Today in Headbanger History

May 13, 1985 – Tipper Gore infamously creates the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) after hearing her daughter listening to the Prince song “Darling Nikki.”  A four-member group of politically connected wives pressure the RIAA to put warning stickers on albums with offensive lyrics.  In testimony before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, Dee Snider, Frank Zappa and John […]

May 12, 1967 – Pink Floyd perform what may have been the first concert in quadraphonic sound when they place loudspeakers at the back of the concert hall at “Games for May,” a swanky affair at London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall. Adding to the otherworldly experience,  Roger Waters throws potatoes at a gong, Nick Mason mic’s up a saw to cut through […]

May 11, 1974 – Led Zeppelin attend an Elvis Presley concert in LA and spend over two hours backstage after the show with Elvis.  Too bad no one recorded that meeting! May 11, 1995 – Five guitar heroes honor Stevie Ray Vaughan in a tribute concert in Austin, TX.  Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, B.B. King, Robert Cray and Stevie’s brother […]

May 10, 2006 – Great White tour manager Daniel Biechele is sentenced to four years in jail after pleading guilty to 100 counts of involuntary manslaughter after The Station nightclub fire in February 2003.  Biechele, 29, could have gotten as much as 10 years behind bars. He also received an 11-year suspended sentence and three years of probation. […]

May 9, 1992 – Bruce Springsteen makes his North American network television debut on Saturday Night Live with host Tom Hanks.  He performs three songs to promote his two recently-released albums, Lucky Town and Human Touch. May 9, 1978 – Fee Waybill of The Tubes breaks a leg after falling from the stage at the Hammersmith Odeon in London.  He says,”I had a chain saw and we were doing […]

May 8, 1996 – Tommy Lee and wife Pamela Anderson lose their suit against Penthouse magazine when a judge rules that the magazine may publish nude photo stills stolen from their home.  The stills were taken from an X-rated home movie that was filmed on their honeymoon. May 8, 1965 – Bob Dylan shoots a film clip for his […]

May 7, 1998 – Steve Perry officially leaves Journey. He is replaced by Steve Augeri, after an agreement made with the rest of the band that if Perry decided not to tour, a new singer could be hired.  Augeri lasts 8 years but must retire after recurring vocal issues. May 7, 2003 – Pete Townshend is cleared of possessing child […]

May 6, 1937 – The Hindenburg airship crashes in New Jersey, killing 36 people. A photograph from this accident is later used as the cover art for Led Zeppelin’s debut album. May 6, 1965 – Keith Richards suffers insomnia in his hotel room in Florida because of a guitar riff running through his head.  He records the hook, falls asleep and wakes […]