keith moon

This Day in Music History — December 19

1965 : Keith Moon collapses during a Who concert in Ontario.

1975 : Ronnie Wood leaves The Faces and joins The Rolling Stones.

1980 : Nine To Five, starring Dolly Parton and featuring the classic theme song by the singer (where she uses her fingernails as an instrument) opens in theaters.

2012 : Madonna gets angry at fans at a concert in Santiago, Chile, for smoking cigarettes near her against her wishes. The singer lectures the audience: “If you’re going to smoke cigarettes, I’m not doing a show. You don’t care about me, I don’t care about you. All right? Are we going to play that game? I’m not kidding. I can’t sing if you smoke.”

2014 : Darlene Love sings “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” on David Letterman’s show for the final time, as the host has announced his retirement. When Love first performed the song on Letterman in 1986, it went so well that Dave made it a Christmas tradition, and every year she would come back to sing it.

This Day in Music History — October 21

1976 : Keith Moon plays what is to be his final show with The Who, a concert at the Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

1992 : Elvis’ first grandson, Benjamin Storm, is born to Lisa Marie Presley and Danny Keough.

1992 : Madonna’s book Sex is released. Everything about it is shocking: the $50 price, the Mylar wrapping, the metal covers, and especially the images inside. Steven Meisel’s photos show the singer naked in various erotic scenes, and a few celebrities show up as well, including Isabella Rossellini, Naomi Campbell and Vanilla Ice.

2003 : David Gest, recent ex-husband of Liza Minelli, sues the singer for $10 million, alleging physical and emotional cruelty.

This Day in Music History — September 17

1967 : Keith Moon of The Who rigs his bass drum to explode at the end of “My Generation” during the group’s appearance on CBS-TV’s Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, but doesn’t realize that the stage crew had already set the charge. The resulting explosion cuts Moon’s leg, singes Pete Townshend’s hair, and startles fellow guests Bette Davis and Mickey Rooney.

1983 : Vanessa Williams, who would become a popular actress and score a #1 hit with Save The Best For Last, becomes the first black Miss America. She gives up the title the next year after naked photos of her appear in Penthouse.

1998 : A 19-year-old named Amit Singh is removed from the plane after harassing the members of Hootie & the Blowfish on their flight from New York to Los Angeles.

1999 : Rapper Eminem is hit with a $10 million defamation lawsuit filed by his mother Debbie Mathers-Briggs. The suit charges that the rapper made defamatory remarks about his mother in several interviews, including that she was “pill-popping” and “lawsuit-happy.”

2009 : Avril Lavigne and Sum 41’s Deryck Whibley go their separate ways after being married since 2006.

This Day in Music History — August 11

1966 : At a Beatles press conference in Chicago, they try to explain John Lennon’s remarks that they are “Bigger than Jesus,” which has caused a media uproar. Part of John’s explanation: “I was pointing out that fact in reference to England – that we meant more to kids than Jesus did, or religion, at that time. I wasn’t knocking it or putting it down, I was just saying it as a fact.”

1972 : The mayor of San Antonio, TX, declares today “Cheech and Chong Day” after the popular comedy duo, although neither was born anywhere near the city.

1976 : Keith Moon trashes a hotel room – no surprise there. But this time The Who drummer is hospitalized after beating up his room at the Fountainbleau Hotel in Miami.

2004 : Vanessa Williams and her basketball husband Rick Fox get divorced.

2011 : Go-Go’s receive the 2,444th star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame. It is located where the legendary punk club, The Masque, used to stand. Go-Go’s frequently played this club during their early years.