U2 topped the UK singles charts with "Desire" on October 8th of 1988. It was their first UK #1 single. It stayed at #1 for one week. "Desire" aslo made it to #3 on the US charts.
"Desire" was featured on the 1988 U2 album Rattle and Hum.
The video for "Desire" below is from the accompanying Rattle and Hum movie and includes snippets of interview before and after.
Slade went to #1 on the UK album charts on October 3rd of 1973 with Sladest. The album stayed at #1 for 3 weeks. This was a compilation album by the British glam rock band.
The compilation album included five UK #1 singles including their best known hit "Cum on Feel the Noize" which is more well known in the US for the cover by Quiet Riot from 1983. Oasis also covered this song and included it as a b-side to their 1996 single "Don't Look Back in Anger."
Although they never had great commercial success in the US they were an influence on many US bands including Kiss, and the Ramones.
The Beatles released the first single of their career on October 5th of 1962. The song was "Love Me Do" and it would later be included on their first album Please Please Me.
While it only reached #17 upon it's initial release in the UK, it would reach #1 in the United States as a single in 1964. It reached #4 in Canada in 1964. And it also reached #4 in the UK upon it's re-release in 1982.
"Love Me Do" was recorded with three different drummers; Pete Best, Andy White, & Ringo Starr. All three versions have been released. The Pete Best version was included in 1995's Anthology 1. The Andy White version was released on Please Please Me. The Ringo Starr version can be heard on the Past Masters Vol. 1 collection.
The Beatles hit the top of the UK album charts with Abbey Road on October 4th of 1969. It stayed at #1 for 11 weeks before the Rolling Stones' Let It Bleed took the top spot for one week. Abbey Road went back to #1 for another 6 weeks after that.
The album was named after the studio where the Beatles recorded all of their albums, Abbey Road Studios. Pink Floyd recorded many of their most famous albums there as well including Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, and Piper at the Gates of Dawn.
Abbey Road Studios is named after Abbey Road which is the street in front of the recording studio. This street is featured on the album cover of Abbey Road with a photo of the Beatles crossing the cross walk.
Abbey Road was the final album the Beatles recorded, although Let It Be would be the final album released when it came out in 1970.
Like almost all of the Beatles recordings it was produced by George Martin and engineered by Geoff Emerick.
The album is known for a great contrast between the first side of the LP and the second. The first side has six individual songs "Come Together," "Something," "Maxwell's Silver Hammer," "Oh! Darling," "Octopus's Garden," and "I Want You (She's So Heavy.") While the second side features two songs ("Here Comes the Sun" and "Because") before going into a medley which consisted of some fully realized songs like "You Never Give Me Your Money" (which starts the medley off) and some shorter song fragments like "Mean Mr. Mustard."
The album has been ranked among the best of all time by many. In 2001 VH1 ranked it the 8th greatest album ever. In 2003 it ranked #14 on the Rolling Stone's list of the top 500 albums of all time. It's currently ranked as the second best album of all time on RateYourMusic.com, the Beatles also rank #1 with 1966's Revolver.
The Beatles never performed any of the songs from Abbey Road live.
Here's the second track from the album, "Something," performed by Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, and many others at the Concert For George in 2002:
Legendary guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan was born on October 3rd of 1954 in Dallas, Texas.
Vaughan had five studio albums to his credit at the time of his death (including one with his brother Jimmie Vaughan as "The Vaughan Brothers.") They were 1983's Texas Flood, 1984's Couldn't Stand the Weather, 1985's Soul to Soul, 1989's In Step and 1990's Family Style (with his brother Jimmie Vaughan.)
He died in a helicopter crash on August 27, 1990 at the age of 35.
"Pride and Joy" from his debut album Texas Flood may be his most famous song. Watch a live performance of this song below:
Don McLean was born on October 2nd of 1945 in New Rochelle, New York.
McLean is most well known for his 1971 song "American Pie" which hit #1 in the US and #2 in the UK.
"American Pie" was partly inspired by the February 3, 1959 plane crash which killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper. The phrase "The day the music died" in the song is a reference to this event.
Donny Hathaway was born on October 1st of 1945 in Chicago, Illinois.
Hathaway was a successful R&B singer songwriter in the 1970s with his top charting album being 1972's Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway which hit #3. This, as I'm sure you can tell by the name, was a duet album with Roberta Flack.
His highest charting album on his own was 1972's Live which true to it's name was a live album. It reached #18 on the US charts. The album features covers of songs like "You've Got a Friend" by Carole King and "Jealous Guy" by John Lennon.
He committed suicide on January 13, 1979 at the age of 33.
Cliff Richard & The Shadows hit the top of the UK singles charts with "Traveling Light" on September 30th of 1959. It stayed at the top of the charts for 5 weeks.
