Are you ready to learn some stuff? It’s December 6th and here’s what happened Today in Rock History!
The 1960’s came to a metaphorical end as, in 1969, a free festival held at The Altamont Speedway in California divulged into chaos during The Rolling Stones headlining set in front of nearly 300,000 people, as the hired security, aka the Hell’s Angels, stabbed a man to death for supposedly waving a pistol towards the stage. Another man drowned, two men were killed in a hit-and-run accident, but on the positive side (I guess) two babies were born during the festival. A year later in 1970, the Stone’s tour doc Gimme Shelter, which featured video of the chaos of Altamont, opened in NYC. The footage is dark, so viewer discretion is advised
It’s still a big day for the Stones, as we saw the release of Beggars Banquet in 1968, their final album to be released during Brian Jones lifetime.
Other releases include Walking with a Ghost from The White Stripes in 2005, Running on Empty by Jackson Browne in 1977, Turn! Turn! Turn! from The Byrds in 1965, The Black Keys’ El Camino in 2011 and Sixteen Stone from Bush in 1994!
We lost Pete Shelley of the Buzzcocks in 2018 from a suspected heart attack.
It’s Randy Rhoads birthday today!
Other birthdays include Peter Buck of R.E.M., Jeff Blando of Slaughter, and David Lovering of the Pixies!
And finally in 2009, Weezer was forced to cancel the rest of their tour due to their touring bus crashing. Frontman Rivers Cuomo was injured but was back at it just a few weeks later.
This has been Today in Rock History! Keep on Rocking, keep on Rolling! Check back tomorrow for your next rock history lesson!
