Historic events this week from Eric Clapton, David Bowie, Bad Company, Lenny Kravitz, U2 and Quiet Riot
MARCH 6, 2000: CLAPTON INDUCTED INTO ROCK HALL AS SOLO ARTIST
In 2000, Eric Clapton was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for a third time!
This time, it was as a solo artist.
He was previously inducted with the Yardbirds in 1992 and with Cream in 1993.
MARCH 7, 1975: BOWIE RELEASES YOUNG AMERICANS
After the glam rock of The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, Aladdin Sane and Diamond Dogs, Bowie took an unexpected left turn into Blue-eyed soul.
Young Americans included contributions from soul singer Luther Vandross, John Lennon, and featured a cover of The Beatles’ “Across the Universe.”
MARCH 8, 1974: FREE/MOTT THE HOOPLE MEMBERS PERFORM AS BAD COMPANY
One of the greatest & most successful supergroups in rock history features members of Free and Mott the Hoople.
The majority of the songs from their first live gig would later appear on their debut album.
The set included “Bad Company”, “Can’t Get Enough” and the Mott the Hoople holdover, “Ready for Love.”
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MARCH 9, 1993: LENNY KRAVITZ RELEASES ARE YOU GONNA GO MY WAY
Lenny Kravitz’s third album, Are You Gonna Go My Way, was his first to go Platinum.
Selling over 2 million copies in the US, it is his second biggest studio album behind the triple Platinum 5.
The album’s title track was his first #1 single, which sold over a million copies on its own.
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MARCH 9, 1987: U2 RELEASES THE JOSHUA TREE
Containing the US #1 singles “With or Without You” and “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”, U2’s fifth album has sold over 25,000,000 worldwide.
The Joshua Tree was U2’s first of eight straight #1 albums in the US.
A year after its release, The Joshua Tree would win four Grammys including Album of the Year.
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MARCH 11, 1983: QUIET RIOT RELEASES METAL HEALTH
Quiet Riot’s third album, Metal Health, remains their biggest album.
The album went to #1 in the US with help from “Metal Health (Bang Your Head)” and the Gold-selling Top 5 hit “Cum On Feel the Noize”.
