Exactly ten years ago, this week in 2013, the Black Sabbath LP “13” went to #1 on the UK Albums Chart (June 16)
In doing so, Black Sabbath established a new record for the longest time between #1 albums in the UK, with “13” hitting the top spot 42 years and 8 months after their second LP “Paranoid” went to #1.
It beat the previous record held by Bob Dylan.
Ozzy Osbourne was said to be "in shock" at the album's success, remarking that the band has "never had a record climb the charts so fast" before.
In another first for the band, the album also reached #1 on the US Billboard 200 Albums Chart.
Osbourne said, "There have been so many amazing highlights in our long career.
To finally have our first #1 album in the U.S. is another incredible milestone for Black Sabbath."
It also topped the charts in Canada, Denmark and Germany.
The album's lead single "God Is Dead?" won Black Sabbath their first Grammy Award in 14 years for Best Metal Performance in 2014.
Click on the link below to watch “End of the Beginning”:
One of the greatest of all time, singer, songwriter and bass player Paul McCartney was born James Paul McCartney, in Liverpool, England, on this day in 1942 (June 18)
McCartney is one of the most successful composers and performers of all time.
He has written or co-written 32 songs that have topped the US Billboard Hot 100, and as of 2009, had sales of 25.5 million RIAA-certified units in the United States alone.
Credited with more #1 songs in the UK than any other artist, McCartney has participated in twenty-four chart topping UK singles: 17 with the Beatles, one solo, and one each with Wings, Stevie Wonder, Ferry Aid, Band Aid, Band Aid 20 and "The Christians et al."
He’s the only artist to top the UK charts as a soloist, and as part of a duo, a trio, a quartet, a quintet, and an ensemble.
Probably an underrated bass player, John Lennon told Playboy magazine in an interview published in 1981:
“Paul is one of the most innovative bass players ... half the stuff that's going on now is directly ripped off from his Beatles period ... He's an egomaniac about everything else, but his bass playing he'd always been a bit coy about.”
As a singer, McCartney is known for his belting power, versatility and wide tenor vocal range, spanning over four octaves.
He was ranked the 11th greatest singer of all time by Rolling Stone.
His honours include two inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (as a member of the Beatles in 1988 and as a solo artist in 1999), and a stunning 18 Grammy Awards.
As a member of The Beatles, Wings, and as a solo artist, Paul McCartney has been one of the most influential performers in contemporary music, and his songwriting partnership with John Lennon remains the most successful in history.
His influence on modern music has been profound, and can’t be understated….
That’s Paul on piano on this track too:
On this day in 1976, Queen released the single “You’re my Best Friend” (June 18)
Queen bass player John Deacon wrote the song for his wife, and also played the electric piano on the track.
Deacon revealed the reason he played electric piano instead of the group’s regular keyboard player Freddie Mercury:,
“Well, Freddie didn't like the electric piano, so I took it home and I started to learn on the electric piano and basically that's the song that came out you know when I was learning to play piano.
It was written on that instrument and it sounds best on that. You know, often on the instrument that you wrote the song on.
Freddie agreed,
“I refused to play the damn thing [the electric piano]. It's tinny and horrible and I don't like them.
Why play those things when you've got a lovely superb grand piano?
No, I think, basically what he [John] is trying to say is it was the desired effect.”
The song from “A Night At the Opera” went to #2 in Canada, #3 in Ireland, #6 in the Netherlands, #7 in the UK, and #16 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
Click on the link below to watch:
On this day in 1979, the Blondie single “Picture This” debuted on the Australian charts at #96 (June 18)
Debbie Harry wrote the lyrics while keyboard player Jimmy Destri wrote the verse melody and Chris Stein the chorus of the debut single from the “Parallel Lines” LP.
“Picture This” climbed to #12 on the UK charts, #13 in Ireland, #15 in Sweden, and #88 in Australia.
Harry recalled, "I was so excited that in 'Picture This' I rhymed 'solid' with 'wallet.' I thought, 'Wow! Things are happening now!'"
