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Today in rock history: on this date in 1968, British rock band The Zombies released their second album, Odessey and Oracle. Although the album was reviewed and received indifferently upon its initial release, it has gone on to be regarded as one of the most important and influential albums of the 1960s. Touted as one of the best psychedelic albums of all time, the record featured the timeless classic “Time of the Season” which was released as a single from this fine album. The record contains other Zombies favorites like “Care of Cell 44” and “Butcher’s Tale (Western Front 1914)” which were also released as singles but didn’t perform as well as “Time of the Season." Acclaim for the band and the album came much later after its release; in 1969, “Time of the Season” had become a radio hit and the album sparked new interest. Sadly, The Zombies had disbanded by that point and two of its key members, keyboardist Rod Argent and bassist Chris White, had already formed a new band by the name of Argent which go on to score a major international rock hit with their single, “Hold Your Head Up”.
Today in rock history: on this date in 1986, Prince took over the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s pop singles chart with his sexy, seductive, funk classic, “Kiss." The single was the first to be released from the artist’s eighth studio album, Parade. The song stayed at the top spot for two straight weeks and also topped dance charts and R&B charts. “Kiss” is one of Prince’s most popular and beloved singles to this date and has been covered by several artists including Tom Jones and British dance band Age of Chance. By total coincidence, the song that occupied the No. 2 spot on this date when “Kiss” was at No. 1 was “Manic Monday” by California pop band The Bangles. The song was credited as being written by “Christopher,” which was actually a pseudonym Prince used.
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Today in rock history: on this date in 2012, Levon Helm, drummer and singer for The Band, passed away after being diagnosed with throat cancer. The Arkansas-born musician was known for his soulful singing voice and Southern drawl which colored “Up on Cripple Creek,” “Ophelia,” “The Weight” and so many other great songs with the group that once served as Bob Dylan’s backing band. When originally diagnosed, Levon’s cancer caused him to lose his singing voice. However, he was able to regain it long enough to record and release two fine, well-received albums: 2007’s Dirt Farmer and Electric Dirt from 2009 which brought Helm a Grammy award. Besides a successful career as a musician, Levon was also known for his acting skills which were most notably seen in the 1980 Loretta Lynn biopic Coal Miner’s Daughter where he played the role of Loretta’s father. Levon Helm was 71 at the time of his death.
Today in rock history: on this date in 1982, avant-garde musician and performance artist Laurie Anderson released her debut album, Big Science. The electronic music pioneer had previously appeared on various artists collections of both spoken word pieces and electronic music but Big Science marked her first proper solo album. Featuring selections from her eight-hour production United States Live, Big Science contains a variety of songs, experiments, ideas and sounds. A single was released from the album: the eight-minute “O Superman” which became a major hit single in England, rising all the way up to No. 2 on British singles charts. One of the most inspiring and inventive artists who truly defies categorization, Anderson is also known for creating films, spoken word pieces and her collaborative efforts with artists like Peter Gabriel, Kronos Quartet and her late husband, the legendary Lou Reed.
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This article appears in Apr 19-26, 2018.