April 28, 1978 has to be in the mind's eye highlights reel for Cheap Trick's members. It was the first of two nights the group spent on stage at Budokan in Japan, and the reception they got from 12,000 fan(atics) rivaled ones the Beatles got during their US tour.
A pair of MVP keyboard players were born this day; Chuck Leavell in 1952. A member of the Allman Brothers Band at the height of their popularity, who also formed the fusion band Sea Level and has been a de-facto member of the Rolling Stones on several albums and tours.
In 1955, keyboardist, violinist and synthesizer wizard Eddie Jobson was born. He was in the innovative band Curved Air and also did stints in Frank Zappa's Band, Jethro Tull, Roxy Music and others.
Other Noteworthy Classic Rock events on April 28 include...
1956 Cold Chisel's Jimmy Barnes born.
1963 Andrew Loog Oldham sees the Rolling Stones perform for the first time. He would later become their manager.
1966 The Beatles record Eleanor Rigby.
1968 Hair has its Broadway debut.
1969 Chicago Transit Authority releases self-titled debut album.
1975 Legendary FM DJ Tom Donahue dies of a heart attack at 46.
1980 The Grateful Dead release Go To Heaven.
1980 Alice Cooper releases Flush The Fashion.
Marshall Tucker Band’s Tommy Caldwell killed in a car crash in South Carolina.
1989 Jon Bon Jovi marries Deb Hurley in Las Vegas.
1998 Lynyrd Skynyrd releases Lyve From Steel Town.
1999 Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers awarded a star of the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
2002 Motley Crue's Vince Neil gets into an altercation with a producer in Las Vegas.
2003 Apple launches iTunes.
2005 Zakk Wylde goes wild with a baseball bat before a Black Label Society concert in Boise, Idaho. Concert is cancelled.
2008 A DUI conviction gets Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots a 192 hour jail term, 18 months of mandatory AA meetings and a $2,000 fine.
2014 Gregg Allman sues film makers for unpaid royalties from the movie Midnight Rider.
2022 Paul McCartney launchs his Got Back Tour Thursday night in Spokane, Washington after a three year touring hiatus due to the COVID 19 pandemic. Beatles, Wings and MACCA solo songs packed set also included Sir Paul doing a duet with the vocal track John Lennon recorded for I've Got a Feeling.
2023 Bachman-Turner Overdrive co-founding guitarist and singer Tim Bachman passes away at 71.
