Today in rock history: on this date in 1994, San Francisco-area pop punk trio Green Day released its major label debut album, Dooki”. After gaining attention and generating impressive sales with its first two releases on independent record label Lookout! Records, Warner Bros. courted the band and signed its to WB's Reprise label, and the acquisition more than paid off. The album was a massive hit that introduced most of the world to the catchy, infectious, melodic and energetic sounds the trio bashed out in a major way. Producing hit singles like “Longview,” “Basket Case” and “When I Come Around,” the band benefited too from heavy exposure on MTV which kept Green Day's music videos in steady rotation. The record has since gone on to sell in excess of 10 million copies in the U.S. alone and worldwide sales figures top the twenty million mark. The band has kept up the pace, released several more successful albums and has risen to become one of the most popular bands on the globe. See photos from the band's latest stop in Tampa here.
GREEN DAY ON FRANKLIN STREET?
Music Issue: Legendary moments — remembering when in Tampa Bay music
Today in rock history: on this date in 1949, RCA Records introduced a revolutionary new format on which records could be bought: the 45 RPM single. After Columbia Records unveiled the arrival of 33 RPM albums the year prior, RCA raced to create a new format that would rival full-length albums. Before the new formats were introduced, music lovers were limited to only the option of buying 78 RPM records which were cumbersome, fragile and incapable of containing a great amount of music. The 45 was an economical way to buy hit songs, be treated to a song that might be unfamiliar to the listener on the B-side, and was the catalyst for jukeboxes to be created and installed in a variety of social meeting places all around the country: the music machines started turning up in restaurants and bars and caught on like wildfire. When initially released, RCA pressed 45s on different colors of vinyl to differentiate the genre of music featured on the particular record. Popular releases were on standard black vinyl. country releases were on green vinyl, children's records were on yellow vinyl, classical releases were on red vinyl, "race" (how R&B and gospel songs were classified back then) records were on orange vinyl, blue vinyl/blue labels were used for semi-classical instrumental music and blue vinyl/black label for international recordings. The company soon dropped the colored vinyl concept due to the costs involved and instead pressed every 45, regardless of the genre, on black vinyl. The format was incredibly popular throughout the 1960s, 1970’s and into the 1980s and still thrives to this day thanks to independent labels and indie bands who still utilize it. Call your local record store to see if it carries the product (hint: it does).
Today in rock history: on this date in 1980, Blondie released its single “Call Me” which served as the theme for the controversial Richard Gere film of the same year, American Gigolo. The New York City band had recently risen to massive popularity thanks to the strength of singles like “Heart of Glass,” “One Way or Another” and “Dreaming.” For “Call Me,” the band teamed with German electronic music pioneer and composer Giorgio Moroder and together, the partnership put together a sexy, steamy, dance hit that appealed to many different age groups and fans of so many different genres. The single went straight to No. 1 on Billboard’s sales charts and remained there for six straight weeks. The song became a dance club staple and wound up being the best-selling single of 1980 in the United States.
A LITTLE MORE DEBBIE
Review: Shirley Manson, Debbie Harry are iconic as ever as Garbage and Blondie rock a sold-out Hard Rock Live in Orlando
Today in rock history: on this date in 1948, funk master and dynamic performer Rick James was born in Buffalo, New York. Before striking out as a major purveyor of R&B and funk music in the 1970’s, James spent time in Toronto, Canada where he joined a band called The Mynah Birds which also featured Neil Young as part of its lineup. James would eventually move to California and form the Stone City Band, the group with which he scored the hits that put him on the radar of record buyers who discovered him through early hits like “Mary Jane” and “You & I.” The early 1980s brought Rick’s greatest success when his album “Street Songs” topped several different sales charts and produced the major hits “Super Freak” and “Give It To Me Bab,y” which made Rick James an international superstar. James also took other acts under his wing and helped introduce them to a wider audience. Among them was celebrated soul and funk performer Teena Marie and the all-female singing group, The Mary Jane Girls. Sadly, Rick James passed away in 2004 at the age of 56 but today would have been his 70th birthday.
This article appears in Feb 1-8, 2018.