Today in rock history: on this date in 1982, hard rock guitar virtuoso and classically trained musician Randy Rhoads died at the age of 25 in an unfortunate plane crash in Leesburg, Florida. The accomplished guitar whiz was a founder of California hard rock band Quiet Riot but was sought out by former Black Sabbath singer Ozzy Osbourne in the early 1980s when his solo career was beginning. Rhoads was only 25 years old at the time of his death, which left fans heartbroken with the loss of this superb musician. To commemorate the loss, in 1987, five years to the date of his passing, Ozzy released the 2-LP set Tribute which was a tribute to the life of Randy Rhoads. Consisting of a mixture of live and studio tracks, the album was a massive hit in America where it reached No. 6 on pop albums sales charts and went on to sell over 2million copies. The album’s most recognizable track is “Crazy Train,” a hard rock classic which features one of the most famous rock guitar riffs thanks to the genius of Rhodes.
Today in rock history: on this date in 1962, the very first album by up-and-coming, then 20-year old folk singer Bob Dylan was released. The self-titled album, which was produced by John Hammond (he talent scout who signed Dylan to Columbia Records) consisted of a variety of folk standards as well as two original compositions by Dylan. The record made little impact in the U.S. although reviews and reactions to it were supportive in the New York area as Dylan had begun to establish himself as a purveyor of folk music in the Greenwich Village folk scene. The album remains the only Bob Dylan album to not chart at all in the United States although it performed respectably in England. Within a few years after this release, Dylan would rise to fame as a premier folk songwriter and lyricist and would soon crossover into the rock and roll arena. He’d then prove to be a major force in revolutionizing rock music and reinventing the album as a viable, complete work of art.
Today in rock history: on this date in 1971, British progressive rock band Jethro Tull released what would become its best-selling and most revered album, Aqualung. The band’s fourth release was its international breakthrough and is commonly referred to as one of the greatest prog rock albums of all time. Opening with the epic, nearly seven-minute title track, the album established the band as one of the most unique and distinctive band of its era which in turn led to Jethro Tull becoming a successful touring band all around the world. Two singles came from this landmark album, “Locomotive Breath” and “Hymn 43” although neither charted particularly well as the band wasn’t necessarily viewed or marketed as a singles band. The sales of the entire album, however, exceeded 7 million copies sold worldwide which established Aqualung as Jethro Tull’s best-selling album of all time. Read our interview with Ian Anderson below.
DEAR JETHRO
A heart-to-heart with British rock legend Ian Anderson (w/playlist)
Today in rock history: on this date in 1990, British synth-pop band Depeche Mode released the album that would make it international superstars and a major touring concert draw. Violator, the band’s seventh album was the very first to enter the top 10 on Billboard’s pop albums chart in America although that accomplishment was already common for the band throughout several European countries. Before the release of Violator Depeche Mode had released two incredibly successful singles, “Personal Jesus” and “Enjoy the Silence” which are undoubtedly two of its most recognizable songs. Both hits would wind up on the album and two other singles, “Policy of Truth” and “World in My Eyes” would continue to propel the album to enormous heights around the world. A lengthy world tour in support of the album also helped to increase the band’s popularity and visibility all around the globe and solidified its stature as the most successful and revered synthesizer-based band of all time. Violator went on to achieve platinum sales status in many countries around the globe and is still considered the record that elevated Depeche Mode from an alternative, cult band to one of the most popular bands in the entire world.
This article appears in Mar 15-22, 2018.