This Date in Rock Music History: April 15

1956:  Elvis Presley appeared at the Municipal Auditorium in San Antonio, Texas.
1958:  Buddy Holly's Fender Stratocaster guitar was stolen while the group was having lunch prior to a concert in St. Louis, Missouri.
1960:  The Dick Clark movie Because They're Young, featuring James Darren and Duane Eddy, opened in New York.


1965:  Jackie DeShannon released the single "What The World Needs Now Is Love".  But she could have just as well released the song today, and it would have still been successful.  (Note:  some websites claim the single was released in May.  The correct date of release is April 15, 1965, according to the book 'Fully Alive: Lighten Up and Live - A Journey that Will Change Your Life' by Ken Davis.)  








1966:  Buffalo Springfield appeared in concert for the first time, opening for the Byrds at Swing Auditorium in San Bernardino, California.
1966:  Jimi Hendrix, Cat Stevens, the Walker Brothers and Engelbert Humperdinck appeared together at the Odeon Theatre in Blackpool, England.
1967:  Aretha Franklin prevailed for a fourth week at #1 on the R&B chart with "I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You)".







1967:  Nancy and Frank Sinatra teamed for a new #1 "Somethin' Stupid".  That replaced the Turtles' classic "Happy Together".  The remainder of the Top Ten:  "This Is My Song" From Petula Clark at #3, "Bernadette" from the Four Tops at #4, the Monkees had #5 with "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You", "Western Union" from the Five Americans was song #6, Tommy James & the Shondells had #7 with "I Think We're Alone Now", the Mamas & Papas came in at 8 with "Dedicated To The One I Love", Aretha Franklin moved into the Top Ten with "I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You)" and "Jimmy Mack" from Martha & the Vandellas rounded out the Top Ten.
1967:  "Somethin' Stupid" was in the third of nine weeks at #1 on the Easy Listening chart.





1967:  The Monkees spent a 26th week at #1 on the Album chart, 16 of them thanks to their debut album and another 10 with their follow-up, More of the Monkees.  That is far and away the Rock Era record, with Fleetwood Mac a distant second with 19 consecutive weeks at #1, all with Rumours.
1968:  Aretha Franklin recorded "Think" at Atlantic Recording Studios in New York City.








1969:  Creedence Clearwater Revival released the single "Bad Moon Rising".  
1969:  Archie Bell of the Drells was released from the U.S. Army after serving in Vietnam.
1971:  The Beatles won the Oscar for Best Film Score for Let It Be at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Hollywood, California.
1972:  "In the Rain", one of The Top 100 R&B Songs of the 1970's* from the Dramatics, spent a fourth week at #1 on the R&B chart.









                      The Stylistics charmed their way into the Top 10...

  1972:  Roberta Flack began a six-week assault on the Singles chart with her #1 "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face".  That replaced America's "A Horse With No Name" which had enjoyed a three-week stay at the top.  "I Gotcha'" from Joe Tex was #3, followed by "Rockin' Robin" from Michael Jackson, Neil Young's former #1 "Heart Of Gold" at #5, "In The Rain" from the Dramatics moving up to #6, "Puppy Love" by Donny Osmond, the Stylistics jumped into the top Ten with "Betcha By Golly, Wow" at #8, Aretha Franklin had #9 with "Day Dreaming" and Sonny & Cher came in at #10 with "A Cowboy's Work Is Never Done".






1972:  "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" spent a third week atop the Adult Contemporary chart.
1975:  KISS and Rush were in concert at the Stanley Theater in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
1978:  One duo (Johnny Mathis & Deniece Williams with their song "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late") took over from another (Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway with "The Closer I Get To You") on the R&B chart.
1978:  Dan & Coley held down #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart with "We'll Never Have To Say Goodbye Again" for the fourth week in a row.






       
                          Flack & Hathaway teamed up for this soul gem... 

  1978:  A song written by the Bee Gees (in this case their own "Night Fever" was at #1 for the 11th consecutive week of what would be 15 weeks in a row for the trio.  The rest of the Top 10--The Bee Gees' former #1 "Stayin' Alive" at #2, "Lay Down Sally" by Eric Clapton, Barry Manilow at #4 with "Can't Smile Without You", Yvonne Elliman remaining at 5 with "If I Can't Have You", Kansas appeared to have a big hit with "Dust In The Wind", Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway jumped from 13-7 with "The Closer I Get To You", Raydio had #8 with "Jack And Jill", England Dan & John Ford Coley moved into the top Ten with "We'll Never Have To Say Goodbye Again" and Natalie Cole scored a top 10 with "Our Love".
1978:  The Soundtrack to "Saturday Night Fever" continued to set the pace on the Album chart for the 13th straight week.
1982:  Billy Joel was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident on Long Island in New York when a car ran a red light.  Joel was hospitalized for over a month.  

