FEBRUARY 20
TODAY IN 1959 A YOUNG 16-YEAR-OLD JIMI HENDRIX MAKES HIS STAGE DEBUT WITH AN UNNAMED BAND IN SEATTLE. HE WAS FIRED FROM THE BAND AFTER THE 1ST SET DUE TO HIS “WILD” PLAYING. DESPITE THIS ROCKY START, HENDRIX WENT ON TO HAVE A LEGENDARY CAREER.
TRAGEDY STRUCK TODAY IN 2003, WHEN 100 PEOPLE, INCLUDING GUITARIST TY LONGLEY, DIED FROM A FIRE AT A ‘GREAT WHITE’ SHOW IN RHODE ISLAND. THE BLAZE WAS CAUSED BY THE BAND’S PYROTECHNICS IGNITING FOAM SOUNDPROOFING MATERIAL AT THE EDGE OF THE STAGE.
AND THREE BITTERSWEET BIRTHDAYS TO THREE GUITAR PLAYERS NO LONGER WITH US: KURT COBAIN OF NIRVANA, STEELY DAN’S WALTER BECKER AND JOHN GEILS, THE NAMESAKE OF THE J GEILS BAND, WERE ALL BORN TODAY.