It’s April 11th and here are some reasons why this day matters in rock history:

In 1961, Bob Dylan played his first live gig in New York City. He opened for John Lee Hooker at Gerde’s Folk City.

In 2014, Nirvana, Kiss, Hall & Oates and Peter Gabriel were among the inductees in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

In 1966, Buffalo Springfield, the group that helped launch the careers of Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Richie Furay and Jim Messina, made their live debut at The Troubadour in Hollywood.

In 1981, Eddie Van Halen married Valerie Bertinelli, star of TV’s One Day at a Time.

In 1967, on the way back from visiting The Beach Boys’ Smile sessions, Paul McCartney dreamt up the idea for the film The Magical Mystery Tour.

In 1992, Pearl Jam appeared on Saturday Night Live.

In 1977, Alice Cooper played in Sydney in front of 40,000 fans - at the time, the biggest rock show in Australia’s history. After the gig, he was placed under house arrest at his hotel because a promoter claimed he paid the shock rocker for a 1975 Australian tour Alice never did. The two settled after it was discovered the promoter also broke the agreement they made.

In 1994, Oasis released their first single, “Supersonic.” It would go on to be their first charting song in America, peaking at number 11 on the Billboard Modern Rock Songs chart.

In 1970, Peter Green quit Fleetwood Mac while on tour in Germany. However, to avoid a breach of contract, he agreed to finish the trek.

In 1981, Hall and Oates’ “Kiss on My List” started a three-week run on top of the singles chart.

And in 2002, in the desert outside of Las Vegas, Kid Rock proposed to the former Mrs. Tommy Lee, Pamela Anderson.

And that’s what happened today in rock history.

(H/T: This Day in Music)

Mel Taylor

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