February 25th

2003: Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Gary Rossington underwent emergency heart surgery. Rossington had gone in for a routine screening & was found to have severe coronary artery disease. The surgery was a success & Lynyrd Skynyrd postponed the release of their album Vicious Circle & tour dates.

1993: Toy Caldwell, the guitarist for The Marshall Tucker Band died of heart disease. He was 45 years old.

1985: U2 kicked off their first North American arena tour at the Reunion Arena in Dallas in support of The Unforgettable Fire.

1984: Van Halen reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for the first & only time with Jump, which began a four week run on top.

1982: Iron Maiden kicked off their The Beast on the Road tour in Dunstable, U.K. in support of The Number of the Beast. During this tour they performed 179 concerts in sixteen countries. When they toured North America, they opened tours for Rainbow, 38 Special, the Scorpions & Judas Priest.

1981: Rush received their first platinum album as 2112 was certified by the RIAA for sales of one million copies.

1957: Buddy Holly & The Crickets recorded That’ll Be the Day in Clovis, NM during their first session with producer Norman Petty.

Birthdays:
George Harrison born in 1943