Tomorrow's Almanac

Rock 'n' Roll Almanac for Wednesday, February 18, 2026

93 years ago 1933Yoko Ono is born.
85 years ago 1941Singer Herman Santiago of Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, is born.
85 years ago 1941New Orleans' “Queen of Soul” Irma Thomas is born in Ponchatoula, Louisiana.
79 years ago 1947Dennis DeYoung of Styx is born.
73 years ago 1953Robbie Bachman, drummer with Bachman Turner Overdrive, is born.
70 years ago 1956The Platters hit The Great Pretender peaks at #1 on the pop chart.
70 years ago 1956Pat Boone's cover version of Little Richard's Tutti Frutti hits #12 on the pop chart.
58 years ago 1968Guitarist Dave Gilmour joins Pink Floyd replacing founder Syd Barrett, who checks into a psychiatric hospital before going into seclusion.
57 years ago 1969Pop stars Lulu and Bee Gee Maurice Gibb are wed at St. James' Church, Gerrard's Cross, Buchs, England. Three thousand uninvited guests turn out for the affair.
56 years ago 1970Yoko Ono celebrates her 37th birthday and to mark the occasion, John Lennon throws a party at the London offices of Apple Records.
54 years ago 1972Neil Young receives a gold record for Harvest, the only #1 record of his lengthy career. The album includes the #1 single Heart of Gold.
52 years ago 1974Yes plays the first of two nights at Madison Square Garden. What's remarkable about the engagement is the first date sold out without any advertising. Fans learned of the show from listings at ticket outlets and bought out the house within a few days.
52 years ago 1974Kiss, a New York heavy-metal group, release their debut album, Kiss. It will take the band three more attempts to establish itself. Kiss barely cracks the Hot 100.
52 years ago 1974Ringo Starr releases the third hit single from his Ringo LP, Oh My My, which climbs to #5 in April.
48 years ago 1978Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers'Breakdown peaks at #40 on the chart.
46 years ago 1980Bill Wyman announces that he will leave the Rolling Stones in 1983. He is persuaded not to and stays 9 more years, eventually leaving in 1992.
34 years ago 1992Vince Neil quits as lead singer of Mötley Crüe, after 11 years with the group. He says he wants to spend more time on his career as a race car driver. 5 years later, it seems he has changed his mind as he reunites with his bandmates on the American Music Awards.
31 years ago 1995Hootie and the Blowfish's Hold My Hand peaks at #10 on the pop chart.
31 years ago 1995Bob Stinson, a founding member of The Replacements dies in Minneapolis of complications from drug and alcohol abuse.
21 years ago 2005Lawyers for Tonight Show host Jay Leno file a motion in the court hearing the Michael Jackson child molestation case to have Judge Rodney Melville clarify his gag order on people involved in the case. The day before, Leno had been subpoenaed as a witness. Leno wants to make sure he can still zing Michael in his Tonight Show monologues. The jury acquits Michael of all charges nearly four months later.
20 years ago 2006Barry and Robin Gibb, two thirds of the Bee Gees, reunite on stage at a Miami charity concert. It's their first since brother Maurice Gibb died three years earlier.
20 years ago 2006The Rolling Stones kick off Carnival in Brazil a week early with a free concert before a crowd of over a million people at Copacabana Beach.
19 years ago 2007Counting Crows singer Adam Duritz says he’s starting a new record label, Tyrannosaurus Records. Its first releases will be from Blacktop Mourning, a Chicago punk-pop band, and New York rapper Notar. Duritz discovered both acts on MySpace.com.
18 years ago 2008New Orleans’ music and performers rock the New Orleans Arena during halftime of the NBA All Star game. Performers include Harry Connick, Jr., Dr. John, Davell Crawford, Allen Toussaint, and the Rebirth Brass Band. Branford Marsalis, Stephanie Jordan, and Jonathan Dubose had served up a soulful Star Spangled Banner before tipoff.

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