This Day in Rock History: August 29

On this day in rock history, the Beatles played what was technically their last concert. The show took place on Aug. 29, 1966, at San Francisco's Candlestick Park. But less than three years later, on Jan. 30, 1969, the band gave an impromptu performance on the roof of its Apple Records headquarters in London -- their last public appearance together.

By 1966 the Beatles had grown tired of the constant touring and recording that was a result of Beatlemania. They were moving on to more studio-intensive records, spending more time putting together albums. So they made a collective decision to stop playing shows. Their final performance was in front of thousands of screaming fans in San Francisco. (Paul McCartney would later return to the stadium to help say goodbye to it.)

Also on this date in rock history, Kiss took a relatively unknown heavy metal band named Iron Maiden out on the road with them. It was the young group's first taste of the big time.

Aug. 29  saw the release on Jethro Tull's A (in 1980), Elton John's Sleeping With the Past and the Rolling Stones' Steel Wheels (both from 1989), Heart's The Road Home (1995) and Journey's Generations (in 2005).

Watch an exciting recap of many of the day’s biggest rock anniversaries above, narrated by our radio host Zach Martin. And learn more about these important events by clicking the links below.

News Anniversaries:
The Beatles' last concert (1966)
Kiss and Iron Maiden kick off their tour together (1980)

Album Anniversaries:
Jethro Tull, A (1980)
Elton John, Sleeping With the Past (1989)
The Rolling Stones, Steel Wheels (1989)
Heart, The Road Home (1995)
Journey, Generations (2005)

See the Rolling Stones in the Top 100 Rock Albums of the ‘70s