Today in Rock

1998: Rush hits #35 in the US with Different Stages.

The Different Stages album cover.

The Blog is Back!

I'd like to inform you all that, after a one month break, I will be updating my blog again!

Weekly List: The 70 Greatest Rock Drummers of All Time

Here's the weekly list for the week of November 1st, the 70 greatest drummers of all time.

T-1. Neil Peart
T-1. John Bonham
3. Keith Moon
4. Carl Palmer
5. Ginger Baker
6. Terry Bozzio
7. Bill Bruford
8. Ian Paice
9. Mark Portnoy
10. Ringo Starr
11. Carmine Appice
12. Jeff Porcaro
13. Stewart Copeland
14. Tommy Aldridge
15. Bill Ward
16. Steve Smith
17. Mitch Mitchell
18. Michael Shrieve
19. Cozy Powell
20. Nick McBrain
21. Roger Taylor
22. Matt Cameron
23. Phil Collins
24. Nicky "Topper" Headon
25. Lars Ulrich
26. Simon Phillips
27. Michael Giles
28. Max Weinberg
29. Alex Van Halen
30. Brian Downey
31. Alan White
32. Nick Menza
33. Phil Ehart
34. Nick Mason
35. Scott Travis
36. Jim Gordon
37. Chad Wackerman
38. Ralph Humphrey
39. Jojo Mayer
40. Clive Burr
41. Pat Mastellotto
42. Greg Bissonette
43. Mick Fleetwood
44. Larry Mullen Jr.
45. Clive Bunker
46. Jabo Starks
47. Phil Taylor
48. Vinnie Appice
49. Phil Selway
50. Randy Castillo
51. Zak Starkey
52. Charlie Watts
53. Dave Grohl.
54. Tommy Lee
55. Chester Thompson
56. Steven Adler
57. Butch Trucks
58. Mickey Hart
59. Bill Kreutzmann
60. Taylor Hawkins
61. Dominic Howard
62. Pick Withers
63. Sib Hashian
64. Dave Abbruzesse
65. Jack Irons
66. Dean Castronovo
67. Jason Bonham
68. Chad Smith
69. Kenny Aronoff
70. Phil Rudd

Today in Rock

1947: Timothy B. Schmit was born.

1972: Genesis hits #12 in the UK with Foxtrot.

The Foxtrot album cover.

1982: Rush hits #21 with "New World Man".

The "New World Man" 7" single cover.

1985: MTV premieres the video "Sun City" by Artists United Against Apartheid.

The cover art for "Sun City"

1988: The Beach Boys' "Kokomo" was a hit.

The "Kokomo" 7" single cover.

Today in Rock

1946: Peter Green was born.

1965: James Brown reaches #3 with "I Got You (I Feel Good)".

"I Got You (I Feel Good)"

1965: The Who release "My Generation".

The "My Generation" 12" single cover.

1971: Duane Allman, guitarist and founder of the Allman Brothers Band, dies when his motorcycle avoided a truck in Macon, Georgia.

1982: The Who hits #28 with "Athena".

The "Athena" 7" single cover.

Today in Rock

1956: Elvis Presley's "Love Me Tender" was a hit.

The "Love Me Tender" 7" single cover.

1964: The concert film 'The TAMI Show' is recorded in Santa Monica, CA, featuring James Brown, the Beach Boys, Chuck Berry, the Rolling Stones and the Supremes.

The 'TAMI Show' poster.

1967: The Who hit #9 with "I Can See For Miles".

The "I Can See For Miles" 7" single cover.

1972: Emerson, Lake & Palmer hits #39 in the US with "From the Beginning."

The "From the Beginning" Japanese 7" single cover.

1989: Aerosmith hits #5 with "Love In An Elevator".

The "Love In An Elevator" 7" single.

Motley Crue hits #6 with "Dr. Feelgood".

The "Dr. Feelgood" 7" single cover.

Today in Rock

1973: Genesis hits #3 in the UK with Selling England By the Pound.

The Selling England By the Pound album cover.

Bob Dylan hits #12 with "Knockin' On Heaven's Door".

The "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" 7" single cover.

1975: Bruce Springsteen appears simultaneously on the covers of 'Newsweek' and 'Time' after 'Born to Run', his much-anticipated third album, quickly vaults to #3 on the album chart.

The 'Time' and 'Newsweek' covers side by side.

Today In Rock

1965: The Beatles are awarded England's prestigious MBE (Members of the Order of the British Empire). John comments, "I thought you had to drive tanks and win wars to get the MBE."

The Beatles with their MBEs.

1968: Steppenwolf hits #3 with "Magic Carpet Ride".

The "Magic Carpet Ride" 7" single cover.

1969: Elvis Presley's "Suspicious Minds" was a hit.

The "Suspicious Minds" 7" single cover.

1979: Foreigner hits #12 with "Dirty White Boy".

