Rock and metal History, November 25
1940: Percy Sledge was born in Leighton, Alabama; died April 14, 2015 of liver cancer in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
1944: Bev Bevan, drummer of Black Sabbath, the Move and ELO, was born in Sparkhill, Birmingham, England. (Note: there is considerable disagreement on both Bevan's birthday and birth year)
1959: Born on this day, Steve Rothery, guitar, Marillion, (1985 UK No.2 single 'Kayleigh').
1966: The Jimi Hendrix Experience made their UK live debut at the Bag O'Nails Club, London, where they played using the clubs DJ booth. Eric Clapton, Pete Townshend,The Beatles, Mick Jagger, Brian Jones, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, The Hollies, and theSmall Faces would all hang out at the club.
1967: Rodney Sheppard, guitarist of Sugar Ray, was born in Trinidad.
1968: The Beatles (known as The White Album), was released in the US. Notable for the eclectic nature of its songs, the album has sold over 30 million copies worldwide, and was listed at No.10 on Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" list. The album features: 'Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da', 'Dear Prudence', 'Helter Skelter', 'Blackbird' 'Back In The USSR' and George Harrison's 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps'. The album spent 101 weeks on the US chart peaking at No.1.
1968: Elvis Presley records "Let's Forget About The Stars" and "Charro."
1968: Cream play their last concert (until their 1993 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction and 2005 reunion), taking the stage at Royal Albert Hall in London to a fanatic crowd of over 10,000 who chant "God save the Cream" as they leave the stage. The show is released three months later as the album Goodbye.
1971: The Doors announced they would continue as a group despite the loss of lead singer Jim Morrison, who died earlier in the year.
1977: Slowhand is the fifth full-length studio album by Eric Clapton. Released by RSO Records, and titled after Clapton's nickname, it is one of his most commercially and critically successful studio albums. Slowhand produced the two hit singles "Lay Down Sally" and "Wonderful Tonight", reached various international music charts and was honoured with numerous awards and recording certifications. In 2012, a deluxe edition was released to celebrate the album's 35th anniversary.
1978 : Playing The Spectrum in Philadelphia, Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler is hit in the face with a bottle thrown from the audience. The band leaves the stage and the show is cancelled after Joe Perry tells the crowd, "We love you, but you can't throw things at us." A firecracker was thrown on stage during an Aerosmith show the previous year.
1986: Alice Cooper brought The Nightmare Returns Tour to the UK at Edinburgh Playhouse in Edinburgh, Scotland. Alice Cooper was touring in support of his solo studio album, released in September of 1986: Constrictor
1971: The Doors announced they would continue as a group despite the loss of lead singer Jim Morrison, who died earlier in the year.
1978: Al Stewart's "Time Passages" remained #1 for a third week on the Adult chart.
1989: Alice Cooper peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart with his hit Poison. This song was Alice Cooper’s final top ten single in the United States. Poison is featured on Alice Cooper’s 18th studio album from 1989: Trash.
1991: U2’s ‘Achtung Baby’ hits UK LP chart at No. 2
1995: Radiohead singer Thom Yorke blacked out halfway through a show in Munich, Germany, suffering from exhaustion. Alice In Chains were at #1 with Alice In Chains : US LP
1996: The Metallica single "Mama Said" was released."Mama Said" is a country rockballad by American heavy metal band Metallica from their sixth album, Load, with music and lyrics by James Hetfield (music credited to Hetfield/Ulrich).
1996: A statue in Montreux, Switzerland by sculptor Irena Sedlecka was erected as a tribute to Freddie Mercury. Standing almost 10 feet (3 metres) high overlooking Lake Geneva it was unveiled by Freddie's father and Montserrat Caballé, with bandmates Brian May and Roger Taylor also in attendance.
1997: The original members of the Zombies reunited onstage for the first time in 30 years at the Jazz Café in Camden Town, England.
1997: Cast in Stone is the ninth album by British heavy metal band Venom, and their first album in 12 years to feature the original lineup. Recorded at Lartington Hall Studios near Barnard Castle, it was released on SPV/Steamhammer in 1997.It is the last Venom album to feature Abaddon on drums.
2003: Meat Loaf underwent heart surgery in a London hospital after being diagnosed with a condition that causes an irregular heartbeat. The 52-year-old singer had collapsed on November 17th as he performed at London's Wembley Arena.
2007: Kevin Dubrow, the frontman with metal band Quiet Riot, was found dead in his Las Vegas home at the age of 52. Their 1983 release Metal Health was the first metal album to top the US charts. The band's biggest hit was 'Cum on Feel the Noize', a cover of the Slade song which they are said to have grudgingly recorded in just one take.
2011: Cage released the album “Supremacy of Steel”. The artwork for the album was designed by Marvel Comics illustrator Marc Sasso.
2020: Australian Rock legends AC/DC reached the top spot on Billboard's Artist 100 chart for the first time in their career with their latest album, "Power Up". It was the band's third #1 album, following 1981's "For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)" and 2008's "Black Ice" which topped the Hot 200 chart.
