HC's Rock Rewind: February 18 - March 3

HC's Rock Rewind

A look back at the past two weeks in Rock History

by Anne Erickson

Week of February  19th - 25th

From the release of Led Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti to the birth of George Harrison to the sad passing of AC/DC's Bon Scott, this week is jam-packed with music nostalgia, both good and tragic.

Events 

1878 – Thomas Edison patents the phonograph.

1962 – Ray Charles records “I Can’t Stop Loving You” at United Studios in Hollywood. The single later tops the charts in both the U.S. and the U.K.

1964 - A young Billy Joel joins his first rock group, a U.K. cover band called the Echoes.

1969 - The Beatles start recording "I Want You (She's So Heavy)."

1972 – Steppenwolf announce their break-up. By way of explanation, the hard rock band says, “We were locked into an image and style of music and there was nothing for us to look forward to.”

1973 - The Byrds perform their final concert in Passaic, New Jersey.

1973 – Free perform their last concert, staging their final show in Hollywood, California. Singer Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke move on to co-found Bad Company.

1974 - Kiss appear on TV for the first time on Don Kirshner's Rock Concert.

1974 - The first annual American Music Awards is broadcast on ABC.

1975 - "Johnny Cash Day" is officially declared for February 20 in Los Angeles.

1987 – Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer” begins a four-week run atop the US singles chart.

1989 - Jethro Tull win the first Grammy for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance over Metallica. For real.

1990 - Paul McCartney is honored at the 32nd annual Grammy Awards with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

1990 – Queen receive the BPI award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music, at the annual BRIT Awards. The event marks the last public appearance that Freddie Mercury will make with the band.

1992 – Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love of Hole are married at a ceremony in Hawaii.

1993 – Faces reunite at the BRIT Awards in London, were Rod Stewart receives a Lifetime Achievement Award. Bill Wyman fills in for Faces bassist Ronnie Lane, who is suffering from multiple sclerosis.

1995 –  Pamela Anderson of "Baywatch" marries Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee.

1998 - Elton John is knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.

2001 – Peter Frampton is awarded the Orville H. Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award, an honor widely viewed as the guitar industry’s equivalent of an Oscar or Emmy.

Releases  

1971 – Yes:  The Yes Album

1970 - John Lennon, Instant Karma!

1986 – Jackson Browne:  Lives in the Balance

1974 – KISS:  KISS

Led Zeppelin, Physical Graffiti, 1975

George Harrison, Self-titled album, 1979

Alabama, Mountain Music, 1982

Mick Jagger, She's the Boss, 1985

1990 – Peter Wolf:  Up to No Good

1991 – Dinosaur Jr.:  Green Mind

Radiohead, Pablo Honey, 1993

Joey Ramone, Don't Worry About Me, 2002 

Deaths

Bob Stinson (The Replacements) – Feb. 18, 1995

Kevin Ayers – Feb. 18, 2013

Bon Scott (AC/DC) - Feb 19, 1980

Grandpa Jones - Feb 19, 1988

Johnny Paycheck – Feb. 19, 2003

Kelly Groucutt of (Electric Light Orchestra) - Feb 19, 2009

Papa John Creach (Jefferson Airplane/Starship) -  Feb 21, 1994

Andy Warhol (former manager of The Velvet Underground and designer for The Rolling Stones' Sticky Fingers album cover) -  Feb 21, 1987

Howie Epstein (Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers), - Feb 23, 2003

