1958: Ricky Nelson recorded "Lonesome Town". 1961: Bobby Lewis made it seven weeks in a row at #1 with "Tossin' and Turnin'". 1961: Elvis Presley notched his sixth #1 album with Something for Everybody. 1965: Gary Lewis & the Playboys had the #1 Easy Listening song for a third week with "Save Your Heart For Me". 1965: Out of Our Heads by the Rolling Stones was the new #1 album.
The Righteous Brothers with one of their classics
1965: Sonny & Cher once again had the #1 song with "I Got You Babe". Gary Lewis & the Playboys stepped up to 2 with "Save Your Heart For Me" while the Beatles jumped from 14 to 3 with "Help!". The Beach Boys were right behind at #4 with "California Girls" while "Unchained Melody" was #5 for the Righteous Brothers. The rest of the Top 10: the former #1 "Satisfaction" from the Rolling Stones, the Four Tops at 7 with "It's the Same Old Song", Patty Duke had song #8--"Don't Just Stand There", Herman's Hermits fell with "I'm Henry VIII, I Am" and Billy Joe Royal had #10 with "Down in the Boondocks". 1966: Rained out the night before, the Beatles performed a concert at Crosley Field in Cincinnati, Ohio, then boarded a plane for a show at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. For the second show, the group performed under a tarp due to heavy rain. It was this gig that convinced Paul McCartney that the group should stop touring. 1967: Bob Dylan renewed his recording contract with Columbia. 1967: The Doors began recording their second album at Sunset Sound Studios in Hollywood, California.
1967: The Association released the classic single "Never My Love". 1967: Pink Floyd cancelled their German tour after lead singer Syd Barrett disappeared. 1968: "Mony Mony" by Tommy James and the Shondells returned to #1 in the U.K. 1969: Led Zeppelin was in concert at the Carousel Theater in Framingham, Massachusetts.
1971: Olivia Newton-John had the top Adult Contemporary song for the third week with the Bob Dylan song "If Not for You". 1971: Marvin Gaye grabbed the #1 R&B hit for a second week with "Mercy Mercy Me" (The Ecology)".
1971: Paul & Linda McCartney moved from 65 to 21 with "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey".
1971: The Bee Gees had their biggest hit to date as "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" remained #1 for a third week. "Mr. Big Stuff" from Jean Knight was #2 and John Denver was still at #3 after 18 weeks with "Take Me Home, Country Roads". Marvin Gaye's "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" was catching fire, moving from 9 to 4 while James Taylor remained at 5 with "You've Got a Friend". CCR was up from 15-6 with their ninth Top 10--"Sweet Hitch-Hiker". The rest of the Top 10: Chicago's double-sided "Beginnings"/"Colour My World" was at 7, the Five Man Electrical Band was at 8 with "Signs", Tommy James and "Draggin' the Line" and "Liar" gave Three Dog Night their sixth Top 10 song. 1971: Tapestry by Carole King was the top album for the 10th week in a row. 1972: Police sprayed mace on lead singer Grace Slick as they scuffled with Jefferson Starship onstage at Akron, Ohio. 1975: The Eagles were in concert at the Paramount Northwest in Seattle, Washington. 1976: RCA Victor announced that sales of Elvis Presley records topped the 400 million mark. 1976: The Rolling Stones, Lynyrd Skynyrd, 10cc, Todd Rundgren's Utopia and Hot Tuna performed at the Knebworth Festival in England.
1976: England Dan & John Ford Coley climbed the final rung to #1 on the AC chart with "I'd Really Love To See You Tonight". 1980: Linda Ronstadt debuted on Broadway in the Gilbert & Sullivan production of The Pirates of Penzance.
1981: Santana had one of the hottest songs of the week with "Hold On", which moved from #72 to #51.
The Go-Go's reached the Top 10
1982: Fleetwood Mac's Mirage held down the #1 spot on the album chart, ahead of Eye of the Tiger from Survivor. Asia stayed at 3 and John Cougar (Mellencamp) was at 4 with American Fool. The rest of the Top 10: Pictures At Eleven from Robert Plant, the Steve Miller Band was at 6 with Abracadabra, Good Trouble was the new release from REO Speedwagon at #7, Crosby, Stills & Nash remained at 8 with Daylight Again, the Go-Go's moved from 42 to 9 with Vacation and Genesis reached the Top 10 with Three Sides Live.
Mellencamp had a solid #2 song...
1982: Chicago moved into the #1 position on the Adult Contemporary chart with "Hard to Say I'm Sorry". 1982: Survivor had the top song for a fifth week with "Eye of the Tiger". John Cougar (Mellencamp) had to settle for #2 for three weeks with "Hurts So Good". The Steve Miller Band ("Abracadabra") and Fleetwood Mac ("Hold Me") remained at 3 and 4, respectively. The rest of the Top 10: Chicago with "Hard To Say I'm Sorry", Air Supply at #6 with "Even the Nights Are Better", REO Speedwagon's "Keep the Fire Burnin'", the Go-Go's moved up one with "Vacation", Crosby, Stills & Nash had song #9--"Wasted on the Way" and Paul McCartney slid into the Top 10 with "Take It Away". 1989: Roxette released the single "Listen To Your Heart" from the great movie Pretty Woman starring Richard Gere & Julia Roberts. 1992: Sting married Trudi Styler. 1993: Bernie Taupin, one of the top lyricists of the Rock Era, married Stephanie Haymes. 1993: The Soundtrack to the great movie "Sleepless In Seattle" was #1 on the album chart with Black Sunday from Cypress Hill in the runner-up position. Janet by Janet Jackson was third, U2's Zooropa came in #4 and Core Promises and Lies, "The Bodyguard" Soundtrack was #7, Rod Stewart had the #8 album with Unplugged...And Seated, Aerosmith's Get a Grip came in #9 and Blind Melon had a Top 10 album with their self-titled release. 1994: Bob Dylan performed in Columbus, Ohio. 1996: Rick James was released from prison after spending two years in jail for assault.
1997: Carlos Santana held a press conference at the Hard Rock Cafe in San Francisco, California to promote a limited-edition t-shirt featuring his artwork. Santana autographed 500 shirts for distribution. 1997: Be Here Now, the new Oasis album, moved a million units on the first day. 2005: The Rolling Stones kicked off yet another world tour in Boston, Massachusetts. 2005: Bob Moog, inventor of the Moog synthesizer, died in Asheville, North Carolina at the age of 71. 2005: McFly rose to the top of the U.K. chart with "I'll Be O.K.". 2005: Staind had the top album with Chapter V. 2008: Buddy Harman, drummer who worked with Elvis Presley ("Little Sister"), Roy Orbison ("Pretty Woman") and played on over 18,000 songs, died of congestive heart failure at the age of 79. 2009: Johnny Carter, member of both the Flamingos ("I Only Have Eyes for You") and the Dells ("Stay in My Corner" from 1968) died of cancer at the age of 75.
Born This Day: 1938: Kenny Rogers was born in Houston, Texas. 1941: Tom Costello of Santana 1944: Jackie DeShannon was born in Hazel, Kentucky. 1947: Carl Giammarest, guitarist of the Buckinghams 1951: Joe Strummer, co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist of the Clash, was born in Ankara, Turkey. 1954: Steve Smith, drummer of Journey, was born in Whitman, Massachusetts. 1957: Budgie of Siouxsie & the Banshees was born in Lancashire, England. 1957: Kim Sledge of Sister Sledge 1967: Serj Tankian, lead singer, songwriter and keyboardist of System of a Down, was born in Beirut, Lebanon. 1984: Melissa Schuman of Dream was born in San Clemente, California.
This ranking shows the Top 100 Albums of the Rock Era strictly by weeks at #1. Again as you can see, this list is considerably different than the one that was published on this blog. You will note very little correlation between the two lists. Albums with an asterisk (*) indicate albums that are not in the official Top 100 Albums of All-Time in the Rock Era*. You don't have to go far to see that chart performance does not have a big influence in ranking the top albums--the #2 album in chart performance is not ranked in The Top 100 Albums of All-Time in the Rock Era*.
(This list does not include Greatest Hits Packages, Soundtracks (unless they consisted of all-new material by one artist) or Live albums (unless the album represented the first time that the mass public was introduced to the artist).)
