Today in rock history: on this date in 1990, Marietta, Georgia rock and roll band The Black Crowes released its debut album, Shake Your Money Maker." With a title borrowed from a classic Elmore James blues song, the band created its own sound and burst on the scene with this energetic, solid album that mixed blues, southern rock, R&B and hard rock. Led by charismatic lead singer Chris Robinson and also featuring his brother Rich on Guitar, the band was an instant success as was this, its very first album. On the strength of the hit singles and rock radio staples "Jealous Again," "She Talks To Angels," "Twice As Hard" and an outstanding cover of Otis Redding's "Hard To Handle," the album climbed as high as No. 4 on Billboard's pop albums chart and sold five million copies in the United States alone, making it the best-selling record in the Black Crowes catalog.
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Today in rock history: on this date in 1970, the minimoog synthesizer was introduced by engineer and electronic music innovator, Robert Moog who invented the revolutionary instrument. The small but versatile instrument was at first thought to threaten the livelihood of musicians around the world as it had the capability of replicating the sounds of acoustic instruments and full string sections flawlessly. The first musician to embrace the new synth was Keith Emerson of prog rock trio Emerson, Lake & Palmer, and many others soon followed his lead. While larger synthesizers were heavy and hard to transport, the minimoog gave musicians the ability to replicate the functionality of a larger instrument within a much smaller and more compact device. Soon, others like Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman, German electronic music pioneers Kraftwerk and new wave trendsetter Gary Numan all incorporated the minimoog, which sold for about $2000 when introduced, into their respective musical repertoires. The synths were made until 1981 and reintroduced in 2016 as a more updated, modern model. Learn how to pronounce "Moog" here.
Today in rock history: on this date in 1972, the youngest member of popular brother act The Jackson 5, Michael, released his very first solo album at age 13. Got to Be There was a big hit for Michael. The album produced three hit singles: the title track, a cover of Bobby Day's 1958 hit "Rockin' Robin" and "I Wanna Be Where You Are" which all charted well on both pop and R&B singles charts. The album also featured young Michael's interpretations of the Bill Withers classic "Ain't No Sunshine" and the often-covered Carole King hit "You've Got A Friend." The album made it to No. 14 on Billboard's pop albums chart and sold nearly a million copies in the U.S. alone. Ten years later, Jackson would release his sixth solo album Thriller which would become the best-selling album of all time.
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Today in rock history: on this date in 1989, New Jersey-based hard-rock band Skid Row released its self-titled debut album. Coming at the tail-end of the hair metal explosion, the band boasted a harder, more aggressive sound than most of its contemporaries. Boasting the powerful, versatile vocals of lead singer Sebastian Bach, the band rose to popularity quickly and impressed audiences who saw the band first opening for headliners Aerosmith and Bon Jovi throughout their rigorous touring. The album featured the hard rock hit singles "18 and Life," "Youth Gone Wild" and the power ballad, "I Remember You." The album reached the top 10 on Billboard's pop charts and sold more than five million copies making it, by far, the most successful and best-selling release of Skid Row's existence.
