March 28, 2024

This Day in History: 2024-12-17

DECEMBER 17th

Just days after KISS walked away with the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame fan vote, the Hall announces the band will be a 2014 inductee, after being overlooked for years. Also on the induction list are Nirvana, #2 on the fan poll. 2013  

Foo Fighters’ “Greatest Hits,” released in ’09, passes the one-million sales mark. 2015

“Lux Æterna,” the lead track from Metallica’s “72 Seasons” album (pictured), is #1 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Songs chart.  2022

MORE TODAY IN ROCK…

Paul Rodgers is born in Middlesbrough, England. He is noted for fronting Free, Bad Company and The Firm.  1949

R.E.M.’s bassist, Mike Mills, is born in Orange County, CA. 1958

James Carroll, a disc jockey at WWDC in Washington, D.C., is the first person to play a Beatles record on American airwaves. The DJ obtained a copy of “I Want To Hold Your Hand” from his stewardess girlfriend who brought the single back from Britain. The song is hugely popular forcing Capitol Records to release it in the U.S. ahead of schedule. 1963

Elvis Costello & The Attractions appear on Saturday Night Live. They are a substitute for the Sex Pistols who can’t get visas to enter the U.S. Costello is not allowed to play “Radio, Radio” which criticizes the broadcast industry. After a couple measures of “Less Than Zero” the group slips into “Radio, Radio.” Like nobody would notice. 1977

A love buzz. A letter written by the late Kurt Cobain (Nirvana) to Courtney Love (Hole) in ‘91 sells for more than $19,000 at a Christie’s memorabilia auction in NY. 2004

Bon Jovi’s show in Washington, D.C., is transmitted live through Sprint wireless phones and multimedia devices, becoming the first full-length concert streamed through the carrier. Subscribers watch by tuning in Sprint TV. 2005

Radiohead’s Thom Yorke crashes the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen by pretending to be a member of the press. “Do you imagine they’d let me in otherwise,” asks Yorke. He later criticizes the conference as ineffective. 2009

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band play 72 shows earning $199.37 million to place second (behind Madonna) on Billboard’s list of top-grossing tours. Springsteen performs in front of 2.1 million people, approximately 500,000 more than Madonna, but he grosses $29 million less. 2012

Following the announcement that Ringo Starr is to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for his solo work, Paul McCartney lists his favorite Ringo songs on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. They are “Back Off Boogaloo” and “It Don’t Come Easy.” McCartney and Starr are already in the Hall as members of The Beatles. 2014

As I Lay Dying’s Tim Lambesis is released from prison after less than three years of a six-year sentence for a murder for hire plot of his estranged wife.  2016

Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx takes to X to write, “I think people get too worked up about the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame. If you get in that’s cool and if not, it’s not a big deal.”  Mötley Crüe has been eligible since 2006.  2023

Queen guitarist Brian May says the band is not behind the recent increase in copyright strikes (a policing practice used to halt copyright infringement) issued against Queen + Adam Lambert concert videos posted to YouTube and other platforms.  2023