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Today in rock history: On this date in 1985, soulful British singer Paul Young took over the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s pop singles chart with his worldwide, monster hit, “Every Time You Go Away.” The song was penned by Daryl Hall and appeared on the million-selling 1980 Hall & Oates album, Voices. That album spawned several hit singles, but the tune Paul Young chose to cover was not one of them. “Every Time You Go Away” was a virtually unknown Hall & Oates album track that was only familiar to many of the duo’s hardcore fans. Young’s version was No. 1 not only in America but in several countries around the world. The song also topped Billboard’s adult contemporary chart, received loads of airplay throughout the summer of ’85 and earned heavy rotation on MTV for the majority of its release year. Young’s version is the only cover of a Hall & Oates song to ever crack the Top 40 on singles sales charts and its success prompted Daryl Hall to perform it during the a famous 1985 concert at the legendary Apollo Theater in New York City, which was also turned into a successful live album and home video release.
TODAY IN ROCK HISTORY
The Sex Pistols get filthy on the BBC, AC/DC releases T.N.T. and more
Today in rock history: On this date in 1979, Australian hard rock band AC/DC released its classic album, Highway to Hell. Sadly, the record marked the last appearance of original lead singer Bon Scott, who passed away at the age of 33, just seven months after the album hit record store shelves. The record was an unprecedented success and wound up becoming the first huge chart hit the band would score in America, a country where it had yet to break through. Singles from the record include the bad-boy anthem title track which, allegedly, the band’s U.S. label was not crazy about for fear that the title would alienate listeners and lead to a lack of radio airplay. Other singles from the album included “Girls Got Rhythm” and “Touch Too Much,” which soon became AC/DC classics. The record has since sold over 7 million copies and remains a fan favorite. Also noteworthy is the song “Night Prowler,” a tune that gained notoriety and a reputation in 1985 after it was revealed that serial killer Richard Ramirez, nicknamed the night stalker, was a huge fan of the band’s and especially of this song.
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Today in rock history: On this date in 1940, Billboard magazine, the long-standing music trade publication, printed its very first singles sales chart. The chart was created to track the sales of singles throughout America, a practice that still occurs to this date. The magazine wouldn’t start to chart the sales of full-length albums until 1956, but that chart too followed in the model of the groundbreaking singles chart. The very first No. 1 hit as documented on the inaugural singles chart belonged to Tommy Dorsey with his hit "I'll Never Smile Again," which featured the vocal talents of Frank Sinatra who’d very soon become a solo star and popular entertainer. “I’ll Never Smile Again” sat at the No. 1 spot for a total of 12 straight weeks.
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Today in rock history: On this date in 1984, Purple Rain, the debut film featuring musical genius and innovator Prince, opened at movie theaters throughout America. The film’s fantastic accompanying soundtrack, the record that would make Prince a household name, had been released a month before the film’s opening and helped draw anticipation for its arrival. While the semi-autobiographical film was ripped by movie critics, the stupendous live sequences that captured the Purple One at the height of his powers throughout the film were enough to mesmerize both longtime and new fans of the Minneapolis native. The film’s budget, just over $7 million, was more than earned back; in fact, the film alone grossed over $70 million in ticket sales and became one of the highest-grossing films of the year. Prince would appear in Under the Cherry Moon and Graffiti Bridge, films that followed Purple Rain in 1986 and 1990, respectively, but none of these other film projects would earn the same level of fame and success that Purple Rain amassed. The film’s accompanying album was one of the best-selling albums of 1984 and earned Prince an Academy Award in the category of Best Original Song Score.
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This article appears in Jul 26 – Aug 2, 2018.