Are you ready to learn some stuff? It’s May 11th and here’s what happened Today in Rock History!
Starting off on a sad note, as it was on this day in 1981 that we lost Bob Marley after a very long battle with melanoma.
We also lost Noel Redding of the Jimi Hendrix Experience in 2003, Ed Gagliardi of Foreigner in 2014, and John Rutsey, the original drummer of Rush in 2008. Video of Rutsey playing with Rush is hard to come by, but I was able to find one!
Moving onto something of a lighter note with releases. We’re starting off really strong with Demon Days from Gorillaz in 2005!
The hits keep on coming as the three disc soundtrack, Woodstock: Music from the Original Soundtrack and More, featuring performances from the 1969 Woodstock festival, was released in 1970.
We also got Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino from the Arctic Monkeys in 2018, The Who’s Live at Leeds in 1970 and The Clash’s The Cost of Living EP in 1979
It’s Butch Trucks of The Allman Brothers Band and Christoph Schneider of Rammstein’s birthday today
In 2000, Napster, the music sharing website, won the Webby award for best music site. After multiple lawsuits, it would cease operations a year later.
In 2011, a vintage rock t-shirt sold at auction for $10,000, considered the largest sum ever paid for a vintage t-shirt. The shirt, a 1979 Led Zeppelin tee, when the purchased finalized on eBay, was considered the rarest and most expensive vintage tee in the world.
In 2006, Dave Brownsound of Sum 41 announced that he would be leaving the band due to personal reasons, as well as to focus efforts on his new band, Brown Brigade. Brownsound would return to the band in 2015 and stayed til the end of Sum 41 in 2025
The first documented use of the phrase “Heavy Metal” was used on this day in a 1968 Rolling Stone magazine review of Electric Flag’s album A Long Time Comin’, saying: “This is the new soul music, the synthesis of white blues and heavy metal rock.”
And finally in 2001, Oasis, The Black Crowes, and Spacehog embarked on their “The Tour of Brotherly Love” in Las Vegas. The tour got it’s name as a way to recognize the three pairs of brothers from each band on the line-up: Noel and Liam Gallagher (Oasis), Chris and Rich Robinson (Black Crowes) and Royston and Antony Langdon (Spacehog).
This has been Today in Rock History! Keep on Rocking, keep on Rolling! Check back tomorrow for your next rock history lesson!