Cliff Richard has been one of the most successful artists in UK history but has had little success in America where he is largely unknown.
Cliff Richard became the first rock start to be knighted in 1995. Paul McCartney and Elton John would be the next two to receive the honor.
New Edition went to #1 on the US album charts on September 28th of 1996 with Home Again. It stayed at #1 for one week. This was their first album since 1988's Heart Break. This was their first album since 1985's All for Love to feature Bobby Brown.
Strangely enough Home Again was the first New Edition album to hit #1 in the US. Their previous peak was #6 with 1984's self titled New Edition which was their second album.
Home Again featured two top 10 hits: "Hit Me Off" and "I'm Still In Love With You."
The British R&B group Five Star hit #1 on the UK album charts on September 27th of 1986 with Silk And Steel. It was their only #1 album in the UK and it stayed at the top of the charts for one week.
The members of Five Star were 3 sisters and 2 brothers. Denise Pearson, Doris Pearson, Lorraine Pearson, Stedman Pearson Jr, and Delroy Pearson. They were quite young at the time and became the youngest group to ever reach #1 in the UK (average age of 19.5) although this record was later broken Mcfly in 2005.
Although Five Star had a lot of success in the UK with four top 20 album in the 1980s, they were never able to hit it big in the US. Their highest charting US album was their debut Luxury of Life in 1985 which got to #57 in the US (and #12 in the UK.) And while Silk And Steel made it to #1 in the UK, it only reached #80 in the US.
Lorraine Pearson was engaged to Eddie Murphy in 1988 but they never married.
Silk And Steel included the hit single "Can't Wait Another Minute" which reached #7 on the UK singles chart.
The Manic Street Preachers hit #1 on the UK album charts on September 26th of 1998 with This Is My Truth, Tell Me Yours. The album stayed at #1 for three weeks.
The album featured the #1 UK single "If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next."
The promo video for "If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next"
Nirvana had their first #1 UK album with In Utero on September 25th of 1993. Although their previous album Nevermind was a big worldwide hit, it only reached #7 on the UK charts.
In Utero was Nirvana's 3rd and final studio album as lead singer, songwriter, and guitarist Kurt Cobain would commit suicide in 1994.
"Heart Shaped Box," "All Apologies," & "Rape Me" are probably the most well known songs from the album.
Nirvana's Nevermind was released 16 years ago today, on September 24th of 1991.
The album, Nirvana's second studio album and first major label release, is arguably the most influential of the 1990s.
Although Nevermind debuted at only #144, it reached #1 by January of 1992. It's sold approximately 10 million copies in America and about 20 million copies worldwide.
Along with it's commercial success it is one of the most critically acclaimed albums of the 90s and of all time for that matter. It ranked #1 as best album of the decade by Spin and Entertainment Weekly. It ranked #6 in Pitchfork Media's stop 100 albums of the 90s list. It ranked #17 in Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. It ranked #1 on MuchMoreMusic's list of the best 40 albums of the past 25 years in 2004.
Track listing (with live performance videos) 1. "Smells Like Teen Spirit"
Milli Vanilli went to #1 on the US Album Charts with Girl You Know It's True on September 23rd of 1989.
The album was the US version of their European hit album All or Nothing. It contained mostly the same songs just in a different running order and with a different title.
It featured three #1 US singles "Girl I'm Gonna Miss You," "Blame It On The Rain," and "Baby Don't Forget My Number." The title track "Girl You Know It's True" reached #2. "All Or Nothing" reached the top 5.
The albums success led to Milli Vanilli winning the Grammy Award for "Best New Artist" in 1990.
On November 12th of 1990 the German producer Frank Farian who masterminded the group and the album's recording admitted publicly that the two men known as Milli Vanilli actually had nothing to do with the recording of the songs on the album. They did not provide any of the vocals. The actual vocals on the album were provided by Charles Shaw, John Davis, Brad Howell, Jodie Rocco, and Linda Rocco. Farian recruited Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus to be the stars of the group because he felt the actual singers had an unmarketable image.
Farian found the Morvan and Pilatus in a dance club in Berlin, Germany. They were working as models and dancers at the time.
Oasis lead singer Liam Gallagher was born on September 21st of 1972, 35 years ago today.
Liam & his brother Noel Gallagher make up the core of Oasis and are the only members to have been with the group for all of their albums.
Through the group's first three albums there was a pretty defined structure with Liam singing most of the songs (although Noel took lead on some ballads such as "Don't Look Back in Anger") and Noel writing all of the songs.
Liam has written songs on each of the last three Oasis songs. He wrote "Little James" on 2000's Standing on the Shoulders of Giants, "Born on a Different Cloud", "Better Man", & "Songbird" on 2002's Heathen Chemistry, and "The Meaning of Soul", "Love Like A Bomb", & "Guess God Thinks I'm Abel" on 2005's Don't Believe The Truth.
