Are you ready to learn some stuff? It’s May 1st and here’s what happened Today in Rock History!
Starting off a brand-new month with releases! On the same day in 2007, we got Dinosaur Jr’s Beyond and Rush’s Snakes & Arrows. We also got the Adolescents debut record aka The Blue Album in 1981.
Moving on to birthdays we have Johnny Colt of The Black Crowes and D’arcy Wretzky of The Smashing Pumpkins
It’s also Ray Parker Jr’s birthday today. You may know him best for this absolute masterpiece about New York’s bravest first responders:
We lost Richard Tandy of ELO in 2024 and Ric Parnell of Atomic Rooster in 2022. You may know Parnell better as Mick Shrimpton, one of the MANY drummers for Spinal Tap.
In 2006, 1,581 guitarists in Poland broke the Guinness World Record for most guitarists playing at the same time. The song they played simultaneously? Jimi Hendrix’s Hey Joe
For you pro wrestling nerds, it was on this day in 2017 that Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan purchased the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). It created some very interesting moments, especially with controlled substances.
In 1997, the home where Kurt Cobain committed suicide went for sale for an asking price of $3 million. The five-bedroom house was built in 1902, but the carriage house the singer died in had been demolished.
In 1980, the South African government banned the Pink Floyd song, Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2) after children used the song as an anthem against poor education practices.
And finally, speaking of Pink Floyd, in 2013, a Minnesota man accrued as much $100,000 in unpaid medical bills. The man, Phillip Schaeffer, claimed that he was Pink Floyd singer David Gilmour and didn’t have health insurance. After being treated on April 20th (not joking) and signing an autograph for an employee’s son (also not joking), he was released by the hospital.
This has been Today in Rock History! Keep on Rocking, keep on Rolling! Check back tomorrow for your next rock history lesson!
