Rock History

On this day...

2007 – Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne made more than $800,000 (£389,032) for charity — 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. Items sold included the [...]

2006 – Mariska Veres, singer for the Dutch group S… — 2006 – Mariska Veres, singer for the Dutch group Shocking Blue, dies in The Hague, Netherlands at the age of 59. Be Sociable, Share! [...]

2005 – Irv and Chris Gotti are cleared of charges that they used their record label — 2005 – Irv and Chris Gotti are cleared of charges that they used their record label The Inc. to launder millions in drug proceeds. Unfortunately, they still have to release [...]

2004 – Kevin Coyne, a cult British songwriter who was once asked to join The Door — 2004 – Kevin Coyne, a cult British songwriter who was once asked to join The Doors following Jim Morrison’s death, dies in Nuremberg, Germany. He was 60. Be Sociable, Share! [...]

2004 – Snoop Dogg tops the U.S. singles chart for the first time in his career — 2004 – Snoop Dogg tops the U.S. singles chart for the first time in his career with “Drop It Like It’s Hot,” featuring Pharrell Williams. Be Sociable, Share! [...]

2004 – Country singer Lynn Anderson, whose “Rose Garden” was a chart-topper — 2004 – Country singer Lynn Anderson, whose “Rose Garden” was a chart-topper in 1970, is charged with drunk driving after Texas police find her passed out in her car on [...]

2004 – Dance artist Nadine Shamir, who recorded as… — 2004 – Dance artist Nadine Shamir, who recorded as Nadine Renee, dies at North Shore Hospital in Miami. She is 32. The cause of Deaths is thought to be related [...]

2003 – The reunited Simon & Garfunkel perform at Madison Square — 2003 – The reunited Simon & Garfunkel perform at Madison Square Garden, their first New York date in 10 years. Be Sociable, Share! [...]

2003 – Switzerland investigates Marilyn Manson after the religious group — 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. Be Sociable, [...]

2003 – Shock rocker, “School’s Out” singer and legendary beer drinker Alice — 2003 – Shock rocker, “School’s Out” singer and legendary beer drinker Alice Cooper receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It sits between Gene Autry and Hugh Hefner’s. Be [...]

2003 – Soul icon Ray Charles announces he is recovering from hip replacement — 2003 – Soul icon Ray Charles announces he is recovering from hip replacement surgery in Beverly Hills, Calif. “”I feel terrific and am so thankful to the good Lord that [...]

2003 – Alicia Keys releases her second album The Diary of Alicia Keys, featuring th — 2003 – Alicia Keys releases her second album The Diary of Alicia Keys, featuring the single “You Don’t Know My Name.” Be Sociable, Share! [...]

2003 – Regional Mexican singer Lupillo Rivera is i… — 2003 – Regional Mexican singer Lupillo Rivera is involved in a serious car crash that leaves him with fractured his ribs and an ankle. Rivera is hospitalized in Ciudad Juarez’s [...]

2001 – With four awards, the Dave Matthews Band re… — 2001 – With four awards, the Dave Matthews Band reigns supreme as the big winner at the second annual My VH! Music Awards. Be Sociable, Share! [...]

2000 – Heather Kinley’s marriage to Mark Mendenhal… — 2000 – Heather Kinley’s marriage to Mark Mendenhall goes off without a hitch, in front of celebrity guests that include Trace Adkins and Heather’s sister Jennifer and her husband, Adam [...]

2000 – Faith Hill and Tim McGraw perform in a bene… — 2000 – Faith Hill and Tim McGraw perform in a benefit concert for the USS Cole Fund. Country’s super couple add the date at The Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, Va., [...]

1999 – Rapper Jay-Z is taken in for questioning regarding the stabbing of a record — 1999 – Rapper Jay-Z is taken in for questioning regarding the stabbing of a record executive at a New York nightclub on December 1. The rapper’s lawyers say Jay-Z has [...]

