This Day in History: 2023-08-17
AUGUST 17th
Eric Clapton’s “461 Ocean Boulevard,” with a cover of Bob Marley’s “I Shot The Sheriff,” is #1 on the Billboard 200. 1974
“Luck Of The Draw” is #2 in the U.S. Keeping the Bonnie Raitt album out of the top spot is Natalie Cole’s “Unforgettable With Love.” 1991
Stone Temple Pilots with Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington (replacing Scott Weiland) have the #1 song on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart with their debut single “Out Of Time.” “We’re really thankful to all the people listening to our music that made this happen,” says STP’s Robert DeLeo. “It feels great on so many levels.” 2013
MORE TODAY IN ROCK…
Former cheerleader and Go-Go’s singer Belinda Carlisle is born in Hollywood. 1958
Gilby Clarke, guitarist for Guns N’ Roses is born. 1962
It’s singer Maria McKee’s (Lone Justice) birthday. 1964
Black Crowes drummer Steve Gorman is born in Muskegon, Michigan. 1965
The Hunter Davies authorized biography of The Beatles is released. John Lennon later complains the book glosses over what the group was really like. 1968
The Doors are in U.S. Top 5 twice – sort of. Their former #1 hit “Hello, I Love You” drops to #2 while Jose Felicano’s cover of the band’s first chart-topper, “Light My Fire,” sits at #5. 1968
Hippie radical Abbie Hoffman is tossed off the stage by The Who’s guitarist Pete Townshend during the group’s Woodstock appearance. Hoffman tries to make a political statement to the masses. Townshend, thinking Hoffman is just some crazy, gives him the boot. 1969
“This is only the second time we’ve performed in front of people,” says Stephen Stills as Crosby, Stills & Nash launch their Woodstock set. “We’re scared shitless.” The group’s only prior show had been the day before in Chicago. 1969
Christine McVie joins Fleetwood Mac. The band’s fortunes begin to improve, if only modestly. 1970
Original Nightwish vocalist Tarja Turunen is born in Puhos, near Kitee, Finland. 1977
President Jimmy Carter eulogizes Elvis Presley (who died the day before) saying he “permanently changed the face of American popular culture.” Not surprisingly, FTD has their busiest day ever delivering flowers to Graceland. 1977
Soul Asylum’s “Runaway Train” is certified gold. It peaks at #5 on the pop chart. 1993
Released over a year and a half earlier, Rage Against The Machine’s self-titled debut goes platinum in the U.S. 1994
Guitar great, Carlos Santana, receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Hollywood Blvd. 1998
Bruce Springsteen’s post 9/11 album “The Rising” is at the top of the Billboard 200 for two-weeks. 2002
Marilyn O’Grady, a Republican candidate for the New York Senate, launches a “Boycott the Boss” television commercial. Bruce Springsteen has been vocal about the ousting President Bush in the upcoming election. The conservative candidate says Springsteen “thinks making millions with a song-and-dance routine allows him to tell you how to vote. Here`s my vote, boycott the Boss. 2004
At Knotfest, Lamb Of God vocalist Randy Blythe plays his first show since being released from a Czech jail (held on trumped up manslaughter charges from an incident a couple of years earlier). 2012
Led Zeppelin’s ‘03 self-titled DVD is certified platinum by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association Of America) for sales in excess of 1.3 million copies in the U.S. alone. The double-DVD set features over five hours of never-before-available footage from ’69 to ’79. 2012
“The Wrong Side Of Heaven And The Righteous Side Of Hell: Volume 1” debuts at #2 on the Billboard 200 (behind Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines”). The album moves 112,000 copies in its first week of release. 2013
