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Paraskavedekatriaphobia is a word that in the Greek breaks down to, Paraskeví, meaning Friday and dekatreís, meaning thirteen.  This is a form of a fear of the number 13.  Old superstition states that 13 is an unlucky number and that Friday is an unlucky day.  The earliest known written reference in English for Friday the 13th appeared in  Gioachino Rossini's 1869 biography.

[Rossini] was surrounded to the last by admiring and affectionate friends; and if it be true that, like so many other Italians, he regarded Friday as an unlucky day, and thirteen as an unlucky number, it is remarkable that on Friday, the 13th of November, he died.¹

Welcome to a Friday the 13th edition of This Day In Rock.  Of course, throughout time, the 13th hasn't always fallen on a Friday.  And in looking it over, only one of today's facts actually took place on a Friday the 13th.  On Friday the 13th, 1914, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, also known as the ASCAP was founded in New York City.

I love the Monkees.  When I was a kid, I used to love watching their TV show but unlike all the girls who LOVED Davey, my favorite monkee was Peter Tork.  I loved the goofiness of his personality in the show.  And today, is Mr. Peter Tork's birthday and I hope that it is a very happy and lucky birthday for him as he turns 67.

I HATE discrimination, but sadly it is very prominent in today's world.  I get tired of hearing rockers referred to as freaks because they have long hair, tattoos or piercings.  And although it is illegal to discriminate against someone due to things like this when it comes to getting a job, I can guarantee you that they will find some other technicality to get you on so they don't have to hire you and not come out and say that your appearance is why.  I don't say this because I have two tats of my own, I say this because it is the sad truth.  I think Bob Seger summed it up in his song Turn The Page with the lyrics,

Well you walk into a restaurant,
strung out from the road
And you feel the eyes upon you
as you're shakin' off the cold
You pretend it doesn't bother you
but you just want to explode

Most times you can't hear 'em talk,
other times you can
All the same old cliches,
"Is that a woman or a man?"
And you always seem outnumbered,
you don't dare make a stand

Of course today there is a lot more tolerance that there was in the 70's.  In 1972, the members of Led Zeppelin were not even allowed off of the plane when they landed in Singapore due to their long hair and were forced to cancel their show.

Another thing that I don't understand, and I probably never will, is why people feel they have to vandalize the graves of musicians who have passed on before us.  In 1982, the stone that marked the grave of Lynard Skynyrd singer Ronnie Van Zant was stolen from an Orange Park, Florida cemetery.  The 300 pound stone would be found two weeks later in a dry river bed.

After reading this next fact, I tried to find some information concerning the history of the award that is mentioned, but have fallen short in my search.  The one thing that I did discover, is that it is considered the Oscar for the guitar industry.  That award is the Orville H. Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award.  In 2001, this illustrious award was presented to Mr. Peter Frampton.

As a lover of music, I can honestly say that I enjoy music from just about every genre there is, with the exception of music like gangster rap.  For the most part, I am pretty well rounded.  I can without a doubt thank my mother for that.  She exposed me to just about ever format of music there is.  She was who instilled in me to have music playing throughout the day and not the TV, something I practice to this day.  So, even though it will make most hard rockers cringe to hear it, I have an appreciation for some country music as well as rock.  One of the albums that she played was The Outlaws: Wanted!  with Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Jessie Colter and Tompall Glaser.  It is because this next fact stirred such an nostalgic remembrance within me that I decided to include it.  Of course, you'll probably recognize him from singing the theme to the hit TV show, The Dukes of Hazzard.  At the age 64, in his Arizona home, Waylon Jennings lost his battle with diabetes related health problems and passed away.

In 1969, album art and reel to reel tapes that appeared to be from The Beatles White Album and Abbey Road sessions were stolen from the band's London recording studio, but resurfaced this day in 2003 during an Australian police raid.

Whether your are superstitious or not, I hope that your Friday the 13th brings you nothing but greatness!  Be sure to come back next week and see what happened on This Day In Rock.

¹ Henry Sutherland Edwards, The Life of Rossini, 1869, p. 340.