This Day in History: 2023-08-03

August 3rd

Stevie Wonder releases his 16th studio album, “Innervisions.” The set is known for the tracks “Higher Ground,” “Living For The City” and “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout A Thing.”  1973

Def Leppard release “Hysteria.” The band’s fourth studio album sells over 20 million copies worldwide, including 12 million in the US, and goes to #1 on The Billboard 200.  1987

“Tuesday Night Music Club” is the debut album from singer/songwriter Sheryl Crow. Containing the hit single, “All I Wanna Do,” the album sells over 5-million copies. 1993

Billboard magazine reports that Jack White’s album “Lazaretto” has sold 60,000 vinyl copies (25% of its 238,000 total) to become the biggest selling vinyl LP of the year, and the biggest mover of any year since Pearl Jam’s “Vitalogy” in ’94. 2014

MORE TODAY IN ROCK…

Metallica’s James Hetfield is born in L.A. 1963

Ed Roland has a birthday.   He is best known as the lead vocalist and primary songwriter for Collective Soul.  1963

The Beatles play their farewell performance at Liverpool’s Cavern Club. They had a two-year run at the club. 1963

Light on material for their third album, “Waiting For The Sun,” The Doors resurrect an early demo called “Hello, I Love You.” The re-recorded version is #1 in the U.S. 1968

Paul McCartney announces the formation of Wings with ex-Moody Blues guitarist Denny Laine. Of course, Paul’s wife Linda is also onboard (keyboards/backing vocals – sort of).  1971

Ringo Starr gets a gold record for the best song of his solo career, “It Don’t Come Easy.” 1971

Bruce Springsteen’s “Glory Days,” from his “Born In The U.S.A.” album, peaks at #5.  “Shout” (Tears For Fears) is #1 and “If You Love Somebody Set Them Free (Sting) is #3.  1985

Power Station’s “Get It On” reaches #9 on the U.S. pop chart. That’s one position higher than the T-Rex (with Marc Bolan) original in ’72 – when the song was known as “(Bang A Gong) Get It On.” 1985

The Stone Temple Pilots’ debut album, “Core,” lands at #3 on the U.S. album chart. 1993

Dave Matthews Band’s “Busted Stuff” goes to #1 on the Billboard 200.  2002

Arthur Lee, frontman for the influential late ’60s group Love (best known for their album “Forever Changes”), dies at age 61 in Memphis, TN, following a bout with leukemia.  2006

Felony drug charges against ex-Guns N’ Roses drummer Steven Adler are dismissed by a Los Angeles judge after Adler finishes a court-ordered narcotics program. Adler’s lawyer says that the case’s outcome is “about the best you can get.” 2009

Lamb Of God vocalist Randy Blythe is released from a Czech Republic prison after being held for over a month. The arrest stemmed from a ’10 incident where an audience member allegedly jumped on stage and got into a physical altercation with Blythe. The fan took a fall off the stage and later died. Blythe was never charged and posted bail of $200,000 which was eventually upped by the court to $400,000. 2012

Another one bites the dust. It’s revealed that No Doubt singer and The Voice star Gwen Stefani has filed for divorce from Bush mainman Gavin Rossdale due to irreconcilable differences. The couple married in ’02. 2015

KISS frontman Paul Stanley takes to Twitter to call out the bias on cable news channels stating the “poisonous bickering & slanted distortions on both sides” is dividing the country. “How can we form educated points of view when we’re not getting the unbiased truth? We don’t need networks pushing opinions. We need accuracy. We need facts.”  2022

Metallica launch a “Hellfire Club” merchandise line inspired by the Metallica-loving Eddie Munson who wears a “Hellfire Club” t-shirt on Season 4 of Netflix’s “Stranger Things” series.  2022

Greta Van Fleet’s “Starcatcher” is #1 on Top Rock Albums, Top Hard Rock Albums and Top Rock & Alternative Albums charts. 2023

Iron Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain says he suffered a stroke the previous January that left him partially paralyzed. At 70% he is able to perform on the band’s summer tour.   2023