Monthly Archives: November 2008

Billy Idol Was Born On November 30, 1955

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Billy Idol was born as William Broad on November 30th of 1955 in England.

The name “Idol” was inspired by a school teacher who described Billy Broad as “idle.”

Idol’s single “White Wedding” was taken from his 1982 debut album (titled simply Billy Idol.) It hit #6 on the UK singles charts when it was released there in 1985 two years after it reached #36 in the US in 1983 (it was #4 on the Mainstream Rock charts.)

“Eyes Without a Face” was a successful single from Idol’s second album, 1984′s Rebel Yell. It was his first top 10 hit in the US, reaching #4 on the US singles charts. It reached #18 in the UK. It also reached #10 in Germany, #14 in Italy, and #21 in Switzerland.

In 1987 Idol’s live cover of “Mony Mony” (originally by Tommy James & the Shondells) reached #1 on the US singles charts. It went to #7 in the UK and also charted in many other countries around the world.

1990′s “Cradle of Love” was included on Idol’s 4th album, Charmed Life. It was also featured in the movie The Adventures of Ford Fairlane. The single reached #2 in the US but only #34 in the UK. To date, it was Idol’s last major hit.

“White Wedding” Music Video

Jonathan Knight Was Born On November 29, 1968

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Jonathan Knight was born on November 29th of 1968 in Worcester, Massachusetts.

He was one of the five members of the very popular late ’80s/early ’90s boy band group New Kids on the Block along with his younger brother Jordan Knight.

In 2008 the “kids” reunited for the first time since they broke up in 1994. They released a new album, The Block, their first since 1994′s Face the Music.

The Block debuted at #2 on the Billboard album charts selling more than 100,000 copies in the first week. It reached #1 in Canada and #16 in the UK. The first two singles off of the new album have been “Summertime” & “Single.”

The New Kids On The Block Performing At The American Music Awards In 2008:

Whitney Houston Went To #1 On The US Singles Charts With “I Will Always Love You” On November 28, 1992

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Whitney Houston’s cover of Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You” (as the featured song on The Bodyguard soundtrack) hit #1 on the US singles charts on November 28th of 1992. It remained at #1 for a record breaking 14 weeks.

The Bodyguard was a 1992 movie starring Houston in her film debut & movie star Kevin Costner.

“I Will Always Love You” was originally released by Parton in 1974 and it went to #1 on the country singles charts on June 8, 1974. She re-released it in 1982 and it went back to #1 on the country singles charts on October 16, 1982.

“I Will Always Love You” Music Video

Tina Turner Was Born On November 26, 1939

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Tina Turner was born as Anna Mae Bullock on November 26th of 1939. Ike Turner changed her name to Tina Turner for showbiz reasons in 1960. They began to record & perform together as an R&B duo called The Ike & Tina Turner Revue at that time. They married in 1962.

The Ike & Tina Turner Revue had the following songs reach the top 10 on the US R&B charts:

1960: “A Fool In Love”
1960: “I Idolize You”
1961: “It’s Gonna Work Out Fine”
1962: “Poor Fool”
1962: “Tra La La La La”
1971: “Proud Mary” (#4 on the overall Billboard charts.)

While their commercial success was not staggering they were a very influential group. The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, James Brown, Ray Charles, Elvis Presley, Elton John, and Janis Joplin were among those who spoke positively of the group.

Turner released her first solo album in 1974 called Tina Turns the Country On (it did not chart.)

Her second solo album was 1975′s Acid Queen which tied into her role as the “Acid Queen” in the film version of The Who’s Tommy. It included covers of rock songs such as The Who’s “I Can See for Miles” & “Acid Queen” and The Rolling Stone’s “Under My Thumb” & “Let’s Spend the Night Together.” It charted at #115 on the US album charts.

It was not until 1984 at age 44 with her 5th solo album, Private Dancer, that Turner really became a superstar. The album reached the top 10 all around the world and has sold over 20 million copies worldwide to date. It includes “What’s Love Got to Do With It” which is her only #1 US single. “Better Be Good to Me” and “Private Dancer” also hit the top 10 on the singles charts.

She starred in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome with Mel Gibson in 1985 and her song “We Don’t Need Another Hero” (from the film’s soundtrack) became a huge worldwide hit (#2 in the US.)

In 1986 she followed up with Break Every Rule which was also a commercial success although not at the level of Private Dancer. It has sold over 10 million copies worldwide. “Typical Male” was the album’s biggest hit. It reached #2 on the US charts.

In 1993 her life story was used as the template for the film What’s Love Got to Do with It? The soundtrack featured “I Don’t Wanna Fight” which hit #9 in the US (#1 in Canada.)