Melvin "Blue" Franklin (The Temptations) - Feb 23, 1995

Johnnie Ray- Feb 24, 1990

Births

Yoko Ono – Feb. 18, 1933

Bobby Hart – Feb. 18, 1939

Dennis DeYoung (Styx) – Feb. 18, 1947

Robbie Bachman (Bachman-Turner Overdrive) – Feb. 18, 1953

Smokey Robinson is born William Robinson Jr. - February 19, 1940

Tony Iommi – Feb. 19, 1948

Mark Andes (Spirit) – Feb. 19, 1948

Andy Powell (Wishbone Ash) – Feb. 19, 1950

Francis Buchholz (Scorpions), February 19, 1954

Jeff Daniels, February 19, 1955

Dave Wakeling (The English Beat) – Feb. 19, 1957

Seal, real name Seal Henry Olusegun Olumide Adeola Samuel, February 19, 1963

John Geils (The J. Geils Band), February 20, 1946

Walter Becker (Steely Dan), February 20, 1950

Randy California (Spirit), February 20, 1951

Jon Brant (Cheap Trick), February 20, 1955

Ian Brown (The Stone Roses), February 20, 1963

Kurt Cobain (Nirvana), February 20, 1967

David Geffen, February 21, 1943

Vince Welnick (The Tubes, Grateful Dead), February 21, 1951

Jerry Harrison (Talking Heads), February 21, 1949

Mark McLaughlin (Mark Arm), February 21, 1962

James Blunt, February 22, 1974

Rusty Young (Poco, Buffalo Springfield), February 23, 1946

Steve Priest (Sweet), February 23, 1950

Brad Whitford (Aerosmith), February 23, 1952

Howard Jones, February 23, 1955

Michael Wilton (Queensryche), February 23, 1962

George Thorogood, February 24, 1950

Dennis Diken (The Smithereens), February 24, 1957

George Harrison, February 25, 1943

Week of February 26th - March  3th

Historically speaking, the last week in February has been marked by a trove of memorable rock events. The Yardbirds lost a key member, U2 kicked off their first U.S. tour, and filming began on a landmark film starring the world’s greatest pop band. A spate of classic LPs was released as well, including touchstone records by Pink Floyd, Todd Rundgren, and Metallica. Read on for a look back at other significant moments that shaped rock and roll during this historically eventful week.

Events

1941 – The world’s first commercial FM radio station begins broadcasting from Nashville.

1945 – Billboard reports that, for the first time, 45rpm records are racking up more sales than the old-style 78rpm discs.

1960 – The Miracles (featuring Smokey Robinson) make their debut TV appearance, performing “Shop Around” on “American Bandstand.”

1964 – Filming begins on The Beatles’ movie A Hard Day’s Night.

1965 – Eric Clapton performs with The Yardbirds for the last time. Jeff Beck steps into the spot vacated by Clapton.

1966 – Neil Young, Stephen Stills, and Richie Furay form Buffalo Springfield.

1967 – The Jeff Beck Group, featuring Rod Stewart as vocalist, make their performance debut in London.

1971 – Janis Joplin’s Pearl album begins a nine-week run atop the U.S. album chart.

1972 – The Joe Tex single “I Gotcha” tops the R&B chart.

1973 – Elton John’s Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only the Piano Player tops the album chart in America.

1975 – Bob Dylan’s Blood on the Tracks tops the US album chart. Two weeks later it’s bumped from the top spot by Olivia Newton-John’s Have You Never Been Mellow LP.

1981 – U2 kick off their first major tour of the U.S., performing two shows in Washington, D.C.

1983 – Michael Jackson’s Thriller LP tops the US album chart.

1983 – CD players become commercially available in America for the first time.

1987 – The Beatles (aka The White Album) becomes the first LP by the Fab Four to be released on CD.

1991 – The Doors, a bio-pic directed by Oliver Stone, makes its premiere in Los Angeles.

1994 – Nirvana perform what is to be their final concert, staging a show in Munich, Germany.

1995 – Jimmy Page and Robert Plant kick off a world tour in support of their 1994 No Quarter live reunion album.

 2002 – The Bee Gees stage their final concert, performing a benefit show in Miami Beach.

