Rock and Metal History, a day like today April 14

1945: Ritchie Blackmore, elite guitarist of Deep Purple, Rainbow and Blackmore's Night, was born in Weston-super Mare, Somerset, England.  He was one of the founding members of Deep Purple in 1968, playing jam-style hard rockmusic which mixed guitar riffs and organ sounds. As a member of Deep Purple, Blackmore was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April 2016

1980: Iron Maiden's self-titled debut album was released.

1980: British Steel is the sixth studio album by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, released on 14 April 1980 byColumbia Records. It was the band's first album to feature Dave Hollandon drums.

1989: Tom Petty released his first solo album "Full Moon Fever."

1973: Led Zeppelin moved into #1 on the U.K. Album chart with Houses of the Holy.

1975: Chicago released their single "Old Days".

- The Rolling Stones announced that singer/guitarist Ron Wood would join them for their upcoming tour.  Wood joined the group as a full-time member later in the year.

1981: Neil Diamond released the single "America".

1983: Pete Farndon of the Pretenders died from drugs in London at the age of 29.  Farndon had been fired from the group one year earlier because of his addiction.

1984: Billy Idol released the single "Eyes Without A Face".