This Day in History: 2023-08-19

AUGUST 19th

Fleetwood Mac release their live album “The Dance.  It’s the first album in a decade to feature the band’s most successful line-up (Lindsey Buckingham, Mick Fleetwood, Christine McVie, John McVie, and Stevie Nicks). “The Dance” also becomes the first Fleetwood Mac album to top the Billboard 200 in fifteen years.  1997

Staind unfurl their sixth album “The Illusion Of Progress,” with lead single “Believe.” “We went into the studio with the mind-set of making our heaviest record yet,” explains singer Aaron Lewis, “but the record that came out has flavors of Pink Floyd and straight-up Blues.” The group marks the occasion with a performance at the New York’s Times Square as part of the Hard Rock Cafe’s Ambassadors of Rock Tour. The show benefits the VH1 Save the Music Foundation. 2008

Arcade Fire’s “Everything Now” is #1 on the Billboard 200. It sells over 100,000 copies in its debut week.  2017

MORE TODAY IN ROCK…

Peter Edward ‘Ginger’ Baker is born in Lewisham, South London. He gains notoriety with the Graham Bond Organization but achieves far greater fame in Cream and Blind Faith. He is the first Rock drummer to execute an extended solo. “Toad” appears on Cream’s debut “Fresh Cream.” A much longer live version graces “Wheels Of Fire.” 1939

Deep Purple’s best vocalist and the one who sang their most memorable songs, Ian Gillan, lets out his first wail in Hounslow, London. 1945

Queen’s bassist, John Deacon, starts his life. 1951

One-time Spin Doctors keyboardist/vocalist, Ivan Neville, is born in New Orleans. 1959

If there is a theme song for the “peace/love generation” it’s The Beatles “All You Need Is Love.” The song is #1. 1967

“Chicago V,” featuring “Saturday In The Park,” tops the Billboard 200.  It stays there for nine consecutive weeks.  1972

Andrea “Andy” Ferro, vocalist and one of the founding members of Lacuna Coil, begins his life in Arona, Italy.  1973

Regine Chassagne, a founding member of Arcade Fire, is born Montreal. 1977

A wooden gangway collapses, injuring 31 people, during Queens Of The Stoneage’s set at the Frequency Festival near Salzburg, Austria. Eleven are taken to the hospital with most victims suffering bruises and fractures. 2005

Courtney Love (Hole) is ordered to enter a 28-day drug-treatment program after admitting to being under the influence of an unidentified controlled substance, violating the terms of three probations. “I think that you need to hit rock bottom before you make a decision about what you’re going to do,” says Judge Rand Rubin. 2005

A bronze statue of the late Thin Lizzy mainman Phil Lynott is unveiled in Lynott’s hometown of Dublin, Ireland. 2005

Breaking Benjamin’s third album, “Phobia,” sells over 130,000 copies in its first week to reach #2 on the Billboard 200 chart. 2006

LeRoi Moore, sax player and founding member of the Dave Matthews Band, passes away in Hollywood. He dies as a result of injuries from an ATV accident on his farm in Charlottesville, VA, earlier in the summer. He was 46. 2008

Michael Been of the ’80s band The Call (“Let The Day Begin”) suffers a massive heart attack and dies backstage at the Pukkelpop Festival in Belgium. 2010

Ivan Moody rejoins Five Finger Death Punch for their show at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield.  The vocalist exited the group during their European tour for alcohol treatment.  Five Finger Death Punch continued the trek with Tommy Vext.  2017

“Mammoth II,” the sophomore album by Wolfgang Van Halen’s Mammoth WVH is #1 on Billboard‘s Rock Albums and Hard Rock Albums charts.  2023

Disturbed scores another #1 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Airplay with “Unstoppable.” The band’s 12^th chart topper is from their eighth album “Divisive.”  2023

Queen’s “Fat Bottomed Girls” is dropped from the group’s “Greatest Hits” collection on Yoto, an audio platform aimed at children.  “Please note that the lyrics in some of these songs contain adult themes,” states Yoto.  2023

The Twitter (X) account of Kellin Quinn, Sleeping With Sirens lead vocalist, is hacked and followers are spammed with posts claiming to be selling laptops. Quinn’s account is later restored.  2023