Greatest Hits Timeline

1940–1960:

West Oakland experiences a thriving blues scene, leading some to call it the Harlem of the West.

1951:

Roy Hawkins, Jimmy McCracklin, and Bob Geddins write the blues standard “The Thrill is Gone” in West Oakland.

June 3, 1956:

Elvis Presley plays the Bay Area for the first time, performing at the Oakland Auditorium.

May 1967:

Berkeley rockers Country Joe and the Fish release the iconic antiwar song “I Feel Like I’m Fixin’ to Die Rag.”

December 1967:

Police raid the Orinda drug lab of Grateful Dead soundman and LSD apostle Owsley Stanley, finding 350,000 doses of acid.

July 5, 1968:

El Cerrito rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR) releases its first album.

1969:

Carl Jefferson starts Concord Records, a jazz record label that grew out of the Concord Jazz Festival.

February 15, 1969:

Vallejo funk band Sly and the Family Stone’s “Everyday People” hits number one on the pop charts.

August 16–18, 1969:

Sly and the Family Stone, CCR, and Country Joe and the Fish are among the performers at Woodstock.

October 4, 1969:

CCR’s third album, Green River, hits number one on the Billboard 200 album chart, staying there for four weeks before it is supplanted by the Beatles’ Abbey Road.

December 6, 1969:

The Altamont Speedway Free Festival is held near Livermore. The concert turns tragic when members of the Hells Angels stab a fan, Meredith Hunter, to death during the Rolling Stones’ set.

1970:
Fantasy Records opens its studio—known as “the house that Creedence built”—on the corner of 10th and Parker in Berkeley.

October 16, 1972:

Creedence Clearwater Revival officially disbands.

1973:

Oakland soul band Tower of Power releases its eponymous third album, which reaches number 15 on the Billboard 200.

1973:

Matthew King Kaufman founds Beserkley Records.

August 5, 1973:

Promoter Bill Graham puts on the first Day on the Green concert at the Oakland Coliseum.

July 24, 1977:

Led Zeppelin plays its last U.S. concert at the Oakland Coliseum.

August 16, 1977:

Bing Crosby plays his last U.S. concert at the Concord Pavilion.

1981:

Berkeley’s Greg Kihn Band releases Rockihnroll, which includes the hit “The Breakup Song.”

September 12, 1981:

Journey’s eighth album, Escape, featuring the hit single “Don’t Stop Believing,” reaches number one on the Billboard 200.

August 7, 1982:

East Bay singer Eddie Money’s “Think I’m in Love” hits number one on the U.S. mainstream rock chart—the first of his three number one singles.

1983:

Oakland’s Too Short, one of the founding fathers of West Coast gangsta rap, releases his first album, Don’t Stop Rappin’.

1983:

El Sobrante resident Kirk Hammett joins Metallica as lead guitarist.

December 31, 1986:

924 Gilman Street, the Berkeley club that launched many local punk bands, holds its first show.

1987:

Lookout Records forms in Berkeley.

June 11, 1988:

“Little Walter” by Oakland R&B group Tony! Toni! Toné! is the first of the group’s five number one singles on the R&B charts.

December 4, 1988:

Neil Young’s second annual Bridge School Benefit concert is held at the Oakland Arena. The lineup includes Bob Dylan and Tom Petty.

May 26, 1990:

Oakland R&B group En Vogue’s single “Hold On” hits number one on the Billboard R&B chart—the first of six number ones for the group.

June 23, 1990:

Oakland rapper MC Hammer’s single “U Can’t Touch This” hits number one on the Billboard R&B chart.

July 26, 1990:

Grateful Dead keyboardist Brent Mydland dies from a drug overdose in Lafayette.

1991:

Island Records sues Concord band Negativland after the band releases an EP titled U2.

July 1, 1991:

Oakland rap group Digital Underground releases its second album, This is an EP Release. The album features the recording debut of Tupac Shakur.

October 25, 1991:

Bill Graham dies in a helicopter crash near Vallejo after leaving a Huey Lewis show at the Concord Pavilion.

September 22, 1993:

Ray Charles plays at the first Concert at Wente Vineyards.

April 23, 1994:

Berkeley rock group Counting Crows’ single “Mr. Jones” hits number one on the American Top 40 chart.

May 7, 1994:

Audience members at 924 Gilman attack Dead Kennedys singer Jello Biafra, calling him a “sellout rock star.”

April 8, 1997:

UC Berkeley grad Stephan Jenkins and his band, Third Eye Blind, release their self-titled debut album. It sells more than 6 million copies.

August 19, 2003:

Berkeley punk band Rancid releases its sixth album, Indestructible, which peaks at number 15 on the Billboard 200.

September 2, 2003:

Lafayette band Black Rebel Motorcycle Club releases its second album, Take Them On, On Your Own. It reaches number three on the U.K. music charts.

May 12, 2004:

Oakland native LaToya London finishes fourth on the third season of American Idol.

September 21, 2004:

Oakland rock band Green Day releases its seventh studio album, American Idiot. The album debuts at number one on the Billboard 200.

May 1, 2007:

Oakland indie band Rogue Wave appears on the soundtrack to the hit film Spider-Man 3.