Happy birthday to the beat keeper and co-founding brother of Van Halen, Alex Van Halen - born on this day in 1953 in Amsterdam.  He and his brother Eddie became US citizens when Alex was nine.  Both had classical musical training on piano before Eddie took up drumming and Alex started playing guitar.  The pair flipped instruments after Eddie was blown away by his brother's playing of the drums to the Safaris 1963 hit song Wipe Out.

 

Other noteworthy May 8 events in Classic Rock include...

1917 Papa John Creach of Jefferson Airplane & Starship born.

1943 Danny Whitten, guitarist in Neil Young's band Crazy Horse is born.

1943 Yardbirds bassist Paul Samwell-Smith born.     

1944 Gary Glitter born.    

1951 Talking Heads drummer Chris Frantz born. 

1953 Fleetwood Mac’s Billy Burnette born. 

1970 Beatles Let It Be released.

1971 Alice Cooper releases Love It To Death. 

1972 Billy Preston becomes the first Rock act booked a New York City's Radio City Music Hall.

1977 Joe Bonamassa born. 

1992 Genesis open US tour in Dallas. 

1993 Mark Knopfler given honorary degree from the University of  Newcastle.

1984 Roger Waters releases The Pros And Cons Of Hitch Hiking.

1996 A judge rules photos from an X-rated home movie Motley Crue's Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson filmed could be published by Penthouse magazine.

1998 Johnny Winter added to Hollywood Walk Of Fame.

2006 Keith Richards undergoes brain surgery to address an injury resulting from a fall out of a palm tree in Fiji. Stones postpone European tour.

2008 Bruce Springsteen and his band do Born To Run in its entirety in Red Bank, New Jersey.

2009 Jimmy Buffett plays the Miami stadium that is home to the NFL Miami Dolphins when it is temporarily renamed Landshark Stadium for the Buffett branded beer.

2016 Rush opens R40 tour in Tulsa.

2021 Van Morrison releases Latest Record Project: Volume One...