Historic events this week from The Beatles, Prince, Stone Temple Pilots, John Mellencamp and David Bowie
JUNE 21, 1966: ‘SHE SAID, SHE SAID’ RECORDED WITHOUT McCARTNEY
The Beatles‘ “She Said, She Said” was inspired by Peter Fonda‘s LSD-fueled “I know what it’s like to be dead,” during a trip where John Lennon and George Harrison felt alienated from Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney.
Ringo later tried LSD with them, but Paul refused and ultimately didn’t perform on the song after an arrangement dispute.
JUNE 21, 1994: JOHN MELLENCAMP’S DANCE NAKED
John Mellencamp swiftly recorded 1994’s Dance Naked as a stripped-down defiance against his label’s commercial demands. Despite its quick creation, the album became a #13 hit, propelled by the Platinum-certified duet with Meshell Ndegeocello on Van Morrison‘s “Wild Night.”
JUNE 25, 1984: PRINCE’S PURPLE RAIN
Prince‘s groundbreaking Purple Rain seamlessly blends rock, R&B, and pop, serving as the iconic soundtrack to the film of the same name.
The influential album has sold over 25 million copies worldwide and earned Prince and the Revolution two Grammy Awards.
JUNE 25, 1994: STONE TEMPLE PILOTS’ PURPLE DEBUTS AT #1
Stone Temple Pilots made a statement with their debut album, Core. It sold 8 million copies and contained their first #1 hit, “Plush.”
They came roaring back 2 years later with Purple, which debuted at #1 and remained there for 3 weeks.
Thanks to #1 singles “Vasoline” and “Interstate Love Song,” Purple has sold over 6 million copies in the US.
JUNE 26, 1996: DAVID LEE ROTH REPLACES SAMMY HAGAR IN VAN HALEN
After Sammy Hagar exited Van Halen in June ’96, David Lee Roth was brought back (briefly) to record two new songs for Best Of – Volume I.
Roth’s appearance with Van Halen at the MTV Video Music Awards fueled speculation that the flamboyant singer was back full time.
Van Halen continued to audition new singers, which lead to Gary Cherone of Extreme on lead vocals from 1996-1999.
JUNE 27, 1975: “FAME” BY DAVID BOWIE
Appearing on David Bowie‘s Young Americans, “Fame” (co-written with John Lennon) became the Thin White Duke’s first #1 single in the US.
The single spent two non-consecutive weeks at #1, and sold 1,000,000 copies on its own.
