Are you ready to learn some stuff? It’s May 18th and here’s what happened Today in Rock History!
We lost grunge icon Chris Cornell in 2017 from suicide. Known for his near four-octave range and his powerful vocal belts, Cornell fronted multiple successful groups, including Soundgarden, Audioslave, and Temple of the Dog. Rock in Peace Chris.
In 1980, just a day before his band would embark on their first tour of North America, Ian Curtis of Joy Division took his own life. Curtis had been struggling with depression and his uncontrolled epilepsy. He was 23.
And in 2024, Jon Wysocki, the original drummer of Staind, died after suffering from liver issues. He was 53.
Moving onto some lighter material now, we saw the releases of David Bowie’s Lodger in 1979 and The Black Keys’ Brothers in 2010
Moving onto birthdays now, we have Rick Wakeman of YES, Mark Mothersbaugh of DEVO, and Page Hamilton of Helmet!
Going back to Soundgarden, it was on this day in 1996 that the band performed for the first and only time on Saturday Night Live. Sorry for the poor video quality, but this seems to be the only video of the performance out there.
At a 2019 auction in New York, multiple items from Nirvana were put up on the auction block including: the sweater Cobain wore during the band’s final photo-shoot and sold for $75,000. Another item was a handwritten set list from an April 1990 concert in Washington, D.C. and it sold for $23,000.
In 2017, The Killer’s Mr. Brightside was announced to be the most streamed song released before 2010. The 2004 single hit 26 million streams at the time of the announcement.
In 1980, Peter Criss left KISS. He would be replaced by Eric Carr, but would return to don the makeup in 1996.
And finally in 1996, Bradley Nowell of Sublime got married to Troy Dendekker, the mother of his son Jakob. The singer would die of a drug overdose a week later. Jakob would later take up the reigns as Sublime’s lead singer in 2024 and channels his dad to perfection!
This has been Today in Rock History! Keep on Rocking, keep on Rolling! Check back tomorrow for your next rock history lesson!
