This Day in History: 2025-03-03

MARCH 3^rd

“Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only The Piano Player,” Elton John’s sixth studio album, is #1 on the Billboard 200.  1973

Lead single “Crocodile Rock” is his first chart-topping single in both the U.S. and Canada.

“Master Of Puppets” is the third studio album by Metallica. It’s the group’s first record to be certified gold for sales of over 500,000 copies but their last to feature bassist Cliff Burton, who dies in a bus crash in Sweden while the group is touring to promote the album. 1986

U2’s ninth studio album, “Pop,” arrives. It goes to #1 in 35 countries, including the U.S. 1997

MORE TODAY IN ROCK…

London born singer/guitarist Robyn Hitchcock has a birthday. 1953

Hooters guitarist John Lilley is born in West Chester, PA. 1954

The Jeff Beck Group with Rod Stewart (vocals) and Ron Wood (bass), make their debut in London.  They are part of a package show with headliners Roy Orbison and The Small Faces. But after receiving poor notices, The Jeff Beck Group is asked to leave the tour. 1967

Van Halen launch their debut U.S. tour demanding that M&Ms be available backstage with the brown ones taken out. Probably for health reasons. It starts in Chicago. 1978

An Oakland Hell’s Angel testifies before the U.S. Senate that the motorcycle gang has a grudge against the Rolling Stones’ singer Mick Jagger stemming from ’69’s tragic Altamont concert. Apparently, there were two failed murder attempts. Seems the Angels can’t get any satisfaction either. 1983

“Black Velvet” (Alannah Myles) is #1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs chart.  1990

The B-52’s “Roam” peaks at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 behind Janet Jackson (“Escapade”), Roxette (“Dangerous”) and Paula Abdul (“Opposites Attract”), in that order. 1990

Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain is rushed to a Rome hospital after lapsing into a coma after overdosing on Rohypnol and champagne. 1994

REM’s drummer Bill Berry undergoes surgery for a brain aneurysm. The ailment forces him to leave the group. 1995

Staind play the first of three concerts for U.S. military service members stationed in Germany during their European tour. The Mannheim concert is followed by shows in Franconia and Baumholder. 2006

Axl Rose files a counterclaim in Los Angeles against his former Guns N’ Roses bandmate Slash to reaffirm his control of the band’s copyrights. The singer contends that Slash and ex-GN’R bassist Duff McKagan have filed ‘baseless lawsuits’ against him. “Axl has a responsibility to protect the Guns N’ Roses legacy and expose the truth,” says Rose’s lawyer. 2006

The Black Crowes issue “Warpaint.” “It’s got all the roots,” says the band’s Chris Robinson of the album. “But it’s also got a psychedelic feel.” For further clarification, the group issues a statement that reads, “The album builds compellingly on the band’s trademark adventurous brew of Rock, Blues, Country, Soul and Gospel.” 2008

Kid Rock’s attorney enters a not-guilty plea in Georgia’s DeKalb County State Court regarding an ’07 fight at an Atlanta Waffle House restaurant. Rock faces a misdemeanor battery charge after being arrested along with members of his entourage five months earlier. Rock claims he was provoked. 2008

More legal news. Scott Weiland exits a rehab facility after undergoing treatment for an undisclosed substance problem. The Velvet Revolver/Stone Temple Pilots singer faces a charge of driving under the influence of drugs. Two days later he pleads not guilty. 2008

The animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) announce they have recruited Jane’s Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro to star their anti-fur Ink Not Mink ads. “Several years ago, I saw video footage of animals being skinned alive and screaming, and it honestly is the most horrific, inhumane thing I’ve ever seen,” says Navarro. 2010

New Orleans based Better Than Ezra launches a Mardi Gras related three-day festival called Krewe of Rocckus. “This is our town, we are connected here,” says lead singer Kevin Griffin. 2011

Twisted Sister honors a fallen police officer at a benefit show at the Mid-Hudson Civic Center in Poughkeepsie, NY. John Falcone, a Poughkeepsie police officer, was killed while on duty the previous month. “We tend to do our benefits based on the proximity of the person and the place, the conditions, the circumstances, as it relates to us,” explains guitarist Jay Jay French. All proceeds go to law enforcement support organizations. 2012

Guitarist Ronnie Montrose (Montrose) dies following a five-year battle with prostate cancer. He was 64 years old. 2012

Stone Sour’s “Bother” and “Through Glass” are certified platinum singles (1-million units moved) by the Recording Industry Association Of America (RIAA).  2017

After helping raise funds to keep the Heugh Battery Museum in England open by selling a specially designed T-shirt Sabaton attend a special ceremony with guitarist Chris Rörland, a Swedish army veteran who served in the A9 Artillery Regiment, firing the Ordnance Quick Firing 25-pounder gun. He is the first-ever non-British army veteran to fire the historic weapon. 2022

Maxx Rinkus, a sophomore at Clear Springs High School in League City, TX is the first recipient of the Neil Peart (Rush) Spirit of Drumming Scholarship endowed by Modern Drummer. Rinkus receives the award in a remote ceremony (due to COVID-19 precautions) that includes Peart’s widow, Carrie Nuttall-Peart.  2022

3/3 Black Sabbath joins Spotify’s “Billions Club” with “Paranoid.” The title track from the band’s second studio album is their first song to break the one-billion threshold. 2024