1. Thriller by Michael Jackson 2. Calypso by Harry Belafonte* 3. Rumours by Fleetwood Mac 4. Purple Rain by Prince 5. Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em by M.C. Hammer* 6. Blue Hawai'i by Elvis Presley* 7. Ropin' the Wind by Garth Brooks 8. More of the Monkees by the Monkees* 9. Some Gave All by Billy Ray Cyrus* 10. Synchronicity by the Police 11. To the Extreme by Vanilla Ice* 12. Days of Wine and Roses by Andy Williams* 13. Tapestry by Carole King 14. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by the Beatles 15. Business As Usual by Men At Work* 16. The Kingston Trio At Large by the Kingston Trio* 17. Hi Infidelity by REO Speedwagon 18. The Wall by Pink Floyd 19. Whitney Houston by Whitney Houston 20. The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart by Bob Newhart* 21. Songs in the Key of Life by Stevie Wonder 22. Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music by Ray Charles* 23. A Hard Day's Night by the Beatles 24. Persuasive Percussion by Enoch Light & Terry Snyder and the All-Stars* 25. The Monkees by the Monkees* 26. Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morissette 27. Faith by George Michael 28. Supernatural by Santana 29. The First Family by Vaughn Meader* 30. Mariah Carey by Mariah Carey 31. Calcutta! by Lawrence Welk* 32. Whitney by Whitney Houston 33. Abbey Road by the Beatles 34. Meet the Beatles! by the Beatles* 35. Forever Your Girl by Paula Abdul* 36. Frampton Comes Alive! by Peter Frampton 37. Elvis Presley by Elvis Presley* 38. Millennium by the Backstreet Boys 39. 4 by Foreigner 40. G.I. Blues by Elvis Presley* 41. String Along by the Kingston Trio* 42. Loving You by Elvis Presley* 43. The Singing Nun by the Singing Nun* 44. Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon & Garfunkel 45. Confessions by Usher* 46. Brothers in Arms by Dire Straits 47. Tragic Kingdom by No Doubt* 48. What Now My Love by Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass* 49. Asia by Asia* 50. The Graduate by Simon & Garfunkel* 51. American Fool by John Cougar* 52. Tattoo You by the Rolling Stones* 53. The Long Run by the Eagles 54. Nice 'n' Easy by Frank Sinatra* 55. Cosmo's Factory by Creedence Clearwater Revival 56. Beatles '65 by the Beatles* 57. Help! by the Beatles* 58. The White Album by the Beatles 59. Pearl by Janis Joplin* 60. Chicago V by Chicago* 61. Whipped Cream & Other Delights by Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass* 62. Cracked Rear View by Hootie & the Blowfish 63. Sing Along With Mitch by Mitch Miller & the Gang* 64. Slippery When Wet by Bon Jovi 65. Girl You Know It's True by Milli Vanilli* 66. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road by Elton John 67. Music Box by Mariah Carey 68. Love is the Thing by Nat King Cole* 69. No Strings Attached by *NSYNC* 70. Hotel California by the Eagles 71. Here We Go Again! by the Kingston Trio* 72. Double Fantasy by John Lennon & Yoko Ono* 73. 52nd Street by Billy Joel 74. The Marshall Mathers LP by Eminem 75. Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 by Van Cliburn* 76. Wings at the Speed of Sound by Wings* 77. In Through the Out Door by Led Zeppelin 78. American Pie by Don McLean* 79. Captain Fantastic & the Brown Dirt Cowboy by Elton John 80. All Things Must Pass by George Harrison* 81. Born in the U.S.A. by Bruce Springsteen 82. No Jacket Required by Phil Collins 83. The Raw & the Cooked by Fine Young Cannibals* 84. The Chase by Garth Brooks* 85. Speakerboxxx/The Love Below by OutKast* 86. Belafonte by Harry Belafonte* 87. Abraxas by Santana 88. Breakfast in America by Supertramp 89. A Star is Born by Barbra Streisand* 90. Spirits Having Flown by the Bee Gees* 91. Bad Girls by Donna Summer* 92. ...Baby One More Time by Britney Spears* 93. Janet by Janet Jackson* 94. Daydream by Mariah Carey 95. I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got by Sinead O'Connor* 96. Get Rich or Die Tryin' by 50 Cent* 97. The Eminem Show by Eminem* 98. Hotshot by Shaggy* 99. The Massacre by 50 Cent* 100. Feels Like Home by Norah Jones*
1955: A new singer debuted on the chart for the first time on this date. "Maybellene" was his first hit and the man's name was Chuck Berry. 1960: Connie Francis began working on the movie Where the Boys Are in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
1962: The 4 Seasons released the single "Sherry". 1964: Shirley Bassey recorded "Goldfinger" for an upcoming James Bond movie of the same name. 1966: "Ain't Too Proud To Beg" by the Temptations was #1 for the eighth week on the R&B chart.
