Are you ready to learn some stuff? It’s March 11th and here’s what happened Today in Rock History!
Starting off with birthdays and it’s a good day for them! First up is the late Vinnie Paul of Pantera!
Other birthdays include producer and Beats co-founder Jimmy Iovine, and Rami Jaffee of Foo Fighters!
In 2005, the front door of the childhood home of Ozzy Osbourne in Birmingham went on sale due to the owner being fed up with fans defacing it. The home had become a pilgrimage destination for fans. The owner auctioned the door on eBay and gave the money to charity.
Pearl Jam began recording their debut record Ten on this day in 1991.
And speaking of records, let’s talk releases! We got Eric Clapton’s Behind the Sun in 1985, Déjà Vu from Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young in 1970 and Impera from Ghost in 2022
One other release saw the premiere of The Wrecking Crew documentary at the SXSW Film Festival in 2008. The doc wouldn’t see a commercial release until 2015!
In 1978, Meat Loaf’s Bat Out of Hell began a 416-week run on the UK charts.
In 2003, 311 played their very first “311 Day” concert! Taking place at the State Palace Theatre in New Orleans, “311 Day” would become a tradition for the band as they would continue to play special shows every March 11th.
In 2015, Slipknot guitarist Mick Thomson and his brother Andrew, get in a knife fight with each other. The brothers are taken to the hospital and, according to the police, their injuries are not life-threatening.
Keith Emerson of Emerson Lake & Palmer took his life in 2016. He was 71
We also lost Eric Carmen in 2024. And because I want to lighten the mood just a bit, here’s one of his songs in one of my favorite Marvel movies:
In 2009, Iron Maiden’s tour manager, Rod Smallwood, criticized people arrested outside a Maiden show in Bogota, Columbia for trying to gatecrash. Smallwood was quoted saying, ‘We abhor the inane behavior of a small minority of people outside.’ Colombian police arrested more than 100 people after stones were thrown just hours before Maiden was set to perform. Riot police fired at those trying to enter the show without tickets with tear gas.
In 1996, Pulp singer Jarvis Cocker was let off the hook by UK police after they failed to charge him with anything after Cocker’s “stage invasion” during a performance at the Brit Awards earlier that year on February 19th.
Kid Rock returned to the Georgia Waffle House where he was involved in a fight the prior year, to have a totally not court ordered, charity meet-and-greet in 2008.
And finally, in 1971, to re-orient himself both emotionally and creatively, while also to avoid a Florida jail sentence, Jim Morrison of The Doors leaves for Paris, France. He would never return to the U.S.
This has been Today in Rock History! Keep on Rocking, keep on Rolling! Check back tomorrow for your next rock history lesson!
