Exactly forty years ago, on this day in 1983, the Joan Armatrading single “Drop the Pilot” debuted on the US Billboard Hot 100 at #95 (May 28)
The song went all the way to #1 in South Africa, and was hugely popular in Australia and New Zealand where it peaked at #6.
The song from Armatrading’s eighth studio album “The Key” also went to #11 in the UK, and was her last UK Top 40 hit, spending a total of ten weeks in the Top 40.
The single was Armatrading's only appearance on the US Billboard Hot 100, where it spent six weeks, peaking at #78.
In April 2016, Armatrading was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2016 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards in recognition of her "influence on a generation of singer-songwriters [as] one of the outstanding voices in British music since the 1970s".
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On this day in 1977, the Heart single “Barracuda” debuted on the US Billboard Hot 100 at #84 (May 28)
The first single off the “Little Queen” LP.
In addition to peaking at #11 on the US Billboard Hot 100 (and spending 20 weeks on the chart), Barracuda’s legendary guitar riff and Ann Wilson’s soaring vocals helped boost it to #1 in South Africa, #2 in Canada, #4 in the Netherlands, #8 in Germany, #14 in Sweden, and #15 in Australia.
Ann Wilson revealed in interviews that the song was about Heart's anger towards Mushroom Records, who as a publicity stunt released a made-up story of an incestuous affair involving Ann and her sister Nancy Wilson.
The song particularly focuses on Ann's rage towards a male radio promoter who came up to her after a concert asking how her "lover" was. She initially thought he was talking about her boyfriend, band manager Michael Fisher.
After he revealed he was talking about her sister Nancy, Ann became outraged, went back to her hotel room, and wrote the original lyrics of the song.
When Heart entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013, they played "Barracuda" last in a 3-song set.
Such a good song they named a fish after it…
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Exactly forty years ago, on this day in 1983, the Eurythmics LP “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” debuted on the US Billboard 200 Album Chart at #189 (May 28)
After a year and a half of initial commercial failure for Eurythmics, this album became a breakthrough for the duo on both sides of the Atlantic, and the song of the same name from the album became their breakthrough hit, establishing the duo worldwide.
It was also their first single released in the US.
The Sweet Dreams music video helped to propel the song to #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and in Canada and France, #2 in the UK, Ireland, Spain, New Zealand and Belgium, #4 in Germany, #5 in South Africa, #6 in Australia, #8 in Switzerland, and #9 in the Netherlands.
Meanwhile the album peaked at #2 in New Zealand, #3 in the UK, #5 in Australia, #6 in Canada and Germany, #11 in the Netherlands, #14 in Sweden, and #15 in the US.
Rolling Stone called the song "a synth-pop masterpiece that made Lennox and Dave Stewart MTV superstars".
Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart wrote the song after the Tourists had broken up and they formed Eurythmics.
Although the two of them also broke up as a couple, they continued to work together.
On Rolling Stone's The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time issue in 2003, "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" was ranked #356.
In 2020, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
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On this day in 1977, the Heart LP “Little Queen” debuted on the US Billboard 200 Album Chart at #54 (May 28)
It’s a complex and interesting story…
Heart intended the LP “Magazine” to be the official follow-up to their debut album “Dreamboat Annie”.
However, a contract dispute with their label, Mushroom Records, resulted in the group signing with the newly formed Portrait Records, a division of CBS Records (now Sony BMG).
The Mushroom contract called for two albums, and the label took the position that they were owed a second one.
Therefore Mushroom attempted to prevent Portrait Records’ release of “Little Queen” and any other work by Heart.
They took the five unfinished tracks for “Magazine” and added a B-side and two live recordings.
The first release of the album in April 1977 included a disclaimer on the back cover.
The court eventually decided that Heart was free to sign with a new label but indeed owed Mushroom a second album.
Therefore, Heart returned to the studio to re-record, remix, edit, and resequence the “Magazine” recordings in a marathon session over four days.
A court-ordered guard even stood nearby to prevent the master tapes from being erased.
“Little Queen” was released on May 14, 1977, and the reworked version of “Magazine” was re-released on April 22, 1978.
With the successful single "Barracuda", “Little Queen” outsold “Magazine”, eventually earning a triple platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
However, the almost simultaneous 1977 releases also gave the band the distinction of having all three of their albums (Dreamboat Annie, Magazine, and Little Queen) on the charts at the same time…
“Little Queen” went to #2 in Canada, #9 in the US and the Netherlands, #22 in Australia, #34 in the UK and Germany, and #44 in Sweden.