1966: The Supremes had a winner with "You Can't Hurry Love", which moved from #66 to #28 on this date. 1967: A new noise reduction system for recording of both albums and tapes was developed by R. and D.W. Dolby. 1968: Bobby Darin sold his music publishing company for a million dollars. 1969: Frank Zappa disbanded the group Mothers of Invention following eight days of touring in Canada. Apparently Zappa and his fans in Canada didn't see eye to eye for Zappa said he was ending the group because he was "tired of playing for people who clap for all the wrong reasons." Canada, you've got your heads on straight, it's Zappa that's the goofball. 1969: The Beatles were together in the studio for the final time as they finished recording of "I Want You (She's So Heavy)".
1973: The Allman Brothers Band released the single "Ramblin' Man". 1977: Barbra Streisand topped the Adult Contemporary chart for a fourth week with "My Heart Belongs to Me".
1977: The Emotions scored a #1 song with "Best of My Love". That ended three weeks at the top for Andy Gibb's "I Just Want To Be Your Everything". Rita Coolidge was up with "(Your Love Has Lifted Me) Higher and Higher" but Peter Frampton slipped after peaking at #2 with "I'm In You". The Commodores were up to #5 with their great song "Easy" and Pablo Cruise came in sixth with "Whatcha' Gonna' Do?". The rest of the Top 10: Peter McCann with "Do You Wanna' Make Love", Crosby, Stills & Nash had their first Top 10 hit with "Just a Song Before I Go", Alice Cooper's "You and Me" sat at #9 and the Bay City Rollers remained at 10 with "You Made Me Believe In Magic". 1979: Rod Stewart and wife Alana Hamilton celebrated the birth of daughter Alana. 1979: Vikki Carr gave birth to son Michael.
1979: Donna Summer released the single "Dim All the Lights". 1980: John Lennon began recording his final album Double Fantasy.
1983: The Police continued to own the #1 position for the seventh week with "Every Breath You Take".The Eurythmics remained at 2 for the third week with their biggest career hit "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)". Donna Summer ("She Works Hard for the Money" and Michael Sembello ("Maniac") maintained at 3 and 4, respectively while Stevie Nicks edged up with "Stand Back". The rest of the Top 10: Men At Work with "It's a Mistake", Duran Duran fell with "Is There Something I Should Know", the Human League was at #8--"(Keep Feeling) Fascination", Taco reached #9 with "Puttin on the Ritz" and Culture Club had another Top 10 with "I'll Tumble 4 (sic) Ya". 1988: Elton John took a turn at #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart with his eighth #1 AC hit--"I Don't Wanna' Go On With You Like That".
1988: Steve Winwood continued to set the pace for the fourth week with "Roll With It", but George Michael's "Monkey' made an 8-2 move. Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine had song #3--"1-2-3" and Elton John's 47th hit and 23rd Top 10--"I Don't Wanna' Go On With You Like That" was at #4. The rest of the Top 10: Chicago scored their 43rd hit and 17th Top 10 with "I Don't Wanna' Live Without Your Love", Breathe tumbled with their former #2 "Hands To Heaven", Terence Trent D'Arby was in the eighth position with "Sign Your Name" and two outstanding songs--"Sweet Child O' Mine" by Guns N' Roses and Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car" moved into the Top 10. 1993: Bob Dylan opened for Santana in Portland, Oregon.
