On This Day in Guitar History: July 7
Edited by Sleuth · Reviewed
July 7 centers on rock's most bittersweet night: Led Zeppelin's final concert, played in West Berlin in 1980, twelve years after the Yardbirds split and sent guitarist Jimmy Page toward his next band. Drummer John Bonham died two months later. Elsewhere on the date, Bruce Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A. hit number one in 1984, Avenged Sevenfold guitarist Synyster Gates was born in 1981, and John Lennon's first solo single reached American radio in 1969.
On July 7 in guitar history
1969 · Release
John Lennon's first solo single reaches American radio
Give Peace a Chance was released in the US three days after its UK release, becoming John Lennon's first solo single while he was still a member of the Beatles. Credited to the Plastic Ono Band, it reached number 14 on the Hot 100 and number 2 on the UK chart, and featured Tom Smothers on guitar alongside Timothy Leary and Petula Clark on backing vocals.
Source: Rock 'n' Roll History For July 7
1980 · Performance
Led Zeppelin plays their final concert together, in West Berlin
Led Zeppelin closed their 14-date Tour Over Europe 1980 at the Eissporthalle in West Berlin, ending the set with a nearly 17-minute Whole Lotta Love. It was the last time the original four members ever performed together. Drummer John Bonham died of pulmonary aspiration on September 25, 1980, after a day of heavy drinking, and the surviving members dissolved the band that December. The Yardbirds had broken up twelve years earlier, the split that sent guitarist Jimmy Page toward the band that became Led Zeppelin.
Source: Eissporthalle, July 7, 1980
1981 · Born
Avenged Sevenfold guitarist Synyster Gates is born in Long Beach, California
Brian Elwin Haner Jr., who would become known as Synyster Gates, was born in Long Beach, California. He co-founded Avenged Sevenfold in 1999 and has anchored the band's lead guitar work since, later becoming the face of Schecter's Synyster Gates Custom signature line, which launched around 2006 and has stayed in the lineup since.
Source: Synyster Gates
1984 · Chart
Born in the U.S.A. reaches number one on the Billboard albums chart
Bruce Springsteen's seventh album, Born in the U.S.A., reached number one on the Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart for the first of four weeks. Released a month earlier, it went on to produce a record-tying seven top-ten singles, spend 84 weeks in the Top Ten, and sell more than 30 million copies worldwide.
Source: Rock 'n' Roll History For July 7
Why we track this
Some calendar dates get a round-number anniversary and a wave of nostalgia posts. July 7 does not, and that is exactly why it is worth documenting properly: a genuinely major rock guitar story, Led Zeppelin's last night together, sits on this date without much fanfare attached to it. This page collects what is actually documented for July 7, and it grows every time we verify another event for the date. If today has you thinking about your own light-gauge electric set, Ernie Ball Super Slinky is the same .009 to .042 Jimmy Page played through most of the Led Zeppelin catalog.
Start your own July 7
Whichever story on this page pulled you in, from a bittersweet last show in West Berlin to a guitarist born the same year MTV was still finding its feet, the through-line is still six strings under someone's hands. Page's own gauge is a reasonable place to start if you play electric and want something a touch lighter than a standard set.
Super Slinky (.009–.042)
Why this one: The gauge Jimmy Page played on his Les Pauls with Led Zeppelin, and a common step down for players who find a standard .010 set too stiff for fast lead lines.
More guitar history
This page is part of an evergreen series, one per calendar day, filled in as we verify more events. Read Jimmy Page's full sourced gear rundown or Synyster Gates's rig breakdown, check the news desk for what is happening in the guitar world right now, or head to the full history index to see which dates are live so far.