1984:  Kenny Loggins had the top song in the land for a third week with "Footloose".  Phil Collins was making a move with "Against All Odds" while Rockwell was going the wrong way, down to #3 with "Somebody's Watching Me".  Lionel Richie appeared destined for the top with "Hello", moving from 10-4.  The rest of the Top 10:  the Pointers had #5 with "Automatic", Culture Club was at 6 with "Miss Me Blind", the Eurythmics slipped to 7 with "Here Comes The Rain Again", the Thompson Twins had a top 10 song with "Hold Me Now", Hall & Oates slipped to #9 with "Adult Education" and Van Halen's former #1 "Jump" was at 10.
1984:  Lionel Richie spent a second of six weeks at #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart with "Hello".
1985:  Bruce Springsteen appeared before a sold-out crowd for the fourth of five concerts at Yoyogi Olympic Pool in Tokyo, Japan as part of his Born in the U.S.A. tour.




1986:  Janet Jackson released the single "Nasty".











1987:  Queen was presented with an award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music at the Ivor Novello Awards Show in London.
1988:  Pink Floyd began a North American tour at the Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles.
1989:  The Fine Young Cannibals overtook Roxette (which slipped to #2 with "The Look") at #1 with "She Drives Me Crazy".  The rest of the Top Five:  "Like A Prayer" from Madonna at #3, "Eternal Flame" by the Bangles, and "Girl You Know It's True" by Milli Vanilli had #5, just another clue that the quality of music was slipping.
1989:  "Eternal Flame" was #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart for a second straight week.
1989:  Tone Loc hit #1 on the Album chart with Loc-ed After Dark.


1989:  "You Got It", which was to be the comeback song for Roy Orbison, produced by fellow Traveling WIlbury member Jeff Lynne, reached the Top 10 four months after Orbison's death of a heart attack.









1991:  Michael Bolton released the single "Love Is A Wonderful Thing".
1995:  Montell Jordan remained at #1 for a third week on the R&B chart with "This Is How We Do It".








1996:  The remaining ashes of Jerry Garcia were scattered near the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California.  He had requested a small portion of the ashes to be scattered in the Ganges River in India on April 4.
1999:  Entropy starring U2 premiered at the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival.
2005:  John Fred Gourrier (John Fred and his Playboy Band) died at age 63 after being hospitalized with kidney problems in New Orleans, Louisiana.
2007:  Aerosmith, Velvet Revolver and Evanescence appeared in concert at the Quilmes Rock Festival at Estadio River Plate in Argentina.


Born This Day:
1937:  Bob Luman ("Let's Think About Livin'" from 1969) was born in Blackjack, Texas; died from pneumonia in Nashville, Tennessee December 27, 1978.  (Note:  several websites report that Luman was born in Nacogdoches, Texas.  According to the Rockabilly Hall of Fame, he was born in Blackjack and raised in Nacogdoches.)
1940:  Clarence Satchell, saxophonist and guitarist of the Ohio Players; died on December 30, 1995 of a brain aneurysm.

1944:  Dave Edmunds ("I Hear You Knocking"), who also produced albums by Brinsley Schwarz and the Stray Cats was born in Cardiff, Wales. 










1947:  Mike Chapman, famed songwriter and producer who created hits for Suzi Quatro and Sweet and produced Blondie and the Knack, was born in Queensland, Australia.










1965:  Linda Perry of 4 Non Blondes ("What's Going On?"), and an accomplished songwriter and producer ("Get The Party Started" for Pink, "Beautiful" for Christina Aguilera and Gwen Stefani "What You Waiting For?"),  was born in Springfield, Massachusetts.
1966:  Graeme Clark, bass guitarist of Wet, Wet, Wet (remake of "Love Is All Around"), was born in Glasgow, Scotland.
1966:  Samantha Fox was born in London.
1967:  Frankie Poullain, bassist of the Darkness, was born in Edinburgh, Scotland.
1968:  Ed O'Brien, songwriter and guitarist of Radiohead, was born in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England.

The #27 Guitarist of the Rock Era: Marty Friedman

#27 is a master of the guitar, known for fast playing and great, melodic solos:

#27:  Marty Friedman, Cacophony, Megadeth, Solo

32 years as an active guitarist

Martin Adam "Marty" Friedman was born December 8, 1962.  He was the lead and rhythm guitarist for Megadeth for nearly a decade.  
 

Friedman has had some guitar lessons but is basically self-taught.  He was inspired by Queen, Kiss, Black Sabbath and the Ramones.  Marty played in several groups while starting out, most notably Cacophony.  Together with Jason Becker, whom we've already heard in The Top 100 Guitarists*, the two played synchronized guitar harmonies.  
 