1999 – Jay-Z is arrested in Manhattan in connectio… — 1999 – Jay-Z is arrested in Manhattan in connection with the stabbing one day earlier of music executive Lance “Un” Rivera at the city’s Kit Kat Klub. Be Sociable, Share! [...]

1998 – Jimmy Buffett gives Mobile a hand in recovering from Hurricane — 1998 – Jimmy Buffett gives Mobile a hand in recovering from Hurricane Georges. Tonight he performs a benefit concert, his first in his Alabama hometown in eight years. Be Sociable, Share! [...]

1998 – First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and count… — 1998 – First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and country singer Garth Brooks light the lights on the Christmas tree in Manhattan’s Rockefeller Center. Be Sociable, Share! [...]

1998 – Brunette Shania Twain goes strawberry blond… — 1998 – Brunette Shania Twain goes strawberry blonde in the video for her single, “That Don’t Impress Me Much” which debuts on CMT: Country Music Television. Be Sociable, Share! [...]

1998 – Bob Haggart, a jazz artist and arranger who… — 1998 – Bob Haggart, a jazz artist and arranger who played bass with bands for nearly 70 years, dies in Venice, Fla. He is 84. Be Sociable, Share! [...]

1997 – A man dies after falling from the balcony of the Pontiac Silverdome — 1997 – A man dies after falling from the balcony of the Pontiac Silverdome in Michigan during a Rolling Stones concert. Be Sociable, Share! [...]

1997 – Third Street Jazz and Rock Holding Corp., a… — 1997 – Third Street Jazz and Rock Holding Corp., a Philadelphia record store, files a class-action lawsuit against the six major U.S. record distributors. The suit claims that EMI, Sony, [...]

1997 – Guitar virtuoso/composer Michael Hedges is … — 1997 – Guitar virtuoso/composer Michael Hedges is found dead in Mendocino, Calif. following a car crash that apparently occurred over the weekend. Be Sociable, Share! [...]

1996 – Counting Crows’ Adam Duritz severs a ligame… — 1996 – Counting Crows’ Adam Duritz severs a ligament and tears cartilage in his knee after he falls during a concert at the Beacon Theatre in New York. Duritz undergoes [...]

1995 – The Guinness Book of World Records confirms that Ace of Base’s — 1995 – The Guinness Book of World Records confirms that Ace of Base’s The Sign is the best-selling debut of all time, with 19 million copies sold. Be Sociable, Share! [...]

1995 – Actress Roxie Roker, mother of rocker Lenni… — 1995 – Actress Roxie Roker, mother of rocker Lennie Kravitz, dies in Los Angeles of an undisclosed illness at age 66. Roker was a star of the long-running TV comedy [...]

1994 – Rapper and actor Tupac Shakur is found guil… — 1994 – Rapper and actor Tupac Shakur is found guilty of sexually abusing a woman but acquitted of more serious sex and weapons charges. Two days earlier Shakur had been [...]

1990 – Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer Aa… — 1990 – Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer Aaron Copland, who composed “Fanfare for the Common Man,” and made further famous by Emerson, Lake, and Palmer,  dies in Westchester, N.Y., at age [...]

1988 – Today on Geraldo, the talk-show host welcomes Gene Simmons — 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. Be Sociable, [...]

1986 – Annie Lennox gets so carried away singing “Missionary Man” — 1986 – Annie Lennox gets so carried away singing “Missionary Man” at a Eurythmics concert in Birmingham, England, she rips her bra off before an audience of 10,000 people. Be Sociable, [...]

1986 – Jerry Lee Lewis checks into the Betty Ford … — 1986 – Jerry Lee Lewis checks into the Betty Ford Clinic to overcome a painkiller addition. Great balls of fire! Be Sociable, Share! [...]

1983 – MTV airs Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” vid… — 1983 – MTV airs Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video, directed by John Landis, for the first time. Be Sociable, Share! [...]

1982 – Folk singer and Dylan pal David Blue dies from a heart attack while j — 1982 – Folk singer and Dylan pal David Blue dies from a heart attack while jogging in New York. He also wrote “Outlaw Man,” later covered by the Eagles. Be Sociable, [...]

