April 20, 2024

This Day in History: 2024-12-28

DECEMBER 28th


“The Beatles” (aka “The White Album”) is #1 on the Billboard chart where it remains for sic-weeks.  1968

The double set has Paul McCartney’s “Back In The U.S.S.R.” John Lennon’s “Dear Prudence,” George Harrison’s “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” and Ring Starr’s “Don’t Pass Me By.”  It holds the top spot for six-weeks. 1968

After receiving Billboard’s Top Tour of the Year honor, U2’s 360º worldwide trek also tops Pollstar.com’s list of the most profitable tours of the year. 2011

MORE TODAY IN ROCK…

Edgar Winter (Edgar Winter Group) is born in Beaumont, TX. He, and his group, are best known for the ’73 album “They Only Come Out At Night” containing the #1 hit instrumental “Frankenstein” and “Free Ride.” Yes, he’s Johnny’s kid brother. 1946

Singer Alex Chilton is born in Memphis, TN. He makes a lasting impression as the singer for The Box Tops (“The Letter”). 1950

The three-day Miami Pop Festival begins.   Over 100,000 see The Grateful Dead, Iron Butterfly, Steppenwolf and Fleetwood Mac. 1968

A guy points a gun at Ted Nugent during a Spokane concert and is brought down by security and audience members. 1975

The Beach Boys drummer (and the group’s only actual surfer), Dennis Wilson, drowns in Marina Del Rey at age 39. He dives to retrieve dropped jewelry and doesn’t come up. 1983

Mike & The Mechanics begin a 5-week run atop Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart with “Silent Running,” a track from the band’s self-titled debut album.  1985

“Blow Up The Outside World” is the #1 song on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart.  The Soundgarden track has a three-week run at the top.  1996

Linkin Park announce they have renegotiated their deal with Warner Music Group. Reportedly the group receives a $15 million advance and an estimated 20-percent royalty rate. This is a turnaround from just a few months earlier when Linkin Park tried to get out of their Warner record deal claiming mismanagement. 2005

Eddie Vedder (Pearl Jam) is sued for copyright infringement. Vedder recorded “Hard Sun” for the soundtrack of Sean Penn’s film “Into The Wild”. Composer Gordon Peterson claims Vedder’s lyric changes are “eroding the integrity of the composition.  2009

Avenged Sevenfold drummer Jimmy ‘The Rev’ Sullivan is found dead at his home in Huntington Beach, CA. “Jimmy was not only one of the world’s best drummers, but more importantly he was our best friend and brother,” the band writes on their site. The cause of death was revealed to have been an acute polydrug-alcohol intoxication combined with cardiomegaly (enlarged heart). He was 28. 2009

Bruce Springsteen’s “High Hopes” is mistakenly put on sale by Amazon a little over two weeks ahead of its release date. Although the online retailer quickly corrects the error, Springsteen’s 18th studio album is circulated via filesharing networks. 2013

The Darkness announce they have added drummer Emily Dolan Davies. “She’s got the chops and the attitude that you need to be The Darkness’ drummer,” says frontman Justin Hawkins. Davies replaces Ed Graham, who left earlier in the year.  But Davies is a short timer leaving just months later. 2014

Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker’s David Lowery lead a $150 million lawsuit accusing Spotify of failing to find and pay composers and songwriters of tracks provided to its users. 2015

We lost the Ace of Spades. Mötörhead’s Lemmy Kilmister dies just two days after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer and four days after his 70th birthday. “Today we lost the greatest badass in the history of Rock ‘n Roll,” says one-time temporary Mötörhead drummer Matt Sorum (Guns N’ Roses).  2015

Wixen Music Publishing, who represent Tom Petty, Neil Young and Steely Dan, among others, sues Spotify, the streaming music provider, for approximately $1.6 billion in damages.  The company is accused of playing tens of thousands of songs without licenses or compensation. 2017

Billboard reports that over 2.11-million vinyl records were sold in the U.S. during the week – largely propelled by the holiday season. It’s the highest weekly vinyl sales figure since the Nielsen Soundscan era. For the week, vinyl sales account for half of all album sales (digital and physical) and 57% of all physical sales.  2021