Tomorrow's Almanac

Rock 'n' Roll Almanac for Friday, February 20, 2026

85 years ago 1941Folk singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie is born.
80 years ago 1946Jerome Geils, guitar player for the J. Geils Band, is born.
76 years ago 1950Steely Dan's singer/bassist Walter Becker is born.
75 years ago 1951Randy California, guitarist with Spirit, is born.
63 years ago 1963Ian Brown of Stone Roses is born.
61 years ago 1965The Supremes enter the pop and R&B charts with Stop! In the Name of Love, which reaches #1 on the pop chart and #2 R&B. It's their fourth straight release to hit #1 on the Hot 10.
59 years ago 1967Kurt Cobain of Nirvana is born in Hoquaim, Washington.
57 years ago 1969Goodbye Cream, a film of Cream's November 26, 1968 farewell concert at London's Royal Albert Hall, opens in Baltimore to small crowds and very negative critical response because of poor sound quality and “arty” editing.
57 years ago 1969The film Candy premieres featuring Ringo Starr in his first non-musical roll.
56 years ago 1970John Lennon's Instant Karma is released in the U.S. The following day it enters the U.K. pop chart where it will remain for six weeks, rising as high as #.
55 years ago 1971Marvin Gaye's What's Going On and Santana's Oye Como Va are release.
52 years ago 1974Cher files for separation from Sonny Bono after 10 years of marriage.
51 years ago 1975Backstreet Boy Brian Littrell is born.
50 years ago 1976Kiss' arrival at the pinnacle of their U.S. stardom is noted with the placing of their footprints on the sidewalk outside Hollywood's Grauman's Chinese Theater.
44 years ago 1982Rocker Pat Benatar and her guitarist, Neil Geraldo, are married on the Hawaiian island of Maui. It's Benatar's second trip to the altar.
44 years ago 1982Genesis' Abacab peaks at #26 on the chart. They got the name for the song from the chord progression of the tune -- A-B-A-C-A-.
30 years ago 1996Rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg and a bodyguard are found not guilty of first-degree murder. The jury deadlocks on voluntary manslaughter charges and a mistrial is declared.
29 years ago 1997Ben and Jerry's introduces a new flavor, Phish Food, named after the rock group Phish. It contains chocolate ice cream, marshmallows, caramel and fish-shaped fudge.
28 years ago 1998The first of two concerts honoring the late Nicolette Larson is held at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. Artists performing at the shows included Crosby, Stills and Nash, Joe Walsh, Carole King, Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, and Jimmy Buffett. The four hour concert featured CS&N performing The Beatles.
28 years ago 1998Bob Dylan's Time Out Of Mind LP came out on top as 1997's best album of the year in the Village Voice's annual poll of U.S. pop music critic.
28 years ago 1998Elton John plays the first of two shows at The Great Western Forum.
21 years ago 2005Aerosmith's Steven Tyler announces that he and his wife of 17 years, Teresa, are separating. “We’re just a family trying to work through a difficult time. A little privacy and sensitivity--for Teresa, my children, and myself --would be nice,” asks Tyler. Chelsea, 16, and Taj, 13, are their children. Steven is also Dad to model Mia Tyler, 26, and actress Liv Tyler, 27 from previous relationships.
21 years ago 2005John Raitt, father of singer Bonnie Raitt, and the robust baritone who created the role of Billy Bigelow in the original New York production of Carousel and sang with Doris Day in the movie Pajama Game, dies at the age off 88 from complications of pneumonia at his Pacific Palisades home.
21 years ago 2005Sandra Dee, the 1960s teen idol who attracted huge audiences with films such as Gidget and The Restless Years and was once married to pop singer Bobby Darin, dies at age 62. Complications from kidney disease are the cause.
18 years ago 2008A woman convicted of stalking Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington is sentenced to two years in a Phoenix prison where she will likely receive mental health care. She had used her work computer at the Sandia National Laboratories to track and harass Bennington and hjs wife.

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