This Day in Rock History: February 4
From breakthrough hits, major milestones, and cultural shifts to notable recordings, performances, and industry challenges and changes, rock music has been through a lot in its long history. In fact, on this day in 1951, Phil Ehart from Kansas was born. He’s probably best known for the popular hits “Dust in the Wind” and “Carry On Wayward Son.” If you’re ready for more rock history from Feb. 4, stay right here to find out what else happened on this day that’s influenced the industry.
Breakthrough Hits and Milestones
Several prominent rock music breakthrough hits and milestones came out on February 4 in previous years, including:
- 1965: The Righteous Brothers hit No. 1 on the U.K. singles chart with their song “You’ve Got That Lovin’ Feelin’,” which was also No. 1 in the U.S. at the time. In 1999, it was declared that this was the most-played song of the 20th century.
- 1974: “Benny & the Jets” by Elton John was released from his album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. This is one of the artist’s most popular songs and was his first Top 40 Hit.
Cultural Milestones
These Feb. 4 cultural happenings from years gone by have left their mark on the rock music genre:
- 2000: The members of ABBA turned down a substantial offer of $1 billion to reform the band. It was confirmed by Bjorn Ulvaeus that the band wasn’t interested in performing together again.
Notable Recordings and Performances
You may remember some of these notable recordings and performances that shook the rock music industry on Feb. 4:
- 1977: Rumors, one of the best-selling albums of all time with over 45 million copies sold worldwide, was released by Fleetwood Mac. All four of the album’s singles made it to the Billboard Hot 100’s top 10, and the song “Dream” hit No. 1.
- 1991: Rock group, Queen, released their 14th album, Innuendo. It was their last album released while lead singer Freddie Mercury was still alive.
- 2017: Black Sabbath, a band credited with being the inventor of heavy metal, had their last performance at the NEC Arena. Known as The End Tour, the band played a 15-song set in their last of 81 performances.
Industry Changes and Challenges
Rock music has had its fair share of changes and challenges over the years, including these events that happened on February 4:
- 1983: Karen Carpenter, singer from the rock duo The Carpenters, died at her parents’ home in Downey, California, of complications from an eating disorder. She was only 32 at the time.
- 2004: During a trans-Atlantic flight to London, Courtney Love was arrested at Heathrow Airport. She was alleged to have verbally abused the flight crew, who wouldn’t let her friend sit next to her in first class.
Past hits, milestones, cultural events, recordings, performances, changes, and challenges in the rock music industry from this day in history have shaped the genre into what it is today. You can expect these memorable pieces of history to continue to play a part in the future of rock music.
