Today in rock history: on this date in 1980, The Clash released its ambitious fourth album, the 3-LP set, Sandinista. Coming almost a year to the date after the band’s double-album masterpiece London Calling, the band, leaving the limitations of punk rock far behind, instead opted to chart new territory and dive into a variety of genres including reggae, calypso, hip hop, disco, jazz and funk. The band was praised for its bravery and their willingness to experiment with styles and sounds although some critics and fans of the band felt that the album could have been trimmed down to a double-album and that some of the selections that made the final cut could have been left off the record. Nonetheless, the album was another success for the envelope-pushing outfit that was deemed “the only band that matters” in its heyday. Singles from the album included the quasi-rap, early hip-hop foray “The Magnificent Seven,” the Motown-inspired “Hitsville U.K.” and the reggae influenced anti-war track, “The Call Up.” The album cracked the top 20 on British sales charts, came close to doing so in the U.S. as well and reached gold sales status in both regions. Via an adamant demand for their record company to keep the list price of the triple-album close to that of a 2-LP set and make it more affordable for record buyers, the band agreed to have its royalties from the release kept to a minimum which led the ground-breaking foursome to make very little money from this all-important piece of work.
Today in rock history: on this date in 1975, exalted Jamaican reggae band Burning Spear released the greatest and most acclaimed album of its existence, the essential Marcus Garvey. Named after the famed Rastafarian prophet and Jamaican hero, this, the band’s third album, is often regarded as one of the most important and essential reggae albums of all time. Not long after the album’s release and the success and accolades it gained, an all dub version entitled “Garvey’s Ghost” was released which furthered the stature and the significance of this essential album by giving it the classic instrumental, drum and bass-heavy treatment prevalent in dub, the reggae music sub-genre. Containing Burning Spear classics like “Slavery Days” and “Red, Gold & Green,” this has often been cited as one of the most vital and indispensable reggae albums ever.
Today in rock history: on this date in 1976, while performing at old local haunt, concert venue Lakeland Civic Center, Kiss lead guitarist Ace Frehley was almost accidentally electrocuted while onstage and performing with the band. While on tour promoting itsincredibly successful album, Rock and Roll Over, the incident happened early in the set after the band played one of itssignature songs, “Detroit Rock City” from atop itsstage sets. As Ace lowered himself to the stage, he held on to a metal railing and the contact created an electrical circuit with his guitar. Frozen and unable to move due to the current, Frehley was lucky enough to eventually let go of the railing and fell to the stage from the charge he felt. Startled and shaken, Ace found his way backstage to the band’s dressing room and took a short break to recover from the scare. After returning to the stage, the crowd chanted his name and gave him a standing ovation which led to his finishing the set successfully. The event served as the inspiration for the Frehley-penned song “Shock Me,” the first ever song he’d sing on a Kiss record, which appeared on the band’s follow up album, 1977’s Love Gun.
Today in rock history: on this date in 1974, guitarist Mick Taylor, who’d joined The Rolling Stones at the young age of 20 in 1969, abruptly quit the band leaving behind the enviable role of lead guitarist with the world’s most popular and successful rock and roll band. A former member of John Mayall’s distinguished group of bluesmen, The Bluesbreakers, Taylor came highly recommended at the time that a replacement for Stones founder Brian Jones was fired from his own band. Taylor’s introduction as the band’s newest member came in the summer of 1969 in front of 300,000 fans at a free concert in London’s Hyde Park. Taylor, an accomplished and highly skilled guitarist, played on some of the band’s greatest albums like Sticky Fingers and Let It Bleed, and let his talents show on all of the band’s recordings on which he appeared. Friction with the band (most notably, with co-songwriter and guitarist Keith Richards) led to Taylor’s exit as did his unhappiness with his role in the band. Feeling like he was underused and not happy about being excluded from songwriting credits for songs he felt he substantially contributed to, Taylor made his exit known to lead singer Mick Jagger at a social gathering and formally exited the Stones after that exchange with Mick. A highly publicized search for a new guitarist made headlines in music magazines around the world and many names were thrown around in the press in anticipation of who the newest Rolling Stone would be. Names like Rory Gallagher, Peter Frampton and Mick Ronson were thrown around in music papers for a possible replacement but, ultimately, it was Ron Wood who’d just left The Faces who got the job in 1975 that he still holds until this day.
This article appears in Dec 7-14, 2017.
