Rock and Metal History, November 20
1942: Norman Greenbaum ("Spirit In The Sky" from 1970) was born in Malden, Massachusetts.
1947: Joe Walsh, guitarist, singer, songwriter, The James Gang, The Eagles, joined in 1976, (1977 US No.1 & UK No.8 single 'Hotel California', plus 5 US No.1 albums. 'Greatest Hits 1971-1975' is the second biggest selling album in the world with sales over 30m). Solo, (1978 UK No.14 single 'Life's Been Good').
1955: "Rock Around The Clock" by Bill Haley & the Comets went to #1 in the U.K.
1957: Jim Brown, drums, with UB40, who had the 1983 UK No.1 & 1988 US No.1 single 'Red Red Wine' and over 30 other top 40 hits.
1961: Bob Dylan began recording his self-titled album at Columbia Studios in New York City.
1962: Gail Ann Dorsey, American bass guitarist and vocalist. Worked with David Bowie from 1993-96, recorded and toured with Tears for Fears and has also worked with Bryan Ferry, Boy George, Gwen Stefani and Seal.
1971: Led Zeppelin played the first of back to back “Electric Magic” concerts at London’s Wembley Empire Pool. These concerts featured circus performers.
1974: Drummer with The Who, Keith Moon collapsed during a concert after his drink was spiked with horse tranquilliser. 19 year-old Scott Halpin who was in the audience, volunteered to replace him on drums for the remaining three numbers.
1975: The Who kicked off a month-long North American tour at The Summit in Houston. At a party afterwards drummer Keith Moon was arrested for disorderly conduct and spent the night in jail.
1975: David Marchand, (Davey Havok), lead vocalist of the American rock band AFI.
1976: Kiss entered the Top 10 for the first and only time with "Beth".
1982: Whitesnake released the album "Saints & Sinners". Two of the tracks, "Crying in the Rain" and "Here I Go Again", were later re-recorded on their 1987 album Whitesnake.
1986: Born on this day, Jared Followill, bassist, Kings Of Leon, (2007 UK No.1 album ‘Because Of The Times’, 2008 UK No.1 single ‘Sex on Fire’, 2008 UK No.1 album ‘Only By The Night’).
1990: Cinderella released the album "Heartbreak Station" The album went to number 19 on the BillboardCharts Three singles were released, two of which charted on the Billboard's Hot 100
1991: The Rolling Stones announced they'd signed a £20 million deal with Virgin Records, to make three albums over six years.
1993: Vs. by Pearl Jam was #1 on the Album chart for a third week.
1997: Kenny G earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in California.
2001: KISS released The Box Set. The set included 92 tracks.
2003: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced the new inductees for 2004: George Harrison, Bob Seger, Prince, ZZ Top, Jackson Browne, Traffic and the Dells.
2005: Blues rocker Chris Whitley dies of lung cancer in Houston, Texas, at age 45.
2007: Velvet Revolver were forced to cancel a four-city Japanese after their requests for visas was rejected. Officials were said to have refused the band entry to Japan due to previous drug convictions.
2007: Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke admitted he was among the thousands of people who paid nothing to download the band's latest album In Rainbows. Speaking to BBC 6 Music's Steve Lamacq, Yorke said: "There wasn't any point. I just move some money from one pocket to the other." According to one survey, three in five people paid nothing at all for it. Yorke added that no one was allowed to have copies of the master recording in case it was leaked beforehand.
2015: A Night at the Odeon is a live album by the British rock band Queen. The album is the first official release of the band's Christmas Eve performance at the Hammersmith Odeon in 1975, filmed by the BBC. The show was broadcast on BBC2 and BBC Radio 1, and included one of the first live performances of "Bohemian Rhapsody". It is the band's most popular bootleg.
2020: Nights of the Dead, Legacy of the Beast: Live in Mexico City is a live album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was recorded on 27, 29 and 30 September 2019 in Mexico City, during the Legacy of the Beast World
