Rock concerts are a huge part of modern life, but some stand out more than others. While there are many criteria for notable shows; largest gross, largest attended, most bands played, etc., truly great concerts are measured in their influence and impact on music, art culture, and sometimes the rock bands themselves.
The Top 10 Rock Concerts Of All Time list includes these truly great rock concerts, and the reason why. We are sure there will be plenty of debate and personal opinion about this list, and we would love to hear your views in the comments below!
Top 10 Rock Concerts…. Number 10
Simon and Garfunkel at Central Park, Central Park, New York City, September 19, 1981: More than 500,000 people attended the historic show, where Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel seemed to forget about their decade long separation. It was a homecoming for the duo, who performed their timeless hits, and produced a stellar live album.
Top 10 Rock Concerts…. Number 9
Peter Frampton Comes Alive, Marin Civic Center, San Francisco, June 13/14, 1975: As comedian Mike Myers once commented, “Frampton Comes Alive was delivered to every American’s door along with a sample of Tide laundry soap”, or something to that effect. But in reality, the Marin Civic Center shows produced the best selling live album in history, with over 16 million units sold. Peter Frampton and crew performed brilliantly, and produced timeless live hit after hit.
Top 10 Rock Concerts…. Number 8
Led Zeppelin at Madison Square Garden, New York City, 1973: Three consecutive shows by Led Zeppelin at Madison Square Garden in 1973 led to the celebrated live video, “The Song Remains the Same.” The band was on top of their game, as documented in the video, and the performances of each song have reached legendary status.
Top 10 Rock Concerts…. Number 7
The Rolling Stones at Wembley, Wembley Arena, England, September 13/15, 2003: Just when you thought the Stones were through, a two-day, sold out 40th anniversary concert proved that the aging Englishmen had a lot more under the hood than anyone realised.
Top 10 Rock Concerts…. Number 6
The Who Live At Leeds, University of Leeds, Leeds, England, May 16, 1970: The Who, performing at University of Leeds in England, recorded the show and released one of the must-have live albums in rock music history.
Top 10 Rock Concerts…. Number 5
U2 atop a liquor store in LA, Los Angeles, California, March 27, 1987: U2’s twenty minute show to thrilled onlookers resulted in the LAPD pulling the plug, and appearing on the group’s “Where the Streets Have No Name” video. This stunt was neck-and-neck for our list with the Beatle’s legendary 1969 “Rooftop Concert” in London, differing only in the Beatles managed 42 minutes before police pulled the plug, and the fact that fans couldn’t view the action.
Top 10 Rock Concerts…. Number 4
George Harrison’s Concert for Bangladesh, Madison Square Garden, New York City, August 1, 1971: 40,000+ fans packed into Madison Square Garden in New York City to see Harrison, along with Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Ravi Shankar, and Billy Preston, perform a benefit show for humanitarian relief to the troubled country of Bangladesh.
Top 10 Rock Concerts…. Number 3
Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” Tour, various venues worldwide, 1980-1981: Massive visual effects, including the famous “exploding wall”, and animatronic puppets, gave rock concert goers new meaning to the phrase “really big show”. Technical difficulties abounded, but the Wall tour was hugely successful. It also marked the end of live performances with David Gilmour and Roger Waters together in the same stage.
Top 10 Rock Concerts…. Number 2
Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock, Woodstock, NY, August 18, 1969: Woodstock has always held many concert records, but it was Jimi Hendrix’s performance that made it even more memorable. Although only about 30,000 fans were left at Woodstock by day three, they witnessed Hendrix’s unforgettable performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner”, which became the anthem of an era when civil rights and anti war protests were in full swing.
Top Rock Concert Of All Time
The Beatles at Shea Stadium, New York City, August 15, 1965: The first ever stadium concert was held at Shea Stadium in New York City featuring the Beatles. Help! Had just been released to the US market, the Fab Four had just appeared on Ed Sullivan, and the roar of the 55,000+ fans turned the show into a deafening experience for the band. The Beatles refused to play live not long after, as they simply were unable to perform over all the noise.
Let us know what your top 10 rock concerts of all time are in the comments below.
By Scotty Smith
Guitarist Rock ©2008-2009
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where’s AC/DC on this list??? They’re HOT!!!
It’s not surprise to me you’ve listed 4 top concerts that took place in New York City. Shortly after buying my new Manhattan condo in the 70s, I was able to attend lots of the great concerts coming here. There’s too many exceptional ones to choose from.
It’s a shame there wasn’t more room Rosee, I love AC/DC myself, just seen them live in Brisbane 3 days ago actually. One of the best rock concerts I have been to!
I sure would love to catch one of the big rock shows in New York someday Candace! Would be a blast.