Today in rock history: On this date in 1948, Vincent Damon Furnier, better known to the rock and roll world as Alice Cooper, was born in Detroit, Michigan. Breaking out of Los Angeles in the late 1960s, Alice and his band became notorious for performances that attracted the attention of business savvy musician, Frank Zappa, who helped the band land a recording contract. As the band's popularity rose, Cooper's outlandish stage shows drew more attention for his usage of stage props including a faux guillotine and real boa constrictor. Cooper was considered grotesque and obscene by parents and adults, but as negative publicity rolled in, Cooper's record and ticket sales went through the roof. Still active to this day, Cooper, one of the most visually stunning rock and roll performers of all time, turns 71 years old today. Read our recent interview with the legend here.
Today in rock history: On this date in 1977, a revamped Fleetwood Mac released an album that exceed everyone's expectations on the way to becoming one of the best-selling albums of all time. Rumors was the second album to feature a lineup including former lovers Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, who brought their talents to a band that was once a 1960s blues-rock outfit. The albums’ singles became mammoth hits — "Dreams," "Go Your Own Way," "You Make Loving Fun" and "Don't Stop" were all radio staples throughout the duration of 1977 and turned this Fleetwood Mac lineup into international superstars. In spite of (and probably because of) embittered internal love affairs, tensions and divisiveness, the band created an album that sat at No. 1 spot on the U.S. pop albums chart for an unprecedented 31 weeks. A Buckingham-less Fleetwood Mac plays Tampa’s Amalie Arena on February 18.
Today in rock history: On this date in 2009, Lux Interior, the extremely eccentric lead singer of American garage rock and rockabilly band The Cramps fell victim to heart problems and died at the age of 62. Hailing from Akron, Ohio, Interior (born Erick Lee Purkhiser) was as memorable and unique a performer as he was a songwriter. Along with wife and lead guitarist Poison Ivy, The Cramps released a string of fantastic albums dating back to the 1970s, including the band’s debut EP, Gravest Hits, which was produced by former Box Tops and Big Star member, Alex Chilton. There was no other performer like Interior, who was known for wearing women's platform shoes, guzzling whole bottles of wine onstage and contorting himself while performing.
Today in rock history: On this date in 1980, New York City punk rock architects The Ramones released their fifth studio album, End of the Century. Still looking for the band’s elusive breakout hit, the band's label hired renowned and notorious record producer Phil Spector to handle the production of the album and later cited bizarre accounts of the sessions including Spector threatening them with a handgun. Featuring a slightly different sound for the band, with some selections leaning more towards pop, reactions from fans and journalists were split. The album featured the band's cover of Ronettes classic "Baby, I Love You" which gave listeners a taste of the vocal abilities lead singer Joey Ramone (the band hated the soft treatment and the excessive string section in which Phil Spector drenched the song). Other standouts from the record include "Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio?," "Danny Says" and the band's take on "Chinese Rock," a song co-written by bassist Dee Dee Ramone and another New York musical innovator, Richard Hell. Although former New York Dolls guitarist Johnny Thunders had already recorded the song, the Ramones version is every bit as fiery as his. Despite the attempt to score a hit album, the record made little impact, barely scraping the Top 40 on American sales charts.
