This Day in History: 2025-02-23

FEBRUARY 23^rd

Fleetwood Mac pick up a Grammy statue when “Rumours” is named Best Album of the Year.  1978

The Eagles win the Record of the Year Grammy for “Hotel California” but don’t bother to show up.  1978

“Crazy Little Thing Called Love” is #1 in the U.S. Queen’s Freddie Mercury composes the retro-sounding song while taking a bath in a Munich hotel. It owns the top slot for 4-weeks. 1980

Carlos Santana picks up eight Grammys, including Album of the Year, for his comeback album, “Supernatural.” 2000

MORE TODAY IN ROCK…

Blues/Rock guitarist Johnny Winter finds his way into the world. 1944

Guitarist Brad Whitford (Aerosmith) is born in Winchester, MA. 1952

Queensryche’s Michael Wilton has a birthday. The guitarist hails from San Francisco. 1962

Guitarist John Norum, co-founder of Europe (“The Final Countdown”), enters the world.  1964

Chris Vrenna is born.  He is the drummer for Nine Inch Nails (’89 – ’97) and later keyboardist/drummer for Marilyn Manson (‘04 – ’11).  1967

British pop has-been, Cliff Richard, sounds off in the New Musical Express. “I feel that if there are 13-and 14-year-olds hooked on Alice Cooper, and they see dolls mutilated onstage, then it’s bound to have a bad effect.” 1974

Little Richard gets a Lifetime Achievement Award from NARAS (the Grammys). Richard grouses that he’s getting the award the night before the annual Grammy show rather than at the ceremony itself. 1993

Oasis vocalists Liam Gallagher’s bad behavior on a flight to Hong Kong gets him banned from Cathay Pacific Airlines. 1998

Elton John earns a Living Legend Award at the Grammys but says the whole awards thing is B.S.  2000

“Angel Of Retribution,” the fifteenth studio album by Judas Priest, is released. It is the band’s first album since ‘90’s “Painkiller” to feature vocalist Rob Halford and debuts at #13 on the Billboard 200.  2005

Gimme shelter! At least 20 people are reportedly injured when they try to gain free entrance to a Rolling Stones concert in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Crowd members throw rocks and bottles at police officers, who use rubber bullets, water cannons and clubs to disperse the rowdy gathering. 2006

KoЯn’s MTV Unplugged performance premieres online. The show airs a week later. 2007

Guitarist James ‘Munky’ Shaffer rejoins KoЯn on the Milan stop of their European tour. Shaffer left the trek the previous month citing ‘personal and family reasons’. 2008

Ticketmaster reaches a settlement with the New Jersey Attorney General’s office regarding its controversial handling of sales of Bruce Springsteen concert tickets. As part of the deal, the company pays the state $350,000 in legal fees and promises, for one year, to stop automatically linking to its TicketsNow subsidiary, which re-sells ducats at inflated prices. Ticketmaster also offers restitution to Springsteen fans who had filed complaints about their difficulties buying tickets. 2009

The British Culture Minister declares Abbey Road studios, where The Beatles recorded nearly all their albums, an official historic landmark due to “the historic merit of the studios” and because of its “huge cultural importance.” 2010

Ginger Fish (known to his mom as Kenneth Robert Wilson) announces his departure from Marilyn Manson via Facebook and Twitter: “I am regretful to inform the fans that I have decided to step down as a member of Marilyn Manson, and see where my life, and the knowledge of my availability cares to take me.” He was with Manson from ’95-’11. After some fill-in shows, he lands a full-time gig with Rob Zombie (replacing Joey Jordison who returned to Slipknot). 2011

On the strength of a hugely successful biopic, Queen commands the top three spots on Billboard’s Top Rock Albums chart:  #1 “Bohemian Rhapsody” Soundtrack; #2 “Queen’s Greatest Hits; and #3 “Greatest Hits I, II & III: The Platinum Collection. Greta Van Fleet’s “Anthem For A Peaceful Army” is #4.  2019

Felix Cavaliere (The Rascals) receives the Free Speech In Music Award from Middle Tennessee State University. The award recognizes those who utilize free speech in music. The Rascals’ ‘68 song “People Got To Free” stands as “a crucial song for social change.” 2022