After the breakup of Cacophony in 1989, Friedman tried out for the band Megadeth.  He officially joined the band in February of 1990 and recorded on the album Rust in Peace, which was certified Platinum.  Marty brought the same exotic scale solos he had played with Cacophony to Megadeth.  In 1992, the group released Countdown to Extinction, which reached Double Platinum status.  Friedman and Megadeth released Youthanasia in 1994, Cryptic Writings in 1997 and Risk in 1999 before Marty left the group after a show in early 2000.  While Friedman was the lead guitarist, Megadeth sold ten million albums worldwide.


Friedman has played guitar for several other artists, and released a solo album, Loudspeaker in 2006, that was among his best.  Friedman has founded a new band called Lovefixer.  His most recent album was Tokyo Jukebox 2 released in 2011.

Friedman is a great improviser and will often play arpeggiated chords and various customized scales and occassionally employ sweep picking.  Marty frequently uses the upstroke as opposed to the down stroke, making his solos unique and difficult to replicate using a different picking approach.
 

While with Cacophony, Friedman played Hurricane guitars, then switched to Carvin, favoring the V220M model.  He also used Carvin and Hurricane guitars on his first solo album Dragon's Kiss.  After joining Megadeth, Marty switched to Jackson Guitars with the Jackson Kelly.  The KE1's were Friedman's signature models with poplar bodies and a single Seymour Duncan JB pickup and a Kahler Fine-tuning fixed bridge.  He also used the Rhoads and the Roswell Rhoads.  In 2000, Marty endorsed Ibanez and produced a signature model called the MFM.  He since has played PRS Guitars, using both the Singlecut and Tremonti.  


When Friedman joined Megadeth, he used a Bogner Triple Giant amplifier and a Tube Works for solos, along with a VHT 2150 power amp.  He used Custom Audio Electronics 3+ Preamps and VHT 2150's on the next two albums, before switching to Crate Amplifiers (the Blue Voodoo and ENGL).  Marty uses Special Edition heads and ENGL vintage cabinets.
 

Friedman employs several guitar effects, including the GS-10, ST-2 Power Stack, the AC-2 Acoustic Simulator, the PS-6 Harmonist, the NS-2 Noise Suppressor and DD-5 Digital Delay from Boss, the MAXON Auto Filter and the Tech 21 SansAmp GT-2.


We are well within the cream of the crop now.  Marty Friedman ranks #27 for the Rock Era*...

This Date in Rock Music History: April 14

1956:  Bobby Helms ("Jingle Bell Rock") signed with Decca Records.
1958:  The Champs celebrated a third week at #1 on the R&B chart with "Tequila".

1960:  Berry Gordy merged Tamla Records and Motown Records to form the famous Motown Record corporation.  (Note:  some websites claim Motown was founded on April 14, 1959.  Gordy founded Tamla on January 12, 1959 with an $800 loan from his family, according to the official website for the Motown Museum.  He started Motown records in September of 1959, according to many sources, including the book 'African-American Business Leaders:  A Biographical Dictionary' by John N. Ingham and Lynne B. Feldman, then merged the two together on this date in 1960, according to many sources, including the book 'Michael Jackson King of Pop' by Jean-Pierre Hombach.) 1962:  "Johnny Angel" spent a second week at #1 on this date; it was the big hit for Shelley Fabares.

1963:  The Beatles met the Rolling Stones for the first time after the latter gave a concert at the Crawdaddy Club at the Station Hotel (1 Kew Road) in Richmond, Surrey, England.










1965:  Millie Small sang her hit "My Boy Lollipop" on the television show Shindig!.  Other performers included Neil Sedaka, Jerry Lee Lewis and April & Nino.
1965:  The movie Girl Happy starring Elvis Presley opened in theaters.
1966:  The Beatles finished recording "Paperback Writer", a song they had started the previous night without rehearsal.
1966:  The Spencer Davis Group was at #1 in the U.K. with "Somebody Help Me".

1966:  Roy Orbison, the Walker Brothers and Lulu performed at the Colston Hall in Bristol, England.










1967:  The Bee Gees released the single "New York Mining Disaster 1941".

1967:  The final episode of Where the Action Is starring Paul Revere & the Raiders aired on ABC-TV.
1969:  The 33 1/3 Revolutions Per Monkee special aired on NBC-TV.
1969:  The Beatles, or more specifically just John Lennon and Paul McCartney, recorded "The Ballad Of John And Yoko".
1969:  Barbra Streisand (Funny Girl) tied Katherine Hepburn (The Lion In Winter) for Best Actress at the Academy Awards.

1970:  CCR made their live debut in the U.K. at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

1970:  Stephen Stills broke his wrist in a car accident.





