Rock and Metal History, a day like today March 17
1941: Paul Kantner, co-founder and guitarist of Jefferson Airplane and Starship, was born in San Francisco, California.
1944: John Sebastian, singer, songwriter and guitarist of Lovin' Spoonful and a solo artist ("Welcome Back Kotter") was born in New York City.
1951: Scott Gorham, guitarist and songwriter of Thin Lizzy, was born in Glendale, California.
1967: Billy Corgan, singer, songwriter and guitarist of the Smashing Pumpkins, was born in Elk Grove Village, Illinois.
1969: Cream released the single "Badge".
1973: Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd first entered the Album charts. It would go on to be the longest-running album of all-time.
1975: Justin Hawkins, lead singer and lead guitarist of the Darkness, was born in Chertsey, Surrey, England.
1978: U2 won $850 and a chance to audition for CBS Ireland in a talent contest in Dublin.
1984: Van Halen made it four weeks at #1 with "Jump", heading off Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Want To Have Fun".
1997: The RIAA announced that the Eagles Greatest Hits album had tied Michael Jackson's Thriller as the best-selling album of all-time.
1998: Van Halen released Van Halen III, the group's first album with lead singer Gary Cherrone
