Historic events this week from The Clash, Paul McCartney, Aerosmith, David Bowie, Elvis Costello, Bob Dylan, John Lennon and The Rolling Stones
DECEMBER 14, 1979: THE CLASH’S LONDON CALLING
London Calling, The Clash‘s groundbreaking double album, expanded the boundaries of punk rock by incorporating elements of reggae, ska, and rockabilly. The album’s socially and politically charged lyrics, paired with its musical ambition and iconic cover art, cemented its status as one of the greatest and most influential rock albums of all time.
DECEMBER 14, 1999: PAUL McCARTNEY RETURNS TO THE CAVERN CLUB
In the Beatles‘ early days, they played The Cavern Club in Liverpool 292 times from 1961-1963. Paul McCartney returned to the club to promote his ’99 album Run Devil Run.
In addition to The Beatles‘ “I Saw Her Standing There”, the set was loaded with covers of songs that influenced the Beatles, including Elvis Presley‘s “All Shook Up”, Eddie Cochran‘s “Twenty Flight Rock”, Chuck Berry‘s “Brown Eyed Handsome Man” and more.
DECEMBER 14, 2012: PAUL McCARTNEY & NIRVANA RELEASE ‘CUT ME SOME SLACK’
“Cut Me Some Slack” was written and recorded by Paul McCartney and the surviving members of Nirvana (Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic, and Pat Smear) during an impromptu jam session. The high-energy, blues-infused grunge track was recorded for Dave Grohl‘s Sound City documentary soundtrack and won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Song.
DECEMBER 15, 1974: YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN INSPIRES AEROSMITH
Taking a break from recording Toys in the Attic, members of Aerosmith went to the movies.
They saw the Mel Brooks classic, Young Frankenstein. A song they were working on was named “Walk This Way” after a gag in the movie.
DECEMBER 17, 1971: HUNKY DORY BY DAVID BOWIE
David Bowie‘s fourth album, Hunky Dory, was his first of three with backing band The Spiders From Mars.
The album contains the singles “Life on Mars?” and the top 10 hit “Changes.”
DECEMBER 17, 1977: SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE BANDS ELVIS COSTELLO
Appearing on SNL, Elvis Costello was to play “Less Than Zero.”
14 seconds in, he screamed for his band , The Attractions to stop and instead performed “Radio, Radio”; a song he was forbidden to play due to its criticism of the airwaves’ commercialization.
DECEMBER 18, 1972: BOB DYLAN FILMS HIS ROLE IN PAT GARRETT & BILLY THE KID
Bob Dylan‘s first film role came as “Alias” in Sam Peckinpah‘s Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid.
In addition to acting in the film, Dylan provided the score and original songs, including “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door”.
His score work earned him a Grammy nomination and two BAFTA nominations.
DECEMBER 20, 1971: THE ROLLING STONES RELEASE HOT ROCKS 1964-1971
The Rolling Stones‘ Hot Rocks 1964-1971 compilation remains their biggest selling set. The compilation has been certified 12x Platinum and peaked at #7 in the US.
The 2 LP set contains thirteen Top 20 singles including seven #1’s.
DECEMBER 20, 1980: JOHN LENNON’S FIRST UK #1
“(Just Like) Starting Over” was John Lennon‘s latest single when he died. The song had fallen from #8 to #21 on the UK charts.
Eight days after his death, the song topped the charts, giving him his first UK #1 as a solo artist.