1973:  The man had a style all his own, and we loved him for it.  On this date, we were introduced to Barry White, as his first career single, "I'm Gonna' Love You Just A Little More, Baby", debuted on the chart.
1973:  Led Zeppelin moved into #1 on the U.K. Album chart with Houses of the Holy.
1973:  Diana Ross had the #1 album with the Soundtrack to "Lady Sings the Blues".

                          War had themselves a Top 10 with "The Cisco Kid"...


1973:  "The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia" by Vicki Lawrence was #1 for the second week in a row.  Gladys Knight & the Pips once again were at #2 with "Neither One Of Us (Wants To Be The First To Say Goodbye)".  The rest of the Top Ten as long titles were the order of the day--#3 "Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" by Dawn, #4 was "Ain't No Woman (Like the One I've Got)" by the Four Tops, the Carpenters moved into position #5 with "Sing", War had #6 with "The Cisco Kid", Anne Murray was at 7 with "Danny's Song", the Stylistics slipped to #8 with "Break Up to Make Up", Roberta Flack's former #1 "Killing Me Softly With His Song" was at #9 and Al Green cracked the top Ten with "Call Me (Come Back Home)". 
1973:  "Tie A Yellow Ribbon 'Round the Ole Oak Tree" by Tony Orlando & Dawn was #1 for the second week in a row on the Adult Contemporary chart.
1974:  Ladies and Gentlemen:  The Rolling Stones premiered at Ziegfeld Theater in New York City for invited guests.  The movie opened to the general public the following day at the Ziegfeld.  It was the first concert movie to feature quadraphonic sound.  (Note:  some websites claim the premiere was April 6, but it was the 14th for special guests and the 15th for the general public, according to 'New York Magazine'.)






1975:  Chicago released their single "Old Days".







 


1975:  Van McCoy released the single "The Hustle".  (Note:  one website shows the date of release as April 18, while another says the single was released in August.  "The Hustle" debuted on the Singles chart on April 19, 1975.  It is physically impossible for a song to be released by the record company, listened to and added to radio station playlists, reported to the trade papers, and printed and published by the trade papers, all in just two days, not to mention impossible to be included on the Singles chart if it has not yet been released as a single.)








1975:  Art Garfunkel began a six-week run at #1 in the U.K. with his beautiful song "Bright Eyes" from the movie Watership Down.  It would go on to become the biggest selling single of the year.  In the U.S., it has to settle for being one of The Top Unknown/Underrated Songs of the Rock Era.
1975:  The Rolling Stones announced that singer/guitarist Ron Wood would join them for their upcoming tour.  Wood joined the group as a full-time member later in the year.















1979:  Newcomer Rickie Lee Jones released the single "Chuck E's In Love".










          
                                         "Surrender" helped introduce us to Cheap Trick...

1979:  The Doobie Brothers had the top album with Minute By Minute.  The self-titled Dire Straits was second, switching places with Spirits Having Flown from the Bee Gees.  2 Hot!  from a new Peaches & Herb was fourth.  The rest of the Top 10:  Blondes Have More Fun from Rod Stewart, Gloria Gaynor with Love Tracks, Bad Company moved up to #7 with Desolation Angels, George Benson with Livin' Inside Your Love, the Allman Brothers Band were back with Enlightened Rouges and Cheap Trick found the Top 10 with their breakthrough album, Cheap Trick Live At Budokan.
1979:  "Crazy Love" by Poco spent a sixth of seven weeks it would reign as #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart.  It was one of the top AC hits of the decade.






1979:  The Doobie Brothers took over at #1 on the Hot 100 with their first career #1--"What A Fool Believes".  Gloria Gaynor's former #1 "I Will Survive" was at 2, Amii Stewart moved up to #3 with "Knock On Wood", the debut from Dire Straits, "Sultans Of Swing", was at #4 and Frank Mills' catchy instrumental "Music Box Dancer" moved into the top five.  The rest of the Top 10:  The Bee Gees were at #6 with their former #1 "Tragedy", Peaches & Herb were headed that way, going from 15-7 with "Reunited", Blondie had song #8 with "Heart Of Glass", Suzi Quatro & Chris Norman had a top Ten record with "Stumblin' In" and the Little River Band was at #10 with "Lady".
1980:  Iron Maiden released their debut album.  (Note:  several websites claim the album was released on April 11.  While no credible sources exist for either date, our best research indicates that the album was released April 14.)
1980:  Gary Numan released The Touring Principle, the first rock videocassette available for purchase.




1980:  A bill was introduced in the New Jersey state assembly to make "Born To Run" by Bruce Springsteen the official state song.











1981:  Neil Diamond released the single "America" on the day the U.S. first Space Shuttle, Columbia, landed.
1983:  Pete Farndon of the Pretenders died from drugs in London at the age of 29.  Farndon had been fired from the group one year earlier because of his addiction.  Yet he hadn't learned.