1994: "I'll Make Love To You" by Boyz II Men took over the #1 slot on the R&B chart.
1994: Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories had the #1 song "Stay (I Missed You)" for the third week but hot on their tails were Boyz II Men, who made an unbelievable jump from 31 to 2 with "I'll Make Love To You". 1996: He didn't quite make the Inmates Run Rap Music episode today but perhaps he should have. Snoop Doggy Dogg settled out of court with the Woldemariam family in a wrongful death suit brought against the rapper. Their son, twenty-year-old Phillip, was shot and killed by Snoop Dogg's bodyguard from the back of a car that Snoop Dog was driving at the time. The defendants claim it was in self-defense. 1999: Bobby Sheehan, bass guitarist of Blues Traveler, was found dead in his apartment. 2001: The Foo Fighters had to cancel several dates of a European tour when drummer Taylor Hawkins was hospitalized. 2003: Olivia Newton-John postponed her tour to be with her dying 92-year-old mother in Australia. 2009: Larry Knechtel, famed guitarist of Bread and highly sought-after session musician, died of a heart attack at the age of 69.
2010: The Eagles released the single "How Long". 2010: A section of Interstate Highway 40 outside Memphis, Tennessee was named the "Isaac Hayes Memorial Highway" by the state of Tennessee on what would have been his 68th birthday. 2011: Ross Barbour of the Four Freshmen died at the age of 82. Born This Day: 1924: Jim Reeves ("Four Walls" and "He'll Have to Go") was born in Galloway, Texas; died July 31, 1964 when his single-engine plane (it's always those) crashed in thick fog. 1931: Paul Robi of the great group the Platters; died of cancer February 1, 1989. 1934: Sneaky Pete Kleinow, pedal steel guitarist for the Bee Gees, Stevie Wonder, the Flying Burrito Brothers, the Lemonheads and many others, was born in South Bend, Indiana. 1940: Paul Lantree of the Honeycombs. 1942: Isaac Hayes ("Theme from 'Shaft'" from 1971) was born in Covington, Tennessee; died August 10, 2008 after collapsing in his home east of Memphis. 1946: Ralf Hutter of Krafwerk ("Autobahn" from 1975)
1947: James Pankow, famous trombonist of Chicago, was born in St. Louis, Missouri. 1948: Robert Plant was born in Birmingham, England. 1951: Phil Lynott of Thin Lizzy was born in Birmingham, England. 1952: Doug FIeger, lead singer of the Knack, was born in Oak Park, Michigan; died of cancer February 14, 2010. 1966: Dimebag Darrell, one of the elite guitarists of the Rock Era who played with Pantera, was born in Ennis, Texas; died tragically on December 8, 2004 at the Alrosa Villa Club in Columbus, Ohio when a man stormed the stage and began firing shots. 1971: Fred Durst, lead singer of Limp Bizkit, was born in Gastonia, North Carolina.
The guitar whiz is still touring and often he will perform the entire Frampton Comes Alive album, which continues to carry over into the next generation. Here are his Five Best:
1. "Do You Feel Like We Do" 2. "I'm In You" 3. "Show Me the Way" 4. "Lines on My Face" 5. "Baby, I Love Your Way"
He started as something of a "boy genius" playing keyboards in the Spencer Davis Group. He later was a member of both Blind Faith and Traffic. He is a multi-instrumentalists with a lot of talent and Winwood has been successful as a solo artist. Here is his Hits List:
1977: "Hold On" "Time Is Running Out" 1980: "While You See a Chance" (#7, #2 Mainstream Rock, #3 Canada, #45 U.K.) 1981: "Arc of a Diver" (#48, #11 Mainstream) "Night Train" "Spanish Dancer" "There's a River' 1982: "Still in the Game" (#47, #8 Mainstream, #19 Canada) "Valerie" (#70, #13 Mainstream, #34 Canada, #51 U.K.) "Talking Back to the Night" "Your Silence is Your Song"
