Today in rock history: On this date in 1978, the 2-LP soundtrack for the ill-fated film version of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was released. Based on the music of The Beatles, and specifically, on the characters referenced throughout the songs on the album of the same title, the film starred The Bee Gees and Peter Frampton who were at the height of their popularity. The film was unanimously panned when released, but hopes were high that the soundtrack album would be a success. The album debuted in the Top 10 of Billboard’s pop albums charts and stayed there for several weeks. Singles from the album included a version of “Oh! Darling” by Robin Gibb which charted well, Aerosmith’s hard rocking version of “Come Together” and Earth, Wind & Fire’s fantastic take on “Got To Get You Into My Life” which was a million-selling single and a No. 1 hit on Billboard’s R&B singles chart. The album’s brief glimmer of success came to a grinding halt when the film was released five weeks later and bombed at the box office, directly affecting the continued sales of its accompanying soundtrack album. Scores of copies of the album package that came with a large foldout poster inside were yanked from record store shelves and returned to the record company who released the soundtrack. It was rumored at the time that more than 4 million copies of this ill-conceived soundtrack were returned due to sluggish sales. The catastrophic performance of the film is said to have tarnished the careers of The Bee Gees and Frampton who were never able to rebound from the backlash they incurred due to this fiasco.
Today in rock history: On this date in 1982, British heavy metal band Judas Priest released its eighth studio album, Screaming For Vengeance. Widely recognized as the band’s commercial breakthrough, the band benefited from the success of the single "You've Got Another Thing Comin'" which received constant, heavy airplay on music video channel MTV. Regarded as a heavy metal classic, Screaming For Vengeance was the first Priest album to achieve both platinum and double-platinum sales status and wound up selling more than 5 million copies worldwide.
Today in rock history: On this date in 1967, classic Motown Records singing group The Temptations released its fifth album, The Temptations with a Lot o' Soul. Featuring the group’s classic lineup including superb lead singers Eddie Kendricks and David Ruffin, the album was one of the group’s best-selling albums and contained four hit singles. All four singles, "(I Know) I'm Losing You," "All I Need," "You're My Everything" and "(Loneliness Made Me Realize) It's You That I Need" all charted well; they reached the Top 10 on Billboard’s R&B charts as well as breaking into the Top 20 on the pop singles chart. Featuring a more forceful approach, The Temptations with a Lot o’ Soul more closely resembled the sound of soul master James Brown than the more familiar ballads The Temptations were known for. A No. 1 album on Billboard’s R&B albums chart, the record climbed as high as No. 7 on the pop albums chart and furthered the successful roll the group was on at the time.
TODAY IN ROCK HISTORY
James Brown releases Live At the Apollo, the greatest live album of all time
Today in rock history: On this date in 1965, the “Godfather of Soul,” James Brown, released one of the most important and essential singles of his long career. “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag,” released on the King Records label, was a monster hit and is often cited as being a catalyst in the creation and development of funk music. It was the first ever Brown single to crack the Top 10 on Billboard’s pop singles chart and was another No. 1 smash for the legendary singer on Billboard’s R&B singles chart, where it held the top spot for eight straight weeks. Divided into two parts on both sides of the single, “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag” is often referred to as one of Brown’s many classic, essential singles and it still sounds as fresh and funky today as it did when originally released.
