Historic event this week from Black Sabbath, Ray Davies, Pink Floyd, Eagles, Bruce Springsteen, U2 and more

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JUNE 1, 1970: BLACK SABBATH’S DEBUT ALBUM

Nearly 4 months after being released in the UK, Black 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).

JUNE 2, 1996: VH1 STORYTELLERS DEBUTS WITH RAY DAVIES

VH1 Storytellers, VH1’s answer to MTV Unplugged, began in 1996 with Ray Davies of The Kinks.

The 15 song set was dominated by classic Kinks tracks including “Lola”, “Tired of Waiting for You”, “You Really Got Me” and “All Day and All of the Night”.

JUNE 3, 1972: EAGLES RELEASE “TAKE IT EASY”

Having trouble completing Take It Easy for his debut album, Jackson Browne received assistance from Glenn Frey.

Upon hearing “standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona”, Frey completed the verse with “Such a fine sight to see. It’s a girl, my lord, in a flatbed Ford, slowin’ down to take a look at me.”

The song was the Eagles’ first single off their debut album. Jackson Browne recorded his own version the following year for his second album.

JUNE 4, 1984: BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN RELEASES BORN IN THE U.S.A.

Move over Born to Run. Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the U.S.A. was a game changer for The Boss, 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)

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).

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”.

JUNE 6, 1992: “NOVEMBER RAIN” VIDEO DEBUTS ON MTV

When it was released, GNR’s $1,500,000 “November Rain” music video was the most expensive in rock music.

The video went on to win the MTV Video Music Award for Best Cinematography.

In 2018, it became the first pre-YouTube era video to reach 1 billion views on YouTube.

JUNE 7, 1978: TOM PETTY MEETS BOB 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.