This Week in Music History

October 15, 1973 – Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones is found guilty of trafficking marijuana in France. He is given a one year suspended sentence, fined 5,000 francs, and barred from entering the country for two years.

October 16, 1972 – Creedence Clearwater Revival breaks up today. It would be eight years until John Fogarty would find solo success with his two hits, ‘Center Field,’ and ‘Rock and Roll Girl’ in 1980.

October 17, 2008 – Madonna and Guy Ritchie announce the end of their seven year marriage. The press reported that without a prenuptial agreement Ritchie could receive around $25M of Madonna’s fortune.

October 18, 1949 – Joe Egan of Stealers Wheel is born on this day. Thirty-four years later, Joe Egan is enjoying success with his band’s 1973 hit, ‘Stuck In The Middle With You’.

October 19, 1966 – The Yardbirds land in New York for their 1st US tour with Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page on lead guitars. However, after only two dates of the tour, Beck developed acute tonsillitis and had to quit the group. He would go on to form The Jeff Beck Group, which would give Rod Stewart his first major exposure.

October 20, 1977 – Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines and Cassie Gaines of Lynyrd Skynyrd are all killed along with their manager Dean Kilpatrick when their rented plane ran out of fuel above Gillsburg, Missouri. The plane crashed into a wooded area in the middle of a swamp, seriously injuring the rest of the band and crew. They were on their way to play at show at Louisiana University later that evening.

October 21, 1997 – Elton John’s ‘Candle In The Wind’ was declared by the Guinness Book of World Records as being the biggest selling single record of all time. It had sold 31.8 million in less than 40 days and raised more than $32 million for charity.