Rocktober 9th
1940 The Beatles founder and leader, John Winston (later “Ono”) Lennon enters the world.
1987 Bruce Springsteen peers down the “Tunnel Of Love.”
His eighth studio album is later ranked #25 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 100 greatest albums of the ’80s.
2004 Green Day makes a roaring comeback as “American Idiot” tops the Billboard 200.
The album contains the title track, “Holiday,” “Wake Me When September Ends” and “Boulevard Of Broken Dreams.”
“American Idiot” is Green Day’s fifth album but first to top the U.S. chart. It’s also the band’s first release in four years.
2007 Kid Rock releases “Rock N Roll Jesus.”
Co-produced by Rock and Rob Cavallo, the album features Rock’s longtime backing group, the Twisted Brown Trucker Band.
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1944 The Who’s late bassist, John Entwistle, is born.
1948 Singer/songwriter Jackson Browne has a birthday.
1952 Ozzy’s better half (that wouldn’t be difficult), manager and mother of his children, Sharon Osbourne, is born in Brixton (London). She’s the daughter of Rock and Roll entrepreneur Don Arden and became a co-founder (with Ozzy) of Ozzfest.
1961 BoDeans guitarist, Kurt Neumann, enters the world.
1961 “Hit The Road Jack,” by Ray Charles, is the #1 song in the U.S. for the first of two weeks.
1965 Paul McCartney’s “Yesterday” (though credited to The Beatles) knocks off the McCoys “Hang On Sloppy” to become the #1 song in the U.S. It has a four-week run at the top.
1969 Bridgeport, England has a new resident, Polly Jean (PJ) Harvey. It’s her birthday.
1979 Though he was a one-time model for The Gap, birthday boy Alexander Greenwald is better known as the frontman for Phantom Planet.
1985 On what would have been John Lennon’s 45th birthday his widow, Yoko Ono, opens Strawberry Fields in New York City’s Central Park. Ono donated $1 million to the memorial.
1990 “Seasons In The Abyss” arrives. The Slayer album peaks at #40 on the Billboard 200. The group’s best showing to date goes gold three years later.
1993 Nirvana’s final studio album, “In Utero,” is #1 on the Billboard 200. The album features “Heart-Shaped Box” and “Dumb.”
1993 “No Rain” (Blind Melson) is #1 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Songs chart.
1999 Nine Inch Nails’ third studio album, “The Fragile,” topped the Billboard 200.
2001 Linkin Park’s “In The End” is released. Lead singer Chester Bennington initially dislikes the song and doesn’t want it included on “Hybrid Theory.” However, the fourth single from that album goes to #1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart and #2 on the Billboard Hot 100.
2007 Imagine Peace Tower is dedicated in Reykjavik, Iceland. Built in honor of John Lennon, it’s unveiled on what would have been the late Beatle’s 67th birthday. Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr attend the ceremony.
2007 George Harrison’s solo catalog is available via iTunes. He’s the last Beatle to have his music go on sale digitally.
2008 Def Leppard performs before the Detroit Red Wings raise their Stanley Cup Championship banner. When the band’s Joe Elliot is handed the Stanley Cup he inadvertently places it upside down on a nearby table. Hockey fans are appalled.
2008 Nine Inch Nails announced they will part ways with drummer Josh Freese following the completion of the group’s North American “Lights In The Sky” tour. Freese, who had been with N.I.N. since ’05, leaves for personal reasons.
2012 Rob Felicetti officially quits Ataris following an incident two nights earlier when the drummer was accused of being too drunk to play onstage by frontman Kris Roe. Felicetti admits to having “an off night” but flatly denies he has a drinking problem. “Never have I felt more violated or betrayed,” says Felicetti.
2016 Following the televised debate between presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, Royal Blood tweeted “Donald Trump + Hilary Clinton = Nickelback.” Nickelback responds with “Nickelback jokes are like Royal Blood – they were a lot cooler a couple of years ago. Don’t drink and tweet fellas. Stay safe.”
2018 Lindsey Buckingham, the former Fleetwood Mac singer and guitarist, files a lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court. He claims that being kicked out of the band cost him at least $12 million in tour proceeds and asks for unspecified damages, attorney’s fees and interest on money Buckingham claims he’s owed as a legal “partner” of the act. He had been a part of Fleetwood Mac on and off for 33 years.
2022 Audioslave’s “Like A Stone” reaches 1 billion views on YouTube.
