Music History X 7.2.09: June 29 - July 5
Posted by Jacob Leo on 07.03.2009
In this edition of Music History X we see Guns N' Roses incite riots, The Beach Boys start a revolution, The Rolling Stones hitting a high mark, plus more from The Doors, Bon Jovi, Pantera and more!
Hello, and welcome to the second edition of Music History X. Before we get started, I want to say a little bit about Michael Jackson. I know you have all read a lot about him the past week or so, including my own paragraph in our 411 roundtable, so I will try to keep this brief. Michael Jackson was incredibly gifted and truly deserved all the success that he attained. It is my hope that in death Michael will finally receive the respect he deserves and people will let his personal demon's die. MJ was a musical genius and I for one am very sad to see him go. RIP Michael.
Now on to the regular column! Here we go…
June 29 - Metal gets its due
On June 29, 1991 metal officially earned itself some respect when Skid Row's Slave to the Grind entered the Soundscan era by debuting at #1 on the charts. For years album sales were tallied when stores hand counted the amount of albums sold, but on this date the Soundscan system went in place to make the sales official and to keep a accurate tally. The Soundscan system would, just like it sounds, scan the albums that were sold and would use a computer to calculate the totals. Many thought that this system would hurt metal as the perception had been that when the system went into place then it would be found that metal wasn't as big of a seller as everyone thought. On this date, though, Skid Row proved them wrong. Slave to the Grind wasn't pop metal either, it was Skid Row's heaviest (and best in my humble opinion) album to date and the spot at #1 solidified metal's placement at the top of music and might have finally given the genre some respect. This was a major event in not just metal's history, but in music altogether as the Soundscan data has continued to be used today.
Sebastian Bach says that Skid Row is #1!
June 30 - The Mouth of War is born
June 30, 1968 marks the day that a singer that pushed the boundaries of what vocalist could do was born. Phil Anselmo of Down, and most notably Pantera, was given birth on this date. In Pantera, Anselmo took music to a darker and scarier place then it ever had been before. Simply put; Phil made Pantera the heaviest thing around. Dimebag was a genius, don't get me wrong, but Pantera had made records before Phil and it wasn't until he joined that they became the Cowboys From Hell that they are remembered as today. Anselmo's addition marked the beginning of one of metal's greatest bands and his vocal style is influence on the majority of today's acts. Anselmo screamed and yelled with an unmatched aggression that would become his staple, but his ability to also sing extremely well (as evidence by "Cemetery Gates") made Pantera more accessible and more interesting. On this day we salute a vulgar cowboy that changed heavy music forever, we celebrate the birth of Phil Anselmo.
July 1 - One of the highest selling artists of all time is signed
John Bongiovi was signed by Mercury Records on this date in 1983. The only problem was that his name was not marketable, so Bongiovi talked to his band and promptly changed his name forever in order to secure the contract. His new name was quickly given to the band as a whole and they became known as Bon Jovi. Say what you will about the band but they have found a way to become one of the few bands from the 1980's to have a career post-Nirvana and it can be argued that they are even doing better now-a-days! Bon Jovi has changed their style to fit the times and pulled together one of the most successful runs of any band in history, especially considering the longevity. It was not all roses for the band though as they hit quick with "Runaway" and then were almost cut from their label as their second album failed to meet expectations. Bon Jovi's life was spared on the flip of a coin and their third album Slippery When Wet became an 80's staple with hits out the ass like "You Give Love a Bad Name", "Livin' On A Prayer", "Raise Your Hands", and "Wanted Dead or Alive". This was the day that it all started for the Jersey boys though, and this day belongs to them.
Here is a little segment as a tribute to the band that I like to call BJ's through the years:
1984
1986 (original recording)
1990
2002
2005
July 2 - Starving kids in Africa….and Riots in St. Luis!
July 2 has seen some good and some bad. First the good: In 2005 Live 8 saw concerts hosted in 10 different countries and televised all over the world with the goal of pressuring the world's leaders to drop the debt's of smaller nations. It was a historical event which was responsible for the re-uniting of some of music's greatest bands and for re-invigorating their career's. The bad: in 1991 Axl Rose justified the name of the most dangerous band in the world by jumping off of stage in the middle of "Rocket Queen" and tackling a concert-goer for having his camera out to film the show. Rose saw the man recording the concert and told security to do something about it. When security failed to budge, Axl dove into the crowd. After being pulled back onstage he proclaimed that thanks to the "lame ass" security, he was going home. He did just that and the fans rioted, breaking priceless amount of equipment and injuring dozens. Axl was arrested a year later for inciting a riot but got the last laugh when he added a secret message in the booklet of the Use Your Illusion thank you notes by inserting "Fuck you, St. Luis!" amidst the thank yous.
July 3 - Death‘s Day.
For any classic rock fan, July 3 is truly a day of mourning. It also happens to be my birthday but that's besides the point. On July 3, 1969 Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones met his maker. Two years later, in 1971 Jim Morrison saw his end. This is a day draped in black as Jones is a big loss by himself, but when coupled with the poet that was Jim Morrison, July 3 is just pure gloom. Morrison is of course the lead singer of the Doors and has continued to live on through the music to the point where he has a God-like aura around him these days. Jones is often over shadowed on this day because of Morrison's ever growing legend in fact. Jones was replaced in the Stones by Ronnie Wood and we all know how that partnership has worked out, but Morrison has never been replaced. The rest of the Doors decided that with his funeral pyre they would cease to ride the storm together (puns galore!). Both were legends, both were young and died while they were 27 (a theme among rock stars including Hendrix, Joplin, and Cobain). On this day we grieve for fallen hero's, RIP Jim Morrison and Brian Jones.
July 4 - America goes surfin'
On July 4, 1964 America was introduced to The Beach Boys. The Boys were straight out of California with songs about surfing and cars that really caught on with a generation. This date saw them hit #1 for the first time with one of their most fondly remembered tunes, "I Get Around". The Beach Boys opened doors with vocal stylings and are thought of as one of the most influential bands of all time and it was this date that set their career in motion. After the success of "I Get Around" The Beach Boys continued to dominate the music scene with over 55 other tunes hitting the Hot 100, including 35 Top 40 hits and 4 #1's. I am not afraid to say that I love this band and neither should anyone as The Beach Boys hit the scene on Independence Day and became American icons that spurred the beach sound and manipulated the ways songs were sung for the rest of time.
July 5 - The Stones hit a milestone
1980 saw The Rolling Stones hit an unprecedented ninth straight #1 album with Emotional Rescue. Despite being panned by critics, the album solidified the legacy of the Stones. Powered by the title track, Emotional Rescue turned out to be just that for the band. It came out in a time when Mick Jagger was distant from the band and Keith Richards was heavy into trouble for drugs but never ceased taking them. With the success of this album, the Stones got their act together when all signs pointed to the breaking up (yeah right) and lead to their rise back up to the leaders in the genre when "Start Me Up" was released a year later.
Well that's all I have for you this week. As always, tell me what you liked, what you found interesting, and what you would like to hear about in the future in the comments section below. By doing this, you help me see what my readers want to read about and it helps make the column better. Now, finally, I end with my Youtube.com obsession of the week:
