Early 1975 was an exciting time for Led Zeppelin fans, with an upcoming tour and the impending release of the band's sixth LP, 'Physical Graffiti.' Unfortunately, a particularly passionate contingent of Zep-heads in Boston got a little out of hand on Jan. 6, 1975, unwittingly botching the group's chances of ever performing in the city again.
Carly Simon cemented her pop-star status with her third album, 'No Secrets,' released in Nov. 1972. Ironically, Simon wrapped the record's biggest hit, 'You're So Vain,' around what ended up becoming one of rock's most enduring mysteries.
Like many British rockers of his generation, Ray Davies has a big crush on America. His love of blues, country, jazz, and a number of other genres helped him find his musical muse again during a trip to New Orleans in 2004. However, the famous city also gave him something else: a bullet wound in his leg.
It would take a few years before anybody realized it, but 41 years ago today (Jan. 5) a rock and roll revolution was launched from an unlikely place. Bruce Springsteen's debut album, 'Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J.,' was released upon an unsuspecting world on Jan. 5, 1973.
Perhaps the definitive Judas Priest offering of the '80s, 'Defenders of the Faith,' their ninth studio album, was released on Jan. 4, 1983.
Jimi Hendrix wasn't one to play by the rules, and on Jan. 4, 1969, during a guest appearance on the Lulu television show, the guitar legend was up to the task. While Lulu was a great pop singer, she and Hendrix were pretty much worlds apart in the public eye,. Still, the producers of her BBC TV show booked the Jimi Hendrix Experience and approached Hendrix about singing a duet with Lulu on her big hit, 'To Sir With Love,' which was not first and foremost on Hendrix' mind, to say the least.
When the Doors entered a Hollywood recording studio to make their debut album at the end of August 1966, they knew what they wanted. Months of serving as house band at the Whisky a Go Go had sharpened their playing and performing skills to the point where one member of the quartet could abruptly swerve toward a new direction and the others would follow without missing a beat.
Thin Lizzy's hard-living frontman and bassist Phil Lynott escaped the grips of crushing childhood poverty in Dublin, but ultimately couldn't out run his own demons. He died at 36 from heart failure and pneumonia on Jan. 4, 1986, having been admitted to Salibury Hospital in Wiltshire, England on Christmas Day after "a drink and drug binge" at his home.
The history of the Who is littered with tragic events. From Pete Townshend's abuse when he was a child to the 1979 deaths of 11 fans in Cincinnati to John Entwistle's overdose in 2000. One of the lesser known stories occurred on Jan. 4, 1970, when Neil Boland, who was Keith Moon's driver and bodyguard, was accidentally run over by Moon's Bentley.
Following the massive success of 1980's double album 'The River,' many expected Bruce Springsteen to follow up his first No. 1 album with another set of radio-friendly rock songs. Instead, the songwriter released 'Nebraska,' a stark acoustic record that was mostly recorded in one session, on Jan. 3, 1982.