1984:  Billy Idol released the single "Eyes Without A Face".  (Note:  some websites naively say the single was released May 29.  "Eyes Without A Face" debuted on the charts on May 5.  It is physically impossible for a song to be included on the Singles chart if it has not yet been released as a single.)
1984:  "Hello" by Lionel Richie led the way on the Adult Contemporary chart for the second out of an eventual six weeks at #1.

1984:  Thriller by Michael Jackson topped the Album chart for the 37th week, a record that still stands.  The "Footloose" Soundtrack was second with 1984 from Van Halen and Can't Slow Down from Lionel Richie right behind.  Huey Lewis & the News completed a great Top Five with Sports.  The rest of the Top 10:  Culture Club with Colour By Numbers, the Eurythmics' album Touch, the Scorpions crawled in at #8 with Love At First Sting, the Pretenders' amazing album Learning to Crawl at #9 and Cyndi Lauper remained 10th with She's So Unusual.

1985:  Phil Collins released the song "Sussudio".











1989:  The Fine Young Cannibals released the single "Good Thing".

1990:  Thurston Harris ("Little Bitty Pretty One" from 1957) died of a heart attack in Pomona, California at the age of 58.
1990:  Madonna had the #1 song in the U.K. with "Vogue".
1990:  Tommy Page had his first and only #1 with "I'll Be Your Everything".  Jane Child was at 2 with "Don't Wanna' Fall In Love", Lisa Stansfield remained at #3 with "All Around The World", Sinead O'Connor was headed for the top with "Nothing Compares 2 (sic) U (sic)" and Taylor Dayne fell from #1 to #5 with "Love Will Lead You Back".









                       Dayne ruled the AC chart...


1990:  Taylor Dayne spent a fourth week at #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart with "Love Will Lead You Back".
1993:  Paul McCartney began a 24-date tour of North America at the Sam Boyd Silver Bowl in Las Vegas, Nevada.
1995:  Burl Ives ("Holly Jolly Christmas") died of cancer of the mouth in Anacortes, Washington at the age of 85.
2002:  Phil Selway of Radiohead ran in the London Marathon, raising $26,628 for the Samaritans.
2004:  Sophie B. Hawkins ("As I Lay Me Down") won a lawsuit against a man selling pirated copies of her new album Wilderness.
2004:  Usher was on top of the Album chart for the third week in a row with Confessions.
2006:  The Beatles announced they would digitally remaster their back catalog and sell the music online.
2008:  Brian May, elite guitarist for Queen, was named chancellor of John Moore University in Liverpool, England.

2009:  George Harrison was recognized with a posthumous star (Why don't they ever do these things on time?) on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles.  Sir Paul McCartney was there to witness the event, joining Olivia Harrison and son Dhani.  Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks and Tom Petty also were on hand.

2013:  George Jackson, singer and songwriter who wrote "Old Time Rock & Roll" for Bob Seger and "One Bad Apple" for the Osmonds; died April 14, 2013 in Ridgeland, Mississippi at age 68.  Jackson also wrote songs recorded by Wilson Pickett, Clarence Carter, Johnnie Taylor, and many others.  (Note:  the oft-wrong 'Allmusic.com' states that Jackson died in Jackson, Mississippi.  The correct place of death is Ridgeland, according to the newspaper 'The New York Times'.)

Born This Day:
1942:  Tony Burrows, who sang lead for Edison Lighthouse, White Plains, the Pipkins and Brotherhood of Man (all four groups were in the British Top Ten at once in 1970), was born in Exeter, Devon, England.
1944:  Michael Brewer of Brewer & Shipley ("One Toke Over The Line") was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

1945:  Ritchie Blackmore, elite guitarist of Deep Purple, Rainbow and Blackmore's Night, was born in Weston-super Mare, Somerset, England.  
1946:  Patrick Fairley of Marmalade ("Reflections Of My Life") was born in Glasgow, Scotland.
1948:  Larry Ferguson, keyboardist of Hot Chocolate, was born in Nassau, the Bahamas.
1949:  Dennis Bryon of Amen Corner, who worked with the Bee Gees in the 70's and 80's, was born in Cardiff, Wales.
1949:  June Millington of the group Fanny ("Butter Boy" from 1975) was born in Manilla, the Phillipines.
1962:  Joey Pesce, keyboardist of 'Til Tuesday ("Voices Carry")

1974:  Shawntae Harris (Da Brat) was born in Joliet, Illinois.  (Note:  some websites report Harris was born in Chicago, Illinois.  Although no credible sources exist for either city, our best information is that Harris was born in Joliet.)

