October 29th

Rocktober 29th


2012 “Radioactive,” by Imagine Dragons, is released. 

Staying on the Billboard Hot 100 for 87 weeks and peaking at #3, the song tops both the U.S. Hot Rock Songs and Rock Airplay charts on its way to becoming the most downloaded track in Rock history. 


2016 Green Day’s “Radio Revolution” tops the Billboard 200.

With first-week sales of 95,000 units it’s the group’s 10th Top 10 album. 

MORE TODAY IN ROCK…

1944 Denny Laine (Moody Blues & Wings) is born. He writes and sings one of Wings’ best songs “Time To Hide.”

1946 Peter Green (Peter Allen Greenbaum) is born in London. In addition to being a co-founder of Fleetwood Mac, the guitarist composed “Black Magic Woman” (a hit for Santana). 

1955 Quiet Riot’s vocalist, Kevin DuBrow, enters the world.

1955 Billboard says Little Richard’s debut hit, “Tutti Frutti,” is “a cleverly styled novelty with nonsense words, rapid fire delivery.”

1965 The Who’s classic, “My Generation,” is released in the U.K. The track is later listed 11th on Rolling Stone‘s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and 13th on VH1’s 100 Greatest Songs of Rock & Roll.

1971 A motorcycle accident in Macon, GA, claims the life of guitar great Duane Allman (Allman Brothers Band).

1973 John Lennon issues his “Mind Games” album featuring the title track. 

2002 “Nirvana” (with the black cover and silver lettering), a de facto greatest hits album, is released.

2004 “Ray – The Life Of Ray Charles” opens. The biopic stars Jamie Foxx as the immortal performer.

2007 The Sundance Channel premieres “Runnin’ Down A Dream: Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers.” Director Peter Bogdanovich’s four-hour documentary has appearances by Stevie Nicks (Fleetwood Mac), Jeff Lynne (E.L.O.) and the late George Harrison.

2007 Police nab 40 accused petty criminals in a sting operation that involves Ozzy Osbourne. Without Ozzy’s prior knowledge, police invite people with outstanding warrants to a fake pre-show party that promises free tickets to Ozzy’s Fargo, ND concert. “It’s insulting to me and to my audience,” says Osbourne. “It shows how lazy this particular sheriff is when it comes to doing his job.”

2007 Elvis Presley and John Lennon are #1 and #2, respectively. Only this time it’s on Forbes magazine’s annual tally of the highest-earning dead celebrities. Presley, earning $49 million, beats out Lennon by $5 million. The Lennon estate is boosted by the settlement of long-standing lawsuits regarding record royalties.

2008 U2’s Bono is a surprise speaker at a Starbucks leadership conference in New Orleans, as the coffee company announces a partnership with the singer’s (Red) campaign. A percentage of money raised by sales of select Starbucks drinks benefits the (Red)-supported Global Fund’s fight against AIDS in Africa. “This coffee will be beautiful because it’s going to chase away the ugliness of this tiny little virus, HIV,” says Bono.

2010 John Lennon wins the Royal Mint’s public vote and is honored with his own “Great Briton” limited edition coin. The massive proportion of the vote he received shows clearly just how much his untimely death still resonates with the nation,” says Dave Knight, director of commemorative coins at the Royal Mint.  

2012 Green Day announce that they’ve canceled all dates for ’12 and postponed early ’13 shows as frontman Billie Joe Armstrong continues his stay in rehab. “Obviously, the timing for this isn’t ideal, but Billie Joe’s well-being is our main concern,” writes bassist Mike Dirnt in a statement.

2018 Just before the mid-term elections, Slayer’s Tom Araya offers a ‘conservative vs. liberal’ comparison via the bassist’s own Instagram account. “If a conservative doesn’t like guns, he doesn’t buy one. If a liberal doesn’t like guns, he wants all guns outlawed. If a conservative is a vegetarian, he doesn’t eat meat. If a liberal is a vegetarian, he wants all meat products banned for everyone and if a conservative decides he needs health care, he goes shopping for it or may choose a job that provides it. A liberal demands that the rest of us pay for his.” 

2018 Former Molly Hatchet singer Jimmy Farrar dies at age 68. Farrar passes away due to complications from congestive heart, kidney and liver failure.  His vocals are heard in “Beatin’ The Odds” (’80) and “Take No Prisoners (’81).

2021 In a radio interview Superjoint guitarist Jimmy Bower says that the band is “done” for good.  Members are now involved in other projects. Superjoint last released an album in ‘16. 

2022 Highly Suspect’s “Natural Born Killer” is #1 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart.