Another big week in rock history!
Some major chart toppers were –
In 1967, The Monkees’ ” Daydream Believer” would be their third and final #1 hit.
Steam, an at the time fictitious band of session musicians, had their song “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye” hit #1 on the billboard in 1969.
The Temptations’ cover of The Undisputed Truth’s song “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone” hits #1 in 1972
In 1978, Barbra Streisand and Neil Diamond’s You Don’t Bring Me Flowers hits #1. Diamond released “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers” as a solo performance in 1977. This in early 1978, Barbra Streisand covered the song. These recordings were spliced together by different radio stations, creating an unofficial duet, the success of which led to the studio bringing them together for an official duet recording.
Belinda Carlisle’s “Heaven Is a Place on Earth” hit #1 in 1987, her only chart topper.
Some major releases also happened:
The Wall by Pink Floyd was released in 1979.
In 1982, the critically acclaimed Michael Jackson’s Thriller was released.
“Do They Know It’s Christmas?,” the first charity single on a grand scale, was released in 1984 with proceeds going to help famine victims in Ethiopia.
Some sad and crazy moments also occurred:
Keith Richards circa 1971 (Photo Credit: Tobis/ullstein bild via Getty)
Keith Richards was electrocuted and knocked unconscious during a Rolling Stones concert in Sacramento in 1965.
In 1976, An assassination attempt was made on Bob Marley. He was shot twice and recovered
After the death of founding member and drummer John Bonham, Led Zeppelin disbanded in 1980.
In 1987, Madonna filed for a divorce from her first husband, Sean Penn.
The Smashing Pumpkins played their final concert in Chicago before breaking up in 2000.
In 2014, The day after a fake MSNBC story reports the death of Axl Rose, the very much alive Guns N’ Roses frontman tweets: “if I’m dead do I still have to pay taxes?”
Tragedy struck at a concert:
Eleven Who fans were killed when they rushed the doors at Cincinnati’s Riverfront Coliseum in 1979. Fire officials advised The Who’s manager to cancel the concert, but he convinced them to allow the show to continue to avoid further panic. The concert went on as planned, with the band members not told of the tragedy until after their performance.
And we lost some legends as well:
Frank Zappa 1975 (Photo Credit: Getty Images)
Roy Orbison died of a heart attack at age 52 in 1988
In 1993, Frank Zappa died at age 52 of prostate cancer.
Scott Weiland died of an accidental overdose in Bloomington, MN in 2015.
In 2022, Fleetwood Mac star Christine McVie died of a stroke due to complications from cancer.
