TRH — Today in Rock History

September 30

1947 - Marc Bolan is born
1947 - Marc Bolan is born
Born on September 30, 1947, in Hackney, London, Marc Bolan would go on to invent glam rock as the frontman of T. Rex, trading his early folk duo Tyrannosaurus Rex for electric guitars, cosmic lyrics, and glitter under the eyes. Alongside drummer Bill Legend, bassist Steve Currie, and percussionist Mickey Finn, Bolan turned T. Rex into Britain's first true teen idol phenomenon of the 1970s, a wave the press dubbed "T. Rextasy" that rivaled Beatlemania a decade earlier. Hits like "Get It On," "Metal Guru," and "20th Century Boy" fused boogie riffs with androgynous swagger, directly paving the way for David Bowie, Queen, and the entire glam movement that followed. Bolan died tragically young in a car crash just two weeks before his 30th birthday, but his influence on rock's visual language never faded.
1972 - John Campbell is born
1972 - John Campbell is born
Born September 30, 1972, John Campbell is the bassist and a founding member of Lamb of God, one of the defining bands of the New Wave of American Heavy Metal movement that emerged out of Richmond, Virginia in the mid 1990s. Alongside guitarists Mark Morton and Willie Adler, drummer Chris Adler, and vocalist Randy Blythe, Campbell helped forge a sound built on groove laden riffs and relentless aggression across albums like Ashes of the Wake, Sacrament, and Wrath, records that turned Lamb of God into arena headliners without ever softening their attack. Known for his hulking stage presence and steady low end anchoring the band's chaos, Campbell has remained the band's rhythmic backbone through every lineup shift and hiatus since the group formed as Burn the Priest in 1994.
2018 - Kim Larsen dies
2018 - Kim Larsen dies
Kim Larsen, frontman of the Danish rock band Gasolin', died on September 30, 2018, at age 70 in Odense, Denmark. Formed in 1969 alongside Franz Beckerlee, Soren Berlev, and Wili Jonsson, Gasolin' became one of the most commercially successful rock acts in Danish history, blending gritty rock and roll with plainspoken, working class Danish lyrics that made Larsen a household name across Scandinavia. After the band split in 1978, Larsen built an equally massive solo career, with songs like "Papirsklip" and albums such as Va' Fa' Sk cementing him as one of Denmark's most beloved songwriters, often ranked alongside Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan for his storytelling. His death prompted a wave of national mourning, with fans describing him as the closest thing Denmark ever had to a rock and roll folk hero.
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