Are you ready to learn some stuff? It’s December 4th and here’s what happened Today in Rock History!
Starting the day with birthdays, we have Gary Rossington of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Dennis Wilson of The Beach Boys, Chris Hillman of The Byrds, and Jelly Roll.
We saw the release of The Rolling Stone’s December’s Children (and Everybody’s) in 1965, The Beatles’ Beatles for Sale in 1964, and Limp Bizkit’s New Old Songs in 2001!
In 1978, The Cure are kicked off their tour opening for Billy Idol’s band Generation X. The cause was due to drummer Lol Tolhurst accidentally peeing on Idol’s leg backstage in the men’s room after missing the urinal. Idol was “entertaining” a woman in the stall next to the urinal Tolhurst was using.
In 1980, Led Zeppelin disbands just two months after the death of drummer John Bonham.
We lost Frank Zappa in 1993 at the age of 52 from prostate cancer.
And finally, speaking of Zappa, in 1971, at the Montreux Casino in Montreux, Switzerland, during a Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention show, a member of the audience fired a flare gun directly into the wooden ceiling. The casino would burn to the ground with everyone escaping safely. Deep Purple (who were in the audience by the way) were planning to begin recording their new album Machine Head at the casino after Zappa’s set. This event inspired one of rock’s most iconic songs and guitar riffs
This has been Today in Rock History! Keep on Rocking, keep on Rolling! Check back tomorrow for your next rock history lesson!
