February 22nd

1989: At the 31st Grammy Awards held at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, Jethro Tull won the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance Vocal or Instrumental for their album Crest of a Knave, beating Metallica who were widely expected to win.

1987: Andy Warhol, the artist who painted the album cover of The Velvet Underground’s debut & designed the cover of The Rolling Stones’ Sticky Fingers died after a gall bladder operation in New York City. He was 58 years old.

1986: MTV celebrated the 20th anniversary of The Monkees by airing all 58 episodes of the Monkees television series.

1979: Rolling Stone magazine reported that Journey signed a sponsorship deal with a beer company, which became one of the first corporate sponsorship agreements between a company and a band.

1978: The Police appeared as blondes in a chewing gum commercial in the U.K. The group decided to keep the look.

1969: T. Rex kicked off their tour of the U.K. at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester. Their opening act on this night was David Bowie performing a one-man mime act.

1968: Genesis released their debut single, The Silent Sun. The song was a fusion of folk & pop, a far cry from the progressive rock they would later be known for.