February 17th

2004: Former Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic pulled out of the race for lieutenant governor of Washington, his reason given was “I found out firsthand that it’s really considered bad form to run against an incumbent of your own party”.

Don Henley attacked the current state of the music industry in the Washington Post in an editorial saying when he started in the business “music was vital and important to our culture”. He also added “Labels signed cutting edge artists & FM radio offered an incredible variety of music, music touched fans in a unique and personal way & our culture was enriched & the music business was healthy. That’s all changed.”

1996: A Platinum American Express card that once belonged to Bruce Springsteen sold for $4,500 at a memorabilia sale in New York. Springsteen let a waiter in a Los Angeles restaurant keep the card as a souvenir after giving the expired card by mistake.

1990: Aerosmith appeared on Saturday Night Live both as performers & appearing in a Wayne’s World sketch debating the fall of communism & the Soviet Union. Aerosmith also performed the theme of Wayne’s World, Janie’s Got a Gun & Monkey on my Back.

1988: A 12 year old boy in Hollywood, FL set his legs on fire & suffered burns over 10 percent of his body while trying to imitate a stunt in Motley Crue’s music video Live Wire. Motley Crue issued a statement saying their stunts should not be tried at home.

1969: Johnny Cash & Bob Dylan had a recording session together in Nashville at CBS Studios. The only song released from the sessions was Girl from the North Country which appeared on Dylan’s Nashville Skyline album.

1960: Elvis Presley received his first gold album for his sophomore album Elvis.

Birthdays:
Gene Pitney born in 1940