Today in rock history 20th October

1945 – Ric Lee, drummer, Ten Years After is born 1950 – Tom Petty is born in Gainesville, Fla 1951 - Al Greenwood-keyboardist for Foreigner is born 1960 – Elvis Presley film “G.I. Blues” premieres 1961 – Bob Dylan’s self-titled debut album is recorded 1964 – James George “Soni” Sonefeld, drummer for the band Hootie & The Blowfish, is born in Lansing, Michigan. 1964 – The Rolling Stones play Paris for the first time. The gig ends with the now-traditional riot, in which 150 people are arrested. 1966 – In New York, the Yardbirds with Jimmy Page record a jingle for the Great Shakes beverage, utilizing the riff from their song “Over Under Sideways Down.” 1969 – The Who play the first of six nights at New York’s Fillmore East, playing the entirety of their Tommy rock opera. 1969 – John Lennon and Yoko Ono release The Wedding Album in the U.S. Highlights include “John and Yoko,” in which the couple yell each other’s name for 25 minutes. 1976 – The Song Remains the Same, a film that mixes Led Zeppelin performance footage with some rather dubious Lord of the Rings-style sequences, premieres in Manhattan. 1977 - Lynyrd Skynyrd singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines and backup singer Cassie Gaines were killed in a plane crash in Gillsburg, MS. Van Zant and Cassie Gaines were each 29 years old and Steve Gaines was 28 years old. 1978 – The Police give their U.S. performance debut at CBGB’s in New York. 1979 – On Saturday Night Live tonight, Bob Dylan performs three songs from his religiously inclined Slow Train Coming album. Observers report he’s gone gospel. 2001 - The Concert for New York City took place at Madison Square Garden. Many of the attendees were families and members of the New York Fire & Police Departments. Some of the artists that appeared included Paul McCartney, The Who, David Bowie, Elton John, Eric Clapton, Bon Jovi, James Taylor, Billy Joel and John Mellencamp. 2004 – U2’s Bono announces that a briefcase of notes and lyrics stolen from him back in 1981 has been returned to him. The briefcase was found in an attic in Tacoma, Wash. 2004 – Lenny Kravitz is sued after a backed-up toilet allegedly causes over $300,000 worth of damage to a neighbour’s apartment in New York. 2010 – Slash and Myles Kennedy perform acoustically on Australia’s ‘Max Sessions';