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Today in rock history: On this date in 1958, Feargal Sharkey was born in Derry, Northern Ireland. This singer with a most distinctive voice served as the lead vocalist of Ireland’s finest pop-punk band, The Undertones, from 1975 through the band’s demise in 1983. Known for its own brand of melodic, catchy tunes, the band’s most-recognized song is the 1978 guitar-heavy punk anthem, “Teenage Kicks.” The song benefited from constant exposure in England thanks to influential BBC disc jockey John Peel who played it on British airwaves regularly and referred to it as his all-time favorite song from the time of its release until his death in 2004. Sharkey embarked on a solo career after the band’s breakup, but first teamed with former Depeche Mode and Yaz songwriter Vince Clarke in 1983 to collaborate on a single entitled “Never Never” under the moniker The Assembly. Success also came with “A Good Heart,” Sharkey’s 1985 hit which topped charts in several countries around the world. Sharkey would later abandon his singing career to instead serve as a record company executive, a post he still holds to this day.
Today in rock history: On this date in 1973, Florida-based rock and roll band Lynyrd Skynyrd released its debut album, the cleverly titled Pronounced ‘Lĕh-‘nérd ‘Skin-‘nérd. Widely recognized as being one of the driving forces behind the Southern rock genre, the band’s first album was received positively and helped introduce the Jacksonville, Florida band’s brand of Southern-fried rock and roll to the masses. Containing songs that would go on to be known as Skynyrd classics l(“Tuesday’s Gone,” “Gimme Three Steps” and the incredibly familiar and often-requested epic, “Free Bird”) the album went on to sell over 2 million copies and is regarded as an essential piece in any rock and roll record collection. Produced by Al Kooper, the influential musician who was an integral part of Bob Dylan’s transition from an acoustic folk artist to an electric rocker, the record drew rave reviews instantly and put the band on the rock and roll map. Several more hit records and successful world tours would follow but with this record, released 45 years ago today, the long and illustrious Lynyrd Skynyrd story began.
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Today in rock history: On this date in 1952, Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton recorded what would become one of the most popular rock and roll songs of all time. The songwriter and rhythm and blues singer was the very first to record “Hound Dog,” an essential composition by renowned songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. The song, which was originally written from the perspective of a woman’s point of view, took the pair only 15 minutes to write yet became one of the best-known songs of the era. Thornton’s version spent a total of 14 weeks on Billboard’s R&B singles chart after its release in March of 1953, with seven of those weeks spent at the No. 1 spot. The song became a hit again in 1956 when, at the cusp of his meteoric rise to the top, young Mississippi-born singer and performer Elvis Presley released a version that would become one of his most popular singles and one of the best-selling singles of all time with over 10 million copies sold worldwide. “Hound Dog” has been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and is recognized by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of the songs that helped shape and influence the genre of rock and roll. “Hound Dog” has been covered over 250 times throughout history but it was Big Mama Thornton’s version that was the very first one ever.
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Today in rock history: On this date in 1967, the band that would go on to be one of the most successful and best-selling acts of the 1970s played its very first live gig although with a drastically different lineup. Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac, known in its infancy as a straight-up blues-rock band, played on the third of the three-day 1967 National Jazz & Blues Festival Windsor. The band played a seven-song set that consisted of three cover versions of songs made popular by blues legend Elmore James: “Talk to Me Baby,” “Fine Little Mama” and “Shake Your Moneymaker,” which would become a staple during Fleetwood Mac concerts in the band’s early days. The band’s lineup at the time included its namesake, Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and slide guitarist Jeremy Spencer along with bassist Bob Brunning. The band’s self-titled debut album would be released in February of 1968 and would be eagerly anticipated thanks to the attention the group garnered from this festival appearance. Also on the bill on the date Mac made its live debut were Cream, Jeff Beck and Donovan among many others. The band plays Amalie Arena on February 18 — details on the show are available here.
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This article appears in Aug 9-16, 2018.
