Are you ready to learn some stuff? It’s July 11th and here’s what happened Today in Rock History!
Starting the day with birthdays, first up is Richie Sambora of Bon Jovi!
Other birthdays include Scott Shriner of Weezer, Jeff Hanna of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and Brian Howe of Bad Company!
Moving onto Releases now, we got Suitable for Framing by Three Dog Night in 1969 and Fleetwood Mac’s self-titled album aka the White Album in 1975!
Just 9 days before the Apollo 11 astronauts landed on the moon, David Bowie released the single Space Oddity.
Speaking of space, in 1979, the space-station Skylab crashed to Earth after six years in space. Leading up to the station’s return to Earth, Electric Light Orchestra took out ads in magazines to dedicate their new single to Skylab. The single:
We lost Tommy Ramone of the Ramones in 2014 from bile duct cancer.
The funeral of John Entwistle of The Who took place on this day in 2002 at a church in The Cotswolds, England.
In 2022, while on the second date of their Public Service Announcement reunion tour, Rage Against The Machine’s lead singer Zack de la Rocha tore his Achilles tendon on stage. The group would finish the North American portion of their tour, before calling it quits (again) two years later.
In 1992, neckties designed by Jerry Garcia went on sale in the US. President Clinton bought a set.
In 1982, Phil Collen becomes the new guitarist of Def Leppard, after the band fired Pete Willis due to his excessive alcohol dependency.
Another firing occurred in 1990, when Steven Adler of Guns N Roses was fired due to his drug use. He would be replaced by The Cult’s Matt Sorum.
And finally in 1971, after opening for Humble Pie in Asbury Park, NJ, the Bruce Springsteen Band impressed Pie member Peter Frampton so much that he not only offered the band to open for Humble Pie for the rest of their tour, but also wanted to get the band an audition with his record label A&M. Springsteen’s manager Tinker West declined both offers on the spot without giving any reason. It still worked out pretty well for Springsteen, but come on.
This has been Today in Rock History! Keep on Rocking, keep on Rolling! Check back tomorrow for your next rock history lesson!
