This Day in History: 2023-04-12

APRIL 12th

Hole unfurls their second studio album, ‘Live Through This.” The multi-platinum set is the only one to feature bassist Kristen Plaff who passes away later in the year.  1994

Alice In Chains’ “MTV Unplugged” set is certified 2x platinum by the Record Industry of America. 2001

Linkin Park’s second album, “Meteora” with the track “Numb,” tops the Billboard 200.    2003

The set sells 810,000 copies in the U.S. during its debut week.

The Foo Fighters release their seventh studio album, “Wasting Light.” 2011

Produced by Butch Vig (“Nevermind”), the set has a guest appearance by Nirvana’s Krist Novoselic (bass and accordion on “I Should Have Known”). It tops the Billboard 200

Metallica’s “Hardwired… To Self-Destruct,” is certified platinum by the RIAA.  2017

Metallica’s tenth studio album is their first since ’08’s Death Magnetic.”  It’s also their sixth consecutive studio album to debut at #1 on the Billboard 200, selling 291,000 album-equivalent units in its first week.

MORE TODAY IN ROCK…

Today is Art Alexakis’ birthday. The Everclear singer-guitarist-songwriter is born in L.A. 1962

The Byrds issue their Rock-oriented cover of Bob Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man.” The single’s success prompts Dylan to go electric. 1965

Life magazine does a story on The Doors but, like so many others, focuses on singer Jim Morrison. They push the singer’s myth right over the top with the quote “he appears in public and on his records to be moody, temperamental, enchanted in the mind and extremely stoned on something.” 1968

Jackson Browne’s album “The Pretender” featuring the emotional, “Here Come Those Tears Again,” goes platinum. 1977

The “FM” soundtrack is released with songs by Tom Petty and Steely Dan. There’s also Linda Ronstadt’s version of “Tumbling Dice.” 1978

Panic! At the Disco’s Brendon Urie enters the world.  1987

The John Mellencamp Pavilion at Indiana University is dedicated. Mellencamp contributes $1.5 mil toward the building’s construction. 1996

Here’s the story of a poor working girl. Andrea ‘TrixXxie Blue’ Terry, a Nevada brothel worker, files a civil suit against ex-Motley Crue vocalist Vince Neil. The singer earlier pleaded no contest to assault charges. Neil became violent when Terry refused to have sex with him for free. Terry seeks 20K for lost wages and other costs. 2004

R.E.M.’s “Accelerate” sells 115,000 copies in its first week to land at #2 on the Billboard 200 (U.S.). The album makes its debut at #1 in the United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, Denmark, Norway, Switzerland and the Czech Republic and #2 in Germany, Italy, Holland and Austria. 2008

“Nothing Like I Planned: The Art of John Mellencamp,” a collection of the singer/songwriter’s paintings, opens at the Tennessee State Museum in Nashville. 2012

Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival is at New York City’s Madison Square Garden for the first time. “The Crossroads Festival is the realization of a dream for me, to gather a group of amazingly talented musicians to perform on one stage,” says Clapton.” 2013

U2’s Bono goes to Capitol Hill to garner support for development efforts across the Middle East and Africa. Bono states that the U.S. is uniquely positioned to help millions of refugees around the world and prevent chaos. 2016

Linkin Park DJ Joe Hahn is a judge on “Super Band,” a Korean reality TV show. The goal is to create a “super” band comprised of musicians capable of producing music spanning numerous musical genres.  2019

Led Zeppelin’s 1971 song “Stairway To Heaven” (from the band’s “Led Zeppelin IV” album) is among the National Recording Registry’s 2023 inductees. The other Rock oriented inductees are “Déjà Vu” — Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young (1970), “Imagine” — John Lennon (1971) and “Synchronicity” — The Police (1983).  2023