This Day in History: 2025-01-17

JANUARY 17^th

The Doors play New York’s Felt Forum. This show comprises a large portion of “Absolutely Live.” The NY version of “When The Music’s Over” is a classic. 1970

David Bowie is inducted into the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame. The Talking Heads’ David Byrne leads the induction ceremony. Accepting on Bowie’s behalf, Madonna says he “truly changed my life.” 1996

“Snow (Hey Oh),” off the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Stadium Arcadium” album, is #1 on Billboard’s Modern Rock Singles Chart.  2007

“Snow” is the Peppers’ 11th chart-topping song; their first was “Give It Away” from their multiplatinum ’91 album, “Blood Sugar Sex Magik.”

Pearl Jam release “Live On Ten Legs.” The 18 songs, recorded by the band’s engineer John Burton between ’03 and ’10, is the follow-up to Pearl Jam’s ’98 live album, “Live On Two Legs” and  marks the 20th anniversary of the Seattle-based band. 2011

MORE TODAY IN ROCK…

One-time Rolling Stones guitarist, Mick Taylor, begins his life. He starts playing guitar at age nine and gets the Stones gig (replacing Brian Jones) on the recommendation of English Blues musician John Mayall. 1948

Paul Young has a birthday. The vocalist for Mike & The Mechanics is from Luton, England. 1956

The Bangles’ singer, Susanna Hoffs, has a birthday. 1959

“Led Zeppelin II” makes the second of three trips to the top of the Billboard 200.  It replaces “Abbey Road” at #1 but loses the top spot a week later to The Beatles album.  1970

Robert James Ritchie, best known as Kid Rock, is born in Romeo, MI. 1971

“Zenyatta Mondatta,” reaches #5 in the U.S. It’s the Police’s first Top 10 album in the States. 1981

Bon Jovi’s “Slippery When Wet” returns to the top of the Billboard 200 (after one week at #1 in October, ’86) for a seven-week run.  1987

The Who and The Kinks are welcomed into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The Who’s Pete Townshend claims that his band has been a Rock N’ Roll ‘irritant’. 1990

Pink Floyd is inducted into the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame by the Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan, who performs “Wish You Were Here” with the group. David Bowie, Jefferson Airplane, Pink Floyd, and the Velvet Underground are also inducted. 1996

Bassist Jason Newsted leaves Metallica due to a limited creative role.  At the time, Metallica is fighting Napster and Newsted is recovering from neck and back injuries sustained from headbanging. 2001

The estate of George Harrison settles its lawsuit against Dr. Gilbert Lederman, who treated the ex-Beatle. He is accused of coercing the dying Harrison into signing a guitar belonging to his son. The settlement comes ten days after the lawsuit was filed against Lederman, his three children and his employer, Staten Island University Hospital. 2004

Guitarist Zakk Wylde, (Qzzy Osbourne/Black Label Society) is inducted into Hollywood’s RockWalk. 2006

Ted Nugent performs in a cutoff T-shirt adorned with a Confederate flag at the inaugural ball for second-term Texas Governor Rick Perry. Using machine guns as props, Nuge shouts offensive remarks about illegal aliens at the Austin event. A spokesman says the Governor does not approve. 2007

Slash (Guns N’ Roses), Ronnie James Dio (Dio/Black Sabbath) and Terry Bozzio (Missing Persons) are inducted into Hollywood’s RockWalk on Sunset Blvd.  2007

Psycho Circus or Into The Void. KISS’ Gene Simmons is fired at the end of the third episode of NBC’s “Celebrity Apprentice,” after his team fares poorly in the week’s task – create and manage a mobile printing station for Kodak. 2008

Paul McCartney presents the award for the best-animated feature at the 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards ceremony in L.A.  McCartney says animation isn’t just for kids. “It is also for adults who are on drugs.” 2010

Johnny Otis, bandleader and songwriter who was often called the “Godfather of R & B,” dies at his suburban Los Angeles home. Otis, best-known for the song “Willie And The Hand Jive,” helped pave the way for Rock n’ Roll in the early ’50s. He was 90. 2012

Former Ataris bassist Michael Davenport is arraigned in federal court on fraud and conspiracy charges related to a telemarketing real estate plot that allegedly scammed $27 million over a seven-year period.  Davenport and fellow California resident Cynthia Rawlinson face more than 30 years in prison.  2018

The Eagles settle a lawsuit to stop a Mexico hotel from using the name “Hotel California,” the title of the band’s most famous song, after the hotel’s owners withdraw their application to trademark the name in the United States. 2018

Rush song streams surge by 776% while sales grow by more than 2,000% in the U.S. in the days following drummer Neil Peart’s passing on 1/7.  According to Billboard, on-demand audio and video streams of Rush’s catalog hit 24.54 million with the ’81 classic “Tom Sawyer“ being the most streamed song (2.8 million).  2020

Every Time I Die call it quits largely over differences with vocalist Keith Buckley.  The band’s run began in ‘98. 2022

Van Connor, bassist for Screaming Trees dies from an extended illness at the age of 55.  “It was pneumonia that got him in the end,” writes bandmate and brother, Gary Lee Conner.   2023