This week in rock history (Feb. 28-March 6) features a gun-toting rocker, the TV debut of a heavy-metal star and his family, and the release of a smash funk-rock hit.
Twenty-seven years ago, former Jefferson Airplane/Starship vocalist Grace Slick greeted police in her Tiburn, CA, home with a shotgun pointed at them. Thankfully, Ms. Slick didn’t have an itchy trigger finger but was arrested for this criminal act. A few months later, the singer was sentenced to 200 hours of community service and three months of attending Alcoholic Anonymous meetings.
Nineteen years ago, MTV made headlines with the debut of its own reality TV show featuring, of course, The Master of Reality Ozzy Osbourne, his wife Sharon, and their offspring Jack and Kelly. It was a weekly hoot watching The Prince of Darkness in domestic blissdom, shuffling around in his bathrobe and slippers and mumbling whatever came to mind while enduring endless bickering and cursing from his clan.
Forty-six years ago, funk-rock was all the rage, and a Scottish band dubbed The Average White Band ruled the airwaves with its horn-driven instrumental “Pick Up the Pieces”, which climbed to #1 on the charts.