Historic events this week from Stone Temple Pilots, Van Halen, Velvet Revolver, David Bowie, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan and Jethro Tull
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.
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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.
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JUNE 26, 2004: VELVET REVOLVER’S CONTRABAND DEBUTS AT #1
Guns N’ Roses/Stone Temple Pilots supergroup, Velvet Revolver, quickly went Platinum after debuting at #1.
Contraband featured the #1 hit singles “Slither” & “Fall to Pieces”.
Velvet Revolver would take home the 2005 Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance for “Slither”.
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JUNE 27, 1975: DAVID BOWIE’S “FAME”
Co-written with John Lennon, David Bowie scored his first #1 single in the US with “Fame”.
The single spent two non-consecutive weeks at #1, and sold 1,000,000 copies on its own.
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JUNE 29, 1984: “DANCING IN THE DARK” VIDEO
Brian De Palma (Scarface) directed the video for Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark”.
Filmed live in concert at St. Paul Civic Center, the song was performed twice to ensure De Palma had all the shots he’d need.
The video’s notable for featuring a 19-year-old Courteney Cox, who is brought on stage to dance with The Boss.
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JULY 1, 1966: BOB DYLAN RELEASES BLONDE ON BLONDE
Blonde on Blonde is the first of only three of Bob Dylan’s albums to go multi-platinum.
The classic album contains the hit singles “Rainy Day Women ♯12 & 35”, “I Want You” and “Just Like a Woman”.
Blonde on Blonde routinely places very high on Rolling Stone’s 500 Great Albums of All Time list.
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JULY 1, 1971: AQUALUNG CERTIFIED GOLD
Aqualung, Jethro Tull’s fourth album, remains their biggest selling album.
Aqualung wasted no time going Gold, selling 500,000 copies 3½ months after its release.
Featuring “Aqualung” and “Locomotive Breath” it’s sold 3 million copies in the US and nearly 4 million worldwide.
