Are you ready to learn some stuff? It’s November 20th and here’s what happened Today in Rock History!
Starting the day with Releases, we got AC/DC’s For Those About to Rock We Salute You in 1981!
We also got Muscle of Love from Alice Cooper in 1973, The Beatles’ Anthology 1 in 1995, …But Seriously by Phil Collins in 1989, and Creed’s Weathered in 2001!
In 2007, Thom Yorke of Radiohead admitted that he was one of thousands that paid nothing to download the band’s new album In Rainbows from their website. Yorke stated that it was because no one, even the members of Radiohead, weren’t allowed to have copies of the master recording to prevent leaks.
Moving onto birthdays, we have Mike D of the Beastie Boys!
Other birthdays include Davey Havok of AFI, Norman Greenbaum, Oli Sykes of Bring Me the Horizon, Duane Allman of The Allman Brothers Band, and Joe Walsh of the Eagles and the James Gang!
Elton John completed his North American portion of his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour when he performed at Dodger Stadium in 2022
On a 1976 episode of Saturday Night Live, host Paul Simon was joined onstage with Beatle George Harrison to perform both Harrison’s Here Comes the Sun and Simon’s Homeward Bound. That same night, Harrison’s former bandmates Paul McCartney and John Lennon watched the episode on TV from Lennon’s NYC apartment.
And finally, we have an infamous moment in Who history that took place on this day in 1974. While playing a show in San Francisco, drummer Keith Moon passed out behind the kit (for the second time that night) and couldn’t finish the show. Guitarist Pete Townshend would call out to the audience if anyone played the drums, then miraculously a 19-year-old fan named Scot Halpin volunteered and played with the band for the final three songs of the night. Management would blame jet lag for what happened to Moon, but it was more likely due to the horse tranquilizers he took before the show. As for Halpin, he would be awarded Rolling Stone’s “Pick-Up Player of the Year” award.
This has been Today in Rock History! Keep on Rocking, keep on Rolling! Check back tomorrow for your next rock history lesson!