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Exactly forty years ago, on this day in 1983, the single “Flashdance....What a Feeling” by Irene Cara reached the #1 spot on the US Billboard Hot 100 (May 28)
The theme song from the hit movie “Flashdance”, written by Cara and Giorgio Moroder spent three weeks in the #1 spot, and was a #1 song in many other countries around the world, including Australia, Canada, Denmark, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland, and made the Top 5 in Austria, Finland, Ireland, the UK, and Germany.
“Flashdance….What a Feeling” won the Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Original Song and earned Cara the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
In 2008, the song was ranked at #26 on Billboard's All Time Top 100, which commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Billboard Hot 100.
The success of the song made it clear to Cara that she was not receiving royalties that were stipulated in her recording contract, and she took legal action against her label in order to be compensated.
The backlash that she claims she suffered in retaliation for filing a lawsuit left her feeling shut out of the entertainment industry as she struggled to find work.
Although she began receiving royalties for the recordings she made for them, the label and its owner declared bankruptcy and claimed that they were unable to pay her the $1.5 million settlement she was awarded by a Los Angeles Superior Court.
Irene Cara later reflected, “I never realized that what seemed so logical a decision at the time would cost me so much."
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The Clash played their last ever gig with Joe Strummer and Mick Jones together, on this day in 1983 at the US ‘83 Festival at Glen Helen Park in San Bernardino in California (May 28)
Pictured is a poster from the festival, which also featured INXS, Men At Work, Divinyls, Van Halen, U2, Pretenders, Bowie, Stevie Nicks, Mötley Crüe, Judas Priest, Missing Persons, Joe Walsh, John Cougar, and Scorpions among others.
It was not a happy time for The Clash.
The band argued with the event's promoters over inflated ticket prices, threatening to pull out unless a large donation was made to a local charity, and after the show (which drew a crowd of 14.000), members of the band brawled with security staff.
By this time Topper Headon had already been kicked out of the Clash (replaced by Pete Howard) due to his escalating drug problems, and four months later, Mick Jones was out—the San Bernardino show would be his last with the band—and The Clash, as the world had known them, were effectively dead.
Strummer and Simenon continued to tour as “The Clash” for a couple of years with Howard on drums, and Nick Sheppard and Vince White as the band’s new guitarists, but it was not the same…
The last song Mick Jones played with The Clash on that day was “Clampdown”.
Click on the link below to watch “Clampdown” live a few years earlier:
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The late Steve Strange was born Stephen John Harrington in Newbridge, Caerphilly, Wales, on this day in 1959 (May 28)
Strange was involved in the London punk scene in the late 70s, and formed a punk band called the Moors Murderers which included future Pretenders frontwoman Chrissie Hynde, future Clash drummer Topper Headon, and future Psychedelic Furs drummer Vince Ely.
He’s best known however as the singer for Visage in their iconic 80’s hit “Fade To Grey”.
Earlier, Strange also appeared in Bowie’s “Ashes to Ashes” video.
Steve Strange suffered a heart attack and passed away in 2015 aged 55.
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On this day in 1977, the Alice Cooper LP “Lace and Whiskey” debuted on the US Billboard 200 Album Chart at #89 (May 28)
Alice had a change in style for this one; no snakes or canes or leather or eye makeup.
Instead he created the persona of hard-drinking 1940’s detective Maurice Escargot for this loose concept album.
The lead single was the excellent “You and Me”.
The ballad would be Alice’s last US Top 10 hit until “Poison” twelve years later.
“Lace and Whiskey” performed best in Australia, making it all the way to #3.
The album cracked the Top 40 in the UK (#33), and charted just outside the Top 40 in the US (#42).
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On this day in 1966, the Percy Sledge single “When a Man Loves a Woman" went to #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 (May 28)
“When a Man Loves a Woman" went to #1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B singles charts, and was awarded a million-selling, Gold-certified disc from the RIAA.
It also went to #4 in the UK and Belgium, and #10 in the Netherlands.
The song also became the first #1 hit recorded in the famous Muscle Shoals, which became huge in the 60s for recording and production, hosting the likes of Aretha Franklin, the Rolling Stones, Otis Redding, and Wilson Pickett among a stack of other music luminaries.
It is ranked #53 in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
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Exactly forty-three years ago this month, James Freud & the Radio Stars released their debut single “Modern Girl” from the “Breaking Silence” LP (May 1980)
A classic and underrated piece of Aussie post-punk pop/rock.
The band would go on to support Gary Numan on his Australian tour, and the late James Freud would later go on and front the band Models during their most successful incarnation.
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