This Day in History: 2024-12-29

DECEMBER 29^th

The soundtrack to the Queen biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody” closes out the year at #1 on Billboard’s Top Rock Albums chart.  It’s #8 on the Billboard 200.  2018

Skillett is #1 on Billboard’s Hot Christian Songs chart for the first time with “Feel Invincible,” a song from the album, “Unleashed.”  2016

MORE TODAY IN ROCK…

Rick Danko (The Band) is born in Blayney, Ontario.  1943

Cozy Powell is born. The drummer is int the Jeff Beck Group and Rainbow. 1947

Clowns of Death guitarist Bryan ‘Dexter’ Holland is born. He finds fame and fortune with The Offspring. 1966

Toad The Wet Sprocket’s Glen Phillips has a birthday. 1970

After years of legal hassles, which only benefitted the lawyers, The Beatles legally disband (following Paul McCartney’s announced departure over four years earlier). 1974

In Chicago, Creed singer Scott Stapp forgets song lyrics, takes a lengthy leave of absence in the middle of the show and lies down on the stage for part of the performance. “We hope that you can take some solace in the fact that you definitely experienced the most unique of all Creed shows,” writes the band’s manager by way of an apology. 2002

Linkin Park and the American Red Cross create Music For Relief to assist victims of the tsunamis that flooded southern Asia. “A lot more people are going to die from being homeless and the problems with the water and diseases,” says Linkin Park guitarist Brad Delson. The group donates $100,000 to the cause. 2004

Pearl Jam win a legal battle over the rights to the domain name pearljams.com. The band filed a complaint with the National Arbitration Forum saying the site’s domain holder, Vertical Axis Inc., was using it to link to commercial sites that were unrelated to Pearl Jam. 2005

Golden Age Of Grotesque Settlements? Antichrist Divorcee? Mechanical Proceedings? Marilyn Manson’s wife of one-year, burlesque dancer Dita Von Teese (Heather Sweet), files for divorce. Irreconcilable differences are cited as the reason along with Manson’s heavier than usual drinking. His reported dating of 19-year-old actress Evan Rachel Wood probably didn’t help either. “She loved him so much, but he has too many demons,” says one of Von Teese’s friends. The couple are also locked in a custody battle over their pets. 2006

Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull) is named a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) as part of Queen Elizabeth II’s annual New Year’s Honours list.  Anderson seems to take the honor in stride. “A lowly MBE… requires only a discrete bow or curtsey from friends and family,” writes the singer in an online post. “The rest of you can tell me to bugger off.” 2007

It’s revealed that Pearl Jam has donated $70,000 to Keith Baxter who saved Eddie Vedder’s life 15-years earlier after the PJ frontman’s boat capsized.  The money helps pay Baxter’s medical bills for a severe leg injury resulting from a recent boating mishap.  2016

A concert by Bobby Blotzer’s version of Ratt is canceled just hours before showtime after a Mt. Pleasant, MI venue receives a cease-and-desist letter from the drummer’s former bandmates. Blotzer is embroiled in a legal a dispute over the group’s name with singer Stephen Pearcy, guitarist Warren DeMartini and bassist Juan Croucier. 2016

The Dillinger Escape Plan play their final show before disbanding at New York City’s Terminal 5.  During their three-show stand original singer Dimitri Minakakis performs songs from the group’s debut record, “Calculating Infinity.” 2017

The Hollywood Forever Cemetery sends a letter to Vicky Cornell, the widow of Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell, stating that fans aren’t allowed to film their visits to Cornell’s grave. “We understand that some of Chris’s fans wish to video their visits at Hollywood Forever, but we’ve had confirmation that it’s against their policy,” reads a statement from Cornell’s management company.   2017

Pink Floyd founding member and drummer Nick Mason makes the British New Year’s Honors list and is awarded Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his services to music. Mason is the only Pink Floyd member to appear on all of the group’s essential albums (including but not limited to “Dark Side Of The Moon,” “Wish You Were Here” and “The Wall”).   2018