This Day in History: 2024-02-25

FEBRUARY 25^th

Bob Seger releases his 11th studio album “Against The Wind.”  It goes on to sell five million copies in the U.S.  1980

Might as well jump. Van Halen’s “Jump,” (from “1984” – pictured) with an entertaining video (that cost less than a grand), tops the Billboard Hot 100. 1984

“Vulgar Display Of Power,” containing “Mouth For War,” “This Love,” and “Walk,” drops. The Pantera’s sixth album sells over 2-million copies and is considered “one of the most influential Metal albums of the ’90’s” and “one of the defining albums of the Groove-Metal genre.” 1992

MORE TODAY IN ROCK…

John Doe (John Nommensen Duchac) enters the world.  The singer/guitarist co-founded L.A. Punk band X.  1953

Buddy Holly and the Crickets record their biggest hit, “That’ll Be The Day.” It goes #1. 1957

Dennis Diken, The Smithereens drummer, starts his life. 1957

68 guns. The Alarm’s vocalist/guitarist Mike Peters is born. 1959

Elvis Presley makes his first concert appearance in three years (since ’58; pre-Army). The Memphis show raises money for local charities. 1961

“The Grand Illusion” peaks at #6. It’s the first platinum album for Styx. 1978

Billy Joel’s “Glass Houses” album garners the Best Rock Vocal Performance Grammy. Also, Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band get a Grammy for “Against The Wind” (Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal).  1981

Bert McCracken (Robert Edward McCracken), lead singer for the Used, is born in Provo, UT.  1982

Don Henley wins Best Rock Male Vocal Performance for “The Boys Of Summer” at the 28th annual Grammy Awards. 1986

The Grammy Award for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Solo, goes to Bonnie Raitt for her “Luck Of The Draw” album. She also wins Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female, for “Something To Talk About.”  The ceremony is in NY.  1992

The Wallflowers’ “One Headlight” earns Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance By A Group honors at the 40th Grammy Awards. Bob Dylan snags the Album of the Year trophy for “Time Out Of Mind.” And the Best Alternative Music Performance award goes to Radiohead for “OK Computer.”  1998

Slipknot make their network TV (NBC) debut on Late Night with Conan O’Brien where they perform “Wait & Bleed.”  2000

Shinedown and Tesla headline a benefit concert in Providence for survivors of the February, ’03 fire (caused by Great White’s pyro show) at the Station nightclub. 2005

10 Years’ “Wasteland” claims the #1 position on Billboard ‘s Modern Rock Tracks chart, replacing Weezer’s “Perfect Situation.” “Wasteland” is on the group’s debut album, “The Autumn Effect.” 2006

Carlos Santana is inducted into the NAACP Image Awards Hall of Fame at the 37th NAACP Image Awards in Los Angeles. “(Santana’s) work has inspired and motivated people of all races and cultures,” says NAACP president Bruce Gordon. 2006

Elton John’s 15th annual fundraising party in honor of the Academy Awards is in West Hollywood, CA. The event raises nearly $4.2 million for Elton’s AIDS Foundation. Jon Bon Jovi and Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne are among the famous who attend. 2007

Melissa Etheridge gets an Oscar for her song, “I Need To Wake Up.” The Best Original Song is in Al Gore’s documentary “An Inconvenient Truth.” 2007

Police storm the set of Megadeth’s “Right To Go Insane” video because the band is using a M68a tank. “The cops are here – it can get pretty hairy with this video shoot,” says frontman Dave Mustaine reporting live from the scene. The band neglected to inform authorities about the tank so panic ensued. 2010

Van Halen’s “A Different Kind Of Truth,” is #2 on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart after selling 187,000 copies in its debut week. Unfortunately, at least for VH, Adele sells about 55,000 more copies of her album “21” to top the chart. 2012

Led Zeppelin is named the most influential Rock band of all time by the listeners of U.K. radio station Planet Rock. Queen is second with Black Sabbath third. The Beatles do not make the list while their contemporaries – Jimi Hendrix, the Rolling Stones and The Who – land in the Top 10. 2013

Timothy Lambesis, lead singer for As I Lay Dying, admits to soliciting the murder of his wife. The 33 year-old Lambesis is also in the midst of a contentious divorce from his wife of 8 years, the intended victim, Meghan Lambesis. He pleads guilty to the charge. 2014

Vicky Cornell, the widow of late Soundgarden vocalist Chris Cornell, who died by suicide in May ‘17 at the age of 52, testifies before Congress about the opioid crisis and the impact addiction has on families.  Cornell’s death was ruled a suicide but his wife states that the side effects of the prescription drug Ativan may have resulted in his depression and thoughts of self-harm.  2019

The horror comedy “Studio 666,” starring the Foo Fighters, is in theaters. The plot has the band moving into an Encino mansion steeped in grisly Rock and Roll history to record an album. However, supernatural forces threaten both the completion of the album and the lives of the band members. It’s the first film to feature the Foo Fighters that is not a documentary.  2022