March 28, 2024

This Day in History: 2024-05-24

MAY 24th

David Bowie releases his 8th studio album “Diamond Dogs,” with the controversial Guy Peellaert cover art of Bowie as half-man, half-dog.  1974

The album holds the title track and “Rebel Rebel.”

Arctic Monkeys win the Best Album honor at the Ivor Novello awards in London for “Whatever People Say I Am That’s What I’m Not.”  2007

Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock) has died at age 83. Referred to as the “Queen Of Rock n’ Roll,” Tina rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Ike & Tina Revue before launching a successful solo career selling over 100-million records worldwide.  2023

MORE TODAY IN ROCK…

Robert Zimmerman is born in Hibbing, MN. He becomes Bob Dylan. 1941

Blue Oyster Cult’s Albert Bouchard is born in Watertown, NY. A founding member, Bouchard plays drums. Legend has it he’s responsible for the cowbell on “Don’t Fear The Reaper.” 1947

The Black Crowes’ guitarist, Rich Robinson, has a birthday. His older brother, Chris Robinson, is the band’s lead singer. 1969

The Grateful Dead perform outside the United States for the first time at England’s Hollywood Rock Festival. 1970

Multi-instrumentalist Alessandro Cortini (Nine Inch Nails) enters the world.  1976

The Byrds’ singer/percussionist Gene Clark dies at age 46. 1991

Poison lead singer Bret Michaels crashes his Ferrari into a Burbank telephone pole. He suffers multiple injuries. 1994

Paul McCartney plays a show in Moscow’s Red Square. Yes, he performs The Beatles “Back In The U.S.S.R.” (which he wrote) even though the U.S.S.R. no longer exists. 2003

Don’t Go Away Mad (Just Go Away). Motley Crue file a lawsuit against NBC for allegedly banning the group from appearing on the network after singer Vince Neil slips in an expletive during the group’s New Year’s Eve performance on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno. Crue claims the action violates their free speech rights. “This is a discrimination issue,” says bassist Nikki Sixx. 2005

Elton John is awarded about $188,000 in damages from a libel suit against U.K. newspaper The Daily Mail. The paper had falsely printed that John had told guests at one of his charity balls not to approach him. John donates the money to his Elton John AIDS Foundation. 2006

David Byrne (Talking Heads) sues Florida governor and independent candidate for the U.S. Senate, Charlie Crist, for using his group’s ’85 hit “Road To Nowhere” in a campaign ad slamming his then-Republican primary opponent Marco Rubio. Byrne claims Crist didn’t ask for or receive permission to use the song; Byrne also asserts that such use wrongfully insinuates his endorsement of Crist’s candidacy. “I was pretty upset by that,” Byrne tells Billboard. Byrne sues for $1 million because it’s the amount he is typically offered for use of his songs in commercials. 2010

Slipknot bassist Paul Gray is found dead in a hotel near Urbandale, IA. Known to fans as ‘#2’ and ‘The Pig’, Gray co-founded Slipknot in ’95 with drummer Joey Jordison and percussionist Shawn Crahan. He was 38. 2010

“Rockers And Rollers: A Full Throttle Memoir,” a book by AC/DC vocalist Brian Johnson, chronicles the close relationship between Rock and Roll and the automobile-two of Johnson’s passions. It’s in bookstores. 2011

Stone Temple Pilots file a lawsuit against their former lead singer, Scott Weiland, following their recruitment of Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington. The band accuses Weiland of “hijacking its name and songs to promote his solo career.” The band also claims sole rights to the name Stone Temple Pilots, their music, copyrights and trademarks. 2013

Tragically Hip announce that lead singer Gord Downie has been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. Despite the news, the group plans a tour. 2016

U2 pay tribute to the “undefeatable spirit” of Manchester just hours after an attack on fans at pop singer Ariana Grande’s concert left 22 dead and many more injured. “They (terrorists) hate everything that we love,” says frontman Bono.  2017

Megadeth officially part ways with bassist David Ellefson. This news comes two weeks after a leak of the bassist’s messages and videos to a young woman who is not his wife. “We do not take this decision lightly,” writes band leader Dave Mustaine. “While we do not know every detail of what occurred, with an already strained relationship, what has already been revealed now is enough to make working together impossible.” 2021

Iggy Pop receives the prestigious Polar Music Prize, Sweden’s highest music award. The prize honors two laureates every year to “celebrate music in all its various forms.”  2022

Metallica and the San Francisco Giants hold the eighth annual “Metallica Night” at Oracle Park — formerly AT&T Park — in San Francisco. “It’s a tradition that we’ve missed the last two seasons (due to COVID-19), so we’re really excited for the return of ‘Metallica Night’,” writes the band in a statement.  2022

The late Tom Petty’s family announces they are taking legal action against a Boston-based auction house called RR Auction for allegedly selling stolen items (vests, jackets, posters and autographs). 2023