Liam is most well known for his distinctive vocal style, his erratic behavior, & his seemingly constant bickering with his brother Noel.
Oasis on Letterman in 1995 performing the title track from their second album (What's The Story) Morning Glory?
Simon & Garfunkel reunited for a free concert at Central Park in New York City on September 19th of 1981.
Simon & Garfunkel were one of the most successful groups of the 1960s. They broke up in 1970 and went on to solo careers. They had reunited twice previous to this performance. Once in 1972 and once in 1975.
Over 500,000 people were in attendance for the show which was recorded & released as an LP and as a video.
They played some of their biggest hits like "Mrs. Robinson," "Homeward Bound," "America," "The Boxer," "The Sound of Silence," & "Bridge Over Troubled Water." They also performed quite a few of Paul Simon's solo hits such as "Still Crazy After All These Years" & "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard."
Willie Nelson and four members of his band were charged with drug possession on September 18th of 2006. This occurred in Saint Parish Marsh, Louisiana when Nelson and his band's tour bus was pulled over at a "routine traffic stop." They were driving from their performance at Austin City Limits on September 16th.
According to state police reports, 1.5 pounds of marijuana and 0.2 pounds of psychoactive mushrooms were found on his tour bus. They were charged only with misdemeanor drug possession.
Support NORML if you believe that marijuana should be legalized (it should be, by the way.)
Willie Nelson performing "Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain"
Australian filmmaker Baz Luhrmann was born on September 17th of 1962. Although he is not known as a musician he is credited with the #1 1999 UK single "Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen.)"
Luhrmann directed the 2001 musical Moulin Rouge! starring Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor.
The Luhrmann directed video for "Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen.)"
Bob Dylan entered the US Album charts at #1 with Modern Times on September 16th of 2006. One year ago today.
It was Dylan's first #1 album in the US since 1976's Desire. With this album's commercial success, Dylan became the oldest living musician to have an album top the charts in America. He was 65 at the time (and those of you good at math know this means he is now 66.)
Modern Times also went to to #1 in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Denmark, Norway, and Switzerland. It reached #3 in the UK.
It won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album.
"When the Deal Goes Down" is one of the songs featured on the album. A promo video was made for this song featuring actress Scarlett Johansson. Listen & watch below:
Steve Miller's "The Joker" (from the 1973 album The Joker.) Became a #1 hit single in the UK over 16 years after it became a #1 hit in the US (in 1974.) It's rise in popularity so many years after it's initial release was due to it being featured in a Levi's commercial.
Steve Miller performing the song live acoustically in 2006:
The Levi's commercial featuring "The Joker" that sparked it's revival in 1990:
The Strokes played their first live show at The Spiral in NYC on September 14th of 1999.
They would go on to release their debut album Is This It in 2001. The album was critically acclaimed with a 5 star review from Q Magazine and a 4.5 star review from Rolling Stone. Rolling Stone also ranked the album #367 on their list of the 500 greatest albums of all time in 2003.
One of the singles from the album was "Last Night" - Hear it (and watch the video) below:
Lauryn Hill reached #1 on the US album chart with The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill on September 13th of 1998. The album stayed at #1 for five weeks.
The album has received much critical acclaim including winning five Grammy Awards, ranking #37 on VH1's 2003 countdown of the great albums of all time, ranking #312 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the top 500 albums of all time.
The album featured the #1 hit single "Doo Wop (That Thing)"
Michael Jackson's Bad hit #1 on the UK album charts 20 years ago today, September 12th of 1987. The highly anticipated follow up to his 1982 album Thriller has sold approximately 32 million copies world wide and reached #1 in at least 15 countries.
The Beatles began filming the Magical Mystery Tour film on September 11th of 1967. It would premier on UK TV on December 26, 1967.
The accompanying LP would be released on November 27th in the US featuring new songs and some singles that had been released over the last 12 months but which had not yet been featured on an album. In the UK it was initially released just as an EP without the previously released singles (Strawberry Fields Forever, Penny Lane, Hello Goodbye, Baby You're A Rich Man, & All You Need Is Love.) Later, in 1976, the LP version was also released in the UK and today the LP version is an "official" Beatles album.
Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" turns 16 years old today having been released on September 10th of 1991. The song was the lead single (and first track) on the band's '91 album Nevermind which was released two weeks later.
"Smells Like Teen Spirit" hit #6 on the Billboard top 100 and was #1 on the Modern Rock charts. It also did very well internationally: It hit #7 in the UK, #3 in Sweden, #6 on the Swiss charts, #2 on the Norwegian charts, and #1 in France.
The First Live Perforance Of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" on April 17, 1991:
