Today in rock history: on this date in 1978, disco/R&B band Chic released its second album, the highly successful C'est Chic. The album featured the band's hit "I Want Your Love" as well as its biggest hit of all, the disco classic "Le Freak." That single, one of the most recognizable and representative of its genre, was a massive hit around the world. It topped the U.S. pop, R&B, and club charts and alone sold in excess of six million copies, making it the best-selling single in the vast Atlantic Records catalog . The album peaked at no. 4 on Billboard's pop album chart and dominated the top spot of the publication's R&B album chart for eleven straight weeks.
Today in rock history: on this date in 1982, musical genius Prince made waves again when his all-female protege group, Vanity 6, released its debut album. The gorgeous, sexy, scantily clad women sang raunchy, naughty tunes that were drenched in provocativeness and considered shocking and vulgar by many. Vanity 6’s best known song, "Nasty Girl" was a bold and commanding statement and it echoed a sense of female sexual empowerment that hadn't really existed in popular music before. All the songs were written by Prince himself and the album's production duties were overseen by him as well, albeit under the pseudonym of "The Starr Company." The record was a moderate success; it achieved gold sales status and it topped out at no. 6 on Billboard's R&B chart. This would end up being the group's only album as lead singer Vanity left the group to pursue a solo singing career as well as a stint as an actress. A replacement lead singer, Apollonia, would incite a group name change to Apollonia 6 and would land a major role in the Prince's blockbuster film, Purple Rain.
Today in rock history: on this date in 1982, all-girl pop band The Go-Go's released its sophomore album, Vacation. The record marked the band's second release for indie record label I.R.S. Records and served as the follow up to its breakout debut, the no. 1 success, Beauty and the Beat. The album and the title track both rose as high as no. 8 on their respective charts and the "Vacation" single holds the distinction of being the very first to be released in cassette single form, a format that would be highly successful throughout the duration of the 1980s. The album featured another popular Go-Go's single, the throwback to 60's pop, "Get Up and Go."
Born on this date in 1949 in Cleveland, Ohio: singer, guitarist, pianist, producer and arranger, Eric Carmen. As the lead singer of amazing power pop group The Raspberries, Carmen led that band through four absolutely stellar albums released from 1972 to 1974. The band's self-titled debut album featured what's undeniably its best known tune, the timeless "Go All The Way." Carmen embarked on a successful solo career in 1975 and is best known as a solo artist for his ballad "All By Myself" as well as for "Hungry Eyes," his contribution to the soundtrack of 80s film Dirty Dancing.
This article appears in Aug 10-17, 2017.