March 28, 2024

This Day in History: 2024-11-21

NOVEMBER 21st

David Bowie releases the dance-oriented “Golden Years.” 1975

“Hi Infidelity,” ninth studio album by REO Speedwagon, is released.  1980

For eighteen straight weeks either “Hi Infidelity” or “Paradise Theater” by Styx is #1 on the Billboard 200. But “Hi Infidelity” spends fifteen weeks at #1 while “Paradise Theater” has three.

Soundgarden’s “Alive In The Superunknown” is A&M Records’ first multi-media/enhanced album. 1995

Nickelback issue their seventh studio album, “Here And Now.”  2011

Selling 227,000 copies in its debut week the set lands at #2 on the Billboard Album Chart.

The self-produced follow-up to ‘08’s triple platinum album “Dark Horse” features “When We Stand Together” and “Bottoms Up.”

Daughtry’s self-titled debut is released.  2006

 The album debuts #2 on the Billboard 200 (behind Jay-Z’s “Kingdome Come”) selling approximately 304,000 copies in its first week.

MORE TODAY IN ROCK…

Guitarist and founding member of The Church, Peter Koppes, enters the world. 1955

RCA Records sign Elvis Presley. For a mere $35,000 to $40,000 (numbers vary) they buyout Elvis’ Sun Records contract and get a legend. 1955

George Harrison is deported from Germany for working under the legal age limit (he’s 17). The remaining Beatles (John Lennon, Paul McCartney and drummer Pete Best) eventually follow him back to Liverpool ending the band’s first Hamburg excursion. 1960

Alex James (Blur) is born. The bassist hails from Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, England (that’s a mouth-full). 1968

Having vowed he would never perform with Jefferson Airplane again Marty Balin, one of band’s founders, performs with the Airplane at a Winterland concert in San Francisco. 1974

Neil Young’s “Comes A Time” goes gold. It’s his ninth studio album. 1978

The Eagles’ drummer Don Henley runs afoul of the law when a sixteen-year-old girl is treated at Henley’s home for drug intoxication. The law finds marijuana, cocaine and Quaaludes. Henley is charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor. 1980

After topping the Billboard 200 in August, “Foreigner 4” returns for a four-week run at #1. “Juke Box Hero,” “Urgent” and “Waiting For A Girl Like You” are the album’s calling cards.1981

Billy Idol’s remake of the Tommy James & The Shondells hit “Mony Mony” is the top song in the U.S. 1987

Also, Bruce Springsteen’s trip down the “Tunnel Of Love” is #1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart.  1987

Mick Jagger marries Jerry Hall in Bali (or does he?). The couple already have a common-law marriage and two children – the result of having been together for ten years. Jagger later claims the ceremony wasn’t legal. A British court, unable to find documentation, agrees with him. 1990

An animated Aerosmith is the first Rock band to make a guest appearance on The Simpsons when they perform “Walk This Way” at Moe’s Tavern.  1991

Green Day singer Billie Joe Armstrong takes it “on the cheek” when he is fined $141 for dropping his pants at a Milwaukee concert. 1995

Today reads like a casualty report… Fred Durst reportedly requires seven stitches on his chin after getting struck by an object thrown from the audience during a “Back 2 Basics” concert in New York. The Limp Bizkit frontman manages to finish the concert before seeking treatment. Also, Meat Loaf undergoes heart surgery in London. The 52-year-old singer collapsed during a London show four days earlier. 2003

KoЯn unfurl “Take A Look In The Mirror.” Their sixth studio album is the last to feature the group’s original lineup. 2003

A queen and her prince. Ozzy Osbourne sings for Queen Elizabeth II at Britain’s Royal Variety Performance. Ozzy was invited the previous year but had to miss the annual event due to other commitments. He cancels an L.A. appearance just to make the show. “I cannot turn down this incredible honor twice,” says the Prince of Darkness. He performs a cover of The Beatles’ “In My Life” backed by Velvet Revolver guitarist Slash. 2005

Red Hot Chili Peppers nab a pair of honors, for favorite Rock band and favorite alternative-music artist, at the American Music Awards in L.A. The Peppers accept their trophies via satellite from London. Nickelback win the favorite Rock album award for “All the Right Reasons.” 2006

Muse win the Alternative Rock Music – Favorite Artist honor at the American Music Awards. 2010

Metallica’s four sold-out shows in Sydney set an Australian record with the group moving 74,244 tickets. That’s nearly 8,000 more than Britney Spears, the previous record holder, sold over four nights of her ‘09 “Circus tour.” 2010

Occupy Musicians (Occupymusicians.com), an online resource for musicians who support the Occupy Wall Street movement and its affiliated protests, is launched. Among the first signers are Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine) and Lou Reed. Organizers say the site will help coordinate performances at protest sites. 2011

AC/DC’s Brian Johnson and his Fifty Plus Racing team host “Endures for a Cure” Alzheimer’s Benefit in Chattanooga, TN. The team donates close to $100,000. AC/DC guitarist Malcolm Young retired from the group after being diagnosed with dementia. 2014

Bring Me The Horizon’s song “Throne,” off their album “That’s The Spirit,” is #1 on the Active Rock Radio chart, replacing Breaking Benjamin’s “Angels Fall.” It’s the U.K. band’s first #1 song on the chart. 2015

Jack White (White Stripes) publishes a children’s book titled “We’re Going To Be Friends.”  The title was inspired by the White Stripes song of the same name. 2017

“Get Up,” the second single from Shinedown’s “Attention Attention” album is #10 on Billboard’s Rock Airplay chart giving the band sole possession of the most Top 10s in the chart’s history.   Their 11th Top 10 breaks a tie with the Foo Fighters.  Cage The Elephant and Muse are next with 9 Top 10 songs each.  2018

Bob Seger launches his farewell U.S. tour in Grand Rapids, MI, where it is ‘Bob Seger Day’ (Seger is from Detroit).  The trek is named “Travelin Man: The Final Tour” after the song from his ‘75 album, “Beautiful Loser.”  2018

Rage Against The Machine share a statement about the Kyle Rittenhouse verdict on their Instagram. Rittenhouse was acquitted of all charges in connection with two fatal shootings during a ’20 protest over the police killing of Africa-American Jacob Blake in Kenosha, WI.  “Kyle Rittenhouse armed himself and killed people who were fighting for racial justice. He claimed self-defense. Whiteness must cast itself as the victim in order to justify its violence against those resisting its oppression.” 2021

Machine Gun Kelly picks up the Favorite Rock Artist trophy at the American Music Awards at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.  “I read a headline that says the age of the Rock star is dead, but [it] looks pretty alive to me,” says Kelly.  2021

Chad Allan, founding member and original lead singer of the Guess Who, dies at the age of 80.  2023