Historic events this week from Prince, Bob Dylan, Stone Temple Pilots, Van Halen and David Bowie
JUNE 25, 1966: BOB DYLAN RELEASES BLONDE ON BLONDE
Blonde on Blonde is the first of only three of Bob Dylan’s albums to go multi-platinum. The classic album contains the hit singles “Rainy Day Women ♯12 & 35”, “I Want You” and “Just Like a Woman.”
Blonde on Blonde routinely places very high on Rolling Stone’s 500 Great Albums of All Time list.
JUNE 25, 1984: PRINCE AND THE REVOLUTION RELEASE PURPLE RAIN
Prince’s groundbreaking Purple Rain seamlessly blends rock, R&B, and pop, serving as the iconic soundtrack to the film of the same name.
The influential album has sold over 25 million copies worldwide and earned Prince and the Revolution two Grammy Awards.
JUNE 25, 1994: STONE TEMPLE PILOTS’ PURPLE DEBUTS AT #1
Stone Temple Pilots made a statement with their debut album, Core. It sold 8 million copies and contained their first #1 hit, “Plush.”
They came roaring back 2 years later with Purple, which debuted at #1 and remained there for 3 weeks.
Thanks to #1 singles “Vasoline” and “Interstate Love Song”, Purple has sold over 6 million copies in the US.
JUNE 26, 1996: DAVID LEE ROTH REPLACES SAMMY HAGAR IN VAN HALEN
After Sammy Hagar exited Van Halen in June ’96, David Lee Roth was brought back (briefly) to record two new songs for Best Of – Volume I.
Roth’s appearance with Van Halen at the MTV Video Music Awards fueled speculation that the flamboyant singer was back full time.
Van Halen continued to audition new singers, which lead to Gary Cherone of Extreme on lead vocals from 1996-1999.
JUNE 27, 1975: DAVID BOWIE’S “FAME”
Appearing on David Bowie’s Young Americans, “Fame” (co-written with John Lennon) became the Thin White Duke’s first #1 single in the US.
The single spent two non-consecutive weeks at #1, and sold 1,000,000 copies on its own.