The #28 Guitarist of the Rock Era: Glenn Tipton

We are 72 guitarists in, 28 more to go.  We have another genius on the guitar, technically skilled and super fast:

#28:  Glenn Tipton

45 years as an active guitarist

Glenn Raymond Tipton was born October 25, 1947 in Blackheath, England.  Tipton has been featured as one of two lead guitarists for the heavy metal group Judas Priest.
 

Tipton's brother, Gary, played guitar in a band called the Atlantics.  Glenn was taught to play piano by his mother but did not learn to play guitar until age 19.  His first guitar was a Hofner acoustic.  Glenn's first group was called Shave Em' Dry, which became Merlin, which changed their name to the Flying Hat Band.  After that group broke up, Tipton joined Judas Priest in May of 1974.  The group was recording the album RockaRolla, and Tipton added his guitar parts.


Glenn wrote several songs on the album Sad Wings of Destiny and his guitar work is displayed on "Tyrant", "Dreamer Deceiver" and "Victim of Changes".  The album British Steel in 1980 was Judas Priest's breakthrough.  The group continued to flourish with the albums Point of Entry, Screaming for Vengeance, Defenders of the Faith, Turbo, Ram it Down and Painkiller.  


After lead singer Rob Halford left in 1992 the band split, but returned with Tim "Ripper" Owens in 1997.  With the lineup, Judas Priest recorded Jugulator and Demolition.  Tipton also released his first solo album Baptizm of Fire in 1997.  A second Tipton album, Edge of the World, was released in 2006.
 

Halford rejoined the group in 2003 and they released Angel of Retribution in 2005 and Nostradamus in 2008.  In 2010, Judas Priest went on the Epitaph World Tour.


As Tipton gained experience, his solos became more complex and in some, you can hear a classical influence.  They are technically accurate and aggressive, yet melodic, making use of harmonic minor scales, pentatonic scales and sweep-picking arpeggios, legato picking, tremolo/alternate picking, hammer-ons and pull-offs.  In 1978, Tipton began to use tapping into his playing.  Glenn's style uses blues-based phrasing with medium vibrato.  Tipton's is a warmer tone with more bass.  


Tipton has been influenced by early blues players as well as the Spencer Davis Group.  He also listened to the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones and Deep Purple and was influenced by the guitar playing of Peter Green and Jeremy Spencer in Fleetwood Mac and Rory Gallagher. 
 

Tipton began his career playing a 1960's Fender Stratocaster until 1978.  He then started using a black Gibson Les Paul Custom and a modified Fender Stratocaster with DiMarzio Super Distortion humbucking pickups.  He also added a Gibson SG Special with a chrome pickguard and stock PAF humbucers.  In 1984, Tipton switched to a Hamer Phantom GT and a signature model of this was developed and sold in the mid-1980's.  Glenn also has a Fender Telecaster that he uses in the studio, an ESP Eclipse acoustic, an Ibanez 7621 seven-string, a Gibson Explorer and a Roland G-707 synth guitar.


Tipton has used Marshall Amplifiers throughout his career.  He has employed Regular Vintage 50 (with EL34 output tubes and a Range Master Treble Boost) and 100, then used the JCM 800 head when it came out in 1982.  Later, Tipton was endorsed by Crate amps (he used Crate heads and cabinets) and he used Rocktron preamps.  Then he switched to a large rack with multiple preamps and a Marshall 9100 power amp.  In 2008, Glenn began using ENGL amps:  the Preamp E580, the Poweramp 850/50 and the ENGL Invader.


In the early part of his career with Judas Priest, Tipton used a Peter Cornish custom pedalboard with an overdrive unit, flanger, MXR distortion unit, MXR Phase 100, MXS digital delay, MXR 12-band EQ, the Maestro Echoplex, line boosters between each effect to preserve the signal, and a Rangemaster-based treble boost connected to the bass channel of his Marshall amp.  About the time Halford reunited with the group, Tipton only used a Crybaby 535Q Wah, Digitech Tone Driver, DigiTech Main Squeeze and a Yamaha midi board controlling other effects in a rack unit.


Tipton currently uses a rack system with a Korg rack tuner, Furman power unit, Donlop Rackmounted Crybaby, Rocktron Intellifex and Yamaha XPS-90 multi-effects units and a dbx 166A compressor and noise gate.
 

Tipton was ranked #19 on the Hit Parader list of 100 greatest metal guitarists, a more genre-tailored list than Inside the Rock Era.  Kerry King credits Tipton as a great guitar influence and has said he one of rock's most underrated guitarists.  Of course that was before we came out with this list.  Glenn Tipton ranks #28 for the Rock Era*...

