Are you ready to learn some stuff? It’s April 24th and here’s what happened Today in Rock History!
Starting off with releases today with a big one! We got Full Moon Fever from Tom Petty, his first solo album, in 1989!
We also got #1 Record from Big Star in 1972 and Cheap Trick’s Heaven Tonight in 1978!
Moving onto birthdays, we’ve got a butt ton of ’em. Starting off with Patty Schemel of Hole, Doug Clifford of CCR, Shannon Larkin of Godsmack, and Billy Gould of Faith No More
We also have Captain Sensible of The Damned, Nigel Harrison of Blondie, Tyson Ritter of The All-American Rejects, Boris Williams of The Cure, Barry Stock of Three Days Grace
We aren’t done yet as we also have Jasen Rauch of Breaking Benjamin, Guy Fletcher of Dire Straits, and Brian Marshall of Creed and Alter Bridge.
Ok fine I’ll put in a Creed song too.
And one final birthday belongs to John Pasche, the creator of one of rock’s most iconic logos: the tongue and lips for The Rolling Stones! Here’s the story:
With the LA punk scene running amuck and authorities trying to get things in order in 1983, punk group the Minutemen hosted a guerilla concert in the Mojave desert. The show was the first in a series called Desolation Center and would become the precursors to the Burning Man festival. There’s a whole documentary about it, so go check that out.
We lost Mike Pinder of the Moody Blues in 2024
With rumors of a possible Beatles reunion in 1976, Lorne Michaels, the executive producer of Saturday Night Live, appears on the show to offer the Fab Four to reunite on SNL. Unknown to Michaels, Beatle members John Lennon and Paul McCartney were actually watching the episode of SNL at Lennon apartment in NYC. Although they considered getting a cab and going down to 30 Rock studio for a joke, they decided against it. This would be the last time Lennon and McCartney were in the same room together.
In 2007, on a trip to Vienna, President George W. Bush was denied a luxury suite at the Imperial Hotel after the suite was booked in advance by Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones, who were on tour at the time
Speaking of Bush, Green Day’s American Idiot: The Musical closed in 2011 after 422 performances.
And finally in 1996, the Stone Temple Pilots, who were forced to cancel various gigs, released a statement that says their singer Scott Weiland had “become unable to rehearse or appear for these shows due to his dependency on drugs. He is currently under a doctor’s care in a medical facility.” Weiland’s relationship with his bandmates became very negative afterwards.
This has been Today in Rock History! Keep on Rocking, keep on Rolling! Check back tomorrow for your next rock history lesson!
