Today in rock history: On this date in 1972, the very first edition of Dick Clark's rock and pop-themed New Year's Eve special was aired. Titled Three Dog Night's New Year's Rockin' Eve 1973, the show was hosted by California-based pop band Three Dog Night, which was on the west coast of the U.S. while Clark reported from Times Square in New York City. Other performers on the very first program included Blood, Sweat & Tears, Al Green and Helen Reddy.
Today in rock history: On this date in 1959, Paul Westerberg was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Westerberg rose to prominence as founder, lead singer and chief songwriter for one of the important American rock bands of all time, The Replacements. He's since embarked on a solo career and remained a highly respected and revered artist.
Today in rock history: On this date in 1973, Australian band AC/DC made its live debut at a venue called Chequers Nightclub in Sydney. The band would soon become one of the world's biggest and most popular hard-rock bands.
Today in rock history: On this date in 1974, longtime British blues-rock band Fleetwood Mac welcomed two new members to a lineup that had already seen plenty of personnel changes. California-based rock duo (and real life romantic partners) Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks were welcomed and made official members, which drastically changed the group's sound and popularity. Within months, the new lineup wrote, recorded and released its first effort: a self-titled album which became an enormous success and boasted the hit singles "Over My Head," "Say You Love Me" and "Rhiannon." More success would follow; namely, the band's blockbuster 1977 album Rumors, which is still one of the highest-selling rock and roll albums of all time. A Buckingham-less Fleetwood Mac is playing Tampa's Amalie Arena on February 18.
This article appears in Dec 27, 2018 – Jan 3, 2019.