Today in rock history 4th December

1944 – Byrds bassist Chris Hillman is born in Los Angeles. He also was a founding member of the Flying Burrito Brothers.

1948 – Johnny Lyon, who garnered fame as the titular Southside Johnny of Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes and a pal of Bruce Springsteen, is born in Neptune, N.J.

1951 – Guitarist and drummer Gary Rossington, one of the founding members of Lynyrd Skynyrd, is born in Jacksonville, Fla.

1956 – Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley and Carl Perkins hold an impromptu recording session at Sun Studios, Memphis, Tenn..

1968 – In a New York Times article, a Soviet music critic declares that the Beatles “have become rich idols of the Philistines.”

1971 – T Rex scored their first No.1 album with their 6th release ‘Electric Warrior’.

1975 – Tragedy strikes Deep Purple in Jakarta, Indonesia, after their bodyguard Patsy Collins falls six floors down an elevator shaft in their hotel. Rumors persist that Collins had gotten into a fight with local promoters who owed the heavy-metal band money.

1976 - Tommy Bolin, guitarist for Deep Purple and The James Gang was found dead in a Miami hotel room from a drug overdose. He was 25 years old.

1976 - Workers at EMI Records in the U.K. went on strike refusing to package The Sex Pistols’ single “Anarchy in the U.K.”

1980 – Led Zeppelin announces its decision to break up.

1991 – Van Halen perform a free concert in Dallas to make up for a show back in 1988 when singer Sammy Hagar lost his voice mid-set.

1993 – Frank Zappa dies at age 52 in Los Angeles. The avant-garde rocker had been suffering from pancreatic cancer.

2003 – Courtney Love takes a break from rehab to go nightclubbing in Los Angeles. She’s seen performing with local band Let’s Go Sailing.

2012 – Randy Blythe from ‘Lamb of God’ is charged over the death of a fan at a concert in Prague in 2010.

 

Today in rock history 3rd December

1948 – Ozzy Osbourne is born in Birmingham.

1949 – Born on this day, Mickey Thomas, Jefferson Starship.

1953 - Duane Roland-guitarist for Molly Hatchet born today

1961 – Brian Epstein invited The Beatles into his office to discuss the possibility of becoming their manager.

1965 – Rolling Stone Keith Richards was knocked unconscious by an electric shock on stage at the Memorial Hall In Sacramento, California, when his guitar made contact with his microphone.

1965 – The Beatles set out on what would be their last ever UK tour at Glasgow’s Odeon Cinema.

1969 -  John Lennon was offered title role in the rock opera Jesus Christ, Superstar. The offer was withdrawn the following day.

1969 – The Rolling Stones recorded ‘Brown Sugar’ at Muscle Shoals studios. The single went on to be a UK & US No.1.

1971 – A fire burns down the Montreux Casino in Switzerland during a Frank Zappa concert. Deep Purple witness the conflagration and go on to write “Smoke on the Water” about the catastrophe.

1972 – Led Zeppelin perform at Green’s Playhouse, in Glasgow, Scotland. When their publicist tries to stop some ticket scalpers, he is beaten by fans outside the venue.

1975 – Ronnie Wood’s wife Krisse was arrested for alleged possession of cannabis and cocaine after a raid on the couple’s house in Richmond.

1976 – An inflatable pig is spotted floating over London’s Battersea Power Station. It’s only the prop being used for the album cover to Pink Floyd’s Animals. However, the balloon breaks free of its moorings and drifts away, prompting the Civil Aviation Authority to issue a warning to pilots flying over London.

1979 – Eleven audience members are trampled to death at a concert headlined by the Who at Riverfront Coliseum, Cincinnati.

1986 – A lawsuit is filed against the group Judas Priest and CBS Records, alleging two fans shot themselves after listening to the band’s music for six hours.

2000 – Mick Jagger and U2 formed a £100 million offshore investment trust to buy commercial property. Based in the Channel Islands the fund planed to invest in small offices and shops in London.

2005 – Not-very-shocking-anymore shock rocker Marilyn Manson causes a mild ripple of outrage when he marries longtime squeeze Dita Von Teese at Castle Gurteen in Ireland.

Today in rock history 2nd December

1941 – Manfred Mann bassist Tom McGuinness is born in Wimbledon.

1960 – Bassist Rick Savage of Def Leppard is born.

1964 – Ringo Starr enters a London hospital to get his tonsils removed.

1969 – Having watched them play with Eric Clapton last night in London, George Harrison joins Delaney & Bonnie to perform with them in Bristol

1970 – Former Animal Eric Burdon launches his new initiative Curb the Clap by distributing bumper stickers.

