JAN 14-20: Historic events this week from Fleetwood Mac, Eric Clapton, Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan and Ozzy Osbourne.
JANUARY 14, 1978: RUMOURS IS #1 FOR 31 WEEKS
Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours spent 31 non-consecutive weeks at #1 in the 49 weeks after its release. The albums that briefly surpassed Rumours during that time were: Hotel California, Barry Manilow Live and Linda Ronstadt’s Simple Dreams.
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JANUARY 16, 1992: CLAPTON UNPLUGGED
Eric Clapton’s iconic Unplugged performance was recorded before a small audience in England. Unplugged is currently the best selling live album of all time with 26 million copies sold worldwide. The album also won six Grammy awards including Record of the Year, Album of the Year, and Song of the Year.
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JANUARY 19, 1980: THE WALL‘S 15-WEEK RUN AT #1
Pink Floyd followed up two 5-song LPs in a row with a 26-song rock opera. The Wall went to #1 in the US and remained there for 15 consecutive weeks. The massively successful album has sold over 30,000,000 copies worldwide.
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JANUARY 20, 1975: BOB DYLAN’S BLOOD ON THE TRACKS
The masterpiece details immense pain and personal turmoil. Recorded towards the end of his second marriage, it’s widely believed to be an autobiographical album. Dylan refutes this, stating he doesn’t write “confessional songs.”
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JANUARY 20, 1982: OZZY BITES A BAT’S HEAD OFF
During a show in Des Moines, a fan threw a bat onto the stage. Reports differ as to whether it was dead or unconscious. What is known, is Ozzy bit its head off, believing it was made of rubber.
Immediately, something felt wrong. My mouth was instantly full of this warm, gloopy liquid. I could feel it staining my teeth and running down my chin. Then the head in my mouth twitched.
Ozzy
