This Day in History: 2023-08-01
AUGUST 1st
George Harrison kicks off the concerts for Bangladesh. Bob Dylan, Ringo Starr and Eric Clapton perform to raise money to feed the people of that war-torn nation. 1971
Stone Sour, with Slipknot’s Corey Taylor and Jim Root, release their second album, “Come What(ever) May.” “It’s good, heavy Rock that’s going to kick you in the face,” says Taylor. He goes on to claim that the set is superior to its predecessor. “The songs are better, the performance is better, the production is better,” he adds. 2006
“Amen” is Halestorm’s third #1 on the Mainstream Rock Songs chart. “Freak Like Me” and “Apocalyptic” were the first two. “Amen” is on Halestorm’s third album, “Into The Wild Life.” 2015
Lzzy Hale’s band and The Pretty Reckless are the only female-fronted bands to top the Mainstream Rock Songs chart.
Metallica’s music video for “Nothing Else Matters” is recognized for surpassing one billion views on YouTube. The third single from Metallica’s self-titled fifth studio album was uploaded to YouTube in ’09 and is the first Metallica track to reach the billion milestone. 2021
MORE TODAY IN ROCK…
Grateful Dead guitarist and guiding spirit, Jerry Garcia, enters this world. 1942
Blues guitarist/singer Robert Cray has a birthday. 1953
Def Leppard singer Joe Elliot begins his life. 1959
The East German ‘youth’ oriented Young World declares Elvis Presley Public Enemy #1. And this is way before “Kissin’ Cousins” is released! 1960
Counting Crowes vocalist Adam Duritz is born in Baltimore, MD. 1964
Roy Orbison’s records his last major solo pop hit “Oh, Pretty Woman.” 1964
Dan Donegan, guitarist for Disturbed, is born in Oak Lawn, IL. 1968
The Eagles unveil their classic song “Witchy Woman.” 1972
MTV debuts. It changes just about everything in music and video. “I want my MTV” is heard throughout the land even though the network launches with only 120 videos (approximately 8 hours-worth of material). J.J. Jackson, Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, Martha Quinn and Alan Hunter are the original VJs. The Buggles “Video Killed The Radio Star” is the first video. 1981
Bob Seger’s “Shakedown” is #1. Glenn Frey was originally lined up to record the song for the “Beverly Hill Cop II” soundtrack but he came down with laryngitis. Seger steps in, rewrites some of the lyrics to the Harold Faltermeyer-Keith Forsey song and the rest is, as they say, history. 1987
MTV Europe rolls out. The first video is Dire Straits “Money For Nothing.” 1987
”Hello Nasty,” the fifth studio album by the Beastie Boys, is #1 on the Billboard 200. The band’s Ad Rock says it is their “best record.” 1998
Kings Of Leon cancel the remainder of their summer tour in the wake of an awful show in Dallas three days earlier. That concert was cut short after lead singer Caleb Followill left the stage to vomit. A band representative claimed Followill was “suffering from vocal issues and exhaustion,” and the band has opted to scrap the tour rather than play subpar gigs. However, bassist Jared Followill writes on Twitter, “there are internal sicknesses & problems” and “there are problems in our band bigger than not drinking enough Gatorade.” 2011
J. Geils sues the J. Geils Band. The group’s namesake contends that his bandmates “planned and conspired” to exclude him from an upcoming tour. “These guys (Peter Wolf, Seth Justman, Danny Klein and Richard ‘Magic Dick’ Salwitz) performed in Mr. Geils’s band, but that doesn’t give them the right to grab the name,” states Geils’ attorney. 2012
The Rolling Stones score their 50th Billboard 200 chart entry with “Hyde Park Live.” The set, culled from their live London shows, debuts at #19. It also marks the Stones’ 45th Top 40 chart entry. 2013