They sure were…
Click on the link below to watch:
Singer, songwriter, musician and entertainer Peter Allen passed away on this day in 1992 (June 18)
Allen was born Peter Richard Woolnough in Tenterfield, New South Wales, Australia, in 1944.
He was known for his flamboyant stage presence, but was also a brilliant songwriter, with many of his songs becoming hits for others, like “Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)" by Christopher Cross, which he co-wrote and won an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1981.
He also wrote “I Honestly Love You" which became a hit for Olivia Newton-John, and reached #1 in the US and Canada, winning two Grammy Awards, for Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, and co-wrote “Don't Cry Out Loud" which was a hit for Melissa Manchester.
His patriotic song "I Still Call Australia Home", has been used extensively in advertising campaigns, and was added to the National Film and Sound Archive's Sounds of Australia registry in 2013.
“Countdown” viewers in Australia will also remember him performing his hit “I Go To Rio” on the famous Countdown white piano.
In his early life, his father became a violent alcoholic after returning from World War II, and took his own life when Allen was fourteen.
He tells the story of his early life in his 1972 song "Tenterfield Saddler", named after his grandfather George Woolnough.
In 1967, Allen became the first husband of actress, singer and dancer Liza Minnelli.
He also starred in his own one-man revue on Broadway.
A stage musical based on his life, also titled “The Boy from Oz”, opened in Australia in 1998.
The production starred Todd McKenney as Allen and Christina Amphlett of Divinyls as Judy Garland.
In 2003, the musical opened on Broadway, becoming the first Australian musical ever to be performed there.
In this production Allen was played by Hugh Jackman, who won a Tony Award for his portrayal in 2004.
Jackman performed this role again two years later when the show toured large arenas in Australia under the title “The Boy from Oz: Arena Spectacular”.
Allen was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 1993.
He passed away due to complications from AIDS on 18 June 1992, aged just 48.
Peter Allen’s partner Gregory Connell had passed away from the disease eight years prior.
He was not openly public about his sexuality, which was common for performers back in the day, but neither did he deny being gay.
He explained, "I was as out as a not-out celebrity could be then."
Click on the link below to watch his wonderful song “Tenterfield Saddler”:
On this day in 1977, the Fleetwood Mac single “Dreams” went to #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 (June 18)
It was to be Fleetwood Mac’s only US #1, and also went to #1 in Canada, #8 in the Netherlands, and #19 in Australia.
Songwriter Stevie Nicks recalled, "I sat down on the bed with my keyboard in front of me.
I found a drum pattern, switched my little cassette player on and wrote 'Dreams' in about 10 minutes.
Right away I liked the fact that I was doing something with a dance beat, because that made it a little unusual for me."
When Nicks played the song to the rest of the group, "They weren't nuts about it. But I said 'Please! Please record this song, at least try it.' Because the way I play things sometimes... you really have to listen."
The band recorded it the following day.
In late 2020, the song experienced a widespread resurgence in popularity as a result of a viral TikTok video created by Nathan Apodaca.
The song subsequently re-entered national music charts in certain countries, and also entered the Spotify and Apple Music charts in some countries.
“Dreams" was ranked #9 on Rolling Stone's 2021 list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".
Click on the link below to watch this classic live:
Singer Alison Moyet was born Geneviève Alison Jane Moyet in Billericay, Essex, England, on this day in 1961 (June 18)
One half of the smash hit 80s duo Yazoo, Moyet moved on to a successful solo career.
Her worldwide album sales have reached a certified 23 million, with over 2 million singles sold.
All nine of her studio albums and three compilation albums have charted in the top 30 of the UK Albums Chart, with two of them reaching number one.
She has also achieved nine top 30 singles and five top 10 hits on the UK Singles Chart.
Her most recent album, her ninth, “Other”, was released 16 June 2017…
Great voice….
Legendary saxophonist Clarence Clemons passed away on this day in 2011 (June 18)
The Big Man was was the saxophonist for The E Street Band from 1972 until his death…
Clemons also released several solo albums.
