Are you ready to learn some stuff? It’s December 8th and here’s what happened Today in Rock History!
December 8th is a very tragic day for fans of The Beatles, as it was on this day in 1980 that Mark David Chapman shot and killed John Lennon outside his home in New York City. After being rushed to the ER at Roosevelt Hospital, Lennon would be pronounced dead on arrival.
We continue with tragedy, as Dimebag Darrell of Pantera would meet the same fate in 2004 after he was gunned down by a crazed fan during a show with his band Damageplan at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio. The gunman, Nathan Gale, killed three others before he was killed by police.
It’s kinda hard on how we change the subject. Like, where do we go from here after talking about those two heinous acts of violence? But we have to, as we go into today’s releases. We got This Is War from Thirty Seconds to Mars in 2009, Their Satanic Majesties Request by The Rolling Stones in 1967, and the Eagles magnum opus Hotel California in 1976!
Moving onto Birthdays now #8 himself, Corey Taylor of Slipknot and Stone Sour!
Other birthdays include Phil Collen of Def Leppard, Jen Ledger of Skillet, Gregg Allman of The Allman Brothers Band and Jim Morrison of The Doors
We can’t seem to get away from tragedy today as in 1984, Vince Neil of Motley Crue was involved in a car accident in Redondo Beach, CA that resulted in the death of Hanoi Rocks’ Nick Dingley and injured two others. Neil was sentenced to 30 days in jail, 5 years probation, and to pay $2.6 million in restitution to the crash victims.
In 1977, a riot broke out in Brisbane, Australia after Blondie didn’t arrive for a gig due to singer Debbie Harry not feeling well. Out of the 1,000 fans, only four were arrested.
And finally in 2013, Metallica became the first band to have played all seven continents as they performed a show inside the dome of the Argentine Antarctic Base Carlini. A documentary was later released under the title Freeze ‘Em All.
This has been Today in Rock History! Check back tomorrow for your next rock history lesson!