This Day in History: 2023-10-20

ROCKTOBER 20^th

 Nine Inch Nails debut album “Pretty Hate Machine” drops. Even though the set has “Head Like A Hole,” “Down In It” and “Terrible Lie,” it only gets to #75 on the Billboard 200. But it becomes one of the first independently released albums to attain platinum certification. 1989

My Chemical Romance’s “The Black Parade” is released,

The album sells 240,000 copies in its first week to land at #2 (behind Disney’s “Hannah Montana” soundtrack) on the Billboard 200 chart. 2006

MORE TODAY IN ROCK…

A real heartbreaker. The son of an insurance salesman, Tom Petty, is born in Gainesville (gator country), FL. 1950

The Who begin a six-night stand at NY’s Fillmore East. The shows are centered around Rock opera “Tommy.” 1969

The Rolling Stones score a #1 with the ballad “Angie” (from the “Goat’s Head Soup” album). Allegedly, the song is about Angela Bowie – David Bowie’s then-significant other. 1973

Led Zeppelin’s “The Song Remains The Same” premieres in London. It’s a combination of concert footage and fantasy sequences. 1976

Lynyrd Skynyrd members Ronnie Van Zant and Steve Gaines are killed when their charter plane crashes. Also killed are Gaines’ sister Cassie, who was a back-up singer, and the group’s manager Dean Kilpatrick. 1977

A little over a year after its release, Thin Lizzy’s album, “Jailbreak,” with “The Boys Are Back In Town,” goes gold. 1977

The Police play their first U.S. show. It’s at New York’s CBGB. 1978

“Boy,” U2’s debut album, is released. It contains the U.K. hit single, “I Will Follow.” 1980

VH 1’s Concert For New York is held at Madison Square Garden. The show opens with David Bowie and closes with Paul McCartney performing “Let It Be” aided by an all-star cast that includes New York police, firefighters and rescue workers. More than $30 million is raised to help victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. 2001

The 15th Anniversary Bridge School Benefit at Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, CA features founder Neil Young, Crazy Horse, Pearl Jam and Billy Idol. The event raises money for the Bay Area School for children with severe learning disabilities (which Young’s son attends). 2001

Bruce Springsteen has the #1 album in the U.S. with “Magic.”  The set loses the top spot a week later to Kid Rock before reclaiming it again for a second week. 2007

AC/DC’s “Black Ice,” with the single “Rock N’ Roll Train,” is issued. The album, AC/DC’s first studio effort in eight years, is initially available exclusively at Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club stores. 2008

Jon Bon Jovi’s JBJ Soul Foundation opens The JBJ Soul Kitchen, a “pay-what-you-can” restaurant in Red Bank, NJ. Specializing in healthy soul food dishes, there are no prices on its menu. Diners can either earn free meals by doing volunteer work in the community or pay a suggested donation. 2011

Fun has an eight-week run at #1 on the Rock Songs chart with “Some Nights.”  2012

Songs by Pearl Jam, Lamb Of God, Black Keys, the Killers, Green Day, Fall Out Boy and My Chemical Romance’s Gerard Way are on the soundtrack of the “Guitar Hero Live” video game. 2015

Ted Nugent says that “it’s sacrilege” that he has not been inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. The conservative musician has been eligible for the Hall as a solo artist since ‘00.  Nuge, known for controversial statements, says the Hall has passed him over because it’s managed by an “ultra-leftist, liberal CEO-driven gang who couldn’t give a rat’s ass about the music.” He asks whether or not it is vulgar, dishonest, and obscene that Grandmaster Flash and ABBA are in the Hall of Fame but Ted ‘F*cking’ Nugent isn’t?” 2018