Are you ready to learn some stuff? It’s May 3rd and here’s what happened Today in Rock History!
Starting with releases, we have Rocks from Aerosmith in 1976, Weird Al’s self-titled debut record in 1983 and Frank Zappa’s hybrid studio/live album Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch in 1982 which gave us this lost classic with the help of Zappa’s daughter Moon:
We also got Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star by Sonic Youth in 1994, Operation: Mindcrime from Queensryche in 1988, Nine Inch Nails’ With Teeth in 2005 and Fall Out Boy’s From Under the Cork Tree in 2005
Moving onto birthdays now, we have Josey Scott of Saliva and Paul Banks of Interpol
In 1971, Led Zeppelin kicked off a European tour in Denmark in front of 4,000 fans. The show included the first live performance of Misty Mountain Hop and the only known performance of Four Sticks.
In 2013, the Palmetto Playground in Brooklyn New York is renamed after Adam “MCA” Yauch of the Beastie Boys.
In 2005, Cream reunited for the first time in 36 years for the first of four shows in London’s Royal Albert Hall. Clapton claimed the shows came together due to the failing health of his other bandmates, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker.
In 2013, Metallica members Kirk Hammett and James Hetfield performed the national anthem during a San Francisco Giants game during the teams “Metallica Night”. Lar Ulrich didn’t play drums but threw out the first pitch. Metallica Night went so well that it has now become a tradition at the Giants’ ballpark!
And finally in 2004, after a year’s long court battle raging since 1997, the US Supreme Court rejected appeals from musicians Robert Daisley and Lee Kerslake who claimed they were owed royalties from Ozzy Osbourne. They claimed that they were entitled money from the albums Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman. Ozzy’s wife and manager, Sharon, claimed that the pair had harassed the Osbourne family for years and said that the duos’ contributions were removed from the album due to their “abusive and unjust behavior”.
This has been Today in Rock History! Keep on Rocking, keep on Rolling! Check back tomorrow for your next rock history lesson!
