April 23, 2024

This Day in History: 2024-09-17

SEPTEMBER 17th

Guns N’ Roses release “Use Your Illusion I & II” at midnight. It’s either two single albums or a double album that can be bought separately. Their label ships 4.2 million copies (the largest shipment to date). 1991Ozzy Osbourne releases “No More Tears,” an album probably best known for the ballad “Mama, I’m Coming Home.”

The majority of the album was written by Ozzy and guitarist Zakk Wylde.  Also, Motorhead’s Lemmy helped compose four of the tracks including “Mama.”  1991

Spiritbox release its debut album, “Eternal Blue.”  The set goes to #1 on the Billboard Top Rock Albums and Hard Rock Albums.  2021

MORE TODAY IN ROCK…

Where’s Waldo? The Tubes Fee Waybill is born in Omaha, NE, with the name John Waldo. 1950

The Doors make their first and last appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. Asked to change a line (“Girl, we couldn’t get much higher”) in “Light My Fire,” The Doors agree but Jim Morrison sings the original line anyway. They are permanently banned from the show. 1967

The Who play “My Generation” on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. A typical TV appearance goes awry when drummer Keith Moon sets a flash explosion in his drum kit unaware the crew has already done so. The resulting explosion damages guitarist Pete Townshend’s hearing. 1967

Fourteen years after the Ed Sullivan fiasco (see above), Jim Morrison lands on the cover of Rolling Stone. “He’s hot, he’s sexy, he’s dead,” screams the headline. The accompanying article chronicles the renewed interest in the singer, who died a decade earlier, and his band. “The Doors Greatest Hits” is awarded a platinum album (1,000,000 units shipped) the next day. 1981

After getting bounced from the #1 slot on the Billboard 200 by Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” The Police’s “Synchronicity” returns to the top one week later.  1983

Frank Zappa’s final professional public appearance is at the Frankfurt Festival in Germany. The one-time guiding force behind the Mothers Of Invention conducts the Ensemble Modern and receives a 20-minute ovation. 1992

David Lee Roth (Van Halen) injures himself onstage doing a kung fu maneuver and gets hit with a staff that he uses. He requires 21 stitches. The self-inflicted injury forces the cancellation of his tour. 2003

A cartoon likeness of the White Stripes, along with the voices of Meg and Jack, appear in a surreal segment of “The Simpsons.” Bart is a drummer who crashes into Meg’s kit. Following a brief chase the Stripes end up on a garbage barge. OK. 2006

“Misery Business,” the lead single from Paramore‘s ‘07 “Riot!” album, is certified platinum by the RIAA.  2008

John Fogerty is presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Americana Music Association in Nashville. The Association honors Fogerty as an exceptional songwriter, first with Creedence Clearwater Revival, then as a solo artist.  2009

A copy of the September ’66 issue of Datebook magazine signed by John Lennon sells at auction for $12,713. In that issue, Lennon is famously quoted saying The Beatles were “more popular than Christ,” sparking a backlash from U.S. Christian groups (and the Vatican). Ironically, Lennon made the comments months earlier and they were published without notice. But when they were re-printed in Datebook all hell broke loose. A New York orthopedic surgeon makes the winning bid in an online auction. 2009

The infamous ’07 Atlanta Waffle House altercation is finally settled. A Georgia court orders Kid Rock to pay $40,000 to Harlen Akins who filed a lawsuit following a late-night drunken verbal exchange between Akins and Rock’s entourage that quickly turned violent. 2010

Jackson Browne is honored with Lifetime Achievement Award at the 13th annual Americana Music Association Honors & Awards ceremony at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. 2014

Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson of Rush are presented with a key to the city by Toronto mayor John Tory. Both were born and raised in Toronto and have a park in Willowdale named after them honoring their achievements over forty years in the music industry.  2016

The truth is out there.  The U.S. Navy refers to three videos, including one that the former Blink 182 singer Tom DeLonge posted, as showing real “unknown” objects violating American airspace.  The Navy and Air Force “investigate each and every report.”  2019

The Van Halen Stage is dedicated during a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Pasadena — the city where Van Halen formed. The Stage is located in Playhouse Village Park. 2022

Kix gives the final concert of its on and off career in Columbia, MD. Led by vocalist Steve Whiteman, the show features appearances from Kix‘s former guitarists Ronnie Younkins and Brad Divens.  In ’88, Kix released “Blow My Fuse” which went platinum. 2023