1981 – Britney Spears is born on this day in rock history! — 1981 – Britney Spears is born on this day in rock history! Truly she has lived up to the true tradition of Rock ‘n Roll Spirit… Sex, drugs and … [...]

1979 – Here’s a musical treat for you – Stevie Wonder performing his bizarre album — 1979 – Here’s a musical treat for you – Stevie Wonder performing his bizarre album Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants with the National Afro-American Philharmonic Orchestra at Carnegie [...]

1978 – Bob Dylan teaches his band an early version of his song “Slow — 1978 – Bob Dylan teaches his band an early version of his song “Slow Train” at a soundcheck. Be Sociable, Share! [...]

1974 – Ravi Shankar temporarily leaves his tour with George Harrison — 1974 – Ravi Shankar temporarily leaves his tour with George Harrison and enters a Chicago hospital after complaining of chest pains. He rejoins Harrison in Boston a week later. Be Sociable, [...]

1974 – No. 1 Chart Toppers Pop Hit: “Kung Fu Figh… — 1974 – No. 1 Chart Toppers Pop Hit: “Kung Fu Fighting,” Carl Douglas. The song originally was to be released as the B-side to “I Want to Give You My [...]

1973 – The Who are arrested in Montreal for allegedly wrecking a hotel suite. — 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 [...]

1973 – Bob Dylan fans start mailing in ticket requests for his latest tou — 1973 – Bob Dylan fans start mailing in ticket requests for his latest tour today. Dylan sells 658,000 seats through the mail, but not before San Francisco witnesses traffic jams [...]

1971 – Led Zeppelin release “Black Dog” as a single in the U.S. — 1971 – Led Zeppelin release “Black Dog” as a single in the U.S. Be Sociable, Share! [...]

1970 – Former Animal Eric Burdon launches his new initiative Curb th — 1970 – Former Animal Eric Burdon launches his new initiative Curb the Clap by distributing bumper stickers. Burdon says he wants to raise awareness of the “No. 1 sickness in [...]

1969 – Having watched them play with Eric Clapton last night in London, — 1969 – Having watched them play with Eric Clapton last night in London, George Harrison joins Delaney & Bonnie to perform with them in Bristol, England, tonight. He tours the [...]

1964 – Ringo Starr enters a London hospital to get his tonsils removed. — 1964 – Ringo Starr enters a London hospital to get his tonsils removed. Be Sociable, Share! [...]

1963 – No. 1 Chart Toppers Pop Hit: “Dominique,”… — 1963 – No. 1 Chart Toppers Pop Hit: “Dominique,” The Singing Nun. The song is written by Sister Luc-Gabrielle and eulogizes the founder of the Dominican order. Be Sociable, Share! [...]

1960 – Bassist Rick Savage of Def Leppard is born…. — 1960 – Bassist Rick Savage of Def Leppard is born. The group’s biggest hit is the 1988 No. 1 song “Love Bites.” Be Sociable, Share! [...]

1952 – Abel Zarate, vocalist/guitarist with Latin funk heroes Malo — 1952 – Abel Zarate, vocalist/guitarist with Latin funk heroes Malo, is born in Manila, the Philippines. Be Sociable, Share! [...]

1948 – Screamin’ Scott Simon of Sha Na Na is born in Boston. — 1948 – Screamin’ Scott Simon of Sha Na Na is born in Boston. Be Sociable, Share! [...]

1942 – Ted Bluechel, drummer with the Association, is born — 1942 – Ted Bluechel, drummer with the Association, is born in San Pedro, Calif. Be Sociable, Share! [...]

1941 – Manfred Mann bassist Tom McGuinness is born — 1941 – Manfred Mann bassist Tom McGuinness is born in Wimbledon, England. Be Sociable, Share! [...]

1915 – Staple Singers patriarch Pops – actually Roebuck Staples — 1915 – Staple Singers patriarch Pops – actually Roebuck Staples – is born in Winoma, Miss. Be Sociable, Share! [...]