Today in Headbanger History

July 15, 1998 – Aerosmith drummer Joey Kramer narrowly escapes serious injury when his Ferrari convertible catches on fire at a gas station.  He is admitted to the hospital with second-degree burns on his arms and hands.  The Ferrari is destroyed.   HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO: July 15, 1956 – Joe Satriani, guitar (Satriani, Chickenfoot, G3) July 15, 1966 – Jason Bonham, drums (Bonham, Sammy Hagar and The Circle) […]

July 14, 2011 – Triumph has a street named after them in their hometown of Mississauga, Ontario.  All three members attend the ceremony, and in true rock and roll style, they cut the ribbon with a chainsaw. July 14, 1987 – The Steve Miller Band receives a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame in front of the Capitol Records Tower.   […]

July 13, 1984 – The Live Aid concerts take place in London’s Wembley Stadium and Philadelphia’s JFK Stadium.  The concerts are spearheaded by Bob Geldof to raise funds for famine relief in Ethiopia. Performers included U2, Led Zeppelin, Judas Priest, Santana, Bob Dylan, Mick Jagger, Tom Petty, Dire Straits, Queen, David Bowie, The Who, Elton John, Black […]

July 12, 2007 – Rod Stewart is awarded the CBE Order of the British Empire by Prince Charles in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace. July 12, 1963 – The Rolling Stones play their first ever gig outside London when they appeared at The Alcove Club in Yorkshire supporting The Hollies.   HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO: July 12, 1950 – Eric Carr […]

July 11, 1982 – Pete Willis is fired from Def Leppard and replaced by Phil Collen, due to excessive alcohol consumption on the job.  “Things were going too fast for me.” says Willis. “I was still enjoying it, but I was using drink as a crutch. It wasn’t nice to go that way, but it was something that […]

July 10, 2012 – Slash gets his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in front of the Hard Rock Cafe. Ex-bandmates Duff McKagan, Gilby Clark and Steven Adler are in attendance.  Charlie Sheen is the master of ceremonies and quips, “It seems quite fitting that Slash is getting a star on the very street Axl Rose […]

July 9, 1995 – Jerry Garcia performs his last concert with the Grateful Dead at Chicago’s Soldier Field.  At the time, no one knew this would be Garcia’s last show, even Garcia himself.  Although he’d been clean for several years, Garcia had returned to using drugs to ease some physical ailments.  He died exactly one month later at […]

July 8, 1958 – The first Gold record album certified by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is awarded to the soundtrack Oklahoma.  At the time, a Gold record represented one million records sold.  It now represents sales of 500,000 copies. July 8, 2000 – Janick Gers of Iron Maiden falls headfirst off the stage during their encore at a […]