JUN 2-8: Historic events this week from Bruce Springsteen, U2, The Cars, Tom Petty & Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney and Velvet Revolver
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JUNE 4, 1984: BORN IN THE U.S.A
Move over Born to Run. Springsteen’s Born in the U.S.A. was a game changer for him, selling 15 millions copies to date.
All seven singles released from the album would crack the Top 10 in the US.
“Dancing in the Dark” (#2), “Cover Me” (#7), “Born in the U.S.A.” (#9), “I’m on Fire” (#6), “Glory Days” (#5), “I’m Goin’ Down” (# 9), “My Hometown” (#6)
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JUNE 5, 1983: U2 PERFORM AT RED ROCKS
On the 31st date of the North American leg of their War Tour, U2 played Red Rocks Amphitheatre.
Two of the songs from that show would appear on their classic Under a Blood Red Sky live album.
The full Red Rocks show was later released on VHS/DVD as U2 Live at Red Rocks: Under a Blood Red Sky.
The 20 song performance features tracks from the albums Boy (1980), October (1981) and War (1983).
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JUNE 6, 1978: THE CARS’ DEBUT ALBUM
The Cars’ self-titled debut album is the band’s biggest, with 6 million copies sold in the US.
The classic debut features the singles “Just What I Needed”, “Good Times Roll”, “My Best Friend’s Girl”, as well as “Bye Bye Love”, “Moving in Stereo” and “You’re All I’ve Got Tonight.”
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JUNE 7, 1978: PETTY MEETS DYLAN
Before performing a show in L.A., Bob Dylan was informed Joni Mitchell, Raquel Welch and Tom Petty were all in attendance.
Dylan was unaware of who Tom Petty was, but after a quick explanation, he gave Petty a shout out towards the end of the set.
Petty was brought backstage after the show, where they became fast friends.
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JUNE 8, 1974: “BAND ON THE RUN” IS #1
“Band on the Run” was McCartney’s third US #1 non-Beatles single after “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey” (’71) and “My Love” (’73).
Though the classic single only spent one week at #1, it helped Band on the Run sell 4 million copies in the US and remains McCartney’s bestselling solo/Wings album.
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JUNE 8 2004: VELVET REVOLVER RELEASE CONTRABAND
Guns N’ Roses/Stone Temple Pilots supergroup, Velvet Revolver, quickly went Platinum after debuting at #1.
Contraband featured the #1 hit singles “Slither” and “Fall to Pieces”.
Velvet Revolver would take home the 2005 Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance for “Slither”.
