November 5, 1999 – Gary Cherone is fired from Van Halen after recording just one album, 1998’s Van Halen III.
November 5, 2014 – Jack Bruce’s funeral is held in London, attended by Eric Clapton, Cream drummer Ginger Baker, band lyricist Pete Brown, Roxy Music’s Phil Manzanera, Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid and Procol Harum’s Gary Brooker. The superstars sing “Morning Has Broken,” “Strawberry Fields Forever” and “Theme for an Imaginary Western” in tribute.
Classic Rock Birthdays
November 5, 1963 – Brian Wheat, bass (Tesla)
November 5, 1959 – Bryan Adams, vocals, guitar
November 5, 1946 – Gram Parsons, vocals, guitar (The Byrds, The Flying Burrito Brothers) (d. 1973)
November 5, 1947 – Peter Noone, vocals, guitar (Herman’s Hermits)
November 5, 1971 – Jonny Greenwood, guitar, keyboards (Radiohead)
November 5, 1941 – Art Garfunkel, vocals (Simon & Garfunkel)
November 5, 1948 – Donnie McDougall, guitar (The Guess Who)
November 5, 1956 – Helen O’Hara (born Helen Bevington), violin (Dexy’s Midnight Runners)
November 5, 1961 – David Bryson, guitar, vocals (Counting Crows)
Rock Remembrances
November 5, 2005 – Guitarist Link Wray (born Fred Lincoln “Link” Wray, Jr.) dies of heart failure in Copenhagen. He was 76. Wray was credited with inventing “fuzz” guitar by playing a distorted guitar sound. Wray served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, and contracted tuberculosis, which doctors predicted would mean he would never be able to sing again. Wray had eight children with three wives.
