Today in rock history 23rd January

1950 - Danny Federici-organist for the E Street Band is born

1953 – Robin Zander, the frontman with Cheap Trick, is born in Rockford, Ill.

1957 – The film Don’t Knock the Rock premieres in Australia.

1963 – Janis Joplin hitchhikes to San Francisco with her friend Chet Helms.

1964 – Having wrapped up their first American tour, the Rolling Stones fly back to Britain.

1969 – Alan Parsons makes his debut as the Beatles’ engineer as they record “Get Back” during the Let It Be sessions.

1973 – Neil Young is handed a piece of paper onstage in New York and reads out the message that a peace accord has been reached in Vietnam. The audience goes crazy for ten minutes. Neil then plays “Southern Man.”

1978 – Founder and guitarist Terry Kath of the group Chicago dies after from a self inflicted gunshot wound.

1986 – The first annual induction ceremony for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is held in New York. Among those inducted are Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Fats Domino, the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley.

1988 – Nirvana records a ten-song demo tape with the godfather of grunge, legendary Seattle producer Jack Endino. The Melvins’ Dale Crover sits in on drums.

1990 – Ex-Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Allen Collins dies in Jacksonville, Fla., of complications from pneumonia. The 37-year-old had been paralyzed from the waist down since 1986 after crashing his car and killing his girlfriend.

1995 – Courtney Love appears in Australian court on charges of abusing a flight attendant.

1996 – The city council of Johnson City, Tenn., revokes their permission for White Zombie to play there after hearing testimony that the band preached devil worship.

2000 – At the Golden Globe Awards, Courtney Love tries to make Phil Collins say “please” before giving him the gong for best original song, motion picture for his work on Disney’s Tarzan.

2000 – Nancy Wilson of Heart gives birth to twins. The proud father is former rock scribe and Almost Famous director Cameron Crowe.

2004 – A California judge orders Scott Weiland back into a live-in drug detoxification center after the former Stone Temple Pilots singer decides to quit rehab early.

2004 – Former Judas Priest drummer Dave Holland, 55, is found guilty by an English court of attempting to rape a learning-disabled teenager he was giving drum lessons to.

2008- When Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz decides to throw an event — even one designed to raise money and awareness for Democratic candidate Barack Obama — he does it his way. As far as political fundraisers go, this one was a decidedly nontraditional affair. There was a go-go dancer gyrating behind a pane of glass, free games of “Frogger” and peanut-butter-and-jelly sushi rolls served on Pringles.

The music was loud, the cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon plentiful and the only guy to show up in a suit was rather befuddled-looking Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias.

2011 - Former Beatles drummer Richard Starkey filed an application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office to register the name "Ringo".

Today in rock history 22nd January

1953 – Steve Perry of Journey is born.

1964 – The Yardbirds featuring Eric Clapton appeared at The Cavern Club, Liverpool.

1965 - Steven Adler-drummer for Guns N’ Roses is born today

1965 – The Rolling Stones began a 16-date tour of Australia and New Zealand at the Manufactures’ Auditorium in Sydney with Roy Orbison, The Newbeats and Ray Columbus and the Invaders.

1968 – During the bands first Australian tour The Who played the first of two nights at Sydney Stadium with The Small Faces and Paul Jones.

1969 - The Beatles moved from Twickenham Film Studios to Apple studios in London to start recording the “Get Back” LP. Billy Preston was brought into the sessions (John, Paul, and George knew Preston from 1962, when he was a member of Little Richard’s backing group).

1970 – Steel Mill, (featuring Bruce Springsteen) opened for The Elvin Bishop Band at The Matrix in San Francisco, California. Steel Mill were paid only $5 for the gig,

1972 – David Bowie ‘came out’ as bisexual during an interview in the British music weekly Melody Maker.

1977 – Wings went to No.1 on the US album chart with ‘Wings Over America’, Paul McCartney’s sixth US No.1 after The Beatles.

1988 – Faith No More made their live UK debut at Dingwalls, London at the start of a 13-date tour.

1989 - Gene Simmons’ longtime partner Shannon Tweed gave birth to their first child, a son named Nicholas.

