This Day in History: 2023-09-04

SEPTEMBER 4^th

The Rolling Stones burnish their reputation as “The World’s Greatest Rock n’ Roll Band” with the release of their live “Get Your Ya-Ya’s Out.” 1970

The self-titled “Fleetwood Mac” tops the Billboard 200. The band’s tenth album is the first with Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham and has the hits “Over My Head,” Rhiannon” and “Say You Love Me.” There’s also Nicks’ classic acoustic ballad “Landslide.”  1976

System Of A Down’s sophomore album, “Toxicity” is released.  The album debuts at #1 on the Billboard album charts.  2001

Heart protests the unauthorized use of one of their songs by presidential candidate John McCain. “Barracuda” is played to introduce vice presidential hopeful Sarah Palin. Her high school nickname was “Sarah Barracuda” (due to her basketball prowess). Heart’s Ann and Nancy Wilson send an email to the Republicans asking that they stop using the song. “Sarah Palin’s views and values in NO WAY represent us as American women,” reads a statement from the Wilson sisters. “I think it’s completely unfair to be so misrepresented… I feel completely f***ed over,” says Nancy. 2008

MORE TODAY IN ROCK…

Martin Chambers (The Pretenders) has a birthday. The drummer is born in Hereford, England. 1951

Blackie Lawless (Steven Edward Duren), W.A.S.P. vocalist, is born.  1956

Guitarist Kim Thayil sees his first light of day in Seattle. He launches Soundgarden with Chris Cornell and Hiro Yamamoto in ’84. 1960

“Help!” is the #1 song in the U.S. It’s also the title track of The Beatles second film. 1965

The Who’s equipment truck is stolen while a guard dog is being purchased. 1965

The Rolling Stones “Street Fighting Man” is banned in some U.S. cities, including Chicago, out of fears it will incite a riot. 1968

Great White guitarist Ty Longley enters the world.  He dies in the ’03 pyrotechnics fire at The Station trying to save others.  1971

Thin Lizzy’s “Jailbreak” gets as far as #18 on the Billboard 200 chart. The gold album contains the hit, “The Boys Are Back In Town.” 1976

Vocalist Lacey Sturm, a co-founder of Flyleaf, is born in Homestead. FL.  Sturm goes on to become the first solo female artist to top the Billboard Hard Rock Albums chart with her debut release “Life Screams.” 1981

Gregg Allman (Allman Brothers Band) is busted for drunk driving in Florida – for the second time within hours. 1986

Asking Alexandria’s lead vocalist Danny Robert Worsnop is born in Beverley, U.K.  1990

The 13th MTV Music Video Awards at New York’s Radio City Music Hall: Smashing Pumpkins win Best Alternative Music Video (“1979”), Best Video and Breakthrough Video (“Tonight, Tonight”). Beck manages to land Best Male Video (“Where It’s At”). Oasis lead singer Liam Gallagher throws a beer at the audience during the band’s performance of “Champagne Supernova.” That’ll get them noticed. 1996

“Give It Away,” the lead single from the Red Hot Chili Peppers ’91 album “Blood Sugar Sex Magik,” is released.   Over the next thirty years the song goes double platinum on sales of over two million certified units.  1991

“All Star” (Smash Mouth) reaches #5 on the Billboard Top 100. 1999

“You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid,” the second single from Offspring’s “Rise And Fall, Rage And Grace” album, drops. The platinum single tops the Alternative Airplay chart and peaks at #10 on the Mainstream Rock chart. 2008

An electric guitar, believed to be the first torched in concert by Jimi Hendrix during a ’67 show in London, is purchased by Daniel Boucher from Boston for $495,000 at a memorabilia auction. 2008

The Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s production of “American Idiot,” the musical based on Green Day’s ’04 album of the same name, previews. “We’ve seen firsthand what amazing actors they are,” says Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong of the cast. “Their talent has truly brought the album to life.” 2009

A planned Lamb Of God concert in Malaysia is officially cancelled. The Department Of Islamic Development objected to the show. Promoters took the blame on behalf of the government, saying they called off the show because of death threats made against the band, along with “objections raised by various groups.” 2013

KISS bassist Gene Simmons is widely quoted saying Rock is not only dead but that it was “murdered” by file sharing and fans’ sense of entitlement. 2014

Slipknot play its first concert in 18-months at the Rocklahoma festival in Pryor, OK. The headlining show marks the debut of vocalist Corey Taylor’s new mask, which he had been working on for months. He says the skull-like white with black stitching mask has a “devil-may-care kind of terror to it.”  2021

“Becoming Led Zeppelin,” an official documentary, debuts at the Venice International Film Festival in Italy. The film documents the legendary band’s “meteoric rise to stardom.” 2021

Attila‘s lead vocalist Chris “Fronz: Fronzak announces his candidacy for President of the United States representing the Libertarian Party in the 2024 presidential election.  2023

Gary Wright passes away at his Palos Verdes, CA estate. Wright is best known for his ’70s hits “Dream Weaver” and “Love Is Alive.”  2023

Steve Harwell, the former lead singer of Smash Mouth, dies at his home in Boise, ID “surrounded by family and friends.” A co-founder of the band, Harwell had been in hospice care for final stage chronic liver failure.  He was 56.  2023