Today in rock history: on this date in 1980, groundbreaking California punk rock band X released its stunning debut album, Los Angeles. Issued on Slash Records, one of the leading American independent record labels at the time, the record instantly caught the attention of rock journalists all over the country who enthusiastically praised it and gave it high marks. Produced by Ray Manzarek, the former keyboardist for 1960s rock band The Doors, the record featured the unique lyrical wordplay and offbeat harmonies of co-lead singers John Doe and Exene Cervenka. Adding to the unique sound was heavy hitting drummer, D.J. Bonebrake, and Billy Zoom, the band’s lead guitarist whose style was steeped in heavy doses of rockabilly and Chuck Berry licks. Often regarded as one of the absolute best records of the California punk rock scene, Los Angeles features X classics like “Johnny Hit and Run Paulene,” “Your Phone’s Off the Hook, But You’re Not” and, of course, the incendiary title track. The record also features a revved up version of “Soul Kitchen,” a song that was written and originally recorded in the 1960s by Manzarek’s former band. A remarkable debut album, Los Angeles only hinted at what X, one of the most important and influential American bands to emerge from the punk rock movement, would eventually achieve. Read our review of X's 2017 St. Pete here, and look below for a link to CL's interview with Cervenka.

PINELLAS & PUNK
Interview: Exene Cervenka talks about her Pinellas days, punk, and what it’s like to play with X 40 years later

Today in rock history: on this date in 1994, country music legend Johnny Cash released an album that would give his career a major boost and introduce his unmistakable, deep, emotive voice to a whole new crop of listeners. American Recordings came about when heavy metal and hip-hop record producer Rick Rubin approached Cash and signed him to his record label, Def American Recordings. The concept for the record was a simple one: Cash was to sing a variety of songs in bare, unadorned arrangements that would predominantly feature his haunting vocals. Songs were selected from a variety of songwriters including Leonard Cohen, Loudon Wainwright III and Tom Waits. New compositions were written specifically for the record by former Misfits vocalist Glenn Danzig as well as by Cash’s former son-in-law, Nick Lowe, who was previously married to Johnny’s stepdaughter, singer Carlene Carter. American Recordings was Johnny Cash’s 81st album and it successfully put him back in the spotlight after having released a long line of unsuccessful albums throughout the 1980s. The response to the album was positive by both critics and Johnny’s fans; longtime fans embraced it as enthusiastically as brand new converts did and the album earned Johnny Cash a Grammy award in the category of best contemporary folk album. The pairing of Cash and Rubin proved to be successful enough to produce several more hit albums in the same vein as “American Recordings” over the next few years after this release and helped solidify Johnny Cash’s undisputed place in music history as one of the most consistent and important figures in the history of American music.

Today in rock history: on this date in 1940, electronic music pioneer, producer, arranger and visionary Giorgio Moroder was born in South Tyrol, Italy. Carving out his own career during the early 1970s in Germany, Moroder soon rose to prominence after forming Oasis Records, a record label that would introduce the world to future disco queen Donna Summer. Giorgio’s unique take on electronic music spilled over into the worlds of dance music and disco; Summer’s most memorable and noteworthy singles were produced by Giorgio including the sultry “Love to Love You Baby,” “Last Dance” and the 1977 groundbreaking hit, “I Feel Love” which has often been regarded as the most important disco record of all time and the blueprint for electronica. It’s also the song David Bowie called “the future of music” upon his first listen not long after its release. Moroder has also worked with a variety of artists throughout his illustrious career including Blondie, Japan, Sparks, Berlin and Daft Punk. He’s a multiple Grammy winner as well as being awarded two Oscars for his production work for Berlin’s “Take My Breath Away” and Irene Cara’s “Flashdance…What a Feeling”. Today, as he reaches his 78th birthday, Moroder is still creating and composing music and is widely recognized as being one of the most significant purveyors of the art of electronic music.

Today in rock history: on this date in 1978, The Last Waltz, the concert film that captured the last performance of the original lineup of the influential Canadian-American rock group, The Band, was released in theaters. The historic concert took place at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco on the evening of Thanksgiving, 1976. Hired to handle the direction of the film was one of the greatest in the profession: Martin Scorsese. After being introduced to chief songwriter and guitarist Robbie Robertson, Scorsese became interested in the project. Comprised of concert footage, offstage interviews and performances captured on soundstages, the film is a true work of art thanks to Scorsese’s impeccable vision and the dynamic performances captured on film. Besides the fantastic sequences featuring The Band at their absolute prime, stellar guest appearances by Muddy Waters, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Van Morrison and the group’s former boss, Bob Dylan, make this a truly spectacular film. Without a doubt, the most engaging and visually stunning concert film of all time, the movie was also accompanied by its counterpart soundtrack LP, a three-record set that captured the performances featuring throughout the film. Scorsese employed the usage of seven 35mm cameras to capture the concert and hired several cinematographers to work on the project with him. In rehearsals, Scorsese went to the extent of story-boarding each performance in order to capture the essence of the performances and perfect camera angles and lighting techniques. His meticulous work helped make this the quintessential concert film and a faithful document of the end of one of the most beloved and revered rock groups of the 1960s and the 1970s. A collective of Bay area locals re-created the work, and you can watch that below.