April 18, 1993 – David Lee Roth is arrested in New York City for buying a $10 bag of marijuana. Roth’s offense had a maximum penalty of 15 days in jail and a $250 fine but was ultimately “adjourned pending dismissal,” meaning the charges would be wiped out if Roth stayed out of trouble for a year.
April 18, 2015 – Lou Reed, Ringo Starr, Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Green Day, Bill Withers, and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band are inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Paul McCartney inducts Ringo Starr, Stevie Wonder inducts Bill Withers, Patti Smith inducts Lou Reed, Peter Wolf inducts the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Fall Out Boy inducts Green Day, John Mayer inducting Stevie Ray Vaughan and Miley Cyrus inducts Joan Jett & the Blackhearts.
April 18, 1987 – Headbanger’s Ball premieres on MTV, co-hosted by Motörhead’s Lemmy Kilmister and Phil “Philthy Animal” Taylor. The show replaced Heavy Metal Mania, which had been mainly hosted by Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider. The show ran until 1995.
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Classic Rock Birthdays
April 18, 1961 – Kelly Hansen, vocals (Hurricane, Foreigner)
April 18, 1960 – Mick Sweda, guitar, vocals (Bulletboys, King Kobra)
April 18, 1946 – Skip Spence (born Alexander Lee Spence) guitar, drums (Moby Grape, Jefferson Airplane) (d. 1999)
April 18, 1940 – Mike Vickers, guitar, woodwinds (Manfred Mann)
Rock Remembrances
April 18, 2012 – Dick Clark dies of a heart attack following prostate surgery in Santa Monica. He was 82. Clark was a disc jockey and television personality who hosted American Bandstand and introduced “rock & roll” to many teenagers. He was also the host and creator of Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, along with numerous other specials, game shows and TV award shows.
April 18, 2013 – Storm Thorgerson, whose album cover artwork includes Pink Floyd‘s The Dark Side of The Moon dies of cancer. He was 69. Thorgerson’s credits include six Led Zeppelin album covers, and many other covers for bands ranging from Peter Gabriel and Bad Company to UFO and Black Sabbath. After Thorgerson’s death, David Gilmour of Pink Floyd described Thorgerson as “a constant force in my life, both at work and in private, a shoulder to cry on, and a great friend.” A post on the official Pink Floyd website called him a “graphic genius.”