In 1985, he had a hit single with "You're a Friend of Mine", a duet with Jackson Browne.
As a guest musician, he also featured on Aretha Franklin's song "Freeway of Love".
As an actor, Clemons appeared in several films, including “New York, New York” and “Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure”. He also made cameo appearances in several TV series.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Clemons featured prominently on Springsteen's albums.
On “Born to Run” he provided memorable saxophone solos on the title track, "Thunder Road", "She's the One", "Night" and "Jungleland".
“Darkness on the Edge of Town” featured notable solos by Clemons on "Badlands" and "The Promised Land".
“The River” saw Clemons featured on songs such as "The Ties That Bind", "Sherry Darling", "I Wanna Marry You", "Drive All Night" and "Independence Day", while “Born in the U.S.A.” saw solos on "Bobby Jean" and "I'm Goin' Down".
“What he brought to the E Street Band was the power of friendship, redemptive love and inclusion,” Jackson Browne told Rolling Stone.
“He played such super-charged sax.
It made for such emotional, cathartic moments in Bruce’s songs.
So really powerful.
He had such command of that instrument, and it added to the power of what Bruce was doing.
It brought the music back to the origins of rock & roll.
It’s almost hard to imagine that music without him.”
Clemons suffered a brain aneurysm from a blood clot forming after hand surgery on June 12, 2011, and died of complications from it six days later at the age of 69.
In 2014, he was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the E Street Band.
Click on the link below to watch his great solo in “Born to Run”:
or
Click on the link below to watch him in his duo with Jackson Browne “You’re a Friend of Mine”:
Exactly forty years ago, on this day in 1983, the Radiators single “No Tragedy” peaked on the Australian charts at #27 (June 19)
Believe it or not, “No Tragedy” was the Radiators highest ever charting single, (“Comin’ Home” was their next best at #33).
The song written by OG bass player Geoff Turner was from their third LP “Scream of the Real”, which was also The Radiators highest charting album, climbing to #15 on the Australian Albums Chart (their debut LP “Feel The Heat” peaking at #22).
Click on the link below to watch the clip:
In doing so, Black Sabbath established a new record for the longest time between #1 albums in the UK, with “13” hitting the top spot 42 years and 8 months after their second LP “Paranoid” went to #1.
It beat the previous record held by Bob Dylan.
Ozzy Osbourne was said to be "in shock" at the album's success, remarking that the band has "never had a record climb the charts so fast" before.
In another first for the band, the album also reached #1 on the US Billboard 200 Albums Chart.
Osbourne said, "There have been so many amazing highlights in our long career.
To finally have our first #1 album in the U.S. is another incredible milestone for Black Sabbath."
It also topped the charts in Canada, Denmark and Germany.
The album's lead single "God Is Dead?" won Black Sabbath their first Grammy Award in 14 years for Best Metal Performance in 2014.
Click on the link below to watch “End of the Beginning”:
One of the greatest of all time, singer, songwriter and bass player Paul McCartney was born James Paul McCartney, in Liverpool, England, on this day in 1942 (June 18)
McCartney is one of the most successful composers and performers of all time.
He has written or co-written 32 songs that have topped the US Billboard Hot 100, and as of 2009, had sales of 25.5 million RIAA-certified units in the United States alone.
Credited with more #1 songs in the UK than any other artist, McCartney has participated in twenty-four chart topping UK singles: 17 with the Beatles, one solo, and one each with Wings, Stevie Wonder, Ferry Aid, Band Aid, Band Aid 20 and "The Christians et al."
He’s the only artist to top the UK charts as a soloist, and as part of a duo, a trio, a quartet, a quintet, and an ensemble.
Probably an underrated bass player, John Lennon told Playboy magazine in an interview published in 1981:
“Paul is one of the most innovative bass players ... half the stuff that's going on now is directly ripped off from his Beatles period ... He's an egomaniac about everything else, but his bass playing he'd always been a bit coy about.”
As a singer, McCartney is known for his belting power, versatility and wide tenor vocal range, spanning over four octaves.