1990 - During the seventeenth annual American Music Awards in Los Angeles, Slash & Duff McKagan of Guns N’ Roses were visibly drunk & said various obscenities during their acceptance speech. Due to this incident, every subsequent American Music Awards show was on broadcast delay.

1993 – Metallica kicked off their 77-date Nowhere Else To Roam world tour at Wings Stadium, Kalamazoo, Michigan.

2002 – Nine Inch Nails makes its first ever instore signing appearance at the Virgin Megastore in New York’s Times Square.

2004 – Ryan Adams is forced to cancel the remainder of his European tour and upcoming North American trek when he falls from the stage during a show in Liverpool

2008 – Heath Ledger dies from suspected drug use.

2015 - A red Mosrite guitar, once owned and used by punk rocker Johnny Ramone, sold at an auction for $71,875.

2017 - Peter Overend Watts, the original bassist for Mott the Hoople who played on the band's  "All The Young Dudes", died of throat cancer at the age of 69.

 

Today in rock history 21st January

1938 – Gruff-voiced DJ Wolfman Jack is born in Brooklyn as Bob Smith.

1941 - Richie Havens is born

1963 – Bob Dylan performs his new song “Masters of War” at Gerde’s Folk City in Greenwich Village.

1965 – The U.S. Immigration Department forces the Animals to cancel a performance at New York’s Apollo Theater. Instead, the English group appears on The Ed Sullivan Show.

1965 - The Rolling Stones arrive in Australia, where they will shortly begin a tour with support act Roy Orbison. A crowd of 2000 people greets them.

1965 – The Byrds record “Mr. Tambourine Man.” Well, not really. The only actual Byrd who performs on the record is lead guitarist/singer Jim McGuinn (later known as Roger McGuinn). Session men replace the rest of the band.

1966 – George Harrison marries Patti Boyd. The couple later divorces and she marries Eric Clapton.

1974 – Gov. Jimmy Carter of Georgia throws a post-concert party for Bob Dylan at the gubernatorial mansion.

1979 – Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant becomes a proud father for the third time. Wife Maureen gives birth to a son, Logan.

1981 – Born on this day, Benjamin Moody, guitar, Evanescence.

1982 – B.B. King donates his collection of 20,000 records to the University of Mississippi.

1984 – Yes started a two-week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Owner Of A Lonely Heart ‘

1992 – Billy Idol pleaded guilty to assault and battery charges after an incident outside a West Hollywood restaurant. He was fined $2,700 (£1,588).

2003 – David Palmer, former keyboard player for Jethro Tull changed his name to Dee Palmer after a successful sex change operation.

2003 – The Black Crowes guitarist Rich Robinson plays his first gig with new band Hookah Brown. Hookah Brown split later in the spring.

2004 – Evanesence singer Amy Lee apologises to Cold for erroneously declaring the hard rockers had broken up after guitarist Terry Balsamo jumped ship to join her band.

2004 – Gov’t Mule guitarist Warren Haynes joins The Dead, a touring group featuring the surviving members of the Grateful Dead.

2006 – A plane carrying Bon Jovi skids off the runway at Hamilton International Airport in Canada. Fortunately for hair metal, no one is injured.

 

Today in rock history 20th January

1947 – Born on this day in Rock, George Grantham, drums, Poco,.

1948 – Drummer Mel Pritchard of English prog rock group Barclay James Harvest is born.

1951 – Born on this day, Ian Hill, bass, Judas Priest.

1952 – Paul Stanley, the guitarist with KISS who was once described as “the world’s most passionate man,” is born in Queens, N.Y.

1958 – KWK, a radio station in St. Louis, wraps up their “Record Breaking Week”. After the station manager Robert Convey decided rock ‘n’ roll should be banned from their airwaves. DJs were allowed to play every rock record in their library once on air and then smash it to pieces.

1964 – Meet the Beatles is released in the United States.

1965 – Alan Freed, the disc jockey who coined the term “rock `n’ roll,” dies.

1965 – The Rolling Stones appear on the season premiere of Shindig! They invite Howlin’ Wolf to be their guest on the show, then sit at his feet while the bluesman performs.

1967 – Filming begins at The UFO Club in London for a TV documentary about the famous psychedelic venue, featuring up and coming band Pink Floyd.

1967 – Paul McCartney records his vocal for the Beatles’ “A Day in the Life”.

1969 – Shooting for the Beatles documentary Let It Be moves to the basement of 3 Saville Row, where Apple have their headquarters.

1970 – John Lennon and Yoko Ono both cut their hair off in Denmark and declare it to be Year One.

1973 – Bob Dylan begins recording in Mexico City the soundtrack to Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid, a Western starring Kris Kristofferson, James Coburn and himself.

1979 – Born on this day in rock, Rob Bourdon, drums, Linkin Park.

1982 – During a Ozzy Osbourne concert in Des Moines, Iowa, a member of the audience threw an unconscious bat onto the stage. Thinking it was one of his rubber fakes, Ozzy picked it up and bit off its head. The singer was taken to hospital to be given a rabies injection.

1985 – Foreigner had their only UK No.1 single with ‘I Want To Know What Love Is’.

1988 – The Beach Boys, the Beatles, the Drifters, Bob Dylan and the Supremes are among those inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Mike Love of The Beach Boys gave a speech where he insulted The Beatles, Mick Jagger, & Bruce Springsteen.

1997 – Ben and Jerry’s introduced ‘Phish food’, a new flavor of ice cream named after the rock group Phish.

1999 – Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland, on probation for a 1997 heroin case, is arrested and faces a hearing for failing to provide a urine sample to his live-in drug treatment center.

2004 – Cold singer Scooter Ward denies the hard rockers have broken up after guitarist Terry Balsamo defects to join Evanescence.

2015 - Motley Crue announced that they would perform for the last time on New Year's Eve in Los Angeles.

Today in rock history 19th January

1943 – Janis Joplin is born in Port Arthur, Texas.

1947 - Rod Evans, original singer for Deep Purple is born

1949 – Singer Robert Palmer is born in Batley, England.

1957 – Johnny Cash makes his first network TV appearance, on CBS’ “Jackie Gleason Show.”

1967 – Pink Floyd and Marmalade played at The Marquee Club, London.

1971 – The Beatles White Album was played in the courtroom at the Sharon Tate murder trial to find out if any songs could have influenced Charles Manson and his followers to commit murder.

1978 – Johnny Rotten was fired from The Sex Pistols for ‘not being weird enough anymore.’

1980 – Pink Floyd’s ‘The Wall’, started a 15-week run at No.1 on the US album chart.

1988 – Bon Jovi’s and Motley Crue manager Doc McGhee pleaded guilty to importing more than 40,000lb of marijuana into the US.

1993 – A pre-inaugural gala in Landover, Md., toasting incoming president Bill Clinton features a reunion of Fleetwood Mac performing “Don’t Stop (Thinking About Tomorrow),” the unofficial campaign song for Clinton and his running mate, Al Gore.

1998 - Carl Perkins died of throat cancer after suffering multiple strokes at Jackson-Madison County Hospital in Jackson, TN. He was 65 years old.

2000 – Tourism chiefs in Liverpool were banned from putting up motorway signs saying ‘Liverpool, the Birthplace Of The Beatles’, because the Highways Agency thought the signs would distract motorists.

2001 – It was reported that Paul McCartney was set to become the world’s first pop star billionaire.

2011 – Aerosmith rocker Steven Tyler said on Tuesday the band would start work on its first new studio album in a decade, and promised that his new gig as a judge on “American Idol” would not get in the way.

2011 – Rockers Motley Crue have been hit with a copyright infringement lawsuit claiming the band’s ‘Too Fast For Love’ album cover was used on merchandise.

Live Nation and the band are being sued by Ron Toma, who claims he owns the rights to the photograph, presumably taken by Michael Pinter in 1981. Showing a close-up of a man wearing a belt and leather trousers.

Today in rock history 18th January

1965 – The Rolling Stones recorded ‘The Last Time’ and ‘Play With Fire’ at the RCA studio in Hollywood, California. Phil Spector played acoustic guitar on ‘Play With Fire.’

1967 – Jimi Hendrix recorded an appearance on UK TV show Top Of The Pops and also played a show at the Seven and a Half Club in Mayfair, London.

1974 – Former members from Free, (Paul Rodgers & Simon Kirke), Mott The Hoople, (Mick Ralphs), and King Crimson, (Boz Burrell), formed Bad Company.

1975 – Status Quo were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Down Down’, the groups only UK No.1 from 50 Top 40 hits.

1980 – Capricorn Records, home of prominent Southern rock acts of the 1970s, files for bankruptcy.

1981 – Wendy O’Williams of The Plasmatics was arrested on stage in Milwaukee and was charged with the offence of simulating sex with a sledgehammer.

1989 – Dion, the Rolling Stones, Otis Redding and Stevie Wonder are among those inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

1991 – During an AC/DC North American tour three fans were killed during a crush in a crowd at a gig in Salt Lake City.

1995 – Jerry Garcia crashes a rented BMW into a guardrail near Mill Valley, Calif. He emerges unscathed.

2000 – Loud-mouthed Atlanta Braves pitcher John Rocker earns a new opponent, the members of ’80s heavy metal band Twisted Sister. Rocker, who had come under fire from virtually every segment of American society for his remarks about immigrants and New Yorkers in a Sports Illustrated interview, had been known to make use of Twisted Sister’s “I Wanna Rock” to signal his insertion into a game. The band issues a statement insisting that the Atlanta Braves organization halt the practice.

2016 - 67-year-old Glenn Frey, co-founder of The Eagles, died of rheumatoid arthritis, acute ulcerative colitis and pneumonia while recovering from intestinal surgery.

2017 - Paul McCartney filed a lawsuit against Sony/ATV seeking to regain the publishing rights to 267 of The Beatles' classic tunes.

Today in rock history 17th January

1948 – Born on this day, Mick Taylor, guitar, John Mayalls Bluesbreakers, joined The Rolling Stones, in 1969 left in 1974.

1963 – Appearing at The Marquee Club, London were the Cyril Davies All Stars, The Velvets and, bottom of the bill, The Rolling Stones.

1963 – The Beatles played at the Cavern Club at lunchtime and in the evening played at the Majestic Ballroom, Birkenhead. At the Majestic, every ticket had been sold in advance, leaving 500 disappointed fans waiting outside.

1964 – The Rolling Stones released their first EP, which included, ‘You Better Move On’, ‘Poison Ivy’, ‘Bye Bye Johnny’ and ‘Money’. It peaked at No.15 on the UK charts.

1967 – The Daily Mail ran the story about a local council survey finding 4,000 holes in the road in Lancashire inspiring John Lennon’s contribution to The Beatles song "A day in the life".

1967 – The Jimi Hendrix Experience recorded a session for Radio Luxembourg’s Ready Steady Radio. The band ran up a bar bill of £2.5 shillings, ($6.21), which they were unable to pay.

1970 – Appearing at the Felt Forum New York City, The Doors. The show was recorded for the bands forthcoming ‘Absolutely Live’ album.

1971 – Born on this day, Kid Rock.

1975 - Bob Dylan released Blood on the Tracks, an album which has gone on to be recognized as one of Dylan’s best albums.

1984 – No. 1 US Chart Toppers Pop Hit: “Owner of a Lonely Heart,” Yes.

1996 – In a ceremony at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Manhattan, N.Y., Pink Floyd are officially inducted into the Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame.

2002 – Metallica’s James Hetfield and his wife Francesca welcome the birth of their third child, a baby girl named Marcella.

2005 – Tenacious D drafts a formidable roster of guests to lend a hand at its benefit for Asian tsunami relief at Los Angeles’ Wiltern Theatre. The show features solo sets from Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder, Queens of The Stone Age’s Josh Homme, the Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl, and Beck, all of whom stick around for a show-closing jam.

2008 – The Police played the first nine dates in Australian and New Zealand at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington, New Zealand, on their 152-date Reunion tour.

2011 – Don Kirshner,who’s guiding light led some of POP’s biggest stars from the 1950s thru the 1970s, died today of Heart failure in his home in Boca Raton, Fla at the age of 77.

An early promoter of Pop/Rock music, he propelled the careers of many bands including Kansas.

2016 - Dale Griffin, drummer and founding member of the British Glam-Rock band Mott The Hoople, passed away at the age of 67.