Today in rock history September 23rd

1947 – Neal Smith, drummer with Alice Cooper, is born in Akron, Ohio. 1949 – Bruce Springsteen is born in Freehold, N.J. 1959 – Songwriter Martin Page is born in Southampton, England. If you’ve heard Starship’s “We Built This City” or Heart’s “These Dreams,” you know his work. 1960 – In Hamburg, the young Beatles with Stu Sutcliffe cut versions of “Fever,” “Summertime,” and “September Song.” 1966 – The Rolling Stones kick off a British tour at London’s Royal Albert Hall, supported by an all-star cast of Ike & Tina Turner, the Yardbirds, Peter Jay & the Jaywalkers, the Kings of Rhythm Orchestra, Jimmy Thomas, Bobby John, and Long John Baldry. 1969 – In today’s issue of Illinois’ Northern Star newspaper, a journalist rounds up the clues that point to the death of Paul McCartney. They include a mumble that sounds like “I buried Paul” in the fade to “Strawberry Fields Forever” and numerous things to do with walruses. 1972 – Mott the Hoople release their single “All the Young Dudes.” Not so much a comeback single as life support system, the song was written for them by David Bowie to encourage the band to stay together. 1978 – Foreigner release their second album, Double Vision. 1980 – Bob Marley collapsed on stage during a concert at the Stanley Theater in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Marley had collapsed in New York’s Central Park while jogging, two days before and was told to immediately cancel the US leg, but flew to Pittsburgh to perform one final performance. 1980 – David Bowie opens in the title role of “The Elephant Man” on Broadway. 1991: Guns N’ Roses announced that guitarist Izzy Stadlin was leaving the band. Gilby Clarke would shortly replace him. 1999 – Garbage’s Shirley Manson unveils her own line of lip gloss. 2006 – Neil Young was named artist of the year at the Americana Honors and Awards at the fifth annual event in Nashville, Tennessee. The 60-year-old singer-songwriter released the protest album Living With War this year. 2010: Heart guitarist & singer Nancy Wilson filed for divorce from her husband of 22 years, film director Cameron Crowe.