Rocktober 11th
1977 Meat Loaf’s “Bat Out Of Hell” comes roaring out.
Though the album never cracks the Top 10 on the Billboard 200 (#14) it does become one of the best-selling albums of all time largely on the strength of the epic songs “Paradise By The Dashboard Light” and “Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad.”
1994 KoЯn’s self-titled debut featuring “Shoots And Ladders” arrives.
The album peaks only at #72 but thanks to touring and fan support it goes double platinum in a little over five years.
MORE TODAY IN ROCK…
1969 “Through The Past Darkly (Big Hits Volume 2)” is out. The Rolling Stones ‘greatest hits’ package stalls at #2 on the U.S. chart behind Credence Clearwater Revival’s “Green River.”
1973 Elvis and Priscilla Presley divorce after six years and one child, Lisa Marie. Despite the divorce, Priscilla becomes the “keeper of the flame” reviving the Presley estate and turning Graceland into a tourist attraction. She also has a moderately successful acting career.
1980 “Zenyatta Mondatta” tops the U.K. album chart. The Police set has a four-week run at #1.
1990 Drummer Dave Grohl plays his first show with Nirvana at the Surf Shore Club in Olympia, WA.
2004 The anti-George Bush ‘Vote For Change’ tour wraps up in Washington D.C. “We thought our nation’s capital seemed like the most ideal place to do that,” says Pearl Jam’s Stone Gossard.
2005 Songs by Queens Of The Strone Age, Avenged Sevenfold, Dio, and Iron Maiden are heard on the soundtrack of the snowboarding-themed video game “SSX On Tour.”
2006 Justin Hawkins says he has quit The Darkness to go into rehab to recover from alcohol and drug addictions. The singer claims to have spent almost $300,000 on cocaine over three years. “There are people who can be in bands and stay clean, but I’m not one of them,” says Hawkins.
2006 Former Jefferson Airplane singer Grace Slick is at Virgin America’s corporate headquarters in San Francisco’s International Airport to attend the dedication ceremony for the start-up airline. The first plane in Virgin’s fleet is named Jefferson Airplane, a tribute to the band. “The Grateful Dead a bad name for an aircraft,” jokes Slick, “but our name is a logical choice.”
2006 Queen’s Brian May and Roger Taylor present The Who with the Freddie Mercury Lifetime Achievement Award at the inaugural Vodaphone Live Music Awards in London. The Who do not attend the ceremony, but guitarist Pete Townshend accepts the honor via video from Chicago – The Who are on tour.
2011 After serving as a health columnist for the U.K.’s Sunday Times, Ozzy Osbourne released a book titled “Trust Me, I’m Dr. Ozzy – Advice from Rock’s Ultimate Survivor,” containing his best health tips. Ozzy notes that while his column may be useful it’s still entertainment. “If you believe me, you’ll end up in the lunatic asylum.”
2016 “I Am Brian Wilson: A Memoir” written by the Beach Boys’ creative force is in bookstores.
2016 A Wikileaks dump of presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s emails reveals that former Blink-182 guitarist Tom DeLonge repeatedly emailed Clinton’s campaign manager John Podesta about UFOs.
2016 Rod Stewart is knighted by Prince William at Buckingham Palace Stewart is for his services to music and charity after more than 50 years in show business. “It’s mind-blowing,” Sir Roderick tells reporters.
2016 Of Mice & Men cancel the remaining dates on its European headlining tour due to (singer) Austin Carlile’s illness. “It became increasingly obvious that we were not able to continue and that we need to focus on Austin’s health,” reads a band statement. Carlile is later hospitalized suffering from Marfan syndrome.
2017 Tom DeLonge (Blink-182) launches To the Stars Academy of Arts & Science to enable researchers to explore the “outer edges of science” and technologies.
2018 Kid Rock is one of the luminaries at the White House to watch President Donald Trump sign the Music Modernization Act, which reforms copyright laws.
2021 A memorial plaque honoring the late guitarist Eddie Van Halen is unveiled in his former hometown of Pasadena near the city’s Civic Auditorium, where Van Halen played a number of times between ‘75 and ‘78.
2021 Founding Queensryche drummer Scott Rockenfield files a lawsuit against fellow original members Michael Wilton (guitar) and Eddie Jackson (bass), alleging breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and wrongful discharge. According to Rockenfield, he took an approved leave of absence in ‘17 to attend to a family matter (his fiancée’s complications during the birth of their son and an emergency Cesarean delivery). But the following year, Wilton and Jackson purportedly “voted to dismiss Rockenfield” halting royalty payments and his share of merchandising revenues.
2022 Blink-182 officially confirmed that guitarist Tom DeLonge has returned to the band following months of speculation. Recording and a world tour are in place. DeLonge made an “indefinite” departure in ‘15.
2023 The family of late KISS guitar tech Fran Stueber, who died in ‘21 while quarantining after contracting COVID during the band’s “End Of The Road” World Tour, files a wrongful death suit in L.A., claiming both negligence and wrongful death and names KISS founding members Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, among others, for a “failure to enforce or have adequate COVID-19 policies or procedures (that) caused a COVID-19 outbreak amongst band members and tour personnel.”
2023 Anberlin‘s Stephen Christian takes an indefinite hiatus from touring with the band. Memphis May Fire‘s Matty Mullins is named as Christian’s replacement.