This Day in History: 2025-09-05

SEPTEMBER 5^th

Forok Bulsara is born in Zanzibar. His family re-locates to the U.K. where he becomes Queen’s Freddie Mercury. 1946

“Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around,” a duet with Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty (backed by the Heartbreakers), peaks at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. That’s good but the Fleetwood Mac singer’s debut solo record, “Bella Donna” (with the hit single) tops the U.S. album chart.  1981

The Jimmy Iovine produced album also has “The Edge Of Seventeen” and the Nicks/Don Henley (The Eagles) duet for “Leather & Lace.”

Soundgarden release their “Louder Than Love” set. 1989

It’s their first album for a major label (A&M) and first to chart on the Billboard 200 (#108).

KoЯn”s “Follow The Leader” is #1 on the Billboard 200.  The album sells 268,000 units in its first week of release making it the band’s most commercially successful album.  1998

MORE TODAY IN ROCK…

Them changes.  Buddy Miles (George Allen Miles Jr.) drummer/vocalist for The Electric Flag, Band Of Gypsies (with Jimi Hendrix) and Buddy Miles Express enters the world.  1947

 Humble Pie guitarist David “Clem” Clempson is born.  1949

The Animals’ update of a traditional Blues song, “House Of The Rising Sun,” tops the U.S. pop chart. 1964

Rage Against The Machine drummer, Brad Wilk, enters the world. 1968

Dire Straits get an MTV Best Video Award for their animated “Money For Nothing.” 1986

The 8th annual MTV Music Video Awards (held in Universal City): R.E.M. pick up five MTV Video Music Awards including Video Of The Year for “Losing My Religion.” 1991

Guitarist C.C. DeVille is kicked out of Poison after tanking the band’s performance at the MTV Video Music Awards while under the influence.  He reinstated five years later. 1991

Aerosmith score their first chart-topping single with “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing,” from the “Armageddon” soundtrack. The song was composed by pop songwriting machine Diane Warren. 1998

Iowa doctor, Daniel Baldi, is charged with eight counts of involuntary manslaughter for the deaths of patients including Slipknot bass player Paul Gray. The charging documents claim Baldi “did unintentionally cause the death of Paul Gray… (he) continually wrote high-dose prescription narcotics to a known drug addict from 12/27/05 until his death (in ’10).” 2012

Imagine Dragons “Radioactive” is #2 on Billboard magazine’s songs of the summer. Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” tops the list. 2013

The International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Centre names an asteroid after late Queen singer Freddie Mercury, on what would have been his 70^th birthday (see above). FreddieMercury17473 is in the main Asteroid Belt inside the orbit of Jupiter.  2016

Mastodon’s Brent Hinds says being in the music business is like dealing with the devil.  “When the opportunity’s there and you strike and it happens and then they milk you.” He claims to still enjoy playing music but adds, “All I care about is my peace of mind, which is leaving me. So I need to stop and recalculate myself.”  2018

Metallica with the San Francisco Symphony begin a four-week run atop Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Songs chart with “All Within My Hands,” a rendition of a song from the band’s ’03 “St. Anger” album.  2020