Today in rock history: On this date in 1984, Diamond Life, the stunning debut album from British band Sade was released in the U.K. Named after the gorgeous and gifted lead singer, Nigerian-born Sade Adu, the band created an intoxicating blend of pop, R&B and jazz and along with Adu’s soft, sensual voice, scored a major worldwide hit with this fantastic album. A No. 1 success in many countries around the world, Diamond Life appealed to listeners of many different ages and made the singer, Sade, an internationally known star. Going on to sell 6 million copies worldwide, Diamond Life was one of the best-selling debut albums of the 1980s. Featuring the hit singles “Your Love is King,” “Hang On to Your Love” and the smash hit “Smooth Operator,” Diamond Life marked the start of Sade’s magnificent run of outstanding albums which have each sold millions of copies around the globe.
Today in rock history: On this date in 1978, country music superstar Dolly Parton released her 20th solo album, Heartbreaker. Enjoying crossover pop success with her previous album, 1977’s Here You Come Again, a record whose title track was a huge pop hit and earned Dolly a Grammy Award, the idea with Heartbreaker was to continue that success and make Dolly as big a pop star as she already was a county music star. Heartbreaker was another gold-selling record for Parton and, one of the albums singles, “Baby I’m Burning” which was backed with “I Got the Feeling,” was designed to receive equal amounts of airplay on radio stations of varying formats to great success. “Baby, I’m Burning” was a pop hit that became a massive disco hit at the height of that genre’s popularity. The song was released as a 12-inch disco single and was regularly played in dance clubs and discos while its flip side, “I Got the Feeling” was a huge hit on country music radio. Heartbreaker was a No. 1 album on Billboard’s country music charts for nine consecutive weeks and made it to the Top 30 on the pop music chart.
Today in rock history: On this date in 2003, Celia Cruz, “La reina de la salsa,” the Queen of Salsa music, passed away at the age of 77 as a result of brain cancer. One of the most colorful and spirited artists to emerge from the world of Latin music, Cruz began her long and illustrious career as the singer for Cuban band Sonora Matancera and later teamed up with Latin music legend Tito Puente and released a long string of albums with him. One of the most internationally recognized and popular artists throughout Latin America, Cruz was widely acknowledged by her peers as being a true groundbreaker in her field. Always elaborately dressed and fashionable, the sassy, boisterous singer was known for her catchphrase, “azucar,” (which translates to sugar in English) which she commonly inserted into many of her hit singles.
Today in rock history: On this date in 1952, drummer, singer and songwriter Stewart Copeland was born in Alexandria, Virginia. A member of British progressive rock band Curved Air in the mid-1970s, Copeland rose to fame as part of the new wave trio, The Police, which became one of the most popular and best-selling rock bands in the world from its successful run from the late '70s through the mid-1980s. Copeland was instrumental in arranging many of The Police’s compositions and was active as a co-writer and creator of many of the group’s songs. Recognized as one of the most accomplished and inventive drummers in rock music, Copeland has also embarked on several solo projects. One even found him creating a fictional character named Klark Kent and releasing a solo EP under that moniker. He also worked on a slew of film scores plus music for many television programs
This article appears in Jul 12-19, 2018.