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Today in rock history: on this date in 1940, jazz, fusion, electronica and funk giant Herbie Hancock was born in Chicago, Illinois. The writer, pianist, producer and composer got his start with jazz legend Donald Byrd before moving on to become a part of the Miles Davis Quintet. The versatile and enduring artist is best known for songs like jazz standards “Watermelon Man,” “Cantaloupe Island,” “Maiden Voyage” as well as his 1980s runaway electro-funk smash, “Rock it.” Hancock has been a consistent creator of visionary and genre-bending music since the early 1960s and has earned a slew of awards along the way in honor of his musical genius: Hancock is the recipient of an Academy Award, several Grammy Awards and, in 2013, was recognized by the Kennedy Center Honors. Hancock has also tried his hand at acting and has appeared in movies and television programs as well. In 2008, Hancock was awarded the Grammy Award in the album of the year category for his tribute to musician Joni Mitchell entitled River: The Joni Letters making him only the second artist to win the prestigious award with a jazz album since the category's inception in 1959. Herbie Hancock, one of the true living legends of jazz music, turns 78 years old today.
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Concert review: Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band rock Amalie Arena, Tampa
Today in rock history: on this date in 1976, Live Bullet, the fiery and energetic 2-LP live album by Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band was released. Virtually unknown outside his home base of Detroit, Michigan, Seger had released several albums dating back to the late 1960s when this career-changing live set was put out. Recorded in September 1975 over two nights at Cobo Hall, the leading concert venue in the Detroit area at the time, the red-hot performances captured on the record magnificently captured the grit and the firepower Seger and his band had been treating Michigan audiences to for years. Containing smoking versions of Seger classics like “Travelin’ Man,” “Katmandu” and “Ramblin Gamblin Man,” the album caught fire around the country and was simultaneously added to dozens of radio playlists around America. The live version of “Turn the Page,” a ballad about life on the road that became a major rock radio hit hails from this knockout album. Often cited as one of the best live albums of all time, Live Bullet quickly achieved gold sales status and became Seger’s highest charting record of his career up until that point. By the fall of 1976, Seger would release his breakthrough album, Night Moves, which would instantly make him one of the most popular and recognizable rock performers of the 1970s.
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Today in rock history: on this date in 1982, Indiana-born and raised rocker John Cougar released his fifth album, American Fool which made him a rock star almost overnight. Cougar’s career began with its own fair share of bad luck; after some poor management deals and failed record label dealings, Cougar, born John Mellencamp, literally struck gold with Fool”. Although his record label at the time was hesitant about releasing the record since it thought the commercial appeal was limited, nothing could have been further from the truth. Fool spent nine weeks at the No. 1 spot on Billboard Magazine’s pop albums chart and featured two major hit singles: “Hurts So Good” and the No. 1 smash single, “Jack and Diane.” With the success of the album, Cougar became instantly known and recognized and rose from a little-known rock singer to a bona fide, arena-headlining rocker.
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Today in rock history: on this date in 1988, American rock and roll band Cheap Trick released its 10th album, Lap of Luxury. Coming at a particularly difficult time in the band’s existence, Cheap Trick’s record label insisted that it have a say in selecting songs for the band to record for the album. After years of recording songs the band members themselves had written themselves, Cheap Trick resisted but gave in to the company’s wishes and recorded this album that consisted of many songs penned by outside writers. Among the singles from the record were the power ballad “The Flame” (which rose to No. 1 on American sales charts), a cover of “Don’t Be Cruel” (made popular by Elvis Presley in the 1950s) and, another ballad, “Ghost Town.” The strongest, most Cheap Trick-sounding tracks on the album, “Let Go” and “Never Had a Lot To Lose” were the strongest cuts on the record and were also released as singles. The record was a massive hit; Lap of Luxury was the band’s best-selling album since their 1979 blockbuster, Dream Police. However, the band and many of its loyal fans felt like the success of this album worked against the band in that it pigeonholed Cheap Trick into becoming recognized as more of a softer, ballad-based band while it still remained the rock solid powerhouse band they'd been since their formation in the early 1970s.
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This article appears in Apr 12-19, 2018.