June 18th
1942 Paul McCartney’s birthday.
He is born at Walton Hospital, Liverpool.
1982 Ozzy Osbourne’s solo debut “Blizzard Of Ozz” earns a platinum certification.
That’s for sales of one million copies.
This happens fifteen months after its U.S. release,
1988 Melissa Etheridge’s self-titled debut album enters the U.S. chart.
The set contains the classic “Bring Me Some Water” peaks at #22 but stays on the chart for over a year.
1994 Beastie Boys “Ill Communication” is #1 on the Billboard 200.
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1961 Stryper guitarist Oz Fox is born.
1963 Dizzy Reed, keyboardist for Guns N’ Roses, starts life in Hinsdale IL, with the name Darren Arthur Reed.
1977 Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” is #1 on the U.S. pop chart.
1977 Sex Pistols’ Johnny Rotten gets his face and hands slashed by some thugs who apparently didn’t take to kindly to the group’s U.K. hit “God Save The Queen.”
1977 Talking Heads members Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth marry.
1984 Judas Priest plays New York City’s Madison Square Garden. Rowdy fans trash the venue doing over $250,000 in damage. As a result, Priest is banned from the venue for life.
1988 All Time Low guitarist Jack Barakat has a birthday.
2007 Mötley Crüe file a $20 million lawsuit against Carl Stubner, one of their managers. The suit, filed in L.A., accuses Stubner of damaging Crue’s reputation by deliberately promoting Tommy Lee’s solo projects ahead of the group’s in order to net a higher commission for himself. The suit asserts that the drummer’s involvement in the reality shows “Tommy Lee Goes to College” and “Rockstar: Supernova” harmed his image and lost revenue for the group.
2010 Hand-written lyrics by John Lennon of “A Day In The Life” are auctioned at Sotheby’s in New York. The auctioneer describes the closing track from The Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” as “the revolutionary song that marked the Beatles’ transformation from pop icons to artists.” Estimated to sell for between $500,000 to $700,000, an undisclosed bidder pays $1.2 million for the lyrics.
2011 Clarence Clemons, the saxophonist for Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, passes away after suffering a stroke six days earlier. “(Clarence) loved the saxophone, loved our fans and gave everything he had every night he stepped on stage,” says Springsteen.
2011 Slash (Guns N’ Roses) receives the inaugural Tom F. Mankiewicz Leadership Award from the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association at its 41st Annual Beastly Ball. The honor recognizes Slash’s longtime contributions to establishing environmental welfare programs.
2012 PETA sends a 70th birthday card to Paul McCartney (see above) recognizing his efforts to help raise awareness for ethical animal treatment. The card has people dressed as animals in a parody of the famous Beatles “Abby Road” album cover. A sign reads “Happy Birthday, Paul! Thank You for Loving Us, Not Eating Us.”
2014 Linkin Park is inducted into Guitar Center’s RockWalk on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. The ceremony comes the day after the band releases their sixth album, “The Hunting Party.”
2014 Pearl Jam bassist and skateboarder, Jeff Ament, donates $40,000 to enable a skateboarding park to open in Glendive, MT, where he grew up.
2017 A mashup featuring Iron Maiden‘s “Trooper” and Michael Jackson‘s “Beat It” garners over 600,000 streams. The mashup is the work of Nightmare Lyra.
2018 “Prequelle” debuts at #3 on the Billboard 200 chart. Ghost’s highest charting record to date, sits behind Kayne West’s “Ye” and Post Malone’s “beerbongs & bentleys.”
2023 Nuclear Blast acquires Testament’s complete catalog. The band also signs an additional three album deal before their performance at Hellfest in Clisson, France. Testament joined Nuclear Blast following a six-album run with Atlantic Records.
