Historic events this week from The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Gregg Allman, CSN, Bob Seger and Black Sabbath.
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MAY 26, 1967: BEATLES RELEASE SGT. PEPPER’S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND
Deriving inspiration from The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds, The Beatles’ psychedelic masterpiece (Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band) is one of the greatest albums ever recorded.
With over 32 million copies sold worldwide it’s one of the biggest-selling albums ever.
Critics generally rank it the 2nd best album of all time behind Pet Sounds.
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MAY 27, 1963: FREEWHEELIN’ BOB DYLAN
Dylan came into his own as a songwriter with his second album, The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan.
Dylan’s debut was dominated by trad. folk songs; a trend he reversed for his follow up.
Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan contained 11 Dylan originals which featured humor and a more direct sociopolitical emphasis.
MAY 27, 2017: GREGG ALLMAN DIES
The Southern rock pioneer was plagued with health issues in the final years of his life. He’d battled hepatitis C and liver cancer (twice).
In May 2016, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee succumbed to liver cancer at age 69.
The posthumous Southern Blood was released in September 2017, to universal critical acclaim.
MAY 29, 1969: CROSBY, STILLS & NASH’S DEBUT LP
After leaving their respective bands the Byrds, Buffalo Springfield and the Hollies, David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash recorded their debut album February-March ’69 and released the classic LP two months later.
The Crosby, Stills & Nash LP has sold 6.5 million worldwide and contains the hits “Marrakesh Express” and “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes.”
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MAY 30, 2017: SEGER’S GREATEST HITS CERTIFIED DIAMOND
Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band’s Greatest Hits is their biggest selling album with over 10 million sold in the US.
The solid collection of heartland rock contains five Top 5 hits: “Like a Rock” (#1), “Turn the Page” (#1), “Night Moves” (#4), “Still the Same” (#4) and “Against the Wind” (#5).
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JUNE 1, 1970: BLACK SABBATH’S DEBUT ALBUM
Nearly 4 months after being released in the UK, Sabbath’s eponymous debut arrived in the US.
It was critically panned upon release, with Creem magazine’s Lester Bangs describing it as “shuck”, “inane” and “cliché.”
The album has since received retrospective reviews referring to it as “so influential it remains a template for metal bands” (Q magazine, 2000).