It’s May 18th and here are some reasons why this day matters in rock history:

In 1980, Joy Division singer and guitarist Ian Curtis died by suicide in England at the age of 23. He had the Iggy Pop album The Idiot playing on a stereo with a note that read, “At this very moment, I wish I were dead. I just can’t cope anymore.”

In 1966, Bruce Springsteen spent his first day recording as part of the band The Castiles. The group laid down their track “That’s What You Get” at the Mr. Music Inc. studio in Bricktown, New Jersey.

In 1991, R.E.M. had the number one album in the country with Out of Time.

In 1967, The Rolling Stones recorded “We Love You.” Paul McCartney and John Lennon contributed backing vocals.

In 1985, Simple Minds had the number one song in the country with “Don’t You Forget About Me.”

In 2004, the BBC named Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood their composer in residence. In the role, Jonny had access to the BBC archives and use of the BBC Concert Orchestra for a piece he composed.

And in 1982, Joe Strummer reappeared after fleeing The Clash and moving to Paris for a month. He claimed his disappearance was due to exhaustion and doubts about his career.

And that’s what happened today in rock history.

(H/T: This Day in Music)

Greg Kretschmar