He was ranked the 11th greatest singer of all time by Rolling Stone.
His honours include two inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (as a member of the Beatles in 1988 and as a solo artist in 1999), and a stunning 18 Grammy Awards.
As a member of The Beatles, Wings, and as a solo artist, Paul McCartney has been one of the most influential performers in contemporary music, and his songwriting partnership with John Lennon remains the most successful in history.
His influence on modern music has been profound, and can’t be understated….
That’s Paul on piano on this track too:
On this day in 1976, Queen released the single “You’re my Best Friend” (June 18)
Queen bass player John Deacon wrote the song for his wife, and also played the electric piano on the track.
Deacon revealed the reason he played electric piano instead of the group’s regular keyboard player Freddie Mercury:,
“Well, Freddie didn't like the electric piano, so I took it home and I started to learn on the electric piano and basically that's the song that came out you know when I was learning to play piano.
It was written on that instrument and it sounds best on that. You know, often on the instrument that you wrote the song on.
Freddie agreed,
“I refused to play the damn thing [the electric piano]. It's tinny and horrible and I don't like them.
Why play those things when you've got a lovely superb grand piano?
No, I think, basically what he [John] is trying to say is it was the desired effect.”
The song from “A Night At the Opera” went to #2 in Canada, #3 in Ireland, #6 in the Netherlands, #7 in the UK, and #16 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
Click on the link below to watch:
On this day in 1979, the Blondie single “Picture This” debuted on the Australian charts at #96 (June 18)
Debbie Harry wrote the lyrics while keyboard player Jimmy Destri wrote the verse melody and Chris Stein the chorus of the debut single from the “Parallel Lines” LP.
“Picture This” climbed to #12 on the UK charts, #13 in Ireland, #15 in Sweden, and #88 in Australia.
Harry recalled, "I was so excited that in 'Picture This' I rhymed 'solid' with 'wallet.' I thought, 'Wow! Things are happening now!'"
They sure were…
Click on the link below to watch:
Singer, songwriter, musician and entertainer Peter Allen passed away on this day in 1992 (June 18)
Allen was born Peter Richard Woolnough in Tenterfield, New South Wales, Australia, in 1944.
He was known for his flamboyant stage presence, but was also a brilliant songwriter, with many of his songs becoming hits for others, like “Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)" by Christopher Cross, which he co-wrote and won an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1981.
He also wrote “I Honestly Love You" which became a hit for Olivia Newton-John, and reached #1 in the US and Canada, winning two Grammy Awards, for Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, and co-wrote “Don't Cry Out Loud" which was a hit for Melissa Manchester.
His patriotic song "I Still Call Australia Home", has been used extensively in advertising campaigns, and was added to the National Film and Sound Archive's Sounds of Australia registry in 2013.
“Countdown” viewers in Australia will also remember him performing his hit “I Go To Rio” on the famous Countdown white piano.
In his early life, his father became a violent alcoholic after returning from World War II, and took his own life when Allen was fourteen.
He tells the story of his early life in his 1972 song "Tenterfield Saddler", named after his grandfather George Woolnough.
In 1967, Allen became the first husband of actress, singer and dancer Liza Minnelli.
He also starred in his own one-man revue on Broadway.
A stage musical based on his life, also titled “The Boy from Oz”, opened in Australia in 1998.
The production starred Todd McKenney as Allen and Christina Amphlett of Divinyls as Judy Garland.
In 2003, the musical opened on Broadway, becoming the first Australian musical ever to be performed there.
In this production Allen was played by Hugh Jackman, who won a Tony Award for his portrayal in 2004.
Jackman performed this role again two years later when the show toured large arenas in Australia under the title “The Boy from Oz: Arena Spectacular”.
Allen was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 1993.
He passed away due to complications from AIDS on 18 June 1992, aged just 48.
Peter Allen’s partner Gregory Connell had passed away from the disease eight years prior.
He was not openly public about his sexuality, which was common for performers back in the day, but neither did he deny being gay.
He explained, "I was as out as a not-out celebrity could be then."
