This Day in Rock History: February 9

Breakthrough Hits and Milestones 

• 1961: After performing as the Quarrymen and The Silver Beatles, the band that included Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and John Lennon performed as the Beatles for the very first time. It happened at the Cavern Club in Liverpool, where they ended up playing over 300 shows throughout the years. 
• 1963: Three years later, Beatlemania officially crossed the ocean and reached the US when the Beatles performed on The Ed Sullivan Show. It was their first live US television appearance and featured now-legendary songs like "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and "All My Loving" to an audience of over 73 million viewers. 
• 1972: Paul McCartney's Wings played their first-ever live show at Nottingham University in England. It was the first of 11 university shows all over the country, and McCartney's first live show since the Beatles stopped performing live in 1966. 

Notable Recordings and Performances 

• 1970: The Doors released their fifth studio album, Morrison Hotel, via Elektra Records. It was a return to the band's bluesy roots, featured the timeless hit "Roadhouse Blues," and went Platinum in the US. 
• 1974: Iggy and the Stooges played their last-ever concert before their 2003 reunion. It happened at the Michigan Palace in Detroit and was a chaotic affair, with Iggy Pop verbally abusing the audience and them responding by throwing objects at the band.

Industry Changes and Challenges 

• 2009: Robert Plant won five GRAMMY awards for his collaboration with Allison Krauss, including Album of the Year for Raising Sand. They had also won a GRAMMY the previous year for their “Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)” single. 
• 2024: Sony bought half of Michael Jackson's publishing and recorded masters catalog for around $600 million. This meant that the rights were valued at $1.2 billion, which was a record at the time and was surpassed by Queen selling their recording and publishing rights for 1.27 million a few months later, also to Sony.