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Today in rock history: On this date in 1975, hard rock band Aerosmith cracked the Top 40 of Billboard’s pop singles chart for the very first time. The band’s single, “Sweet Emotion,” from its breakthrough album Toys in the Attic, reached No. 36 on the singles chart marking what was, at the time, the highest chart presence the Boston rock band had enjoyed. “Sweet Emotion” and the album from which it hails both went on to reach the Top 10 on their respective charts and Toys in the Attic eventually became a platinum-selling album marking sales of over 1 million copies sold. The sudden success the band experienced prompted Aerosmith to re-release an earlier single, 1973’s “Dream On,” which had tanked on the charts when originally released. As a result of the band’s newfound popularity, “Dream On” climbed as high as No. 6 on the pop singles charts marking the highest chart position Aerosmith had enjoyed to date at that time.
AEROSMITH WORLDWIDE
This World Cup commentator's Aerosmith reference is the real MVP
Today in rock history: On this date in 1980, the final concert in Cleveland, Ohio’s “World Series of Rock” events occurred. Beginning in 1974 and occurring on a regular basis during the summer, the successful concerts were held at the Cleveland Stadium and packed in up to 88,000 fans per show for a seated, general admission, festival-type setting. Plagued by violence, drunkenness, rampant drug usage and general misconduct, the concert series was permanently suspended after this final performance. The final “World Series of Rock” concert featured headliner Bob Seger and The Silver Bullet Band, The J. Geils Band, Eddie Money and up-and-coming rockers Def Leppard. Ticket price for this all-day show was $12.50.
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Today in rock history: On this date in 1947, Brian May was born in Hampton, Middlesex, England. A founding member of one of the world’s most successful rock bands, Queen, May served as the band’s lead guitarist, songwriter and occasional singer since its beginning. Joining forces with singer Freddie Mercury, May and his bandmate, drummer Roger Taylor (with whom he’d played with in a band called Smile) released Queen's debut album in 1972 and soon became a multi-platinum selling act all around the globe. Besides being an inductee in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and being awarded a Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award, May is also an accomplished photographer and an astrophysicist. Some of the more well-known Queen songs May is credited with writing include “Tie Your Mother Down,” “We Will Rock You” and “Fat Bottomed Girls.” May’s guitar sound is both unique and highly recognizable thanks to the guitar he built with his father when he was very young that he still plays to this day.
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Today in rock history: On this date in 1980, singer/songwriter Billy Joel scored the very first No. 1 hit single of his career. “It’s Still Rock and Roll To Me,” the second single released in the U.S. from Joel’s massively successful album Glass Houses, hit the top spot and stayed there for two straight weeks although it had remained within the Top 10 of Billboard’s pop singles chart for almost three solid months. The single also reached the No. 1 spot in Canada and wound up being one of the best-selling singles of 1980 in the United States.
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This article appears in Jul 19-26, 2018.