Lafayette’s Rock and Alternative 106.3 wants to help you look back at the best events, music, news stories, and more from the rock and alternative genre.
Each week, we will bring you a list of major events from history that opened in our music scene.
Let’s dive in!
May 5
1986 – Cleveland, Ohio, was selected as the site for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
May 6
1972 – Elton John released “Rocket Man.” The song’s official title is “Rocket Man (I Think It’s Going to Be a Long, Long Time),” and it first appeared on Elton’s 1972 album Honky Chateau and became a hit single, rising to No. 2 in the U.K. Singles Chart and No. 6 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. Rolling Stone lists the song at No. 245 of its “500 Greatest Songs of All Time,” and The Current listeners voted the song No. 668 on their list of 893 Essential Songs.
1994 – Pearl Jam filed charges against Ticketmaster in a federal court, claiming monopolistic practices on the part of the ticketing agency. The band didn’t want to charge more than $18.50 for tickets at the time, with service fees of no more than $1.80. Ticketmaster balked, saying that they needed at least $2 in fees to cover costs. Pearl Jam skipped their tour that summer as the case continued, and they tried to play venues that didn’t use Ticketmaster to sell their tickets. The band ended up losing in court, and eventually had to book their next tour with Ticketmaster.
May 7
2016 – After completing a tour with Guns N’ Roses, Axl Rose took over as lead singer for AC/DC, filling in for Brian Johnson at a show in Lisbon after Johnson was told that continuing the tour could result in permanent hearing loss. Rose filled in on the remaining dates as a guest vocalist.
May 8
1970 – The Beatles released their 12th and final album, Let It Be. It came out a month after the group broke up, along with a movie of the same name. The album topped record charts in many countries, including both the U.S. and the U.K., and garnered the singles “Get Back,” “Let it Be,” and “The Long and Winding Road” / “For You Blue,” released in that order. Today, the restored Let It Be film is now streaming on Disney+.
May 9
1973 – Mick Jagger tossed in $150,000 of his own money, along with the $350,000 raised by The Rolling Stones’ January benefit concert, to aid the victims of the Nicaraguan earthquake.
May 10
2000 – Napster banned 317,377 users from the popular file-sharing site for illegally sharing Metallica songs.
News and Information from The Current