On this day in music history…
In 1967, The Jimi Hendrix Experience played their last concert opening for The Monkees. Despite The Monkees being fans of Hendrix, Monkees fans weren’t very interested in The Jimi Hendrix Experience. After a mere seven shows, Hendrix and his band backed out of the remaining tour dates.
In 1991, Lynyrd Skynyrd kicked off their 1991 tour in Baton Rouge, Louisiana — the very same city to which Skynyrd was traveling in 1977 when two members of the group were killed in a plane crash. Fans who had tickets to the canceled 1977 Baton Rouge show were admitted to the concert for free. The 1991 tour was in support of the first album the band released since the deadly plane crash. Titled Lynyrd Skynyrd 1991, it was their first album to feature Johnny Van Zant on lead vocals. Ronnie Van Zant, Johnny’s older brother and Skynyrd’s original lead singer, was one of the six people killed in the plane crash 14 years earlier.
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