This Date in Rock Music History: April 13

1959:  The Fleetwoods had the #1 song with "Come Softly To Me".
1962:  The Beatles began performing at the Star Club in Hamburg, Germany, the city's newest rock & roll venue.  The band would play 3-4 hours a night for 48 days with one day off. 
1963:  Andy Williams grabbed the #1 spot on the Easy Listening chart with "Can't Get Used To Losing You".
1963:  The Chiffons spent their third of four weeks at #1 with "He's So Fine".  Ruby & the Romantics were at #2 with "Our Day Will Come".  The rest of the Top Five--"The End Of The World" by Skeeter Davis remained at #3, the Orlons had #4 with "South Street" and Andy Williams shot up from 18 to 5 with "Can't Get Used To Losing You".

1964:  Dionne Warwick released the single "Walk On By".

1964:  Bobby Darin was nominated for but did not win Best Supporting Actor at the Academy Awards for Captain Newman, M.D.
1965:  The Beatles recorded "Help!" at EMI Studios in London.








                     Getz & Gilberto were awarded Record of the Year...

1965:  Roger Miller won five awards at the Grammy Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California.  Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto captured Record of the Year ("The Girl From Ipanema") and Album of the Year (Getz/Gilberto).  The Beatles took home the awards for Best New Artist and Best Performance by a Group for "A Hard Day's Night".  (Note:  some websites mistakenly put the date as February 13.  The correct date, according to the official Grammy website, is April 13.)  





1966:  Without any prior rehearsal, the Beatles began recording "Paperback Writer", developing the song over 6 1/2 hours at EMI Studios in London.  Overdubs were completed the following day.)
1967:  The Rolling Stones appeared in concert behind the old Iron Curtain with two shows at the Palace of Culture in Warsaw, Poland.






1968:  This was one of the best years in music and Bobby Goldsboro's classic "Honey" was one of the reasons why.  It moved from 10 to 1 to sit atop the charts on this date.  That represents the seventh-biggest jump to #1 in Billboard chart history.  "Young Girl" by Gary Puckett and the Union Gap was #2 and the former #1 (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay" by Otis Redding slipped to 3.  The remainder of the Top 10:  The Box Tops had #4 with "Cry Like A Baby", Aretha Franklin held down #5 with "(Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You've Been Gone", the Beatles were at 6 with "Lady Madonna", Georgie Fame had #7 with "The Ballad Of Bonnie And Clyde", the Delfonics were at #8 with "La-La-Means I Love You", the Monkees slipped to 9 with "Valleri" and Manfred Mann moved into the top Ten with "The Mighty Quinn (Quinn The Eskimo)".
1968:  "Love Is Blue" topped the Adult Contemporary chart for a ninth week in a row.
1969:  Diana Ross appeared without the Supremes on the Dinah Shore show Like Hep.

1970:  Genesis appeared at Friars in Aylesbury, England.
1970:  Led Zeppelin became the first act to sell out the Montreal Forum.
1973:  Roger Daltrey, lead singer of the Who, released the solo album Daltrey.  (Note:  some websites report that the album was released April 20, but according to 'Gold Mine' magazine, it was released April 13.)










1974:  Paul McCartney & Wings had the #1 album with Band on the Run.  John Denver's Greatest Hits slipped to second with Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells lining up to take #3.  Joni Mitchell was fourth with Court and Spark.  The rest of the Top 10:  Love Is the Message from MFSB, Elton John was still in the Top 10 with Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Barbra Streisand's The Way We Were, the Soundtrack to "The Sting" from Marvin Hamlisch moved to #8, the Doobie Brothers cracked the Top 10 with What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits and Burn by Deep Purple was #10.







                                                    Redbone was in the Top 10...

1974:  Elton John scored another #1 with "Bennie And The Jets" on this date.  Blue Swede fell to #2 with "Hooked On A Feeling" after a week at the top.  MFSB was at #8 with "TSOP", Sister Janet Mead moved "The Lord's Prayer" to #4, Redbone had #5 with "Come And Get Your Love", John Denver was at 6 with his former #1 "Sunshine On My Shoulders", Gladys Knight & the Pips were at #7 with "Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me", Terry Jacks fell to #8 with his former #1 "Seasons In The Sun", Ringo Starr moved into the top ten with "Oh My My" and Carly Simon & James Taylor had song #10 with "Mockingbird".







1975:  The Captain & Tennille released the single "Love Will Keep Us Together".












1979:  Donna Summer released the single "Hot Stuff".
1978:  The Supremes (without Diana Ross) played the first of three nights at the Palladium in London.
1979:  Just five nights into Van Halen's tour, lead singer David Lee Roth collapsed on stage from exhaustion at the Spokane Coliseum.  








1980.  The play Grease closed on Broadway after 3,388 performances and $8 million in ticket revenue.  (Note:  several websites report that there were 3,883 performances.  Not on Broadway.  According to the official website for 'Playbill', 'Grease' played 3,388 times.)
1985:  Phil Collins had the top album for a third week with No Jacket Required.









