June 27, 1994 – Aerosmith become the first major band to release a song, “Head First” (an unused cut from the Get A Grip Sessions), as a free download on the internet. Download speeds at the time were so slow it took between 60 and 90 minutes to download the track, but ten thousand CompuServe subscribers still […]
Today in Headbanger History
Today in Headbanger History – June 26, 2017
June 26, 1996 – Van Halen announce that Sammy Hagar is leaving the band and that David Lee Roth will again become the lead singer. Hagar reunites with the Van Halen brothers for a 2004 tour that is quite successful, but once again, the two factions split. June 26, 1973 – Keith Richards and his girlfriend Anita Pallenberg are arrested on drug and gun […]
Today in Headbanger History – June 25, 2017
June 25, 2010 – Rush receive their star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in front of the Musicians Institute. They are inducted by Smashing Pumpkins singer Billy Corgan and Donna Halper, a former music director at Cleveland’s WMMS-FM who was among the first to champion the band on their debut album. June 25, 2004 – After a final encore of “Ziggy […]
Today in Headbanger History – June 24, 2017
June 24, 1999 – Eric Clapton auctions off 100 of his guitars with proceeds going toward his Crossroads Centre at Antigua, an alcohol and drug-dependency treatment center in the West Indies. The auction generates over $5 million, with his guitar “Brownie,” a 1956 sunburst Fender used to record “Layla”, going for almost $500,000. June 24, 2000 – Kiss begin a 2-day auction of costumes, instruments and […]
Today in Headbanger History – June 23, 2017
June 23, 1975 – Alice Cooper plummets from the stage during his “Welcome To My Nightmare” tour in Vancouver, Canada. He breaks six ribs and suffers a concussion, but continues the show after getting bandaged up. Eventually, he is driven to the local hospital where he gets 15 stitches in his head. June 23, 2005 – Four people are […]
Today in Headbanger History – June 22, 2017
June 22, 2005 – Ted Nugent is ordered to pay $3,500 per month in child support to Karen Gutowski of Dover, NH. While married to his current wife, Shemane, with whom he has 4 children, Nugent fathered a son with Gutowski in 1994. June 22, 1981 – Mark David Chapman says that “God has told me to plead guilty” to the charge of murdering John […]
Today in Headbanger History – June 21, 2017
June 21, 1985 – Mötley Crüe release their third studio album Theatre of Pain which goes on to sell over four million copies in the U.S. and spawns the hits “Home Sweet Home” and the remake “Smokin’ In The Boys Room.” June 21, 1975 – Ritchie Blackmore leaves Deep Purple to form Rainbow. Blackmore says, “I wasn’t interested in the direction they were going. I thought […]
Today in Headbanger History – June 20, 2017
June 20, 2011 – Leslie West of Mountain has his right leg amputated below the knee at a Biloxi, Mississippi hospital the day after performing at the Hard Rock Cafe in the city. West later says, “When I play ‘Mississippi Queen’ now, I think about Jesus Christ.” June 20, 1978 – Foreigner releases their second album, Double Vision. It goes on to sell […]