Rock and Metal History, December 28

1968: The Beatles went to No.1 on the US album chart with the The White Album the group's 12th US No.1 album. A double album, its plain white sleeve has no graphics or text other than the band's name embossed, which was intended as a direct contrast to the vivid cover artwork of the band's earlier Sgt. Pepper's. No singles were issued from the album in Britain and the United States, the songs 'Hey Jude' and 'Revolution' originated from the same recording sessions and were issued on a single in August 1968.

1968: Pink Floyd appeared at the two day festival Flight To Lowlands Paradise II, Margriethal-Jaarbeurs, Utrecht, The Netherlands, (replacing The Jimi Hendrix Experience). Other acts appearing included Jethro Tull, Jeff Beck, The Pretty Things and the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band.

1968: Led Zeppelin performed their first concert in Canada at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, British Columbia, supporting Vanilla Fudge. Lineup was: Robert Plant (vocals), Jimmy Page (guitars), John Paul Jones (bass) and the late John Bonham on drums. Rest in peace, John Bonham. The stellar lineup for Vanilla Fudge, on this date was: Mark Stein (vocals & organ/keys), Tim Bogert (bass & vocals), Vince Martell (guitar & vocals) and Carmine Appice (drums & vocals).

1968:The Doors released their single Touch Me. This hit went on to reach #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart, becoming the third Gold Single from The Doors.

1969: The Rolling Stones’ Let It Bleed reaches number three in the American album charts.

1974: KISS played at the Memorial Coliseum, Fort Wayne, Indiana.

1977: Aerosmith appeared at the Coliseum in New Haven, Connecticut.

1991: Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nirvana and Pearl Jam all appeared at Del Mar O'brien Pavilion, San Diego, California.

1998: UK radio station BBC Radio 1 aired the 100 National Anthems, songs voted by listeners. At No.5 Radiohead, 'Creep', No.4 Underworld 'Born Slippy', No.3 The Verve 'Bitter Sweet Symphony', No.2 Nirvana 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' No.1 Massive Attack 'Unfinished Sympathy'.

2005: Pink Floyd were voted the greatest rock stars ever in a survey of 58,000 listeners from UK radio station Planet Rock. Led Zeppelin were voted into second place, 3rd was The Rolling Stones, 4th The Who, 5th, AC/DC, 6th, U2, 7th, Guns N’ Roses, 8th, Nirvana, 9th, Bon Jovi and in 10th place Jimi Hendrix. Listeners also named the 1970s as the golden age of rock, followed by the 1960’s.

2015: Lemmy lead vocalist and bassist with Motorhead died at his home in Los Angeles, California, four days after his 70th birthday following a short battle with an extremely aggressive cancer. Lemmy played in several rock groups in the 1960s, including the Rockin' Vickers and worked as a roadie for Jimi Hendrix and the Nice, before joining the space rock band Hawkwind in 1971, singing lead on their hit 'Silver Machine'.