1985:  USA for Africa rose to #1 with "We Are The World"--it would stay there for four weeks.  The rest of the Top Ten--#2 was "One More Night" by Phil Collins, Madonna at 3 with "Crazy For You", the Commodores without Lionel Richie were at #4 with "Nightshift", Madonna slipped to #5 with "Material Girl", Bruce Springsteen was climbing up with "I'm On Fire", DeBarge had #7 with "Rhythm Of The Night", "Lovergirl" by Teena Marie was #8, Animotion had a fast-rising "Obsession" at #9 and Diana Ross moved into the top ten with "Missing You".
1985:  "One More Night" spent one more week at #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart for Phil Collins.











1991:  Londonbeat moved into the #1 slot with their great song "I've Been Thinking About You".  Wilson Phillips used their harmonies to hold down #2 with "You're In Love".  Tara Kemp had song #3 with "Hold You Tight", Amy Grant was moving towards the top with "Baby Baby" and Enigma had "Sadeness Part 1" at #5.








1991:  Wilson Phillips spent their third of four weeks at #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart with "You're In Love".
1993:  Governor William Weld of Massachusetts declared it "Aerosmith Day".
1994:  Billy Joel and Christie Brinkley announced their separation.








1996:  Celine Dion remained at #1 for the fourth week with "Because You Loved Me".  Mariah Carey had #2 with "Always Be My Baby", Tony Rich Project remained third with "Nobody Knows" and Alanis Morissette moved up with "Ironic".
1996:  The album Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morissette wasn't done in its amazing run on the Album chart.  It moved back to #1 for the fourth time and a seventh week. 
2000:  Gavin Rossdale of Bush collapsed at the end of a show in Los Angeles.
2000:  Metallica filed a law suit against Napster, Yale, USC and Indiana University for copyright infringement.  (Note:  some websites claim the suit was filed April 12, but the correct date is April 13, according to 'Forbes' magazine and the book 'Shawn Fanning:  The Founder of Napster' by Renee Ambrosek.)
2001:  Midnight Oil backed out of a proposed tour with INXS and Men At Work.  (Note:  several websites report this occurred on April 18, but the news broke when INXS reported the cancellation on its official website on April 13.)
2003:  The Beatles' Apple Corporation was listed as the fastest-growing firm in Britain with a growth rate of 194%.





2005:  Switchfoot won four awards, including Artist of the Year, at the Gospel Music Association Awards.
2005:  Johnnie Johnson, keyboardist with Chuck Berry died at age 80 in St. Louis, Missouri; he was the inspiration for the standard "Johnny B. Goode".



Born This Day:
1936:  Tim Field of the Springfields ("Silver Threads And Golden Needles")
1940:  Lester Chambers, lead singer of the Chambers Brothers ("Time Has Come Today" from 1968), was born in Lee County, Mississippi
1942:  Bill Conti (the "other" theme from Rocky) was born in Providence, Rhode Island.
1944:  Jack Casady, elite bass guitarist of Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna, was born in Washington, D.C.
1945:  Lowell George, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer of Little Feat, was born in Hollywood, California; died from drugs in Arlington, Virginia June 29, 1979. 

1946:  Soul great Al
Green was born in Dansby, Arkansas.  ('Rolling Stone' magazine says Green was born in Forrest Hills, Arkansas, but according to the book 'Encyclopedia of American Gospel Music' by W.K. McNeil, Al was born in Dansby, a small town near Forrest Hills.)1951:  Max Weinberg, drummer of the E Street Band, was born in Newark, New Jersey.  (Note:  'Billboard' magazine reports that Weinberg was born in South Orange, New Jersey, but 'MTV' and Bruce Springsteen say that Weinberg was born in Newark.) 
1954:  Jimmy Destri, the keyboardist with Blondie, was born in Brooklyn, New York.








1955:  Louis Johnson, bass guitarist of the Brothers Johnson, was born in Los Angeles.
1957:  Wayne Lewis, keyboardist of Atlantic Starr ("Always"), was born in White Plains, New York.
1961:  Butch Taylor, keyboardist for the Dave Matthews Band, was born in Shawsville, Virginia.
1962:  Hillel Slovak, original guitarist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, was born in Haifa, Israel; died from heroin in Los Angeles on June 25th, 1988.
1966:  Marc Ford, lead guitarist of the Black Crowes, was born in Los Angeles.
1972:  Aaron Lewis, lead vocalist, founding member and rhythm guitarist with Staind, was born in Rutland, Vermont.  (Note:  some websites report Lewis was born in Springfield, Vermont.  While there are no credible sources for either city, our best research indicates that Lewis was born in Rutland, and later moved to Springfield.)
1975:  Lou Bega ("Mambo No. 5" from 1999) was born in Munich, West Germany.