Historic events this week from Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, AC/DC, John Mellencamp, Elton John and Neil Young
OCTOBER 22, 1969: LED ZEPPELIN II
Led Zeppelin released their first two albums in 1969.
Their 12x Platinum sophomore album contained the classics “Whole Lotta Love”, “Heartbreaker” and “What Is and What Should Never Be.”
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OCTOBER 23, 1966: JIMI RECORDS “HEY JOE”
Several artists covered “Hey Joe” in 1966, including Love, The Leaves, The Byrds and folk-singer Time Rose.
Every version was upbeat, except for Rose’s whose version The Jimi Hendrix Experience would base their version (and first single) on.
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OCTOBER 23, 1990: BACK IN BLACK CERTIFIED DIAMOND
AC/DC’s first album with Brian Johnson was released 5 months after Bon Scott died.
Back in Black was certified Diamond (10 million sold) this week in 1990.
It has since gone Double Diamond with 25 million sold in the US, and 50 million sold worldwide.
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OCTOBER 25, 1983: JOHN MELLENCAMP’S UH-HUH
Uh-Huh, John Mellencamp’s official follow up to his #1 album American Fool, was his second Top 10 album.
His 3x Platinum seventh album contains the hit songs “Crumblin’ Down”, “Pink Houses” and “Authority Song.”
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OCTOBER 26, 1970: ELTON JOHN’S FIRST HIT SINGLE
After releasing seven singles between 1968 and 1970, Elton John finally scored a hit.
As the second single from his eponymous second album, “Your Song” reached #8 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and sold 2,000,000 copies on its own.
The Elton John/Bernie Taupin-penned song was first recorded by Three Dog Night, but was not released as a single.
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OCTOBER 28, 1977: NEIL YOUNG’S 3LP DECADE COMPILATION
Neil Young’s comprehensive 3LP compilation gathered classic songs from the first decade his career.
The Platinum-selling Decade gathers 35 tracks from Young’s career, including his time with Buffalo Springfield and CSN&Y.
