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Today in rock history: On this date in 1944, reggae legend Peter Tosh was born in Grange Hill, Jamaica. Born Winston Hubert McIntosh, the singer, songwriter and guitarist was an original member of Bob Marley’s band The Wailers from the early 1960s through the mid-1970s. Tosh would soon after embark on a successful solo career that’s best represented by his essential, classic 1976 album, Legalize It. Tosh continued to release strong, consistent albums right up until 1987, the year of his unfortunate murder during a violent home invasion. Tosh was one of the sole artists to be signed to the Rolling Stones Records label which was created by the band itself. Tosh’s 1978 album, Bush Doctor, featured a hit version of the Smokey Robinson-penned song “(You Gotta Walk) Don’t Look Back,” a vocal collaboration with Stones lead singer, Mick Jagger, that charted respectably. Tosh was only 42 years old when he was shot to death on September 11, 1987.
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Today in rock history: On this date in 1985, A-Ha became the first-ever Norwegian band to score a No. 1 hit in America when its breakout single, “Take on Me” took over the top spot on U.S. charts. The trio benefited from the clever, eye-catching video that was created to accompany the song which became a regularly-featured clip on MTV at the time of its release. A-Ha wound up receiving six MTV Video Music Awards for the revolutionary clip and would score other hit singles in America, though none would chart as high as “Take on Me.” The video for “Take on Me” remains one of the most popular and recognizable music videos on the 1980s and, to date, has been viewed on YouTube more than 700 million times.
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Today in rock history: On this date in 1956, Elvis Presley released his second full-length album, simply titled Elvis. As Presley’s second album of the year, the record went straight to the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s pop albums chart (as his debut had) making Elvis the very first artist to have his first two albums go to No. 1 within the same year. The record featured Presley’s versions of “Rip It Up,” “Ready Teddy” and “Long Tall Sally,” which had all been recorded and released by Little Richard earlier in ’56. The album’s biggest hit was “Love Me” which went all the way to No. 2 on Billboard’s pop singles chart. The album eventually achieved platinum sales status and kept the growing wave of Elvis-mania soaring throughout the late 1950s.
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Paul Simon teaches lessons, leaves 10,000 Tampa fans a little teary-eyed, at farewell concert
Today in rock history: On this date in 1964, the very first album by eventually successful folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel was released. Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. was not an instant hit. Hopes were hight after the pair was signed by Columbia Records following its stint under its stage name Tom & Jerry, but the record was lost in the shuffle at a time when British bands like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones were dominating sales charts in America. After the record initially tanked, Paul Simon moved away to England and Art Garfunkel returned to school to further his education. It wasn’t until the following year, when “The Sounds of Silence” began receiving radio airplay that the pair’s career took off. To capitalize on the song’s newfound interest, the album’s producer remixed the tune and added electric instruments and drums to the formerly folk-acoustic arrangement. The re-tool helped the single get even more exposure, and the song would eventually become a No. 1 hit when re-released in 1966 forever changing the trajectory of Simon & Garfunkel’s career. After that enormous hit, the band became more recognized and with each passing record and single it would release, its record sales and popularity would steadily rise.
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This article appears in Oct 18-25, 2018.
