This Day in History: 2024-10-07

ROCKTOBER 7^th

Heart release their fourth studio album “Dog & Butterfly” which sells over 2-million copies. 1978

Everclear release one of their best, if not their best album, “So Much For The Afterglow.” The set includes “I Will Buy You A New Life” 1997

“Revolution Radio” is the twelfth studio album from Green Day. Frontman Billie Joe Armstrong says the set reflects “the culture of mass shooting that happens in America mixed with narcissistic social media.” 2016

The album goes straight to #1 on the Billboard 200 on first week sales of 95,000 copies.

Slipknot‘s “The End, So Far” is the band’s third #1 album in the U.K.  – ‘01’s “Iowa” and ‘19’s “We Are Not Your Kind” were the first two. 2022

The album is the first to feature percussionist Michael Pfaff, who joined in 19, and the last to be released through Roadrunner. Slipknot signed with Roadrunner back in’98.

Alice In Chains’ 30^th anniversary edition of “Dirt” is #9 on the Billboard 200 on the sale of 26,000 equivalent album units the previous week.   2022

“Dirt” originally dropped in ’92 with the tracks “Would?,” “Them Bones,” “Angry Chair,” Rooster” and “Down In A Hole” and peaked #6 on the Billboard 200 chart selling over 5-million copies.

MORE TODAY IN ROCK…

John Mellencamp is born in the heartland (Seymour, IN). 1951

Tico Torres (Bon Jovi) starts his life. The drummer/percussionist is born in New York, but grows up in Colonia, NJ. 1953

Radiohead’s Thom E. Yorke “creeps” into the world. The multi-instrumentalist is born in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, England. 1968

Damian Joseph Kulash Jr., the lead singer and guitarist with OK Go, has a birthday. 1975

In a Rolling Stone magazine interview Elton John publicly discloses he is bisexual.  1976

Queen releases the single “We Will Rock You/We Are The Champions.” Written by Freddie Mercury, the worldwide hit goes to #4 on the U.S. Billboard chart. 1977

Boston’s first single off their second album, “Don’t Look Back” peaks at #4. 1978

After being found guilty of cocaine possession, Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page gets a “conditional discharge.” 1982

Slayer’s third album, “Reign In Blood,” is unleashed.  Though considered a benchmark for Thrash Metal, the album, produced by Rick Rubin, barely cracks the Billboard 100 (#94) and doesn’t go gold until six years later.  1986

The memorial service for Metallica bassist Cliff Burton is held in his hometown of Castro Valley, CA. Burton died when Metallica’s tour bus crashed, after hitting some black ice, while en route from Stockholm to Copenhagen, Denmark. 1986

Alanis Morissette’s “Jagged Little Pill” is the #1 album in the U.S. 1995

Ozzy Osbourne and his wife, Sharon, host a star-studded charity fund-raising dinner at their Beverly Hills mansion. Called “An Evening at Home With the Osbournes” (it’s not as scary as it sounds), the event features a performance by Elton John and a live auction. Proceeds go to the Elton John AIDS Foundation and the Sharon Osbourne Colon Cancer Program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. 2004

It’s announced that Melissa Etheridge has been diagnosed with breast cancer and has canceled upcoming tour dates to undergo surgery. 2004

This is twisted, even for reality T.V. Tommy Lee, a high school dropout, begins classes in chemistry, literature and the history of Rock n’ Roll (should get an ‘A’) at the University of Nebraska. Not to worry, the Mötley Crüe drummer has a tutor and lives off-campus. He plans to party hard while school administrators hold their breath.  NBC gleans enough footage for “Yommy Lee Goes To College,” a six-segment series. 2004

Tool wrap-up their North American tour at Long Island’s Nassau Coliseum. “Careful when leaving,” says vocalist Maynard James Keenan. “Go home and have sex with a condom. It’s not the law, just a suggestion.” And with those parting words of advice the show ends. 2006

Bruce Springsteen is interviewed on 60 Minutes. He talks about his political beliefs in relation to the songs on his “Magic” album. Guitarist Steve Van Zandt even promises (tongue-in-cheek) to eventually learn “Born To Run.” 2007

During an Asbury Park, NJ concert, Ataris frontman Kris Roe attacks drummer Rob Felicetti. Halfway through “Your Boyfriend Sucks,” Roe takes off his guitar and smashes it into the drum kit and tosses pieces at Felicetti. Feeling the drummer is too drunk to perform, a charge later emphatically denied by Felicetti, Roe tells the audience, “I don’t know what the f**king problem is but I’m gonna finish the set by myself,” which is how the show concludes. Roe later admits he should have handled the situation differently. “(But) it’s Rock and Roll. Sh*t happens.” Felicetti subsequently quits the group. 2012

KoЯn issue “The Paradigm Shift.” The album marks the band’s return to Nu Metal, following the Dubstep influenced “The Path Of Totality,” and the return of co-founding guitarist Brian “Head” Welch. 2013

Joe Perry’s “Rocks: My Life In and Out of Aerosmith” hits bookshelves. The guitarist co-wrote the book with David Ritz. It debuts at #8 on the Hardcover Nonfiction chart. Also, there’s Billy Idol’s memoir, “Dancing With Myself,” the title of one of Idol’s biggest hits. 2014

Alter Bridge present their fifth studio album, “The Last Hero,” with the track “Show Me A Leader.” Singer Myles Kennedy says the song “reflects the frustrations that a lot of people are feeling with the current state of the world.”  The album cracks the Top 10 (#8) on the Billboard 200.  2016

Vicky Cornell, widow of Chris Cornell, and the Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP) unveil a commemorative statue of the Soundgarden singer in Seattle. The life-size statue was commissioned and donated to the museum by Vicky.  2018

Def Leppard are presented with a plaque for sales of over 500,000 copies of “Mirror Ball – Live & More,” the band’s first live album. 2018

Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine is awarded a brown belt in Jiu-jitsu.  It’s just below the ultimate pinnacle of black belt. A brown belt typically takes five years from a beginner level to achieve and is a very competitive level.  2022

“Psycho” is Asking Alexandria’s second #1 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart following the one-week reign of “Alone Again” in ‘21.  2023

KISS play their last concert in Australia at Sydney’s 85,000 seat Accor Stadium.  The show is billed as “The Final Curtain.”  2023

AC/DC play their first show in seven years at the Power Trip Festival in Indio, CA. The last time AC/DC performed live was in ’16, during the Rock or Bust Tour, with Axl Rose (Guns N’ Roses) as their vocalist.  He filled in for Brian Johnson who was dealing with hearing issues.  2023