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Today in rock history: On this date in 1958, R&B group Jerry Butler & the Impressions made its television debut on Dick Clark’s popular music program, American Bandstand. The group was riding high on sales charts with its first big hit, “For Your Precious Love,” which was a Top 10 success on Billboard’s pop singles chart as well as the publication's R&B charts. The group performed the song on the program which helped further its tremendous sales. Lead singer Jerry Butler would soon leave the group in search of a solo career and his replacement would be none other than future soul music legend Curtis Mayfield, who wrote several of the hit singles the group would achieve with Mayfield in the lead vocalist spot.
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Today in rock history: On this date in 1976, Sex Pistols made its television debut when the band appeared on the British music program, So it Goes. A buzz was starting to swirl about the band that was quickly gaining notoriety but nothing compared to the masses actually witnessing the band on television. “Get off your arse!” lead singer Johnny Rotten snarled at the onset of the band’s performance before launching into an aggressive, powerful rendition of its eventual hit, “Anarchy In The U.K.” The band would appear on several other television programs as its fame grew and would rewrite music history in England, but this marked the very first time many unaware viewers would catch a glimpse of the unkempt, ragtag punk-rock band.
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Today in rock history: On this date in 1982, veteran rocker Steve Miller began a two-week run at the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s pop singles chart with his new wave-tinged hit, “Abracadabra.” Miller’s U.S. record label was reluctant to release the song as a single fearing it had little commercial appeal. However, the singer’s European record label released it as Miller had wished earlier in the year, and it skyrocketed to the top of singles charts all over the continent. Inspired by the song’s international success, Miller’s American record label, Capitol Records, gave in and issued the song as a single and had to eat its words when it soared to the top spot here as well. The song was Miller’s third No. 1 hit in his home country and it served as the title track of his 12th album, which rose to No. 3 on American sales charts and achieved platinum sales status with sales exceeding 1million copies sold.
Today in rock history: On this date in 1982, The Who released its 10th studio album, It’s Hard. The band was at an unstable point in its tenure and wrestling with the prospect of remaining significant amid the cultural changes of the early 1980s. The album received mixed reviews with many journalists feeling like the album was a misstep. Many years later, lead singer Roger Daltrey would reveal that the album probably should have never been made but, nonetheless, the record sold well and served as the catalyst for one of the band’s largest and most successful concert tours of its existence. Singles from the record included “Athena,” which was a minor hit, and “Eminence Front,” a song that reached a much younger audience at the time due to the single’s music video receiving heavy airplay on then-budding music video channel, MTV. It’s Hard achieved gold sales status in the U.S. and reached the Top 10 on American album sales charts as well. The band wouldn’t release another studio album until 2006 when its ambitious Endless Wire would be released. It’s Hard also marked the final studio album original bassist John Entwistle would appear on, as he’d pass away in 2002.
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This article appears in Aug 30 – Sep 6, 2018.