Are you ready to learn some stuff? It’s September 18th and here’s what happened Today in Rock History!
In the late morning of September 18th, 1970, the world lost one of its greatest guitar heroes, the legendary Jimi Hendrix at the age of 27. Although he had been in the rock spotlight for only 4 years, Hendrix left a mark that continues to inspire so many musicians around the world.
In 1983, KISS appeared without their make-up for the very first time in an interview with MTV to help promote the releases of their new album Lick It Up.
And speaking of KISS, the band’s four solo albums, named after each member of the band, were released in 1978! Guitarist Ace Frehley’s record garnered the biggest hit out of the four: a cover of Hello’s New York Groove.
Other releases include: Abacab from Genesis in 1981, The Beach Boys’ Smiley Smile in 1967, The Killers’ Battle Born in 2012, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot by Wilco in 2001, Chris Cornell’s Higher Truth in 2015 and Paranoid by Black Sabbath in 1970
The fantastic coming-of-age teen drama Singles was released in 1992. It would help introduce the world to the Pacific Northwest grunge scene and the amazing bands that came from it like Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, and Soundgarden. Hell, Chris Cornell even had a small part in the flick too!
It’s Kerry Livgren of Kansas’ and Dee Dee Ramone of the Ramones’ birthdays today!
And finally in 2011, while performing at the Austin City Limits festival, Awolnation singer Aaron Bruno began crowd surfing. Seriously! He surfed the crowd on a boogie board before the band began playing the aptly named hit Sail. Bruno performed the stunt a couple more times before it became too dangerous, as fans got a little too frisky.
This has been Today in Rock History! Keep on Rocking, keep on Rolling! Check back tomorrow for your next rock history lesson!
