On This Day
We take you back into classic rock’s history and legacy to note important events that happened on this date as well as celebrate the birthdays of major musical artists and mourn their passing.
October 21, 1977: Meat Loaf ‘Bat Out of Hell’ Released
Meat Loaf and songwriter Jim Steinman struggled to get it made, released and played on radio. Yet the album became an all-time best seller
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Oct. 20, 2015: Three Dog Night’s Cory Wells Dies
The co-founding vocalist for the hit-making rock band died unexpectedly at his home in upstate New York. He sang lead on a #1 hit
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October 20, 1950: Tom Petty Born
Elvis Presley inspired the young Petty to “follow that dream.” Then came The Beatles on TV. And guitar lessons by a future member of The Eagles.
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October 19, 2010: Elton John Slams Today’s Music
The musician took aim at what he felt was the sorry state of contemporary pop songwriting and how TV singing contests don’t yield lasting musical acts
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October 18, 1926: Chuck Berry Born
One of the founding fathers of rock ‘n’ roll did a stint in prison in the early 1960s after an astonishing run of now-classic hit singles
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October 17, 1969: Kinks’ First U.S. Show in 4 Years
For reasons that are unclear and complicated, The Kinks were unable to play America from 1965 to ’69, with a first show back at the Fillmore East
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Oct. 17, 2017: Tragically Hip’s Gord Downie Dies
The beloved Canadian band’s frontman went out on one last tour after he was was diagnosed with cancer. He lived ‘the life,’ said the band in a statement.
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Oct 16, 1966: Grace Slick Joins Jefferson Airplane
A heartthrob for men and role model for women within the 1960s counterculture, she sang the band’s two biggest hits: “Somebody to Love” and “White Rabbit”
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October 15, 1966: Monkees Record ‘I’m A Believer’
The song was written by a now-well known songwriter, who performed on the recording. Monkees-mania was in full swing as the single had orders of over 1 million copies
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October 14, 1988: UB40’s Unusual Path to #1
20 years after Neil Diamond’s single of “Red Red Wine” was issued and five years after UB40 first released it as a single, the song finally went #1
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