1973 – The Who are arrested in Montreal for allegedly wrecking a hotel suite. They spend six hours in jail and are ordered to pay a $2,100 fine. John Entwistle later writes the song “Cell Block Number Seven” about the incident.

1978 – Bob Dylan teaches his band an early version of his song “Slow Train” at a soundcheck.

1986 – Jerry Lee Lewis checks into the Betty Ford Clinic to overcome a painkiller addition.

1988 – Today on Geraldo, the talk-show host welcomes Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, and Willie Nelson to talk about a subject that touches us all: sex on the road.

1997 – A man dies after falling from the balcony of the Pontiac Silverdome in Michigan during a Rolling Stones concert.

2001 – With four awards, the Dave Matthews Band reigns supreme as the big winner at the second annual My VH! Music Awards.

2003 –Alice Cooper receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

2003 – Switzerland investigates Marilyn Manson after the religious group Christians for Truth allege his concert in Zurich broke a law designed to protect the sanctity of Swiss religion.

2007 – Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne made more than $800,000 (£389,032) for charity after they sold off some of their possessions from their former US home.

2012 - Led Zeppelin were recipients at the Kennedy Center Honors for their lifetime of contributions to American culture. President Barack Obama drew laughs from the crowd when thanked the band for behaving themselves at the White House.

 

Today in rock history 1st December

1938 – Rockabilly drumming star Sandy Nelson is born in Santa Monica.

1944 – Eric Bloom, singer and nominal leader of heavy-metal funsters Blue Oyster Cult, is born.

1944 – Doors drummer John Densmore is born in Los Angeles

1957 – Buddy Holly & the Crickets perform “That’ll Be the Day” on TV’s “Ed Sullivan Show.”

1966 – Jimi Hendrix signs a management deal with Yameta, a firm started by Who managers Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp.

1968 – Janis Joplin makes a final appearance with Big Brother & the Holding Company.

1969 – George Harrison and Ringo Starr turn up at London’s Royal Albert Hall to watch Delaney & Bonnie perform with Eric Clapton.

1976 – The Sex Pistols appear on London TV’s Today show, on which host Bill Grundy prompts a profanity-ridden rant from the band members. The press outrage over the Pistols’ behavior leads to a ban on the group from all but five of the venues they’re scheduled to play on their new tour.

1977 – Brad Delson (Linkin Park) is born.

1980 – Talking Heads kick off their U.K. tour at London’s Hammersmith Palais. They’re supported by U2.

1983 -  Geffen Records sued Neil Young for $3 million because the label said Young’s new music was “not commercial in nature and musically uncharacteristic of his previous albums”. The lawsuit would later be settled out of court.

1990 -  Poison guitarist C.C. DeVille spent six hours in jail in Louisville after being arrested for public drunkenness & criminal mischief after a concert at Louisville Gardens.

1993 – Pink Floyd hold a press conference to announce their 1994 world tour.

1999 – Nirvana’s Krist Novoselic, Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil, and punk legend Jello Biafra throw a curfew-violating concert in Seattle to protest the World Trade Organization summit.

2003 – Ozzy Osbourne tells the U.K. tabloid Daily Mirror that as a boy he was molested by two older youths at school.

2004 – U2’s 11th album How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb goes into the charts at No. 1, knocking Eminem’s Encore off the top spot.

Today in rock history 30th November

1945 – Deep Purple bassist Roger Glover is born in Brecon, Wales

1955 – Billy Idol (William Broad) is born in Stanmore, England.

1957 – Psychedelic Furs guitarist John Ashton is born.

1963 – In the U.K., the Beatles’ “She Loves You” returns to the No. 1 spot, where it stays for two weeks.

1969 – The struggling magazine Rave gets a helping hand from David Bowie, Dusty Springfield, and the Graham Bond Organisation, who all perform at the Save Rave ’69 benefit in England.

1972 – Wings release their single “Hi, Hi, Hi.” However, the BBC bans the record because it declares the lyrics “unsuitable” for broadcast.

1977 - Bing Crosby’s 42nd and final Christmas special aired on CBS which featured Crosby’s duet with David Bowie of “Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy”. Bowie later said he only appeared on the special because “I just knew my mother liked him.”

2000 – Creed is the big winner with four awards at the first My VH1 Music Awards, presented at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.

2000 - Loverboy bassist Scott Smith was sailing with friends outside of San Francisco when a 26 foot wave swept him overboard into shark infested waters. A four hour search took place and Smith was declared dead. He was 45 years old.

