This Day in History: 2023-10-08

ROCKTOBER 8^th

“Badmotorfinger,” from Soundgarden, is released.  The band’s double platinum third album is the first with bassist Ben Shepherd.  1991

“Antichrist Superstar” arrives.  The Marilyn Manson album debuts at #3 on the Billboard 200 and goes on to be certified platinum. 1996

Disturbed’s third album, “Ten Thousand Fists,” tops the Billboard 200 chart after selling 238,000 copies during its first week of release. 2005

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Ramones guitarist Johnny Ramone (John Cummings) is born on Long Island. 1951

Goodness gracious. Jerry Lee Lewis records the salacious “Great Balls Of Fire.” He almost passes on the song, which becomes a huge career defining hit, because he finds it blasphemous. Jerry Lee has to be convinced to record the song by Sun Records owner Sam Phillips. 1957

Little Richard returns to Rock n’ Roll (he’d given up secular music for the ministry) launching a U.K. tour. 1962

EMI Records sign the Sex Pistols. “Here at last is a group with a bit of guts for younger people to identify with,” says an EMI spokesman. The relationship quickly falls apart and the Pistols are bounced from the label. 1976

The Police’s “King Of Pain” rises to #3 on the pop chart. 1983

The Hollywood Walk of Fame adds Chuck Berry. His star is on North Vine. 1987

After a mere 741 weeks (over 14 years), Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side Of The Moon” finally falls off the Billboard  200 (album chart). It stayed on the chart longer than any recording in history. 1988

“Love Bites” (Def Leppard) is the #1 song in the U.S. 1988

Former Smashing Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlin pleads guilty to disorderly conduct charges (rather than face the more serious heroin possession charge) and is ordered to complete a drug treatment program. The court appearance is the result of drug charges filed when the drummer and touring keyboardist Jonathan Melvin shot up together in a New York hotel. Melvin died as a result. 1996

Bruce Springsteen appears in British court to stop the release of early recordings. He wins. 1998

“Bounce” is the title of the eighth studio album from Bon Jovi. The title references the U.S.A.’s ability to bounce back from the World Trade Center attacks. 2002

Sting (The Police) is named music’s worst lyricist by Blender magazine. According to the magazine his lyrics are “mountainous pomposity (and) cloying spirituality.” Rush drummer Neil Peart lands at #2 on the list.  2007

Republican presidential nominee John McCain who has already been roundly criticized by Heart, John Mellencamp, Van Halen and Jackson Browne for unauthorized use of their songs, has the Foo Fighters taking issue with the candidate’s campaign using the ’98 hit “My Hero” without the band’s permission. “It’s frustrating and infuriating that someone who claims to speak for the American people would repeatedly show such little respect for creativity and intellectual property,” says a Foo Fighters statement. 2008

Marilyn Manson’s original bassist, Gidget Gein (Brad Stewart), dies of an apparent drug overdose in Burbank, CA. Although substance-abuse problems led to his departure in ’93, Gein contributed to Manson’s ’94 debut album, “Portrait Of An American Family.” He was 39. 2008

Alter Bridge’s third studio album, “AB III,” is in stores. Alter Bridge is Creed’s Mark Tremonti, Brian Marshall and Scott Phillips, along with Slash collaborator Myles Kennedy. 2010

It may have taken over forty-years but Elton John gives the 3,000th live performance in his storied career.  It’s at the Las Vegas Colosseum in Caesar’s Palace. 2011

Former Weezer bassist (’98 – ’01) Mikey Welsh is found dead in his Chicago hotel room. He left Weezer due to drug problems. Welsh was 40. 2011

Pete Townshend’s autobiography “Who I Am” is in U.S. bookstores. “Rock n’ Roll is a tough career, however cynically or comically it is portrayed by its detractors,” says The Who’s guitarist. “I am lucky to be alive and to have such a crazy story to tell, full of wild adventures and creative machinations.” 2012

The Beatles “Hey Jude” is named the song most often referred to in works of literature according to a list compiled by Small Demons. The website claims the song is mentioned in at least 55 works of fiction. 2012

“CBGB: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack,” with Blondie, the Talking Heads and Joey Ramone, is out. The film, in theaters three days later, chronicles the legendary Manhattan club that guided the birth of Punk. 2013

Philip Chevron, best known as guitarist for The Pogues, dies after a battle with cancer. 2013

Green Day’s “Heart Like A Hand Grenade,” the ‘lost’ documentary chronicling the making of their Bush-era protest album, “American Idiot,” premieres at the 38th Mill Valley Film Festival. 2015

Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi gets a new species of conodont (extinct vertebrates resembling eels) named after him. Drepanoistodus Iommii, a 469-million-year-old fossil, was found in western Russia. “Tony Iommi has been high on my list of people I wanted to honor this way,” states Mats E. Eriksson, a lead researcher for a team of paleontologists.  2021

Greta Van Fleet cancel upcoming shows when vocalist Josh Kiszka suffers a ruptured eardrum during a performance in Bangor, ME. “I’m working closely with my team to ensure I get proper rest in order to finish out the year strong,” writes Kiszka.  2022

During a concert at The Sphere in Las Vegas, U2’s Bono dedicates ‘Pride (In the Name of Love)’ to Israeli victims of Hamas attack that resulted in the deaths of more than 900 Israelis. “Our prayers have always been for peace and for non-violence.” says the singer who also reworks the lyrics to focus on the hundreds slaughtered.  2023

Creed gets credit for helping lift the Texas Rangers to the major league baseball playoffs. The Rangers saw their season turn around when they started playing Creed in the clubhouse prior to games. According to Rangers’ pitcher Andrew Heaney listening to Creed was a means of “having fun” while dealing with the “rollercoaster of the second half” of the season.  2023