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Today in rock history: On this date in 1979, Rock 'n' Roll High School, a comedic film that was centered around legendary New York City rock and roll band the Ramones was produced by renowned indie-film kingpin Roger Corman. The hilarious and entertaining film's plot deals with dedicated, diehard Ramones fans who rebel against the school's new militant principal and eventually burn the school to the ground. Made for the paltry budget of just over $200,000, the film was well-received by rock and film journalists, and it gave the band some much-deserved exposure to those who might not have been familiar with it before. With Ramones members acting throughout the film, the real treat comes when the band is seen doing what they did best; performing on a live stage. Accompanied by a fantastic soundtrack that, besides plenty of Ramones tracks, included selections by Devo, Nick Lowe, Todd Rundgren, Chuck Berry, Alice Cooper and many more, the film has become a cult classic and is often quoted by diehard Ramones fans to this date.
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Today in rock history: On this date in 1968, guitar wizard and former member of The Yardbirds, Jeff Beck, released his first solo album, Truth. Expectations were high for the first solo outing by the renowned guitarist and the record more than satisfied Beck’s fans. With a backing band that featured up-and-coming vocalist Rod Stewart and bassist Ron Wood, Truth was a perfect blend of blues-inspired rock and a heavy dose of Beck’s incredible guitar skills. Credited with being a huge catalyst in the rise of hard rock, and recognized as an early influence for heavy metal music, it’s been said that the sound and feel Beck conjured on Truth served as the blueprint Led Zeppelin would adopt with its 1969 debut album. Truth featured covers of two songs by blues great Willie Dixon, including a stupendous version of “I Ain’t Superstitious” which really showed off Stewart’s gravely, soulful voice and introduced the future star to a wide audience. Truth peaked at No. 15 on Billboard’s pop albums chart in America and began the dynamic trajectory of inventive solo albums Beck would release throughout a long and illustrious career that’s still going strong. Beck plays Tampa's MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre on August 26, more information on the show is available via cltampa.com/musicweek.
R.I.P.
Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul, has died at age 76
Today in rock history: On this date in 1970, Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin released her seventeenth studio album, the stunning Spirit in the Dark. Although the record didn’t perform as well as earlier releases from her amazing run recording for the Atlantic Records label, it was critically acclaimed and is now often referred to as one of her classic albums. Scraping the Top 30 on Billboard’s pop charts, Spirit in the Dark made it all the way to No. 2 on the publication’s R&B albums chart. Featuring two singles, “Don’t Play That Song (You Lied),” and the title track, the album features some of Aretha’s very best vocal performances and her amazing piano work. Hip-hop star Kanye West sampled the album’s title track on his song “School Spirit” which hails from his 2004 album, The College Dropout. Franklin passed away one week ago at the age of 76.
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Today in rock history: On this date in 1987, American rocker John Cougar Mellencamp released his ninth album, The Lonesome Jubilee. As the follow-up to the highly successful Scarecrow album from 1985, Mellencamp decided to head in more of an organic, country-folk direction for this release. While that might not have appeared to be the most commercially viable route to take, the quality of the album's great songs surpassed any doubts and helped The Lonesome Jubilee become one of the best-selling albums of Mellencamp's career. A worldwide hit, the album charted in a variety of countries around the globe and was propelled by four hit singles that steadied its sales. The album charted in the Top 10 of Billboard’s pop albums charts and even made an impact on the country music album charts. Relying more heavily on instruments that are more common in country and folk music, the album was a fresh and welcome departure from the rock and roll sound Mellencamp had become associated with by that point. Singles from the record included “Check it Out,” “Cherry Bomb” and “Paper in Fire” which all received radio airplay and plenty of airtime on MTV.
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This article appears in Aug 23-30, 2018.