsor Racecourse in England. Among the usual assortment of artists you find at things like this was a new band called Cream, who were making their debut performance.

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The Grateful Dead's self-titled debut album from 1967 was a casserole of folk, rock, blues and psychedelia. But it didn't quite capture the live Dead experience. So on their second album, 'Anthem of the Sun,' they set out to bring their celebrated concert experience into the studio.

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Grand Funk Railroad were huge during the first half of the '70s. Every album they released between 1969 and 1975 went either gold or platinum, and in 1971 they even beat the Beatles' box-office record at Shea Stadium, selling out the venue in less than 72 hours.

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The commercial for the new Fiat 500L sets itself up all American Revolution style, with a pseudo Paul Revere warning 'the British are coming.' After a second look, he corrects himself...'wait...the Italians are coming,' as he spies a fleet of new Fiat 500s rolling down the road. As the automobiles come into view, the unmistakable sounds of 'Children Of The Revolution,' the 1972 single from T. Rex, is heard charging full volume ahead.

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Peppi Marchello, lead singer of the Good Rats, died on Wednesday, July 10 from a heart attack, just weeks after having open heart surgery. He was 68.

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Guitarist Steve Hunter is the stuff of legend. He's worked with many artists since the 1970s, including Peter Gabriel, Aerosmith and David Lee Roth.

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Following up a classic debut album as well as a stunning sophomore effort is no easy task. Just ask the Doors. Their self-titled first album from 1967 was still riding high when the follow-up LP, 'Strange Days,' hit shelves at the end of the year. Things were moving quickly for the Los Angeles quartet. As 1968 approached, the band marched forward to work on their third album.

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