More rock trivia

With the announcement that Paul McCartney is coming back to Buffalo this November as part of his latest tour, Got Back, I think now is as good a time as any to look at a few more pieces of rock ‘n’ roll trivia, specifically with live concerts.

In 1969, the Atlanta International Pop Festival took place a month before Woodstock and was one of Led Zeppelin’s first big concerts. It was apparently so hot that July 4 weekend that the fire department had to be called in to spray attendees with water.

That same weekend, on July 5, the Rolling Stones gave a free concert in Hyde Park — their first in two years. The performance began with a tribute to former band member Brian Jones, who had died just two days prior.

Though a common occurrence today, the Concert for Bangladesh, organized by Ravi Shankar and George Harrison, was the first benefit concert to raise money for victims of a disaster. Shankar hoped they could raise $25,000 for victims of flooding and war. In the decades since, with proceeds from the concert’s album and film, about $12 million has been sent to Bangladesh through UNICEF.