Are you ready to learn some stuff? It’s January 26th and here’s what happened Today in Rock History!
Starting the day with birthdays, we have Eddie Van Halen from, you guessed it, Van Halen!
Other birthdays include Willie Adler of Lamb of God and Matt Heafy of Trivium!
Moving onto releases, we got Valley of the Dolls from Generation X in 1979 and in 1970 we got Simon & Garfunkel’s final album Bridge over Troubled Water
In 1968, Pink Floyd performed their first show without singer and leader, Syd Barrett, at Southampton University. Floyd would continue without Barrett, but they would never forget their friend.
In 1980, Prince made his TV debut when he performed on American Bandstand. During the interview segment, Prince struggled to reply and froze. And MAAAAN is it awkward
In 2018, Lindsey Buckingham performs for the final time with Fleetwood Mac when the band played at the Musicares benefit show in NYC. A few months later, Buckingham would be fired.
After a tell-all interview with Blink-182 bandmates Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker released by Rolling Stone in 2015, Tom DeLonge quits the band. DeLonge would return to the group in October 2022.
In 1986, Skynyrd guitarist Allen Collins is involved in a car accident that left him paralyzed from the waist down. The accident would also kill his girlfriend, and Collins would die almost 4 years to the date in 1990 from pneumonia caused by complications of his paralysis.
In 2022, Spotify removed all of Neil Young’s music from their library after Young’s ultimatum regarding the Joe Rogan Podcast and misinformation regarding COVID-19. Young’s music would return to the streamer two years later
ZZ Top performed at the Super Bowl XXXI halftime show on this day in 1997. Alongside the Top was The Godfather of Soul James Brown and The Blues Brothers
And finally in 1977, when opening for Bob Seger at a gig in Florida, Patti Smith fell 15 feet off the stage into the orchestra pit. Smith would suffer a head injury and broke her back, which left her in traction. During her rehabilitation period, she started working on her new album, Easter.
This has been Today in Rock History! Check back tomorrow for your next rock history lesson!
