Are you ready to learn some stuff? It’s September 27th and here’s what happened Today in Rock History!
After a Metallica show in Stockholm in 1986, the band traveled by bus to their next stop in Copenhagen. Before going to bed for the night, bassist Cliff Burton had won the most comfortable bunk on their tour bus in a game of cards. Early in the morning, while the band slept, their bus hit a patch of black ice, tipping over. Burton was thrown out a window and was crushed by the bus, killing him instantly. He was just 24.
There was much debate on how the bus tipped though. Metallica frontman James Hetfield claimed that the driver was drunk and there was no black ice, which would be confirmed by police and a local freelance photographer. The bus driver was never charged.
In 2022, the second Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert took place in Los Angeles at the Kia Forum. Performers included Hawkins’ band Foo Fighters, Joan Jett, Stewart Copeland of The Police, Rush, Wolfgang Van Halen, Def Leppard, and members of Queen.
With birthdays today, we have Brad Arnold of 3 Doors Down, Randy Bachman of BTO and The Guess Who, and the super underrated Meat Loaf
In 1990, Dee Dee Ramone was arrested for marijuana possession during a drug bust in Greenwich Village, New York.
In 2019, Metallica had to postpone their WorldWired tour due to frontman James Hetfield having to return to rehab.
Moving onto releases, we got Reise, Reise by Rammstein in 2004, Mastodon’s The Hunter and The Whole Love from Wilco in 2011, Extreme Behavior from Hinder in 2005 and The Killers’ Sam’s Town in 2006!
And finally in 2007, Van Halen kicked off their North American leg of their reunion tour with lead singer David Lee Roth, rejoining the band for the first time since 1985. Bassist Michael Anthony didn’t return and was replaced by Eddie Van Halen’s 16-year-old son Wolfgang
This has been Today in Rock History! Keep on Rocking, keep on Rolling! Check back tomorrow for your next rock history lesson!
