SEPTEMBER 21 | TODAY IN ROCK HISTORY: Don Felder, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix
The Beatles Reunion Rumor Makes Headlines Again
On September 21, 1979, The Beatles were suddenly front-page news again when The New York Post reported that the group might reunite for a benefit concert for Southeast Asian refugees known as the Kampuchean boat people. The possibility of seeing Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, and John Lennon together again created an immediate international sensation.
The story had some substance behind it. United Nations officials were encouraging the former Beatles to participate, and California producer Dirk Summers claimed that negotiations were underway for a reunion concert in Geneva. But Lennon had not agreed to participate, and McCartney pointed out that if the Beatles ever did reunite, they would need considerable time to rehearse. The proposed reunion ultimately never happened.
The strange twist was that McCartney would soon become involved in the real musical response to the refugee crisis. Later that year, he helped organize the Concerts for the People of Kampuchea in London, bringing together major artists for a series of benefit performances without reuniting The Beatles. The September 1979 rumor therefore became another chapter in the long-running mythology surrounding a Beatles reunion that never came.
Jimi Hendrix’s “All Along the Watchtower” Enters the U.S. Charts
On September 21, 1968, Jimi Hendrix and the Jimi Hendrix Experience entered the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 with “All Along the Watchtower.” Hendrix’s electrifying interpretation of the Bob Dylan song would eventually climb to No. 20, making it Hendrix’s only U.S. Top 40 single and his only Top 20 hit in America.
Hendrix transformed Dylan’s relatively spare composition into something heavier, more dramatic, and unmistakably his own. The recording combined his explosive guitar work with the rhythmic drive of Mitch Mitchell and Noel Redding, creating a version that would ultimately become more famous than the original.
Dylan himself recognized what Hendrix had done with the song. His live performances increasingly incorporated elements of the Hendrix interpretation, an unusual reversal in which the songwriter effectively absorbed the musical vocabulary of the artist who had covered him. “All Along the Watchtower” became one of the defining recordings of Hendrix’s career and one of rock’s most influential cover versions.
Don Felder Turns 78
September 21 marks the 78th birthday of Don Felder, the guitarist and songwriter whose work became an essential part of the Eagles sound. Born in Gainesville, Florida, in 1947, Felder developed into a versatile guitarist before joining the Eagles in 1974 and helping push the band toward a harder-edged rock sound.
Felder is best known for co-writing “Hotel California” with Don Henley and Glenn Frey, as well as creating the distinctive guitar foundation and sharing the song’s celebrated solo with Joe Walsh. His guitar work helped define one of the most recognizable recordings in rock history.
Felder remained with the Eagles through their original breakup in 1980 and their later reunion before being dismissed from the band in 2001. His subsequent solo career included Airborne, Road to Forever, and American Rock ’n’ Roll, while his legacy with the Eagles earned him induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.
Three Weird September 21 Rock Factoids
Elvis Lost Two of His Original Bandmates Over Money
On September 21, 1957, Scotty Moore and Bill Black, the guitarist and bassist who had helped create Elvis Presley’s original sound, quit the singer’s band after a bitter salary dispute with manager Colonel Tom Parker. Drummer D.J. Fontana stayed on, while Black and Moore walked away from the operation that had helped launch rock ’n’ roll. Black would later form Bill Black’s Combo and score a string of instrumental hits of his own.
Bob Marley Was Told He Had Two Weeks to Live
On September 21, 1980, Bob Marley collapsed while jogging in New York’s Central Park. A neurologist examined him the following day and reportedly told Marley that he had only about two weeks to live. Instead, Marley recovered enough to travel to Pittsburgh and perform what became his final concert on September 23. He died from cancer the following May at the age of 36.
Michael Jackson Was Photographed Inside an Oxygen Chamber
On September 21, 1986, Michael Jackson found himself at the center of one of the strangest celebrity stories of the decade when The National Enquirer published a photograph of him lying inside a hyperbaric oxygen chamber. The accompanying story claimed Jackson intended to use the machine to live to the age of 150. Jackson later explained that the photograph had been taken during an equipment test at Brotman Memorial Hospital, where he had helped fund a specialized burn center.
September 21 Conclusion
September 21 brings together three very different sides of rock history: the enduring mythology of a Beatles reunion, the creative transformation of a Bob Dylan song by Jimi Hendrix, and the lasting guitar legacy of Don Felder. From rumors that briefly made headlines to recordings that permanently changed rock, the date reminds us how quickly a moment can become part of the larger story.
Rock history is full of those unexpected connections—songs that take on lives of their own, musicians who leave their fingerprints on defining recordings, and stories that become legends whether they were true or not. September 21 has a place in all three.
