The members of Looking Glass were students at Rutgers University in New Jersey when the band formed in 1969. Singer-guitarist Elliot Lurie told The College Crowd Digs Me how the band got its name.

It was 1956. Drummer Tom Austin and keyboardist Bob Gaudio were talented New Jersey teenagers who recruited guitarist Billy Dalton and saxophonist Billy Crandall to form a band, the Royals. Austin and Gaudio teamed to write “Short Shorts,” a number three hit in 1958 for the newly named Royal Teens.

The Anderson Theater at 66 Second Avenue was named after theatrical agent Phyllis Anderson. The hall opened in 1957 and presented Yiddish plays through the 1960s. In 1968 Crawdaddy magazine sponsored a series of rock shows that featured the Yardbirds, Traffic, Procol Harum, Moby Grape, and Big Brother & the Holding Company with Janis Joplin.

“Tiny Dancer” was first released on Elton John’s 1971 album Madman Across the Water. When an edited single version was released in 1972, it only reached №41. As more album cuts were played on FM radio in the 1970s, “Tiny Dancer” in its original form became a listener favorite.

1. “Barbara Ann” was first recorded by A. The Regents B. The Beach Boys C. The Cadillacs

As a budding musician, Richard Lloyd, the former guitarist, singer, and songwriter of the band Television attended many Fillmore East shows without buying a ticket. In this excerpt from the book Fillmore East: The Venue That Changed Rock Music Forever, Lloyd recalls his ploys to get the best seat in the house: backstage at Fillmore East.

The Shangri-Las have been cited as an influence on 1970s punk rockers Blondie and the New York Dolls. The group set itself apart from the girl groups of the 1960s by wearing skin-tight slacks and spike-heeled leather boots to promote a tough-girl image. Their first hit, “(Remember) Walking in the Sand,” reached the Top 5 in 1964. Its follow-up, “Leader of the Pack,” was a №1 hit later that year.

“Some people may not realize it but the Rascals were the first rock band in the world … in the center of the universe, New Jersey, the Rascals were the first band.” – Steven Van Zandt, 1997 Induction of the Rascals into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Fellow record collectors Al Trommers and Robert Plotnik opened Village Oldies in 1967 at 149 Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village. It was at the record shop that Trommers, known as Broadway Al, gave Plotnik the nickname Bleecker Bob. The partners moved to MacDougal Street in the 1970s.

Enjoy this opening chapter of the mini book, Hendrix: An Illustrated Look at the Life of Jimi Hendrix.

1. Ringo Starr rerecorded “Act Naturally” with A. Chet Atkins B. Buck Owens C. Carl Perkins

Opened in the 1880s, the Chelsea Hotel has been a temporary home for many writers, artists, and actors. Years of disrepair earned the hotel its seedy reputation, which did nothing to discourage scores of musicians from visiting.

“Fame itself, of course, doesn’t really afford you anything more than a good seat in a restaurant,” David Bowie told Performing Songwriter. “I’m just amazed how fame is being posited as the be-all and end-all, and how many of these young kids who are being foisted on the public have been talked into this idea that anything necessary to be famous is all right. It’s a sad state of affairs.”

Before Steppenwolf formed, singer John Kay and guitarist Mars Bonfire were members of the Sparrows. Canadian-born Dennis McCrohan first changed his name to Dennis Edmonton and later to Mars Bonfire. The Sparrows broke up in 1967, leaving Bonfire time to drive into the mountains and deserts of Los Angeles in his used Ford Falcon.

When the Yardbirds formed in 1963, they called themselves Blue-Sounds; their repertoire was American blues and R&B. The Yardbirds name was inspired by Jack Kerouac’s classic novel On the Road. Kerouac described people he met as he traveled across the US, including those who hung around rail yards. He called them “rail yard hobos.” Another influence was jazz great Charlie Parker, often nicknamed “Yardbird” or “Bird.”

Genya Ravan fronted Ten Wheel Drive, the dynamic horn band formed in 1969. On Feb 6–7, 1971, Ten Wheel Drive performed at Fillmore East on a bill that featured bluesman Luther Allison, who opened the show, and headliner Steppenwolf.

“I’ve Seen All Good People” appeared on 1971’s The Yes Album. The song is in two parts. It opens with “Your Move,” released as a single in 1971 that reached №40. It closes with “All Good People.” The combination, “I’ve Seen All Good People,” was written and sung by Jon Anderson.

“It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)” was included on R.E.M.’s 1987 album Document and reached №69. Its lyrics were written by R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe in the stream-of-consciousness tradition of Chuck Berry’s “Too Much Monkey Business” and Bob Dylan’s “Subterranean Homesick Blues.”

“The God of Hellfire,” Arthur Brown, is noted for his dynamic performances in a flaming metal helmet. Brown is one of the acknowledged pioneers of theatrical rock. The frontman of The Crazy World of Arthur Brown performed his incendiary hit “Fire” at promoter Bill Graham’s Fillmore East over two nights in 1968.

'Rock Quiz: 1000 Questions Classic Rock Challenge!' Book Excerpt