1986: "Higher Love" (#1, #1 Mainstream, #7 Adult Contemporary, #1 Canada, #13 U.K.) "Freedom Overspill" (#20, #4 Mainstream, #69 U.K.) "Split Decision" (#3 Mainstream) "Take It As It Comes" (#33 Mainstream) "Back in the High Life Again" (#13, #19 AC, #1 Mainstream, #53 U.K.) "Wake Me Up on Judgement Day" 1987: "The Finer Things" (#8, #5 AC, #1 Mainstream, #25 Canada) "Valerie" (remix--#9, #13 AC, #2 Mainstream, #17 Canada, #19 U.K.) 1988: "Talking Back to the Night" (remix--#57, #17 AC, #7 Mainstream, #92 Canada) "Roll with It" (#1, #1 AC, #1 Mainstream, #1 Canada, #53 U.K.) "Put On Your Dancing Shoes" (#25 Mainstream) "Don't You Know What the Night Can Do" (#6, #2 AC, #1 Mainstream, #89 U.K.) "Holding On" (#11, #1 AC, #2 Mainstream) 1989: "Hearts on Fire" (#53, #22 AC, #22 Mainstream) 1990: "One and Only Man" (#18, #9 AC, #1 Mainstream, #5 Canada, #87 U.K.) 1992: "Another Deal Goes Down" (#10 Mainstream) "I Will Be Here" 1996: "Reach for the Light" (#29 AC) 1997: "Spy in the House of Love" (#88 U.K.) "Gotta' Get Back to My Baby" "Angel of Mercy" "Plenty Lovin'"
2003: "Why Can't We Live Together" "Different Light" 2008: "Dirty City" (with Eric Clapton)
1957: Pat Boone was featured on the cover of Newsweek magazine. 1959: Another of the famous days in the Rock Era, as on this date Bobby Darin released the classic single "Mack the Knife". 1964: The Beatles began their second American tour at the Cow Palace in San Francisco, California. The Righteous Brothers, Jackie DeShannon, the Exciters and Bill Black's Combo opened for the Beatles. 1966: The Beatles were in concert for two shows at the Sam Houston Coliseum. 1967: Ringo and Maureen Starr celebrated the birth of son Jason.
1967: The Supremes shot up from #61 to #20 with the innovative "Reflections".
1967: There's no other way to look at it--these were historic times in music. "All You Need Is Love" by the Beatles replaced "Light My Fire" from the Doors as the #1 song. The Monkees edged up with "Pleasant Valley Sunday" and Stevie Wonder had #4--"I Was Made To Love Her". The rest of the Top 10: "Baby I Love You" from Aretha Franklin, the Buckinghams with "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy", Bobbie Gentry moved from 21-7 (she had made the Top 10 in three weeks) with "Ode To Billie Joe", James Brown entered the Top 10 with "Cold Sweat", Procol Harum had song #9--"A Whiter Shade of Pale" and the Young Rascals placed at 10 with "A Girl Like You". 1968: The final episode of The Monkees was aired on NBC-TV. 1969: Jefferson Airplane, Joni Mitchell, Stephen Stills and David Crosby were guests on The Dick Cavett Show on ABC. 1970: The Carpenters released the album Close to You. 1971: Led Zeppelin played before 17,000 fans at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. 1972: John Denver hosted The Midnight Special on NBC-TV. 1972: That sweet talker Al Green sang "I'm Still in Love With You" and it was still the #1 R&B song.
The title cut from the Carpenters' incredible album... 1972: Chicago V reached #1 in just its fourth week, moving Elton John's Honky Chateau out of the top spot. School's Out from Alice Cooper fell to #3, followed by A Song for You by the Carpenters and Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits.
Nilsson tells us of his strange concoction
1972: Gilbert O'Sullivan made it four weeks at #1 with "Alone Again (Naturally)". Looking Glass continued to hang in there with "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)". The Hollies were up three with "Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress". Argent ("Hold Your Head Up"), Nilsson ("Coconut") and the Carpenters ("Goodbye To Love") were the new entries in the Top 10. 1973: Rita Coolidge married Kris Kristofferson in Malibu, California. 1973: Several members of the group Chicago appeared in the movie Electra Glide in Blue, which debuted in theaters on this date.
1974: The Three Degrees were on top of the U.K. with their great song "When Will I See You Again". 1978: The Commodores had a smash in the U.K. as "Three Times a Lady" hit #1.
