This Day in History: 2023-04-07

APRIL 7th

Whitesnake release their self-titled album which sells over 8-million copies in the U.S. 1987

Despite the sales success, the effort is kept out of the #1 slot on the Billboard 200 by a trio of albums:  U2’s “The Joshua Tree”, Whitney Houston’s “Whitney,” and Michael Jackson’s “Bad.”

After a year on the album chart, Bonnie Raitt’s “Nick Of Time” finally reaches #1 on the Billboard 200.  1990

With the title track and “Thing Called Love” the set tops the Billboard chart for three weeks.

Pearl Jam, Journey, Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) and Yes are inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame during a ceremony at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.  2017

There is also a tribute to the late, great Chuck Berry who’d passed away weeks earlier.

MORE TODAY IN ROCK…

Mick Jagger and Keith Richards meet Brian Jones at London’s Ealing Club. Jones performs “Dust My Blues” which impresses Jagger and Richards. They ask him to join their group, which eventually becomes the Rolling Stones. 1962

John Cooper (Skillet) is born. 1975

You don’t have to turn on your red light. The Police release “Roxanne.” 1978

The Doobie Brothers “Minute By Minute” is the #1 album in the U.S. It sells three-million copies with “What A Fool Believes” becoming the band’s biggest hit.  1979

Elton John is recognized for his Outstanding Contribution to British Music at the 31st Ivor Novello Awards. 1986

“Bring Me To Life,” from Evanescence’s debut album “Fallen,” is released as a single.  The track was written by group members Amy Lee, Ben Moody, and David Hodges.   2003

Modest Mouse’s “We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank” floats to the top of the album chart selling nearly 129,000 copies in its first week. The set features the guitar work of former Smiths’ guitarist Jonny Marr. 2007

Bob Dylan receives an honorary Pulitzer Prize for his “profound impact on popular music and American culture.”  2008

3 Doors Down bass player Robert Todd Harrell is involved in a fatal crash in Nashville. Harrell is arrested on vehicular homicide and drug charges.  As a result, 3 Doors Down cancel tour plans. 2013

Elton John and Michael Stipe (R.E.M.) release a joint statement in support of transgender prisoners in the state of Georgia, where the issue had come to the forefront. “Transgender women in male prisons have an equal right to protection from violence and abuse in prison, yet they continue to face horrific injustices.” 2015

Jack White’s “Boarding House Reach” is #1 on the Billboard 200 on first week sales of 124,000 copies. It’s his third consecutive chart-topping record as a solo artist.  2018

A lawsuit involving Fall Out Boy and Furry Puppet Studio Inc. is dismissed with prejudice in a Manhattan federal court. The stuffed animal company accused Fall Out Boy of exploiting the wearable, life-sized llama puppets it made for one of the band’s music videos, by featuring them in other videos, on a tour and an album.  2020

Former Guns N’ Roses drummer Matt Sorum’s autobiography, “Double Talkin’ Jive: True Rock ‘N’ Roll Stories From The Drummer Of Guns N’ Roses, The Cult, And Velvet Revolver,” arrives.  After being delayed several times due to the coronavirus pandemic, the autobiography chronicles Sorum’s dodgy early years (selling pot and smuggling large quantities of cocaine) to his long-term success as a musician.  2021

Ben Winston, the executive producer of the 64^th Annual Grammy Awards apologies for omissions during the “In Memoriam” portion of the show – most notably the late Slipknot drummer Joey Jordison. Winston says the Recording Academy picks the names for the tribute — not the show’s producers but adds that in addition to Jordison the show should have recognized the Moody Blues’ Graeme Greene and the victims in the fatal crowd crush at ‘21’s Astroworld Festival.  2022