February 15, 2006 – KNAC, 105.5 FM, the legendary Los Angeles, California heavy metal radio station, goes off the air and is replaced by a Spanish station. James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich from Metallica are there to play the last song, “Fade To Black,” which was one of the first songs played when the station signed on in 1986. Years later, KNAC is revived on the internet at KNAC.com.
February 15, 2006 – The gravesite of AC/DC singer Bon Scott in Fremantle Cemetery in Western Australia is classified with a heritage listing. The listing, traditionally reserved for heritage buildings and homes, confirms the cultural importance of the site, which is one of the most visited sites in Fremantle, attracting thousands of fans every year.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO:
February 15, 1957 – Jake E. Lee (born Jakey Lou Williams), guitar (Mickey Ratt, Rough Cutt, Ozzy Osbourne, Badlands) [WATCH VIDEO BELOW]
February 15, 1947 – David Brown, bass (Santana) (d. 2000)
February 15, 1976 – Brandon Boyd, vocals (Incubus)
February 15, 1944 – Denny Zager, vocals (Zager and Evans)
February 15, 1942 – Glyn Johns, producer (Eric Clapton, The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Beatles, The Eagles, The Faces, The Clash and Led Zeppelin)
February 15, 1951 – Melissa Manchester, vocals, piano
February 15, 1945 – John Helliwell, saxophone, vocals (Supertramp)
February 15, 1944 – Mick Avory, drums (The Kinks)
February 15, 1959 – Ali Campbell, vocals (UB40)
HEADBANGERS HEAVEN:
February 15, 1981 – Mike Bloomfield, guitarist with The Paul Butterfield band and The Electric Flag, is found dead in his car in San Francisco from a drug overdose. He was 37. Allegedly, he’d overdosed at a party, and friends drove him to a remote location and left him in his car. Bloomfield had played on Bob Dylan’s album Highway 61 Revisited and Dylan remembered Bloomfield as “the guy that I always miss. . . . he had so much soul.” In 2015, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band.
February 15, 1968 – Blues harmonica player Little Walter (born Marion Walter Jacobs), dies from injuries sustained in a fight after a performance at a nightclub in Chicago. He was 37. Joining Muddy Waters’ band in 1948, he was the first harmonica player to amplify his harp, giving it a distorted echoing sound. Walter was an influence on Jimi Hendrix, John Popper, Charlie Parker and many others. He was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008 in the category Sideman, the only artist to be inducted specifically as a harmonica player.