2003 – The corner of Bowery and Second Street in New York is renamed Joey Ramone Place, in honor of the late punk icon.

2006 – The sale of Syd Barrett’s final belongings were sold by Cheffins auctioneers in Cambridge.

2006 – Pearl Jam plays a secret show outdoors at the Waimea Valley Audubon Center on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, as part of the opening festivities for the Quiksilver Big Wave Invitational surfing competition.

Today in rock history 29th November

1933 – Born on this day, John Mayall, ‘father of the UK blues movement’, his Bluesbreakers Band has featured Eric Clapton, Mick Taylor, Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Jack Bruce, Peter Green and Jimmy McCulloch.

1947 – Born on this day, Ronnie Montrose, guitarist, Montrose, Edgar Winter Group.

1951 – Boston guitarist Barry Goudreau is born in the city after which his band was named.

1960 – Paul McCartney and Pete Best were deported from West Germany after being arrested on suspicion of arson after the hotel room they were staying in mysteriously caught fire. They were released and deported the next day.

1964 – While dining at the Crazy Elephant restaurant in London, John Lennon and Paul McCartney are introduced to two members of their Motown heroes, the Miracles.

1965 – Colorado Gov. John A. Love declares today Rolling Stones Day, to celebrate the band’s sold-out gig tonight in Denver.

1968 – John Lennon releases his first solo album, Unfinished Music No. 1 – Two Virgins. The record is sold in a plain brown wrapper due to its controversial cover photo of a naked Lennon and Yoko Ono.

1979 – Former Keith Richards girlfriend Anita Pallenberg is cleared of murder charges. A young male friend had been found dead in her New York home.

1979 – Kiss perform for what they say is the last time together.

1980 – John and Yoko’s ‘Double Fantasy’ album was released.

1985 – Kiss played the first night on their 91-date North American Asylum Tour at Barton Coliseum in Little Rock, Arkansas.

1995 –Van Halen frontman Sammy Hagar weds model Kari Karte atop a San Francisco-area mountain. Bandmates Eddie and Alex Van Halen, Michael Anthony and their wives are among the guests.

1997 – ‘Perfect Day’ performed by various artists including Elton John, Bono, Tom Jones & David Bowie went to No.1 on the UK singles chart.

2001 – Following a battle with cancer that began in 1998, Beatles’ lead guitarist George Harrison dies from his ailment at the age of 58.

2007 – Former Lynyrd Skynyrd drummer Artimus Pyle, a convicted sex offender, was arrested for failing to properly register a new permanent address.

2010 –Dokken singer Don Dokken is delaying his vocal surgery until January so he can participate in the upcoming New Year’s Eve Benefit Concert for original Y&T bassist Phil Kennemore who was recently been diagnosed with metastatic cancer.

Today in rock history 28th November

1948 – Beeb Birtles, a guitarist who played with Rick Springfield in his old band Zoot and later with the Little River Band, is born in Amsterdam.

1962 – Matt Cameron, drummer for Soundgarden, is born in San Diego, Calif.

1964 - The Kinks peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart with “You Really Got Me” which was their first top ten single in the U.S.

1968 – John Lennon pleads guilty to possession of cannabis following his arrest in October. He’s fined 150 pounds. Lennon and Yoko Ono are found not guilty of obstructing the police.

1974 - John Lennon made his final concert appearance at Madison Square Garden in New York City to perform three songs with Elton John, making good on his promise after “Whatever Gets You Thru the Night” hit number one on the singles chart.

1979 - Iron Maiden signed with EMI Records. Earlier in the month they recorded two songs for the compilation Metal For Muthas released by the same label.

1990 – Charges of assault are dropped against Axl Rose. Los Angeles prosecutors were unable to find enough evidence to prosecute the Guns N’ Roses singer, who was alleged to have hit his neighbour over the head with an empty wine bottle.

1993 - Former Steppenwolf drummer Jerry Edmonton was killed in a car accident in Santa Barbara, CA. He was 47 years old.

2005 – Former Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell sues his ex-wife and one-time manager Susan J. Silver, seeking more than $1 million in damages. Cornell claims, among other things, that Silver diverted monies owed to Cornell to the other Soundgarden band members.

2005 – Kinks vocalist/guitarist Ray Davies plays his first solo date in New York in years at the Supper Club, treating fans to six songs that are to appear on his first solo album.

2006 – US actress Pamela Anderson has filed for divorce from rapper Kid Rock after four months of marriage. In a statement on her website the 39-year-old confirmed she had split from Rock.