Releases

1968 – Laura Nyro:  Eli and the Thirteenth Confession

1968 – The Mothers of Invention:  We’re Only in it for the Money

1970 – The Beatles:  Hey Jude (compilation)

1970 – Van Morrison:  Moondance

1971 – Soft Machine:  Fourth

1972 – Stevie Wonder:  Music of My Mind

1973 – Pink Floyd:  The Dark Side of the Moon

1973 – John Cale:  Paris 1919

1973 – Todd Rundgren:  A Wizard, a True Star

1973 – The Doobie Brothers: The Captain and Me

1974 – Aerosmith:  Get Your Wings

1974 – Rush: Rush

1974 – ABBA:  Waterloo

1978 – Patti Smith:  Easter

1979 – Sex Pistols: The Great Rock ‘n’ Roll Swindle (soundtrack)

1979 – Rickie Lee Jones:  Rickie Lee Jones

1979 – Roxy Music:  Manifesto

1979 – Frank Zappa:  Sheik Yerbouti

1981 – Judas Priest:  Point of Entry

1983 – U2:  War

1983 – Thin Lizzy:  Thunder and Lightning

1983 – Spandau Ballet: True

1986 – Metallica: Master of Puppets

1988 – Robert Plant:  Now and Zen

1988 – Toto:  The Seventh One

1989 – XTC:  Orange & Lemons

1989 – Fine Young Cannibals:  The Raw and the Cooked

1990 – Cowboy Junkies:  The Caution Horses

1992 – David Byrne:  Uh-Oh

1993 – The Cranberries: Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?

1994 -- Beck: Mellow Gold

1994 – Cheap Trick:  Woke Up with a Monster

1995 – PJ Harvey:  To Bring You My Love

1995 – Steve Earle:  Train a Comin’

1997 – Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds:  The Boatman’s Call

1997 – U2:  Pop

2000 – Oasis:  Standing on the Shoulder of Giants

2000 – AC/DC:  Stiff Upper Lip

2000 – Steely Dan: Two Against Nature

2002 – Teenage Fanclub:  Words of Wisdom and Hope

2007 – Arcade Fire:  Neon Bible

2008 – The Black Crowes:  Warpaint

2009 – U2:  No Line on the Horizon

Deaths

Bukka White – Feb. 26, 1977

Mike Patto (Spooky Tooth, Patto) – March 4, 1979

Peter Tork (Monkees) - Feb. 21, 2019

David Byron (Uriah Heep) – Feb. 27, 1985

Mark Hollis (Talk Talk) - Feb 27, 2019

Richard Manuel (The Band) – March 4, 1986

Dusty Springfield – March 2, 1999

Hank Ballard – March 2, 2003

Buddy Miles – Feb. 26, 2008

Mike Smith (Dave Clark Five) – Feb. 27, 2008

Jeff Healey – March 2, 2008

Ronnie Montrose – March 3, 2012  

Births

Fats Domino – Feb. 26, 1928

Johnny Cash – Feb. 26, 1932

Joe South – Feb. 28, 1940

Mike Pender (The Searchers) – March 3, 1941

Brian Jones – Feb. 28, 1942

Lou Reed – March 2, 1943

Roger Daltrey – March 1, 1944

Mike D’Abo – March 1, 1944

Bobby Womack – March 4, 1944

Mitch Ryder – Feb. 26, 1945

Rory Gallagher – March 2, 1948

Eddie Money – March 2, 1949

Jonathan Cain – Feb. 26, 1950

Karen Carpenter – March 2, 1950

Robyn Hitchcock – March 3, 1953

Neal Schon (Journey) – Feb. 27, 1954

Cindy Wilson – Feb. 28, 1957

Johnny Van Zant – Feb. 27, 1959

Jon Bon Jovi – March 2, 1962

Eryka Badu – Feb. 26, 1971

Chris Martin – March 2, 1977

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Anne Erickson holds years of bylines in Gannett Media publications, as well as music magazines Premier Guitar, Guitar Edge and more. She also hosts radio shows with iHeartRadio and has been syndicated in Seattle, Dayton, Central Coast California and beyond. Anne is a loyal Spartan and holds a Master’s degree from MSU. She resides in Lansing, Michigan.A

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