Today in rock history: on this date in 1968, British blues-influenced rock band Led Zeppelin (still carrying the name The Yardbirds, the band from which lead guitarist Jimmy Page had recently separated from) began recording its debut album. The self-titled record would be released in January of 1969 and would be a huge worldwide smash, making the band popular all over the globe. The record was recorded quickly and inexpensively; taking only 36 hours to record with most of the tracks being recorded live in the studio, the album which began the amazing journey the band would soon embark on only cost roughly $2,500 to create.
Today in rock history: on this date in 1975, David Bowie scored his very first no 1 hit single in the U.S. with his funk-inspired single, “Fame”. The song was co-written with ex-Beatle John Lennon who can be heard singing on the track towards the end of the song. “Fame” expanded Bowie’s fan base dramatically; the song was as big a pop hit as it was a dance and R&B hit, which was made evident by David’s invitation to appear on weekly syndicated soul and R&B television program, Soul Train to perform the song. Bowie wouldn’t reach the top of the U.S. singles chart again until 1983 when his “Let’s Dance” single would prove to be his next no. 1 hit.
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Today in rock history: on this date in 1976, as the British punk rock movement was exploding, the first of the two-night “Punk Rock Festival” at London’s 100 club was staged. Acts on the bill included French punk band Stinky Toys along with Subway Sect, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Clash and the night’s main attraction, the perpetual headline grabbers, Sex Pistols. Admission for the event was £1.50 (roughly about two U.S. dollars).
Today in rock history: on this date in 1980, young British singer/songwriter/performer Kate Bush achieved her very first U.K. no. 1 album with her third full length release, Never For Ever. At only 22 years of age at the time, Bush’s popularity was soaring in her native country after the success of her two previous album releases, The Kick Inside and Lionheart which both came out in 1978. Never For Ever was the very first time a solo female artist had ever topped the U.K. album charts as well as being the first time in British music history that a solo female artist had entered the album charts at the no. 1 position. The album included three of Bush’s most successful hit singles of her career: “Breathing,” “Army Dreamers” and “Babooshka”.
This article appears in Sep 14-21, 2017.