Today in rock history: on this date in 1940, John Winston Lennon was born in Liverpool, England. As a founder and co-songwriter with The Beatles, Lennon along with Paul McCartney formed the most popular band in music history. After the band's breakup, Lennon forged a solo career and continued his work as an activist, successful singer and songwriter. Sadly, Lennon's life was cut short when he was tragically murdered at the age of 40 in 1980.
Today in rock history: on this date in 1987, Bruce Springsteen released his eighth studio album, Tunnel Of Love. As the follow-up to his multi-million selling blockbuster album, 1984's Born In the U.S.A., Springsteen opted for a more personal, introspective approach for this album. Speculation was made that some of the songs might have very well been autobiographical following a well-publicized divorce that became tabloid fodder. Standouts on the album include some of Bruce's very best lyrical compositions like "Tougher Than The Rest," "All That Heaven Will Allow" and "When You're Alone." The album did well sales-wise as did the lead single to come from it, "Brilliant Disguise" which climbed to no. 5 on Billboard's Top 100 singles chart. The album hit the no. 1 spot on album charts in both the U.K. and the U.S. as well as in several countries around the world.
Today in rock history: on this date in 1989, Scottish post-punk band The Jesus and Mary Chain released its third album, Automatic. The guitar-heavy band consisted mainly of founding members, brothers William and Jim Reid and featured the band experimenting with drum machines and synthesizers. Although the album didn't make any significant waves on sales charts, it was a huge success on college radio. Containing singles "Blues From A Gun" and "Head On" (which was later covered by The Pixies on their 1991 album Trompe le Monde), the album reaffirmed the band's stance as one of the best and most original alternative bands of its day.
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Today in rock history: on this date in 1969, brother/sister pop duo The Carpenters released its debut album, Offering. The album featured a somewhat uncharacteristically serious cover featuring singer and drummer Karen Carpenter and pianist Richard Carpenter wearing solemn facial expressions while holding a bouquet of flowers. The album sold poorly and only received minimal attention for the inclusion of the band's cover of the Beatles classic "Ticket To Ride," which was a minor hit single. Future records and a string of successful hit singles brought the group more attention and more commercial appeal, making it one of the best-selling soft rock pop acts of the 1970s. This very album was re-released later under the title Ticket To Ride (to capitalize on the familiarity of the record's hit) and a totally different album cover, featuring a more jovial photo of the band riding a sailboat. The album was a much better seller when released for a second time with a new title and a new front cover photo.
This article appears in Oct 5-12, 2017.