Today in rock history: On this date in 1973, during a San Francisco concert kicking off The Who’s Quadrophenia tour, drummer Keith Moon passed out onstage after indulging in too many drinks and drugs. The wild and boisterous drummer, slumped over his kit, had to be taken offstage by roadies and stagehands. The rest of the band was left without a drummer until it found out that that a 19-year-old in the front row (who’d just moved to California from Iowa) was capable of taking over the drum duties. The young man, Scot Halpin, was brought onstage to play with the band and did so for several numbers. Guitarist and songwriter Pete Townshend agreed to coach Halpin and give him cues in order to stay the course in front of the sellout crowd. Meanwhile, Moon was placed under a cold shower and given a cortisone shot to help him snap out of his stupor. Moon eventually made it out to the stage and finished the set with the band. Afterwards, the appreciative band invited Halpin backstage and gave him a Who tour jacket. Halpin passed away in 2008 due to a brain tumor; he was 54 years old. Moon died at the age of 32 in 1978. Fast forward to 1:59:48 on the video above to see it all unfold.

Today in rock history: On this date in 1995, Florida native Tom Petty released his massive, six-disc career box set, Playback. Containing a treasure trove of rarities, previously unreleased songs and plenty of well-known hits and album tracks, the set was eagerly embraced by Petty’s enormous fanbase. To coincide with this mammoth release, a VHS tape that contained many of Petty’s music videos featuring his dynamic backing band, The Heartbreakers, was released separately (it would later be replaced by the handier DVD format). The deep collection that contained over 90 tracks in total features a variety of guest appearances by artists like Lenny Kravitz, Stevie Nicks, Al Kooper, George Harrison and The Bangles, to name a few. Playback is currently out of print but remains a cherished item for Petty fans worldwide.

Today in rock history: On this date in 1970, British rock band The Kinks released “Apeman,” the second single from the band's outstanding eighth album, Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One. Steeped in controversy for misunderstood lyrics and assumptions made by radio DJs, the band’s lead singer and chief songwriter, the always witty and clever Ray Davies, was forced to re-record one line of the song to avoid possible radio bans. The song’s lyric “…the air pollution is a-foggin' up my eyes…" was questioned due to Davies’s pronunciation of “foggin'’” sounding too much like an obscene word that also starts with the letter “F.” Due to the re-recording, “Apeman” was not released in the U.S. until a month after its British release. The single fared poorly on American charts, but “Apeman” rose all the way to No. 5 on English sales charts on the way to becoming one of the group’s biggest hits in its native country.

Today in rock history: On this date in 1976, singer/songwriter Paul Simon appeared on an episode of the sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live. In the opening sequence of the show, Simon appeared wearing a turkey costume in honor of Thanksgiving and began to perform his current hit single, “Still Crazy After All These Years.” Later in the program, Simon was joined by former Beatle George Harrison for a performance of Simon & Garfunkel hit “Homeward Bound” and The Beatles' “Here Comes The Sun.” This duet from the program’s second season remains one of the most memorable and beloved performances from the SNL's long line of musical guest stars.