1978: The Commodores had the top R&B hit for a second week with "Three Times a Lady". 1978: "Three Times a Lady" was also the #1 Adult Contemporary hit.
1978: Bob Seger had a hot song in "Hollywood Nights". It moved from 78 to 38 on this date. 1979: Dorsey Burnette, brother of Johnny, died of a heart attack at the age of 46 1980: Alice Cooper cancelled a concert due to illness and 1,400 people rioted in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. 1985: John Mellencamp released his great album Scarecrow. 1988: "Hound Dog" by Elvis Presley was announced as the most-played jukebox song of the first hundred years.
1995: Count 'em--seven weeks in a row for TLC at #1 with "Waterfalls". 1997: Fleetwood Mac released the album The Dance. 2000: Gregg Allman played a benefit concert for Jeff Fountain, his fiance's father. Fountain was injured in a motorcycle accident in June. 2000: Coldplay, Barenaked Ladies and Moby all played at the V2000 Festival in Staffordshire, England. 2001: Betty Everett ("The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)") died at the age of 61. 2001: Five owned the top U.K. song with "Let's Dance". 2006: In today's edition of Inmates Run Rap Music, Busta Rhymes was arrested and charged with assault after attacking a man in Manhattan who allegedly spit on Rhymes' car. 2007: Elvis Presley posthumously rose to #1 on the U.K. album chart with The King. 2008: Lady Gaga released the album The Fame. 2008: LeRoi Moore, one of the founding members of the Dave Matthews Band, died at age 46 from injuries sustained in a car accident in June on his Virginia farm. 2008: Wayne Wadhams, lead singer of the Fifth Estate ("Ding Dong! the Witch is Dead") died. 2008: Gary Glitter was released from prison in Vietnam after serving three years for molesting two young children.
Born This Day: 1935: Earl Gaines, singer of Louis Brooks & the Hightoppers ("It's Love Baby (24 Hours a Day)"), from 1955), was born in Decatur, Alabama. 1940: Johnny Nash ("I Can See Clearly Now" from 1972) was born in Houston, Texas. 1940: Ginger Baker of the groups Cream and Blind Faith was born in London. 1940: Jonathan (Roger Cook) of David & Jonathan ("Michelle" from 1966) 1943: Billy J. Kramer (William Ashton) of Billy J. Kramer & the Dakotas was born in Bootle, Liverpool, England. 1943: Don Fardon, who recorded a version of "Indian Reservation", was born in Coventry, Warwickshire, England. 1945: Ian Gillian, lead singer of Deep Purple, was born in Hounslow, England. 1948: Susan Jacks of the Poppy Family was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. 1948: Elliot Lurie, singer and founder of Looking Glass ("Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)" from 1972), was born in Brooklyn, New York. 1949: Ralph Wash, guitarist with the Paul Butterfield Blues Band and Sylvester, was born in San Francisco, California. 1951: John Deacon, bass guitarist with Queen, was born in Leicester, England. 1963: Joey Tempest, lead singer of Europe, was born in Stockholm, Sweden. 1966: Lee Ann Womack ("I Hope You Dance") was born in Jacksonville, Texas. 1968: MC Eric of Technotronic ("Pump Up the Jam") 1980: Darius 1989: Lil' Romeo was born in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Although this factor is important in the ranking of The Top 100 Albums of All-Time in the Rock Era*, as you can see, it is nowhere near the way it turned out. The message is that each factor is important in doing such a ranking--you don't want to rely too much on one thing, but you can't discount it either. In other words, if one album sold 30 million copies and another album sold 1, no rational person would say that the lower-selling album was better, but if one sold 15 million and the other sold 12 million but won eight Grammy Awards and six tracks still get considerable airplay today, you have to assimilate all that information before you issue the rankings and the one which sold the most isn't necessarily the top one.
As promised, here is the ranking of The Top 100 Albums by Track Rating*, which essentially measures how consistent the album is and rates each song compared to the best-ever track in that genre.
