June 14th – June 20th
Linkin Park scores a first, Evanescence land at #1, Skillet achieve streaming mark and Type O Negative earn first gold single.
6/14 Linkin Park Downloads A First
Linkin Park, with Emily Armstrong, becomes the first band with a female frontwoman to headline England’s Download festival.
Linkin Park previously played Download with the late Chester Bennington. Armstrong replaced Bennington when the band reformed in 2023.
“Rock For Ronnie” Concert Fundraiser
6/15 “Rock For Ronnie’ Success
The Ronnie James Dio Stand Up And Shout Cancer Fund announces that the annual “Rock For Ronnie” concert held on 5/31/26 in L.A.’s Griffith Park raised more than $125,000. Lita Ford and Dio Disciples among others, performed.
Founded in memory of the late singer, the public charity has raised over $2 million for cancer research since its inception.
Sheryl Crow
6/15 Sheryl Crow Blasts Donald Trump
Following Trump’s White House birthday bash, which included a UFC fight the day before, Crow takes to Instagram: “What happened last night on the lawn of the White House was disgraceful and void of decency. Powerful, rich people filled the lawn to watch a violent sport. All while the average American cannot afford healthcare, gas, and cost of living.”
Type O Negative
I Don’t Wanna Be Me
6/15 Type O Negative’s First Gold Single
Type O Negative’s “I Don’t Wanna Be Me” is certified gold by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association Of America) for accumulating 500,000 certified units.
The track is from the band’s sixth studio album, 2003’s “Life Is Killing Me,” and was released as a promotional single that same year.
Type O Negative previously landed a platinum album for 1993’s “Bloody Kisses” and a gold album for 1996’s “October Rust.”
The band effectively broke up after the passing of Peter Steele in 2010 from heart failure at the age of 48.
Skillet
6/16 Skillet Crosses 4-Billion Streams
Skillet’s 6x-platinum anthem “Monster” surpasses 4-billion streams on Spotify.
Released in 2009, “Monster” was the second single from Skillet’s seventh studio album, “Awake,” which has gone double platinum (2,000,000 copies sold).
Monster
Roger Daltrey
6/16 Roger Daltrey Is Honored By ASCAP
The Who’s singer receives the ASCAP Founders Award at the organization’s event in London.
Daltrey, the lead singer of The Who and solo artist is presented the award recognizing his legendary career.
Daltrey joined The Who in 1964. He launched his solo career in 1973 with a self-titled effort.
Walter Parazaider
6/16 Chicago’s Walter Parazaider Dies
Parazaider, a founding member of Chicago, passes away from Alzheimers. “He had put up a good fight with Alzheimer’s and unfortunately it ended tonight,” Parazaider’s wife, JacLynn tells TMZ. A sax player Parazaider was a key member of the band’s brass/woodwind section before retiring in 2016.
Ozzy Osbourne Statue
6/17 Ozzy Statue Unveiled
A statue of the late Ozzy Osbourne is unveiled just prior to Hellfest in Clisson, France. The six-meter-tall statue was created by Philippe Pasqua, a French contemporary artist known for his paintings, sculptures and drawings.
Ozzy passed away in ’22.
Barack Obama
6/18 Presidential Library Rocks
Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder and U2’s Bono and The Edge are among the musical guests taking part in the grand opening ceremony for the Barack Obama Presidential Center in Chicago.
The new Windy City landmark was built on the South Side of Chicago where the Obamas’ journey began. The 19.3-acre campus serves as both a museum and a presidential public library.
Exhibits include memorabilia from the Obamas’ time in the White House, stories of iconic moments from the President’s administration and interactive activities.
Eddie Vedder
Better Believe
6/18 Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder Debuts “Better Believe”
Eddie Vedder, in partnership with the Chicago-based Guitars Over Guns, debut “Better Believe” live at the Obama Presidential Center dedication.
The song was co-written by Vedder, Giselle Castro, Andre “Add-2” Daniels, Jeremiah Fristoe, Mason Harris, Michael “Myskie” Hightower, Naomi Owens, Joy Viltz, and Iya Waters. The Obama Foundation brought Vedder and Guitars Over Guns together for the project.
All royalties earned by Vedder and the song’s co-writers will benefit Guitars Over Guns, an arts-based youth development organization that uses music, mentorship, and the arts to empower young people and expand opportunities for their future.
Sancturary
Who Will You Follow
6/20 “Who Will You Follow” Is #1
The song is off Evanescence’s “Sanctuary” album and is the band’s second #1 on the chart coming after last year’s “Afterlife.”
“It’s about the quest for what is real… For me, a lot of the album is the quest for humanity and being able to connect on what is real amidst a flood of lies being shoved in our face,” Evanescence frontwoman Amy Lee explains. “Somebody else is literally profiting off of you believing a lie. It is just wild out there. I want us to find each other in reality, dark as it may be, because you can’t fix it until you face it.”
“Who Will You Follow” also topped the Billboard Rock & Alternative Airplay chart.
The song was produced by Zakk Cervini and Jordan Fish, with the former also serving as a co-writer with Lee.
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