Historic events this week from Pink Floyd, The Cranberries, Beck, Soundgarden, U2, The Replacements and David Bowie
MARCH 1, 1973: THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON IS RELEASED IN AMERICA
Pink Floyd‘s The Dark Side of the Moon gave the band international recognition.
With over 45 million sold, it’s their best selling album. With each new generation discovering the album, it has spent 900 non-consecutive weeks on the charts.
MARCH 1, 1993: THE CRANBERRIES RELEASE THEIR DEBUT ALBUM
The Cranberries’ debut album, Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We?, featured the ethereal vocals of Dolores O’Riordan on signature hits like “Linger” and “Dreams.” Produced by Stephen Street, known for his work with The Smiths, the record became a massive sleeper hit, peaking at #18 on the US Billboard 200.
MARCH 1, 1994: BECK’S MELLOW GOLD
After the infectious, slide-guitar hook of “Loser” earned a Gold certification, the momentum catapulted Beck from an underground eccentric to a mainstream fixture.
This massive radio success provided the leverage needed to push the Mellow Gold album to Platinum status, proving that his bizarre brand of “anti-folk” had genuine commercial staying power.
MARCH 1, 1995: SOUNDGARDEN WIN THEIR ONLY GRAMMYS
Soundgarden were previously nominated for Best Metal Performance for the albums Ultramega OK and Badmotorfinger, as well as the song “Into the Void (Sealth).”
They finally became Grammy winners when their album, Superunknown, brought them four more nominations. Soundgarden won their only Grammys for “Spoonman” (Best Metal Performance) and “Black Hole Sun” (Best Hard Rock Performance).
MARCH 2, 1988: U2 BECOME GRAMMY WINNERS
U2‘s The Joshua Tree received 4 Grammy nominations in 1988.
In addition to winning Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, they won Album of the Year by beating out Whitney by Whitney Houston, Bad by Michael Jackson and Sign o’ the Times by Prince.
MARCH 3, 1987: PLEASED TO MEET ME BY THE REPLACEMENTS
The Replacements traveled to Memphis to record Pleased to Meet Me at the legendary Ardent Studios, resulting in a polished yet defiant sound following the departure of guitarist Bob Stinson. The album is anchored by the anthemic tribute “Alex Chilton” and features fan favorites like the delicate acoustic ballad “Skyway” and the horn-infused classic “Can’t Hardly Wait.”
MARCH 5, 2013: THE REPLACEMENTS’ SONGS FOR SLIM EP
The surviving members of The Replacements reunited for the EP Songs For Slim, a benefit project to support guitarist Slim Dunlap following a severe stroke. While the band covered Slim’s own tracks “Busted Up” and “Radio Hook Word Hit,” the B-side showcased their eclectic influences with covers of songs by Hank Williams and Gordon Lightfoot.
MARCH 7, 1975: YOUNG AMERICANS BY DAVID BOWIE
After the glam rock of The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, Aladdin Sane and Diamond Dogs, David Bowie took an unexpected left turn into Blue-eyed soul.
Young Americans included contributions from soul singer Luther Vandross, John Lennon, and featured a cover of The Beatles‘ “Across the Universe.”
