It’s May 18th and here are some reasons why this day matters in rock history:
- In 2017, singer Chris Cornell of Soundgarden and Audioslave was pronounced dead at 1:30 a.m. in Detroit. He had taken his life sometime between 11:35 p.m. and 12:15 a.m., only hours after performing his final show at the Fox Theatre.
- In 1985, Simple Minds had the No. 1 in the U.S. with “Don’t You Forget About Me.”
- In 1980, Joy Division singer and guitarist Ian Curtis hanged himself in the kitchen of his house in England at the age of 23. He had the Iggy Pop album The Idiot playing on a stereo with a note that read, “At this very moment, I wish I were dead. I just can’t cope anymore.”
- In 1966, Bruce Springsteen spent his first day recording as part of the band The Castiles. The group laid down their track “That’s What You Get” at the Mr. Music Inc. studio in Bricktown, New Jersey.
- In 1991, R.E.M. had the No. 1 album in the U.S. with Out of Time.
- In 2004, the BBC named Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood its composer in residence. In the role, Greenwood had access to the BBC archives and use of the BBC Concert Orchestra for a piece he composed.
- In 1967, The Rolling Stones recorded “We Love You.” Paul McCartney and John Lennon contributed backing vocals.
- And in 1982, Joe Strummer reappeared after fleeing The Clash and moving to Paris for a month. He claimed his disappearance was due to exhaustion and doubts about his career.
And that’s what happened today in rock history.
Original article by Dave Basner at iHeartRadio