Today in Headbanger History

April 10, 1956 – Leo Fender patents his Stratocaster guitar, which is the follow-up to the popular Telecaster. April 10, 1970 – Doors singer Jim Morrison attempts to flash his junk at a show in Boston.  He is dragged off stage by keyboardist Ray Manzarek as Morrison is already facing charges for a similar event at a Miami show.  He had […]

April 9, 1997 – Soundgarden breaks up, only to reform 13 years later. April 9, 1973 – Queen makes its debut performance at the Marquee Theater in London. April 9, 1969 – King Crimson makes their live debut at the Speakeasy in London. [WATCH VIDEO BELOW]   HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO: April 9, 1961 – Mark Kelly, keyboards (Marillion) […]

April 8, 1998 –  Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee is sentenced to at least six months in County Jail after pleading no contest to a felony charge of beating his wife, actress Pamela Anderson Lee. He was released after 90 days for good behavior. Concurrently, he completed a 30-day sentence for beating a security guard at a Crüe concert […]

April 7, 1990 – Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee suffers a mild concussion after falling 20 feet from the scaffolding above his elevated drum kit. Tommy was descending as usual on a bungee rope but panicked when he thought his roadie wouldn’t pull the brake in time.  He was turned upside down and smashed heads with a person […]

April 6, 1993 – Peter Criss, former drummer for the rock group KISS, settles a libel lawsuit against Star magazine for portraying him as a homeless alcoholic.  ”At least now I can go on with a clearer head, now that this is over,” he said. “I could write a song about this whole thing. Maybe I will.” A Jan. […]

April 5, 1980 – R.E.M. play their first ever gig when they appear at St Mary’s Episcopal Church in Athens, Georgia.  A common misconception is that they were originally called Twisted Kites, but as Bill Berry and Mike Mills from the band have said,  “We were thinking about Twisted Kites right up until show time, but just bagged it and […]

April 4, 2009 – Flea inducts Metallica into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with a moving tribute to the deceased Cliff Burton.  This is the first-ever induction ceremony open to the public.  Jeff Beck is also inducted by his former Yardbird colleague Jimmy Page. April 4, 2000 – A Swedish couple runs into trouble with authorities after trying […]

April 3, 1967 –  Steve Winwood leaves The Spencer Davis Group to form Traffic. April 3, 2007 – When interviewed by NME in the UK, Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones speaks about snorting the ashes of his dead father.  He said, “He was cremated and I couldn’t resist grinding him up with a little bit of […]