Click on the link below to watch his wonderful song “Tenterfield Saddler”:
On this day in 1977, the Fleetwood Mac single “Dreams” went to #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 (June 18)
It was to be Fleetwood Mac’s only US #1, and also went to #1 in Canada, #8 in the Netherlands, and #19 in Australia.
Songwriter Stevie Nicks recalled, "I sat down on the bed with my keyboard in front of me.
I found a drum pattern, switched my little cassette player on and wrote 'Dreams' in about 10 minutes.
Right away I liked the fact that I was doing something with a dance beat, because that made it a little unusual for me."
When Nicks played the song to the rest of the group, "They weren't nuts about it. But I said 'Please! Please record this song, at least try it.' Because the way I play things sometimes... you really have to listen."
The band recorded it the following day.
In late 2020, the song experienced a widespread resurgence in popularity as a result of a viral TikTok video created by Nathan Apodaca.
The song subsequently re-entered national music charts in certain countries, and also entered the Spotify and Apple Music charts in some countries.
“Dreams" was ranked #9 on Rolling Stone's 2021 list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".
Click on the link below to watch this classic live:
Singer Alison Moyet was born Geneviève Alison Jane Moyet in Billericay, Essex, England, on this day in 1961 (June 18)
One half of the smash hit 80s duo Yazoo, Moyet moved on to a successful solo career.
Her worldwide album sales have reached a certified 23 million, with over 2 million singles sold.
All nine of her studio albums and three compilation albums have charted in the top 30 of the UK Albums Chart, with two of them reaching number one.
She has also achieved nine top 30 singles and five top 10 hits on the UK Singles Chart.
Her most recent album, her ninth, “Other”, was released 16 June 2017…
Great voice….
Legendary saxophonist Clarence Clemons passed away on this day in 2011 (June 18)
The Big Man was was the saxophonist for The E Street Band from 1972 until his death…
Clemons also released several solo albums.
In 1985, he had a hit single with "You're a Friend of Mine", a duet with Jackson Browne.
As a guest musician, he also featured on Aretha Franklin's song "Freeway of Love".
As an actor, Clemons appeared in several films, including “New York, New York” and “Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure”. He also made cameo appearances in several TV series.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Clemons featured prominently on Springsteen's albums.
On “Born to Run” he provided memorable saxophone solos on the title track, "Thunder Road", "She's the One", "Night" and "Jungleland".
“Darkness on the Edge of Town” featured notable solos by Clemons on "Badlands" and "The Promised Land".
“The River” saw Clemons featured on songs such as "The Ties That Bind", "Sherry Darling", "I Wanna Marry You", "Drive All Night" and "Independence Day", while “Born in the U.S.A.” saw solos on "Bobby Jean" and "I'm Goin' Down".
“What he brought to the E Street Band was the power of friendship, redemptive love and inclusion,” Jackson Browne told Rolling Stone.
“He played such super-charged sax.
It made for such emotional, cathartic moments in Bruce’s songs.
So really powerful.
He had such command of that instrument, and it added to the power of what Bruce was doing.
It brought the music back to the origins of rock & roll.
It’s almost hard to imagine that music without him.”
Clemons suffered a brain aneurysm from a blood clot forming after hand surgery on June 12, 2011, and died of complications from it six days later at the age of 69.
In 2014, he was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the E Street Band.
Click on the link below to watch his great solo in “Born to Run”:
or
Click on the link below to watch him in his duo with Jackson Browne “You’re a Friend of Mine”:
Exactly forty years ago, on this day in 1983, the Radiators single “No Tragedy” peaked on the Australian charts at #27 (June 19)
Believe it or not, “No Tragedy” was the Radiators highest ever charting single, (“Comin’ Home” was their next best at #33).
The song written by OG bass player Geoff Turner was from their third LP “Scream of the Real”, which was also The Radiators highest charting album, climbing to #15 on the Australian Albums Chart (their debut LP “Feel The Heat” peaking at #22).
Click on the link below to watch the clip:
