Join Gunner as he goes over all the important Rock dates in history weekdays at 3:50. Relive all the chart-topping moments, milestones, bad breakups and first times again.
There will be no hall pass today. Here’s what happened today in Rock N’ Roll.
1973 Kiss enters the studio to begin recording its self-titled debut album.
1975 Kiss is given the keys to the city of Cadillac, Michigan, before appearing in the town’s homecoming parade.
1976 The $68 million Meadowlands football stadium, home of the New York Giants and later the New York Jets, opens in New Jersey.
1976 EMI Records signs the Sex Pistols for 40,000 British pounds. By the end of the year, they’re sorry they ever signed them.
1978 Van Halen‘s self-titled debut album is certified platinum.
1980 Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham‘s funeral takes place in England.
1980 Actor Billie “Buckwheat” Thomas (the Little Rascals) dies at age 49.
1985 Actor-director-writer Orson Welles (Citizen Kane, The Third Man, Touch Of Evil) dies at age 70.
1985 Actor Yul Brynner (The King And I, The Ten Commandments, The Magnificent Seven, Westworld) dies at age 70.
1991 R.E.M.‘s Murmur is certified gold by the RIAA.
1991 Pink Floyd is inducted into the National Association Of Brick Distributors’ Hall Of Fame for the band’s contributions to the industry with The Wall.
1992 Former Guns N’ Roses lead guitarist Slash marries Renee Suran. They later divorce.
2004 Aerosmith drummer Joey Kramer unveils the Ferrari 612 Scaglietti at the 1st annual Concourse D’Elegance in Manhasset, New York.
2004 Actor Christopher Reeve (Superman I through IV, Somewhere In Time, The Remains Of The Day, Rear Window) dies at age 52.
2004 Sammy Hagar kicks off his annual Birthday Bash at his Cabo Wabo club in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Performers include Hagar, Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, Nickelback leader Chad Kroeger and Alice In Chains guitarist Jerry Cantrell.
2007 Radiohead‘s new album, In Rainbows, becomes available for downloading to everyone who has pre-ordered the digital edition of the record through the band’s web site. It is reportedly downloaded over a million times in the first two days.
2008 Former Marilyn Manson bassist Gidget Gein, whose real name is Brad Stewart, is found dead at the age of 39 in his Burbank, California home of an apparent drug overdose.
2012 Muse‘s sixth album, The 2nd Law, debuts at Number Two on the Billboard album chart, selling 101,000 copies in its first week of release and giving the British band its highest US chart position ever. The week’s second big rock debut, Transit Of Venus from Three Days Grace, enters at Number Five with sales of 48,000 copies, while Papa Roach‘s The Connection sells 22,000 copies to debut at Number 17.
Today’s Birthdays
- David Lee Roth (singer, Van Halen (64)
- Mike Malinin (drummer, the Goo Goo Dolls) (51)
- Dean Roland (rhythm guitarist, Collective Soul) (46)
- Julia Sweeney (actress-comedienne; played Saturday Night Live‘s sexually ambiguous “Pat” character) (59)
- Dale Earnhardt Jr. (NASCAR racer) (44)
- Brett Favre (Green Bay Packers, New York Jets, Minnesota Vikings quarterback) (49)
- Mario Lopez (actor, Saved By the Bell‘s A.C. Slater) (45)
- Tanya Tucker (country singer) (60)
- Ben Vereen (actor-dancer) (72)
- Peter Coyote (actor, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Jagged Edge, Erin Brockovich, Commander-In-Chief, The 4400) (77)
- Aimee Teegarden (actress, Friday Night Lights, Prom, Scream 4) (29)