JAN 21-27: Historic events this week from Neil Young, Van Halen, Paul McCartney, Alice In Chains, John Lennon and Billy Joel
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JANUARY 22, 1972: NEIL YOUNG’S DEBUT SOLO ALBUM
Betwixt Buffalo Springfield’s final album and CSN&Y’s classic Déjà Vu, Young released his self-titled debut as a solo artist. Despite being plagued with production issues, it resembled Dylan’s Highway 61 Revisited and Young’s work with Buffalo Springfield.
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JANUARY 24, 1995: BALANCE BY VAN HALEN
Van Halen’s Balance was their fourth with singer Sammy Hagar. The final Van Halen studio album to feature Hagar on vocals, was also their fourth straight US #1 album.
The 3x Platinum album featured three Top 10 singles, and earned the band their fourth Grammy nomination for “The Seventh Seal.”
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JANUARY 25, 1991: PAUL McCARTNEY UNPLUGGED
Paul appeared on the 21st episode of MTV Unplugged, but he was the first to release his performance as an album. Among a few cover songs, Unplugged (The Official Bootleg) contains six Beatles songs and “I Lost My Little Girl”; the first song Paul ever wrote, when he was 14 years old.
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JANUARY 25, 1994: ALICE IN CHAINS’ JAR OF FLIES
After two albums of alternative metal, Alice In Chains switched gears with the largely acoustic Jar of Flies EP.
Featuring their first #1 single, “No Excuses”, the EP has sold over 3 million copies worldwide and is their second biggest release behind 1992’s Dirt.
Jar of Flies is the first EP in music history to debut at #1.
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JANUARY 27, 1970: “INSTANT KARMA!” COMPLETED IN A DAY
Lennon’s third single outside The Beatles was written, recorded and completed in one day.
“…wrote it for breakfast, recorded it for lunch, and we’re putting it out for dinner…”
John Lennon
Featuring George Harrison, it was Lennon’s 2nd “solo” single since privately leaving The Beatles four months earlier.
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JANUARY 27, 2014: BILLY JOEL BEGINS MADISON SQUARE GARDEN RESIDENCY
Billy Joel announced a once monthly residency at Madison Square Garden, for as long as there is demand.
He only performed 2 shows at MSG in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but he’s back at it.
Billy Joel will conclude his sold-out record-breaking residency on July 25, 2024 with his 150th lifetime show at Madison Square Garden.
