This Day in History: 2024-05-11

MAY 11th

The triple album “Woodstock,” commemorating the previous year’s soggy festival, is released. 1970

The Black Keys earn their first #1 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Songs airplay chart with “Lo/Hi.” It’s the lead single from their ninth album, “Let’s Rock.”   2019

The duo previously reached a #5 with 2012’s “Lonely Boy.”

A lawsuit over the cover of Megadeth’s album “The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead,” is settled. Illustrator Brent Elliott White claims he wasn’t paid for hundreds of hours of work on the project. The parties reach an “agreement in principle for the resolution of the action.”  2023

MORE TODAY IN ROCK…

Blues inspired singer Eric Burdon is born in Walker, Newcastle Upon Tyne (England). Traveling through The Animals, Eric Burdon & The Animals and War, Burdon is one of the most recognizable voices of the British Invasion. 1941

Butch Trucks (born Claude Hudson Trucks), drummer for the Allman Brother Band, is born. 1947

The Beach Boys roll out their #1 single, “I Get Around.” 1964

On national T.V. (“The Dick Cavett Show”) John Lennon claims the government is spying on him and trying to boot him out of the country. Most people dismiss this as “just another Lennon fantasy.” Imagine, twenty years later when it’s discovered that was exactly what the government was doing. The Nixon Administration felt Lennon was a dangerous subversive who had to go. Lennon prevailed and got his Green Card. 1972

Influential Reggae musician Bob Marley dies in Miami. 1981

“Fear Of The Dark,” Iron Maiden’s ninth studio album, is released.  It’s the band’s third studio effort to top the U.K. Albums Chart but the last to feature singer Bruce Dickinson for seven years (he returns in ’99).  1992

Noel Redding, bassist for the Jimi Hendrix Experience, dies at age 57. 2003

Former Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page plays “Whole Lotta Love” before the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange. The performance celebrates Warner Music Group’s (WMG) I.P.O. the day before. Even with Page the WMG stock loses ground (and money). Originally, the label asked Linkin Park to entertain the financial folks but the group turned them down. 2005

Godsmack’s Sully Erna explains his band’s position on the Iraq War during CNN’s “Showbiz Tonight.”  “By no means has this band ever supported any war for any country,” claims Erna. “What we support is our troops.” The singer had recently been grilled in a magazine interview over his group allowing one of its songs to be used in a U.S. Navy recruitment ad. 2006

Chris Cornell receives the Stevie Ray Vaughan Award at the third annual MusiCares MAP Fund benefit concert in L.A. The Soundgarden singer is recognized for his support of the organization and for his work in aiding artists recovering from substance abuse. 2007

Founding Rush drummer (from ’68 – ’74) John Rutsey dies at age 55. “Although our paths diverged many years ago, we smile today, thinking back on those exciting times and remembering John’s wonderful sense of humor and impeccable timing,” reads the message from former Rush bandmates Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson. Rutsey, a diabetic, was reluctant to embark on lengthy tours, which led to his decision to leave the band. He was subsequently replaced by Neil Peart. 2008

The sale of Iron Maiden’s Trooper beer is halted in Sweden by the country’s state-run liquor store monopoly due to legal concerns over the image of the band’s mascot, Eddie, on the label. The alcohol law stipulates how the label can look. 2013

Def Leppard meet the Arkansas School For The Deaf’s football team after nearly 1,500 people sign an online petition to get the group to take a photo in front of the school’s football scoreboard. The team’s mascot is a leopard – a deaf leopard. 2016

The Offspring frontman Dexter Holland graduates with a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the University of Southern California (USC).  2017

Partner or hired hand?  Paramore settles a lawsuit filed by former bassist Jeremy Davis over songwriting credits and album royalties.  The band had contended Davis was a hired musician and not entitled to credits or royalties. 2017

Black Sabbath receive a Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award at the “Grammy Salute To Music Legends” ceremony at Dolby Theatre in L.A. The award honors musicians who have “made outstanding contributions of artistic significance to the field of recording” over the decades. Also, Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi and bassist Geezer Butler reunite with drummer Bill Ward. 2019

Former Suicidal Tendencies/Marilyn Manson drummer Brandon Pertzborn makes his live debut with The Offspring at Zielbau Arena in Winterthur, Switzerland.  2023