On This Day:
In 1968 Eric Clapton, Richie Furay, Neil Young, and Jim Messina were arrested at a private residence in Los Angeles and charged with, quote, “being in a place where it is suspected marijuana is being used.” It was a misdemeanor for which Clapton was found innocent, and the others had to pay small fines.
In 1969 Beatle John Lennon married Yoko Ono Cox at the Rock of Gibraltar.
In 1971 Janis Joplin’s “Me And Bobby McGee” hit number one on the pop singles chart.
T. Rex’s “Hot Love” hit number one on the UK pop singles chart.
In 1972 T. Rex released the album “Electric Warrior,” including the hit “Bang A Gong (Get It On.)”
In 1979 Journey released the album “Evolution.”
In 1982 Joan Jett & the Blackhearts’ “I Love Rock ‘N Roll” began a seven-week run at number one on the pop singles charts.
In 1991 Eric Clapton’s four-year-old son, Conor, fell to his death from a 53rd floor window of his mother’s apartment in New York City. A grieving dad wrote the Grammy-winning song “Tears In Heaven” in memory of the boy.
In 2002 Tommy Lee’s ex-wife Pamela Anderson revealed that she had Hepatitis C, and claimed she contracted it from the former Motley Crue drummer.
In 2003 Tenacious D announced that it was cutting short its European tour in the wake of the U.S. military action in Iraq.
In 2006 Aerosmith formally cancelled the rest of the band’s spring tour after missing eight of the past nine scheduled shows. The trek was scrapped because singer Steven Tyler needed surgery for a throat condition, and reps for the group were denying he was battling throat cancer.
R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe, Moby, Public Enemy’s Chuck D., and singer-songwriters Steve Earle and Bright Eyes were among the participants at the “Bring ‘Em Home Now!” concert at New York’s Hammerstein Ballroom.
In 2007 Jury selection began in Phil Spector’s murder trial for the shooting death of actress Lana Clarkson.
The Jefferson Airplane’s former manager filed a lawsuit against founding band member Paul Kantner over the rocker’s use of the name Starship in a promotion the band did with Microsoft.
In 2008 Keyboardist Danny Federici made his last concert appearance with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. He joined the group to perform a few songs at their show in Indianapolis, Indiana. The keyboardist wasn’t taking part in the band’s tour because he was undergoing treatments for melanoma. Federici passed away a month later.
Kraftwerk drummer Klaus Dinger died of heart failure. He was 61.
In 2010 Glenn Frey was the headliner for the 16th annual Celebrity Fight Night in Phoenix, Arizona. The event raises money for a variety of causes and organizations including the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center at Barrow Neurological Institute.
In 2013 Bon Jovi’s “What About Now?” debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, while David Bowie’s “The Next Day” opened at number two on the list.
In 2014 Bob Dylan’s handwritten lyrics to his 1969 hit “Lay Lady Lay,” which the folk-rock legend wrote in pencil on a piece of Atlantic Lumber Company note paper, sold at an auction for more than 229-thousand-700 dollars.
In 2015 Drummer A.J. Pero died from an apparent heart attack. He was a member of Twisted Sister and Adrenaline Mob.
In 2020 Kenny Rogers died at the age of 81.
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