Today in Rock n Roll History

1958: Rockabilly hero Carl Perkins leaves the Sun Records label for Columbia. But Elvis-size success continues to elude him.

1974: At the first American Music Awards, Al Green’s Livin’ for You wins the Favorite Album, Soul/R&B award. The hosts are Roger Miller, Helen Reddy, and Smokey Robinson. Those who skip the awards show to watch Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert witness the TV debut of KISS.

1977: No. 1 on the American pop singles chart today is Manfred Mann’s Earth Band’s cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Blinded by the Light.” Ironically, Springsteen himself hasn’t even had a top 20 single yet.

1980: AC/DC singer Bon Scott died of acute alcohol poisoning in London while sleeping in a friend’s car. He was 33 years old.

1982: Ozzy Osbourne was arrested in San Antonio for urinating on The Alamo. At the time of his arrest, he was wearing a dress which belonged to his manager (later wife), Sharon Arden. Ya gotta love Ozzy, LOL!

1987: Neo-bluesman Taj Mahal plays Hollywood’s Palimino Club. By the end of the gig, he’s been joined onstage by George Harrison, Bob Dylan, John Fogerty, and Jesse Ed Davis.

1993: Lynyrd Skynyrd celebrated their twentieth anniversary with a Lynyrd Skynyrd & Friends LYVE performance from Atlanta’s Fox Theatre that aired live on pay-per-view. Special guests included Peter Frampton, Charlie Daniels, Zakk Wylde, Poison singer Bret Michaels & Cinderella singer Tom Kiefer.

1995: Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee married Pamela Anderson on a beach in Cancun, Mexico. The bride wears a white bikini.

1997: A judge in New York dismissed a $7 million lawsuit against Motley Crue for hearing loss that a fan suffered at one of their concerts. The judge ruled that the fan knew the concert would be loud when he purchased the ticket.

1998: Grandpa Jones, a country music favorite and regular on comedy show “Hee-Haw,” dies in Hermitage, Tenn., of complications from a series of strokes. He is 84.

1998: Los Angeles’ House of Blues plays host to a one-off reunion of the Stray Cats. Proceeds from the sold-out show go to the Carl Perkins Foundation. The last song the band ever plays is Eddie Cochran’s “Summertime Blues.”

2002: Napster says they have still not settled the copyright infringement lawsuit filed by the Recording Industry Association of America, in spite of a judge’s ruling that the two parties should come to an agreement by today.

2004: Johnny Cash’s family blocked an attempt by advertisers to use his hit song ‘Ring of Fire’ to promote hemorrhoid relief products. The idea is said to have been backed by Merle Kilgore, who co-wrote the song with Cash’s wife, June Carter Cash. Cash’s daughter Rosanne said the family “would never allow the song to be demeaned like that.”

2007: Denny Doherty was a Canadian singer and songwriter. He was most widely known as a founding member of the 1960s musical group The Mamas & The Papas dies at his home in Mississauga, Ontario, from a second abdominal aneurysm after going to get the first one removed.

2010: A rare JIMI HENDRIX cover recorded over 40 years ago is set to be released as a digital release on March 1 and a seven-inch vinyl release seven days later. ‘Bleeding Heart’ is the guitarist’s take on ELMORE JAMES’ classic blues song, originally recorded in April 1969. The studio recording also features bassist Billy Cox and drummer Rocky Isaac. Julien Temple has also made a video to accompany the track. The single will feature previously unreleased B-side ‘Peace In Mississippi’ and will be released in conjunction with his forthcoming posthumous studio album Valleys Of Neptune.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS
1940: Smokey Robinson
1946: Paul Dean guitarist for Loverboy
1948: Tony Iommi guitarist for Black Sabbath
1954: Francis Buchholz bassist for the Scorpions