July 2nd
1973 Grand Funk Railroad release their first chart topping single “We’re An American Band.”
C’mon dudes, let’s get it on with drummer Don Brewer’s vocals,
1975 David Bowie’s “Young Americans” goes gold.
His ninth album features the title track and “Fame”
2008 Mötley Crüe’s “Saints Of Los Angeles” debuts at #4 on the Billboard 200.
99,000 copies sell in its first week of release.
MORE TODAY IN ROCK…
1956 Elvis Presley records “Hound Dog” in New York. It’s done in 31 takes. “Don’t Be Cruel,” Presley’s biggest ’50’s pop hit, is also recorded.
1962 Jimi Hendrix is discharged from the army. The original story claims Jimi broke his ankle on a parachute jump. However, evidence suggests Hendrix faked being gay to get out.
1971 Queen gives their first show with the line-up of Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon at Surrey College, England.
1991 An audience member videotaping a Guns N’ Roses concert is enough to push Axl Rose to leap from the stage and attack the fan. Rose is dragged back onstage by the road crew but storms off the stage. A riot results trashing the venue outside of St. Louis. 50 people are injured and 15 are arrested. Rose is arrested a year later for inciting a riot, but the charges are eventually dropped.
2004 Velvet Revolver’s Scott Weiland enters a no-contest plea in L.A. to a misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence. The count stems from an incident the previous October where the singer crashed his vehicle into a parked van.
2005 The Live 8 concerts take place. Green Day and Audioslave play Berlin while U2, Velvet Revolver and R.E.M. appear in London. Pink Floyd’s London performance is the original lineup’s first show since ‘The Wall’ tour in ’81. On the other side of the pond, Linkin Park and Bon Jovi perform in Philadelphia as Mötley Crüe and Jet hit the stage in Barrie, north of Toronto. Rome, Moscow, Tokyo and Paris also host Live 8 concerts which raise awareness of the extreme poverty across Africa.
2014 Machine Head settle a $1.8 lawsuit filed by their former bass player Adam Duce. The band was sued for breach fiduciary duty and interference with prospective economic advantage, while singer guitarist Robb Flynn was hit with a defamation suit. Settlement terms are not disclosed.
2016 Sammy Hagar delivers a check for $100,000 to the Pediatric Cancer Program at the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital in San Francisco. The money was raised earlier in the year at Hagar’s Acoustic-4-A-Cure concert.
2019 “Spider-Man: Far From Home” is in theaters with a soundtrack featuring “Back In Black” (AC/DC), “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend” (The Ramones) and “Vacation” (The Go-Go’s).
2021 Marilyn Manson turns himself in to police on two outstanding warrants for misdemeanor simple assault involving an alleged incident with a videographer at an August ’19 concert at Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion. “This misdemeanor claim was pursued after we received a demand from a venue videographer for more than $35,000 after a small amount of spit came into contact with their arm,” claims Howard King, Manson’s attorney. The singer is booked and released.
2021 Guitarist Parker Lundgren leaves Queensryche to focus on “other business ventures,” namely his Diablo Guitars which he founded in ’19. “My time to devote to Queensryche has become increasingly strained, and I no longer am able to commit the time and focus it deserves,” writes Lundgren.
2021 Bring Me The Horizon introduce Syko Juice, a vegan BBQ sauce made in collaboration with the U.K. condiment maker Lou’s Hot Sauce.
2024 Heart postpones its “Royal Flush” tour so that singer Ann Wilson can undergo cancer treatment. She had undergone an operation to remove “something that, as it turns out, was cancerous.”
