This Day in Rock History: February 6
Just three days before the Beatles were to appear on the Ed Sullivan Show for the first time, tickets for the event sold out. There were only 728 people in…
Just three days before the Beatles were to appear on the Ed Sullivan Show for the first time, tickets for the event sold out. There were only 728 people in the audience for that show, but it was broadcast to 23,240,000 people and reached a home audience of about 73 million viewers. There are plenty more interesting facts about what happened in rock music history on Feb. 6, and you'll find several of them right here, including breakthrough hits, cultural happenings, notable recordings, and changes and challenges.
Breakthrough Hits and Milestones
On Feb. 6, these historic breakthrough hits and milestones in rock music were all the sensation:
- 1965: "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" by the Righteous Brothers hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, where it stayed for two weeks. This is the most-played song of the 20th century.
- 1981: Although it wasn't released until May, George Harrison, Paul McCartney, and Ringo Starr recorded "All Those Years Ago." The song was a tribute to John Lennon, who was murdered the year before.
- 1982: J. Geils Band's hit single "Centerfold" reached the top spot on the US Billboard Hot 100, where it spent six consecutive weeks. Freeze-frame, the album that included the song, also went to number 1 on the US charts, going Platinum that same year.
Cultural Milestones
You can be sure these cultural milestones from Feb. 6 played a part in shaping the rock music industry:
- 1945: Bob Marley was born in Nine Mile, Saint Ann, Jamaica. He began his career as a teenager, sold over 75 million records worldwide, and was posthumously inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.
- 1958: George Harrison first saw the Quarrymen perform in Liverpool. The band, which already included John Lennon and Paul McCartney, would eventually evolve into the Beatles.
- 1962: Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose was born in Lafayette, Indiana. He moved to Los Angeles in the early 1980s and co-founded the band in 1985, releasing Appetite for Destruction, the best-selling debut album of all time, two years later.
- 1994: Nirvana left the U.S. on their In Utero European tour, which unknowingly was their last tour. The band played their last show in the U.S. a month before in Seattle, and their final show was on March 1, in Munich, Germany.
Notable Recordings and Performances
With these notable recordings and performances on Feb. 6, rock music would never be the same:
- 1975: At the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Canada, a police riot squad stood by during a Led Zeppelin performance. They were there to prevent a repeat of their 1972 performance, but there were no riots during the show.
- 1976: George Harrison released "This Guitar (Can't Keep from Crying)," the second single from his sixth studio album, Extra Texture (Read All About It). Lyrically, it was a sequel to the famous Beatles hit "While My Guitar Gently Weeps."
- 1984: The Talking Heads performed their last live concert together—with one exception for their Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2002—at the Sweetwaters South Festival in Christchurch, New Zealand. They played a short 12-song set, during which band member David Byrne walked off and had to be dragged back on stage.
Industry Changes and Challenges
The rock music industry had to go through these unfortunate changes and challenges on Feb. 6 to get where it is today:
- 1998: Carl Wilson, singer and guitarist for the Beach Boys, died of lung cancer at his California home at the age of 51. He was known for his vocals on popular hits like "Good Vibrations" and "I Can Hear Music."
- 2011: Former Thin Lizzy guitar player and solo artist Gary Moore was found dead in a hotel room in Spain. His blood alcohol level was reported to be .38%, which may have contributed to his death at the age of 58.
The rock music industry has had its share of hit songs, cultural shifts, major recordings, interesting performances, and challenges. But these Feb. 6 events from days gone by have helped to create one of the most popular music genres of all time.