The "Dirty White Boy" 7" single cover.

1994: MTV premieres 'The Eagles: Hell Freezes Over'. The music special receives a 2.5 Nielsen rating and more than 2 million viewers tune in for this concert performance. This show marks the first time since 1980 that the band members Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmidt perform together.

The 'The Eagles: Hell Freezes Over' cover.

Weekly List: The 34 Greatest Rock Bassists

Here's the weekly list for the week of October 25th, the 34 Greatest Rock Bassists.

1. John Entwistle
2. Chris Squire
3. Jack Bruce
4. Tony Levin
5. Geddy Lee
6. Paul McCartney
7. Flea
8. Geezer Butler
9. John Paul Jones
10. Steve Harris
11. Cliff Lee Burton
12. John Deacon
13. John Wetton
14. Greg Lake
15. Tim Bogert
16. Andy Fraser
17. Trey Gunn
18. Berry Oakley
19. Roger Glover
20. Bill Black
21. Phil Lynott
22. Billy Cox
23. Felix Pappalardi
24. Mike Rutherford
25. David Ellefson
26. Robert Trujillo
27. Duff McKagen
28. Pino Palladino
29. Jeff Ament
30. Ron Wood
31. Dave Hope
32. Bill Wyman
33. Timothy B. Schmit
34. Tom Hamilton

Today in Rock

1966: The Jimi Hendrix Experience records its first two songs, "Hey Joe" and "Stone Free" at London's De Lane Lea Studios.



The Jimi Hendrix Experience in 1966.

1980: John Lennon's first new single in more than five years,, "(Just Like) Starting Over," is released.

The "(Just Like) Starting Over" single cover.

1984: During sessions for 'Southern Accents,' a frustrated Tom Petty strikes a wall and breaks his hand. His guitar-playing ability in jeopardy, he undergoes a successful surgery.

The Southern Accents album cover.

1988: MTV world premieres "U2 and Friends: Smile Jamaica," a concert special to raise money for the Jamaican Hurricane Relief Fund.



1992: Def Leppard hits #12 with "Two Steps Behind".

The "Two Steps Behind" CD single cover.

1996: Rush hits #5 in the US with Test For Echo.

The Test for Echo album cover.

1999: "Smooth," with lyrics and vocals by Matchbox 20's Rob Thomas, becomes Santana's first #1 single. It holds down the top spot for 12 consecutive weeks and is the longest running #1 single of 1999.

The "Smooth" 7" single cover.

Today in Rock

1977: Foreigner hits #6 with "Cold As Ice".

The "Cold As Ice" 7" single cover.

Today in Rock

1973: Joe Walsh hits #23 with "Rocky Mountain Way".

The "Rocky Mountain Way" 7" single cover.

1978: The debut performance of the Police in the United States takes place at CBGB's in New York.

The Police in 1978.

1995: Playback, a box set that marks Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' 20th anniversary, is released. One of the best of its kind, the six-disc set contains 92 tracks, plus a booklet, poster and laminated backstage pass.

The Playback album cover.

1998: George Martin's final studio project - a various-artists album of Beatles covers called
In My Life - is released, formally ending a 48-year career in record production.

The In My Life album cover.

Weekly List: The 11 Greatest Live Rock Drum Performances

Here's the weekly list for the week of October 18th, the 11 Greatest Live Rock Drum Performances.

1. O Baterista - Rush -  from Rush in Rio
2. Toad - Cream - from Wheels of Fire
3. Moby Dick - Led Zeppelin - from How the West Was Won
4. The Mule - Deep Purple - from Made in Japan
5. De Slagwerker - Rush - from Snakes and Arrows Live
6. A Quick One, While He's Away - The Who - from The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus
7. Soul Sacrifice - Santana - from Woodstock
8. YYZ - Rush - from Exit... Stage Left
9. The Rhythm Method 1997 - Rush - from Different Stages
10. Paint it, Black - Deep Purple - from Come Hell or High Water
11. Heaven and Hell - The Who - from Live at Leeds

Today in Rock

1926: Charles "Chuck" Edward Anderson Berry is born in St. Louis, Missouri.

1957: Paul McCartney makes his debut with the Quarrymen, a skiffle group founded by John Lennon.

The Quarrymen in 1957.

1968: Jimi Hendrix's version of Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower" is released.

The "All Along the Watchtower" 7" single cover.

          John Lennon and Yoko Ono are arrested and charged with possession of cannabis.

Lennon & Ono get into a police car.

Today in Rock

1986: Run-D.M.C.'s remake of "Walk This Way," a collaboration with Aerosmith's Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, enters the Top Forty. It becomes the first big rap-rock crossover hit, reaching #4.

The "Walk This Way" 7" single cover.

1988: Phil Collins' "Groovy Kind of Love" was a hit.

The "Groovy Kind of Love" 7" single cover.