Today in rock history, on this date in 1969. John Lennon and Yoko Ono staged a protest of their own inside a hotel room in Montreal, Canada. For eight days, the couple embarked on a "bed-in" where they stayed in bed to not only promote world peace but to protest the Vietnam war. John and Yoko invited guests and even recorded a hit song while in the hotel room. The couple's now legendary protest single "Give Peace A Chance" was recorded while the two were carrying out their hotel room protest and with a whole lot of friends and fellow musicians surrounding them. This marked Lennon's first solo single while still a member of the Beatles.
Today in rock history, on this date in 1972. Fledgling British rock and roll band Mott The Hoople were given a gift. The band, who'd been at it a long time and, although releasing a string of strong albums had achieved little commercial success, were about to split up. David Bowie, who was a fan of theirs, gave them a song he'd written that he was about to record himself. "All The Young Dudes" instantly became a worldwide smash hit and brought Mott The Hoople plenty of record sales and success. The song was regarded as an anthem of the glam rock era and its impact and success convinced the band to stay together and continue to record and tour.
Born on this date in 1926 in Alton, Illinois — bandleader, composer, trumpet player and innovator, Miles Davis. A long and storied career that found Davis experimenting with and mastering various different styles of jazz makes him undoubtedly one of the absolute most important and influential figures of the genre. Davis died at age 65 in 1991 but the massive catalog of music he left behind continues to inspire and will do so for many years to come.
Today in rock history, on this date in 1948 in Phoenix, Arizona. Stephanie Lynn Nicks, better known as Stevie Nicks, was born. After embarking on a musical career with her then boyfriend, guitarist Lindsey Buckingham, the two released an album under the name Buckingham Nicks in 1973. The record was met with little success but once drummer Mick Fleetwood heard the track "Frozen Love" from the album, he invited the duo to become members of his band, Fleetwood Mac. The addition of the two led to the most successful period of the band's existence and Nicks played a huge role in that rise to fame. The singer/songwriter has scored plenty of hits as a member of Fleetwood Mac but has also had a highly successful career as a solo artist. Happy 69th birthday to the one and only Stevie Nicks. Read our review of Nicks' 2016 Tampa set here.
Born on this date in 1964 in New York City — rocker Lenny Kravitz. The musician and actor released his debut album "Let Love Rule" in 1989 and had scored plenty of hits and successful albums since then.
This article appears in May 25 – Jun 1, 2017.