“Typical Male” Music Video

The Beatles 1 Hit #1 On The UK Album Charts On November 25, 2000

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The Beatles’ collection of #1 singles (27 songs that hit #1 in either the UK or the US. In most cases the song hit #1 both countries) simply titled 1 hit #1 on the UK album charts on November 25, 2000. It stayed at #1 for 11 weeks.

The collection sold an incredible 3.6 million copies in it’s first week worldwide. And at last count it had sold nearly 27 million copies worldwide to date including over 10 million in the United States and over 2.7 million in the UK.

Only Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (4.8 million) has sold more copies in the UK among Beatles albums.

It was the biggest selling album of 2001 in the US (and #6 in 2000 despite having been out for less than two months.)

Buy The Beatles 1 On EBay

John Squire Was Born On November 24, 1962

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John Squire was born on November 24th of 1962 in England.

He is most well known for his work as lead guitarist for The Stone Roses, a band he formed with lead singer Ian Brown in the 1980s.

The Stone Roses’ self titled debut album, released in 1989, has received a huge amount of critical acclaim. In 2006 NME named The Stone Roses as the greatest British album of all time.

Squire co-wrote all of the songs on the album with Brown.

The Stone Roses second (and final) album, Second Coming, wasn’t released until 1994 and was (and is) considered by most to be a let down from their debut. The album was mostly written by Squire.

Squire left The Stone Roses in 1996 and started a new band called The Seahorses in 1996. They only released one album, 1997′s Do it Yourself, before breaking up in 1999.

Since then Squire has released two solo albums, 2002′s Time Changes Everything and 2004′s Marshall’s House.

The Stone Roses: “Fool’s Gold” Music Video

Guns N Roses: Chinese Democracy

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Guns N Roses’ (very) long awaited new studio album, Chinese Democracy, has finally been released (today.) It can be streamed online at their MySpace page and it can be purchased (exclusively) at Best Buy. It’s the band’s first studio album of original songs since 1991′s Use Your Illusions I & II.

Work on the album began way back in 1994 and it had already attained somewhat of a mythical status by the late ’90s as an album that seemingly would never actually be released. That mythology has grown to comical levels in the buildup to actually finally being released now.

The only remaining member of the band from it’s 1980′s peak is singer/songwriter Axl Rose and so it’s not surprising that the sound of this new Guns N Roses is far removed from Appetite for Destruction.

The album contains 14 tracks and is over 71 minutes long and has thus far received mostly positive reviews (from Allmusic, The A.V. Club, and Rolling Stone among others.)

According to Rose’s friend Sebastian Bach (of Poison) Chinese Democracy will only be the first in a trilogy of albums.

Chinese Democracy On EBAY:

chinese-democracy-[pa]-by-guns-n-roses-cd-nov-2008-geffen Chinese Democracy [PA] by Guns N' Roses (CD, Nov-2008, Geffen)
US $1.69
End Date: Saturday May-18-2013 20:32:33 PDT
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Radiohead: Weird Fishes Video By Tobias Stretch

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Radiohead ran a contest to have videos made for songs from In Rainbows and this video for “Weird Fishes” by Tobias Stretch was among the winners and I must say it’s a pretty awesomely weird video. Suitable, indeed, for a song called “Weird Fishes.”

Watch It:

In Rainbows On EBAY:

The White Album Was Released On November 22, 1968

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The Beatles self titled double album (better known as The White Album) was released on November 22nd of 1968.

The album is rated as The Beatles all time best selling album in the United States because each copy sold counts as 2 units. It is certified at 19 times platinum. It is currently ranked as the 10th best selling album of all time in the US.

The White Album contains 30 tracks which vary greatly in style from acoustic ballads like “Blackbird” to avant-garde experimental music such as “Revolution #9″ to heavy rock like “Helter Skelter.”

It ranks as the favorite Beatles album by many Beatles fans (including this one.)

While it lacks the cohesiveness of Sgt. Pepper & Abbey Road and the consistent brilliance of Revolver it makes up for it in adventurousness. This great variety helps it to retain it’s freshness more than any other Beatles album.

The White Album On EBAY

Mike D Was Born On November 20, 1965

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Michael Diamond (Mike D) was born on November 20th of 1965 in New York City.

Mike D founded the band The Young Aborigines in 1979 (yes he was about 14 years old at the time.) In 1981 Adam Yauch (MCA) joined the band and they changed their name to the Beastie Boys (on the suggestion of their guitar player at the time named John Berry.) In 1983 Adam Horovitz (Ad-Rock) joined the group. These three are still together today, 25 years later.

They began to shift from punk rock to hip hop in ’83. In 1986 they released their debut album Licensed to Ill which was a huge hit. It hit #1 on the US album charts and has sold over 9 million copies in the US to date. It includes the top 10 single (#7) “(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)”

The Beastie Boys have have released 7 studio albums to date. Their most recent being 2007′s The Mix-Up which is the band’s first instrumental album.

“Off The Grid” Music Video
(From The Mix Up)