Today in rock history: on this date in 1971, 17-11-70 (titled 11-17-70 in America) was released. The album marked the fifth album release overall and the first live release from British pianist/singer/songwriter Elton John. The songs on the album were recorded for a live radio broadcast and marvelously showed off the talents of bassist Dee Murray, drummer Nigel Olsson and, of course, of the up and coming star, Elton John. Although the recording was not previously scheduled to become an official album, the dynamic recording of Elton’s performance became a heavily bootlegged item which forced his record label to put out a proper release to combat unauthorized releases of the show. The official release, however, only included six of the 13 songs recorded for the session which many felt left a lot to be desired. Regardless, as Elton was on his way to super-stardom and his commercial peak was just a few years away, the album still became a massive hit in America and in England. The success of this live album led to Elton John having four albums simultaneously occupying spots on Billboard’s top 100 albums chart, making him only the second performer to achieve a feat that The Beatles previously accomplished. In 2017, 17-11-10 was re-released to officially mark the debut of the entire performance’s official release. Elton John himself has often been quoted as saying that he felt this was the absolute best live recording of his long career. Elton John comes to Tampa on November 28 — details on the show at Amalie Arena are available here.

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Elton John's three-year, 300-date farewell tour is coming to Tampa — here's how to get tickets

Today in rock history: on this date in 1969, Bob Dylan’s ninth album, his foray into country music, Nashville Skyline was released. The album featured a radically different singing style and vocal tone for the renowned artist which surprised many listeners and music critics alike. It was alluded to at the time that Dylan’s decision to quit smoking changed the sound of his voice to the smooth, deep, croon that’s heard throughout this fine album. The successful album featured the singles “Lay Lady Lay” and “I Threw it All Away” which both performed well on Billboard’s pop singles charts. Another standout from the album was a newly recorded version of an older Dylan tune, “Girl From the North Country” which was this time cut as a duet with country music legend, Johnny Cash. Nashville Skyline peaked at No. 3 on the U.S. albums charts and was another No. 1 hit album for Dylan in England.

Today in rock history: on this date in 1979, witty English new wave band Squeeze released its second album, Cool For Cats. The band’s previous release, its 1978 self-titled debut album, was moderately successful and generally received lukewarm reviews although it produced two minor hit singles. Cool For Cats exceeded its predecessor’s performance in both chart success and critical reception and yielded an incredible four hit singles in the band’s native England. Squeeze classics like "Up the Junction,” “Slap and Tickle,” “Goodbye Girl” and, of course, the catchy title track, all charted well in the U.K. and made Squeeze one of the most popular bands of its era in the U.K. Released in a variety of different colored album sleeves in England, Cool For Cats was an unprecedented success and is often referred to as one of the best albums of the new wave era.

Today in rock history: on this date in 1932, rock and roll and rockabilly legend Carl Perkins was born in Tiptonville, Tennessee. Perkins began recording for legendary rock and roll record label, Sun Records out of Memphis, Tennessee in the mid-1950s and created some of the most integral and influential rock and roll songs of all time. Perkins is probably best-known for his classic “Blue Suede Shoes” which was later recorded by his contemporary, Elvis Presley and made into a major hit. Perkins was a major influence on The Beatles (who recorded some of his songs in their early days) and had his material covered by other performers like Jimi Hendrix and Johnny Cash as well. Perkins has been referred to as the king of rockabilly music and has earned countless honors plus inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. Often regarded as one of the architects of rock and roll, Perkins continued to tour and record right up until his death in 1998 at the age of 65. Two years prior to his death, Perkins released his final album, Go Cat Go!, which featured several duets with artists like Bono, George Harrison, John Fogerty, Tom Petty, Paul Simon and many others.