1. Songs in the Key of Life by Stevie Wonder 2. Days of Future Passed by the Moody Blues 3. Rumours by Fleetwood Mac 4. Boston by Boston 5. Breakfast in America by Supertramp 6. Cosmo's Factory by Creedence Clearwater Revival 7. "Magical Mystery Tour" Soundtrack by the Beatles 8. Listen Without Prejudice by George Michael 9. Night Moves by Bob Seger 10. Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon & Garfunkel 11. Bad Company by Bad Company 12. Shepherd Moons by Enya 13. Tapestry by Carole King 14. Scenes From the Southside by Bruce Hornsby & the Range 15. Getz/Gilberto by Stan Getz & Joao Gilberto 16. Learning to Crawl by the Pretenders 17. Led Zeppelin IV by Led Zeppelin 18. The Stranger by Billy Joel 19. Stranger in Town by Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band 20. Hysteria by Def Leppard 21. Equinox by Styx 22. The Long Run by the Eagles 23. A Hard Day's Night by the Beatles 25. Invisible Touch by Genesis 26. Rapture by Anita Baker 27. A Song for You by the Carpenters 28. Abbey Road by the Beatles 29. Amplified Heart by Everything But the Girl 30. Different Light by the Bangles 31. Mariah Carey by Mariah Carey 32. Room for Squares by John Mayer 33. Tusk by Fleetwood Mac 34. Winelight by Grover Washington, Jr. 35. Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy by Elton John 36. Crimes of Passion by Pat Benatar 37. Ropin' the Wind by Garth Brooks 38. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by the Beatles 39. Wilson Phillips by Wilson Phillips 40. 4 by Foreigner 41. In Through the Out Door by Led Zeppelin 42. Make it Big by Wham! 43. Midnight in San Juan by Earl Klugh 44. Cars by the Cars 45. Come Away With Me by Norah Jones 46. Like a Virgin by Madonna 47. Phoenix by Dan Fogelberg 48. The Album by ABBA 49. Thriller by Michael Jackson 50. Against the Wind by Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band 51. An Innocent Man by Billy Joel 52. Can't Slow Down by Lionel Richie 53. IV by Toto 54. Main Course by the Bee Gees 55. Whitney Houston by Whitney Houston 56. Heart in Motion by Amy Grant 57. Scarecrow by John Mellencamp 58. Arrival by ABBA 59. Falling Into You by Celine Dion 60. Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morissette 61. Diamond Life by Sade 62. Get Lucky by Loverboy 63. Guilty by Barbra Streisand 64. Hotel California by the Eagles 65. Abraxas by Santana 66. Bookends by Simon & Garfunkel 67. Deja Vu by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young 68. Fulfillingness' First Finale by Stevie Wonder 69. Head Games by Foreigner 70. Music Box by Mariah Carey 71. Silk Degrees by Boz Scaggs 72. Volume One by Travling Wilburys 73. Fleetwood Mac by Fleetwood Mac 74. Pieces of You by Jewel 75. A New World Record by ELO 76. Back in the High Life by Steve Winwood 77. Bad by Michael Jackson 78. Bayou Country by Creedence Clearwater Revival 79. Born in the U.S.A. by Bruce Springsteen 80. Frampton Comes Alive! by Peter Frampton 81. Innervisions by Stevie Wonder 82. Jon Secada by Jon Secada 83. Like a Prayer by Madonna 84. Rubber Soul by the Beatles 85. The End of the Innocence by Don Henley 86. Venus and Mars by Paul McCartney & Wings 87. What's Going On by Marvin Gaye 88. Willy & the Poor Boys by Creedence Clearwater Revival 89. Slippery When Wet by Bon Jovi 90. Back in Black by AC/DC 91. Brand New Man by Brooks & Dunn 92. Double Vision by Foreigner 93. In Pieces by Garth Brooks 94. In the Heat of the Night by Pat Benatar 95. "Purple Rain" Soundtrack 96. Repeat Offender by Richard Marx 97. Roll the Bones by Rush 98. Starland Vocal Band by Starland Vocal Band 99. There Goes Rhymin' Simon by Paul Simon 100. Tracy Chapman by Tracy Chapman
1997: Carlos Santana held a press conference at the Hard Rock Cafe in San Francisco, California to promote a limited-edition t-shirt featuring his artwork. Santana autographed 500 shirts for distribution.
