March 29, 2024

This Day in History: 2024-09-02

SEPTEMBER 2nd

Moving from Rock n’ Roll to Hard Rock, the Kinks unleash “You Really Got Me” in the U.S.  1964

 The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s cover of Bob Dylan’s “All Along The Watchtower” is released in the U.S. The song is considered one of the best covers of all-time and becomes the Experience’s only Top 20 hit. 1968

Pearl Jam pay tribute to late Senator John McCain (’08 Republican Presidential candidate) during their show in Boston’s Fenway Park by performing “Army Reserve” in honor of him and military veterans. McCain died days earlier.  The song is from the group’s self-titled eighth album.  2018

U.S. District Judge Fernando Olguin in L.A. dismisses the third version of the lawsuit filed against Nirvana by Spencer Elden who claims he was the baby featured on the cover of the band’s “Nevermind” album. The ruling prevents Elden from filing a fourth version of his complaint.  2022

Avatar’s “The Dirt I’m Buried In” is #1 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart.   The song is the lead single from Avatar’s ninth studio set, Dance Devil Dance.”  2023

MORE TODAY IN ROCK…

Keyboardist Steve Porcaro (Toto) has a birthday.  1957

Dino Cazares, guitarist and one of the co-founders of Fear Factory, has a birthday.  1966

Ex-Grateful Dead manager Lenny Hart is arrested. He is charged with stealing $70,000 from the group leaving them broke. 1971

The Hollies “Long Cool Woman (In A Black Dress)” peaks at #2 on the U.S. charts. 1972

The late Huntress vocalist Jill Janus is born.  1975

Bruce Springsteen, Sting and Peter Gabriel perform on Amnesty International’s Human Rights Now tour. The trek begins at London’s Wembley Stadium. 1988

“Angel Eyes” (Jeff Healy) peaks at #5 on the singles chart. 1989

MTV Video Music Awards: Pearl Jam wins big with “Jeremy.” Best Video of the Year, Best Group Video and Best Hard Rock Video are among the trophies. 1993

The Concert for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland marks the Hall’s opening. Bruce Springsteen, Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis perform. Soul Asylum backs Iggy Pop (on “Back Door Man”) and Lou Reed (for “Sweet Jane”). Jerry Lee (with help from Springsteen & The E Street Band) sings “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On'” and “Great Balls Of Fire.” 1995

The Rob Zombie-directed remake of the ’78 horror classic “Halloween” is #1 at the box office taking in $26 million over the Labor Day weekend. That’s better than the original or any of the sequels. “I kept the idea of the same three girls (antagonist Michael Myers terrorizes), but the events play out differently and the girls’ characters are different,” says Zombie. 2007

Melissa Etheridge and Sheryl Crow are among the female singers (and cancer survivors) heard on “Just Stand Up.” As part of the Stand Up To Cancer initiative, song proceeds help fund cancer research. 2008

Jon Bon Jovi, New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine and Newark mayor Cory Booker jointly announce that Bon Jovi’s Philadelphia Soul Charitable Foundation is partnering with Help USA to launch the Help Newark Genesis Project, which plans to build 51 houses in the city catering to homeless and low-income citizens, as well as people with special needs. 2008

Great White offers $1 million to victims and survivors of the ’03 fire at The Station in Rhode Island. 100 people perished in one of the nation’s worst nightclub fires. The group does not admit any wrongdoing as part of the settlement. The blaze started when Great White’s tour manager lit pyrotechnics that ignited the club’s soundproofing. 2008

Avril Lavigne reveals that she is separated from Nickelback’s Chad Kroeger after two years of marriage.  2015

Founding Molly Hatchet guitarist Dave Hlubek passes away.  2017

Blink-182 bassist/vocalist Mark Hoppus announces that he has finished his chemotherapy treatment for stage 4-A diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.  He adds the chemo “did the trick.” Hoppus began chemo treatment five-months earlier.  2021

Vocalist Vince Neil says he is using an Emsculpt Neo toning machine in an effort to get in shape for Mötley Crüe’s “The Stadium Tour.”  Following a disastrous solo show many wondered whether the Crüe singer was up for the rigors of a major tour.  The machine must have done the job because the tour is a success.  2021

Arch Enemy frontwoman and long-time animal rights activist Alissa White-Gluz delivers the opening speech at the “Animal Liberation March” in New York City. The event was designed to unite the vegan community and accelerate animal liberation.  2023

Metallica cancels the second half of their M72 No Repeat Weekend concert in Glendale, AZ after frontman James Hetfield tests positive for COVID-19.  2023