It’s June 6th and here are some reasons why this day matters in rock history:

In 2004, Metallica played a rare gig without drummer Lars Ulrich, who was sidelined with an undisclosed illness. The show, which took place at England’s Download Festival, saw Slayer’s Dave Lombardo, Slipknot’s Joey Jordison and a Metallica drum tech sit behind the kit in place of Ulrich.

In 1970, Syd Barrett performed live for the first time since leaving Pink Floyd. He was backed by a group that included former bandmate David Gilmour but Syd confused the audience and his backing musicians when, after four songs, he took off his guitar and walked off stage.

In 1979, Def Leppard performed at a club in Sheffield, England. It got a good review in British music magazine Sounds and led to the band getting a record deal.

In 1969, Rod Stewart signed as a solo artist to Mercury Records.

In 1992, David Bowie married model Iman in Florence, Italy. The pair had a civil ceremony the month before but since it did not constitute a legal marriage, they repeated their wedding ceremony.

In 1994, Kiss singer Paul Stanley and his wife Pamela become the proud parents of their only child together, a son they named Evan Shane.

And in 1982, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, Stevie Nicks, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Joan Baez and more performed at the Peace Sunday, We Have A Dream anti-nuclear concert.

And that’s what happened today in rock history.

(H/T: This Day in Music)

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Ken Dashow