Historic events this week from Alice Cooper, Bob Dylan, Aerosmith, Guns N’ Roses, Peter Frampton and Bob Seger

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APRIL 7, 1988: ALICE COOPER NEARLY HANGS HIMSELF

Alice Cooper’s stage show has always involved mock executions. However, one night, Alice nearly hanged himself for real.

The piano wire that keeps Alice’s noose from fatally hanging him snapped.

THE WIRE SNAPS… AND IN AN INSTANT I FLIPPED MY HEAD BACK. THAT MUST’VE BEEN A FRACTION OF A SECOND…IF IT CAUGHT MY CHIN, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A DIFFERENT RESULT. IT WENT OVER MY NECK AND GAVE ME A PRETTY GOOD BURN. I WENT DOWN TO THE FLOOR AND PRETTY MUCH BLACKED OUT – ALICE COOPER, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY (2018)

APRIL 7, 2008: BOB DYLAN WINS PULITZER PRIZE

Having won Grammys, a Golden Globe, an Oscar & a Dove award; Bob Dylan became the recipient of the Pulitzer Prize in 2008.

FOR HIS PROFOUND IMPACT ON POPULAR MUSIC AND AMERICAN CULTURE, MARKED BY LYRICAL COMPOSITIONS OF EXTRAORDINARY POETIC POWER. – PULITZER.ORG

APRIL 8, 1975: AEROSMITH’S TOYS IN THE ATTIC

Aerosmith’s third album, Toys in the Attic, may not be their highest-charting album, but it remains their biggest. The 9x Platinum album contains the multi-Platinum singles “Walk This Way” and “Sweet Emotion”.

APRIL 8, 2016: GUNS N’ ROSES REUNION TOUR BEGINS

After a warm-up gig at The Troubadour in West Hollywood for a sold out crowd of only 500 (!), …the Not In This Lifetime…Tour finally got underway with two shows in Las Vegas. However, at the Troubadour show, Axl Rose fell and broke his foot.

He had to resort to singing from Foo Fighters’ “rock throne.” The very one Dave Grohl used in 2015 when he broke his leg.

APRIL 9, 2020: DYLAN’S FIRST US #1 SINGLE

Remarkably, Bob Dylan had never had a #1 single in the US until 2020. “Murder Most Foul”, a 17-minute epic about John F. Kennedy, Jr.’s assassination went to #1 on Billboard’s Rock Digital Song Sales chart with over 10,000 sold in its first week.

APRIL 10, 1976: FRAMPTON COMES ALIVE! IS #1
Two days after being certified Platinum, Frampton Comes Alive! was #1 on the charts.

The live album would spend 10 non-consecutive weeks at #1.

The only album to spend more time at #1 in 1976 was Stevie Wonder’s Songs in the Key of Life.

APRIL 12, 1976: BOB SEGER RELEASES LIVE BULLET
For years, Bob Seger and his live show were scarcely known outside of Detroit.

The incendiary performances on Live Bullet, which featured “Travelin’ Man/Beautiful Loser”, “Turn the Page” and “Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man”, finally made Bob Seger a household name.

Live Bullet would pave the way for the multi-Platinum success of Night Moves, which was released 6 months later.