October 11, 1999 – Tommy Lee of Mötley Crüe is released on $5000 bail after being arrested for inciting the crowd to attack a security guard at a North Carolina show. He is charged with “assault and inciting a riot with ethnic animosity” and later sentenced to 18 months probation after pleading “no contest” to the charges. October 11, 1983 … Continue reading CDJ Today: October 11 in Classic Rock →

October 10, 1975 – Deep Purple release Come Taste the Band, their only studio album to feature guitarist Tommy Bolin.  The album is also the final of three albums to feature Glenn Hughes on bass and a pre-Whitesnake David Coverdale on lead vocals. October 10, 1995 – Peter Frampton releases Frampton Comes Alive II, the long-awaited sequel to his record-setting live album released in 1976. October 10, 1969 … Continue reading CDJ Today: October 10 in Classic Rock →

October 9, 1985 – On what would have been John Lennon’s 45th birthday, Yoko Ono opens Strawberry Fields in New York City’s Central Park. The entrance to the memorial is located directly across from the Dakota Apartments where Lennon last lived and where he was murdered in 1980. Ono donated $1 million to open the … Continue reading CDJ Today: October 9 in Classic Rock →

It’s taken years, but the iconic British rock band Pink Floyd has finally agreed to sell their recorded music and name and likeness rights to Sony Music for approximately $400 million. The deal, one of the largest of many in recent years, concluded despite decades of ongoing infighting between the band members, notably chief songwriters … Continue reading Pink Floyd Sells Music Rights for $400 Million →

October 8, 1979 – Fleetwood Mac release their first double album, Tusk, which is the follow-up to Rumours.  Costing over $1 million to record, at the time it was the most expensive rock album ever made.  It sold 4 million copies worldwide, and featured the USC Trojan Marching Band on the title song “Tusk.” October 8, 2010 – Ozzy Osbourne blasts … Continue reading CDJ Today: October 8 in Classic Rock →

October 7, 1984 – Dee Snider is arrested after a concert in Amarillo, TX for using “profane and abusive” language.  According to Snider, a mom who had escorted her daughter to the show filed a complaint after Snider screamed, “Suck my mutha-f****n’ d**k!” at a concertgoer who was harassing him.  Snider would pay a whopping fine of $75. October … Continue reading CDJ Today: October 7 in Classic Rock →

October 6, 1990 – A Gathering of Tribes, a two-day concert said to be the inspiration behind Lollapalooza, is staged in Mountain View, CA and Costa Mesa, CA by The Cult’s Ian Astbury and promoter Bill Graham. Artists on the bill include Soundgarden, Ice-T, Indigo Girls, Queen Latifah, Joan Baez, Steve Jones, Michelle Shocked, Iggy … Continue reading CDJ Today: October 6 in Classic Rock →

October 5, 2003 – Surviving Nugent, Ted Nugent’s reality show, set on Nugent’s 2000-acre Michigan ranch, premieres on VH1. Seven contestants compete in a series of challenges, like building an outhouse and skinning a boar, for a new pickup truck and $25,000. October 5, 2008 – Ritchie Blackmore and Candice Night finally tie the knot after dating for 20 years. … Continue reading CDJ Today: October 5 in Classic Rock →

October 4, 1986 – Dan Rather is mugged by two men who repeatedly ask him “Kenneth, what’s the frequency?” The incident later influences the R.E.M. song “What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?”  Years later, in 1994, in an attempt to get in contact with someone who might be able to identify the frequency and put an end to the voices … Continue reading CDJ Today: October 4 in Classic Rock →

October 3, 1978 – The members of Aerosmith bail out 28 fans who are arrested for smoking pot and underage drinking at their concert in Fort Wayne, Indiana. They pay approximately $4,200 in bail and fines. October 3, 1992 – Sinead O’Connor, without telling producers in advance, tears up a photo of Pope John Paul II on Saturday Night … Continue reading CDJ Today: October 3 in Classic Rock →

October 2, 1996 – Several people are injured when a Pearl Jam show in Hartford, CT gets out of control. Police estimate there is a crowd of 30,000 with only 36 security officers to quell the large-scale fights that break out. October 2, 2002 – Adam Ant (real name Stuart Goddard) pleads guilty to threatening pubgoers who had mocked his cowboy-style clothes. … Continue reading CDJ Today: October 2 in Classic Rock →

October 1, 1982 – Sony introduces the first digital compact-disc player in Tokyo, which sells for about $730. October 1, 2011 – Gene Simmons of KISS, finally marries Shannon Tweed, his partner of 28 years at the Beverly Hills Hotel in front of 400 guests. Tweed, who met Simmons at the Playboy mansion and was Hugh Hefner’s partner … Continue reading CDJ Today: October 1 in Classic Rock →