Are you ready to learn some stuff? It’s December 23rd and here’s what happened Today in Rock History!
We’re starting the day off strong with birthdays, as we have Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam and Temple of the Dog!
Other birthdays include Dave Murray of Iron Maiden and Chad Szeliga of Breaking Benjamin!
As well as Harry Shearer who you may know him from his work on The Simpsons. Oh, and it’s also Derek Smalls of Spinal Tap’s birthday.
We lost Leslie West of Mountain in 2020 from a heart attack.
In 1985, two Nevada Judas Priest fans shot themselves in a suicide pact after listening to the Priest album Stained Class. Raymond Belknap and James Vance had drank and smoked weed while listening to the album for hours. Afterwards, the boys took a shotgun to a nearby school playground, where Belknap killed himself. Vance, however suffered serious injuries, but lived for just three more years before succumbing to his injuries. The band would be sued by the boy’s families for supposed subliminal messages in the song Better By You, Better Than Me, but the case would be dismissed.
Let’s try to ease things up now as in 2005, Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler offered $5,000 as a reward for any information that would lead to the safe return of the three month old penguin Toga. Toga had been stolen from a zoo a few days earlier on the Isle of Wight.
And finally in 1999, a woman broke into the Maui home of former Beatle George Harrison. While there she cooked a frozen pizza, drank beer from Harrison’s fridge, did laundry and called her mom in New Jersey. She was later arrested and charged with theft and breaking and entering.
This has been Today in Rock History! Check back tomorrow for your next rock history lesson!
