It’s February 15th and here are some reasons why this day matters in rock history:

In 1964, The Beatles had their first number one album with Meet the Beatles! The record would remain at the top of the charts for 11 weeks.

In 1967, the band Chicago formed under the name The Big Thing. They later changed their name to Chicago Transit Authority and, finally, Chicago.

In 1979, at the 21st Grammy Awards, the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack won Album of the Years and the Bee Gees took home the trophies for Best Pop Group and Best Arrangement for Voices for “Staying Alive.” That same night, Billy Joel’s “Just the Way You Are” won the Grammys for Record of the Year and Song of the Year.

In 1988, Def Leppard was forced to cancel a concert in El Paso, Texas after singer Joe Elliott referred to the city as “the place with all those greasy Mexicans.” Following the comment, the band received threats that the show would be disrupted so they scrapped it.

And that’s what happened today in rock history.

(H/T This Day in Music)

The Downbeat