June 29, 1995 – The first TV commercial of Ringo Starr‘s career airs for Pizza Hut, as does a similar spot by the newly-reformed Monkees.
June 29, 2000 – Vandals break into tombs containing the remains of Lynyrd Skynyrd singer Ronnie Van Zant and guitarist Steve Gaines. Van Zant’s casket had been removed from its tomb but did not appear to have been opened. A plastic bag containing Gaines’ ashes had been removed from a metal urn and had been torn, but only a tiny fraction was spilled.
June 29, 1978 – Peter Frampton breaks his arm and cracks several ribs in a car crash in the Bahamas.
June 29, 2000 – Ron Wood of the Rolling Stones checks into a rehab center to treat his alcohol addiction.
June 29, 1969 – Jimi Hendrix’s Experience plays its last U.S. concert and then breaks up. Noel Redding announces he is quitting the band.
June 29, 1998 – George Harrison announces that he is undergoing chemotherapy for throat cancer. He says, “I’m not going to die on you folks just yet.” He passes away three years later.
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Classic Rock Birthdays
June 29, 1948 – Ian Paice, drums (Deep Purple)
June 29, 1953 – Don Dokken, vocals, guitar (Dokken)
June 29, 1953 – Colin Hay, vocals, guitar (Men At Work)
Classic Rock Remembrances
June 29, 1979 – Lowell George of Little Feat dies of a heart attack, possibly compounded by his drug addiction and obesity. He was 34. At the time of his death, George was trying to reform the band.
June 29, 2007 – George McCorkle of The Marshall Tucker Band dies of cancer. He was 59. McCorkle was a founding member and guitarist for the band and wrote their first top 40 hit “Fire on the Mountain”.
June 29, 1975 – Tim Buckley dies of a heroin overdose. He was 28. Buckley released nine albums and was the father of two sons, including singer/songwriter Jeff Buckley.
Top 20 Best Rock Albums of the ’90s
June 29, 2020 – Benny Mardones dies from complications of Parkinson’s disease in Menifee, CA. He was 73. Mardones was known for the hit song “Into The Night” which has now been memorialized in the history books of Billboard for having the Same Song, Different Recordings, Different Labels, Different Decades, and Different Centuries charted three different times.
June 29, 2021 – John Lawton, former lead singer of Uriah Heep, dies of undisclosed causes. He was 74. Lawton performed on four Uriah Heep albums in the late 70s and later rejoined them several times for a series of shows.
