Are you ready to learn some stuff? It’s February 20th and here’s what happened Today in Rock History!
Starting off with birthdays and there is only one way to start it off and that’s with Kurt Cobain of Nirvana. Also on this day in 2014, the city of Aberdeen, Washington unveiled a statue of Kurt Cobain for the 20th anniversary of the singer’s death in a park now named after the singer. The statue was poorly received and it currently resides in the Aberdeen Museum of History. A statue of Kurt’s Fender Mustang replaced the original statue.
Other birthdays today include Walter Becker of Steely Dan and Ed Graham of The Darkness!
In 1959, a young Jimi Hendrix, aged at just 16 years old, played his first gig in a Seattle synagogue basement. He was fired after due to his “wild” playing.
We got Steely Dan’s Pretzel Logic in 1974
On a sadder note in 2003, pyro used at a Great White show in The Station nightclub in Rhode Island set the club ablaze after foam soundproofing material at the edge of the stage caught fire. The fire killed 100 people, including the band’s guitarist, Ty Longley, while injuring over 300 others. The club owners and the band’s tour manager were charged with involuntary manslaughter. Months later, Great White began a fundraising tour for the survivors and victims families.
In 1976, all four original members of KISS planted their hand prints into the pavement outside Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.
And finally in 2009, The White Stripes play together for the final time on the last episode of Late Night with Conan O’Brien.
This has been Today in Rock History! Keep on Rocking, keep on Rolling! Check back tomorrow for your next rock history lesson!
