This Day in Rock History: December 28
Dec. 28 is the anniversary of a few important career milestones for some of the names often featured on this page, including The Beatles and Led Zeppelin. It’s not all…
Dec. 28 is the anniversary of a few important career milestones for some of the names often featured on this page, including The Beatles and Led Zeppelin. It's not all good news, though, as we also remember two pioneers of the genre who left us. These are the most important things that happened on this day in rock history.
Breakthrough Hits and Milestones
The two biggest career milestones reached by legendary bands on Dec. 28 happened in the same year:
- 1968: The Beatles' self-titled ninth studio album, also called The White Album, reached the top spot on the Billboard 200 albums chart, where it spent nine weeks. It also went to No. 1 in the U.K., making it a phenomenal commercial success for a double album.
- 1968: On the same day, a little further north, Led Zeppelin played their first-ever Canadian show, taking to the stage at Vancouver's Pacific Coliseum. Their 1968-1969 North American tour played a huge part in the band's rise in popularity in the U.S. and Canada.
Cultural Milestones
Dec. 28 is the day the rock world lost two prominent figures:
- 1983: The Beach Boys' singer, songwriter, drummer, and co-founder, Dennis Wilson, died aged just 39. The cause was accidental drowning, an ironic tragedy given that he was the only member of the band who actually surfed.
- 2015: Motörhead founder, frontman, and bassist Lemmy Kilmister died at 70 from prostate cancer. He got his big break as a member of the band Hawkwind in the early '70s before starting Motörhead in 1975.
Notable Recordings and Performances
At the end of the day, it's all about the music. On this day, we celebrate these iconic songs and performances:
- 1965: The Zombies released the hit single "Tell Her No." Alongside their two other major hits, "She's Not There" and "Time of the Season," it helped establish the band in the U.S.
- 1968: The Miami Pop Festival opened its gates at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale, Florida. Notable performers included Chuck Berry, Canned Heat, Grateful Dead, Fleetwood Mac, and Joni Mitchell.
These are the most memorable events that happened in the rock world on Dec. 28. Come back tomorrow to find out which events stole the headlines on that day in rock history.
