Historic events this week from Historic events this week from Tom Petty, Keith Richards, Bob Seger, The Beatles and Bruce Springsteen
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MAY 5, 1981: TOM PETTY RELEASES HARD PROMISES
Hard Promises was the last Heartbreakers album to go Top 5 until Mojo (#2) in 2010 and Hypnotic Eye (#1) in 2014.
Featuring Stevie Nicks on “Insider” and “You Can Still Change Your Mind”, the Platinum-selling album is notable for containing Tom Petty’s first #1 song, “The Waiting.”
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MAY 6, 1965: KEITH RICHARDS DREAMS UP “SATISFACTION”
According to legend, Keith Richards wrote “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” in his sleep. Richards went to bed with his acoustic guitar, and a tape player rolling.
The next morning, without any recollection, he discovered that he’d been playing the iconic riff as he drifted off to sleep.
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MAY 6, 1978: CHERYL TIEGS INSPIRES BOB SEGER
While in Hollywood to record Stranger In Town, the chorus for what would become “Hollywood Nights” came to him.
Cheryl Tiegs’ appearance on the cover of Time magazine inspired the rest of the song.
A song about a Midwestern boy who meets and spends time with his dream girl in LA. He wakes up one morning alone and brokenhearted.
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MAY 8, 1970: THE BEATLES’ FINAL STUDIO ALBUM
The Beatles’ final album, Let It Be, was released a 7 months after Abbey Road.
Producer Phil Spector omitted Lennon’s “Don’t Let Me Down” and added studio banter and string & choir arrangements to the final album.
33 years later, a stripped down version which Paul McCartney felt reflected the band’s original vision, was released as Let It Be…Naked.
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MAY 9, 1992: BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN ON SNL
Nearly 20 years after the release of his debut album Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J., Bruce Springsteen made his US network TV debut.
Springsteen released two solo albums a couple of months before his Saturday Night Live appearance, and performed one song from each album; “57 Channels (And Nothin’ On)” from Human Touch and “Living Proof” from Lucky Town.
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MAY 11, 1981: GEORGE HARRISON’S “ALL THOSE YEARS AGO”
Although written for and recorded by Ringo Starr, Harrison wrote new lyrics and re-recorded the song after John Lennon’s murder.
Harrison retained Ringo’s original drum track and brought in McCartney for backing vocals.
“All Those Years Ago” was the first post-Beatles song to feature 3 ex-Beatles, and went to #1 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary charts.