Bay Area Bad Boy

On July 14, 1969, the independent counterculture road drama Easy Rider was released in theaters. Directed by Dennis Hopper, the film starred Hopper and Peter Fonda as two bikers traversing the American Southwest, alongside Jack Nicholson in a breakthrough performance that earned him an Academy Award nomination.

#OnThisDay in 1969, Easy Rider hit theatres and changed the road movie forever.

Opening with Steppenwolf's "Born to Be Wild," the film followed two bikers chasing freedom across the southern U.S.

Made on a tiny budget, it became a massive hit, earned an Oscar nomination for its screenplay, and inspired generations of filmmakers.

Beloved New Zealand actor Sam Neill has died suddenly aged 78.

Best known for his roles in the 'Jurassic Park' franchise, 'The Piano', 'Peaky Blinders' and 'Event Horizon', Neill passed away in Sydney surrounded by family, who said he remained cancer-free and "passed with the dignity that has characterised his whole life".

Damn, we lost another one! RIP Sam Neill, aka Dr. Alan Grant, aka John Trent, aka Merlin, aka a whole lot of other roles.

July 12, 1973

Detroit, MI USA 🇺🇸 Cobo Hall

Setlist: Rock and Roll, Celebration Day, (Bring It On Home intro) Black Dog, Over the Hills and Far Away, Misty Mountain Hop, Since I've Been Loving You, No Quarter, The Song Remains the Same, Rain Song, Dazed and Confused (incl. San Francisco), Stairway to Heaven, Moby Dick, Heartbreaker, Whole Lotta Love (incl. Let That Boy Boogie, I'm Going Down), Communication Breakdown,The Ocean

Perhaps the most famous Les Paul ever played.

Jimmy Page's 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard "Number One" originally belonged to Joe Walsh, who sold it to Page for around $500 in the late 1960s.

That single guitar was used to record and perform countless Led Zeppelin classics, becoming one of the most influential electric guitars in history.

From a $500 transaction…

…to rock immortality.

Jimmy Page is considered by many to be the greatest guitarist of all time.

Houses of the Holy marked a turning point for the band. Instead of their usual dark and heavy blues-rock, they incorporated brighter guitar tones and experimented with new genres such as reggae and funk.

July 10, 1973

Milwaukee, Wisconsin USA 🇺🇸 Milwaukee Arena

Setlist: Rock and Roll, Celebration Day, (Bring It On Home intro) Black Dog, Over the Hills and Far Away, Misty Mountain Hop, Since I've Been Loving You, No Quarter, The Song Remains the Same, Rain Song, Dazed and Confused (incl. San Francisco), Stairway to Heaven, Moby Dick, Heartbreaker, Whole Lotta Love.

Bonnie has been in the hospital in Portugal (where she has a home) for a few months now. She went in for an intestinal surgery that went very wrong. She had recently come out of a coma and passed away (quite unexpectedly) last night (7/9).

Remembering the brilliant and distinctively original British actor, comedian and writer on his 92nd birthday.

He was #BOTD on 7/8/1934 and sadly died at 48 on 12/2/1982.