Joey Ramone (1951-2001), singer with US punk band the Ramones, on stage during a live concert performance by the band, with drummer Tommy Ramone in the background behind his drumkit,…
Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty ImagesWelcome to another edition of Today in Boston ROCK, where I, Adam 12, spotlight Very Important Days In Rock History. May 19th is one.
1945
May 19, 1945: Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend is born in West London. The Who has always been the sum of its parts, and Pete Townshend is arguable the biggest part of the whole. Fittingly, the band was at TD Garden just last night. So Pete got to wake up in Boston on his 77th birthday.
1949
May 19, 1949: John Michael "Dusty" Hill is born in Dallas, TX. Had he not passed away last summer, Dusty Hill would have turned 73 today. The show must go on, however, and ZZ Top is still on the road, coming to town this summer.
1951
May 19, 1951: Jeffrey Ross Hyman is born in Queens, NY. The man who would become Joey Ramone and front the Ramones for over two decades is the very definition of an icon. I was lucky enough to see him in the flesh for the band's last-ever Boston show in 1996.
1954
May 19, 1954: Phillip Hugh Norman Witschke Rudzevecuis is born in Melbourne. Phil Rudd has played drums for AC/DC over three stints since 1974. And his birthday gives us the perfect opportunity to revisit the band's legendary 1978 Boston gig.
