Historic events this week from The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Gregg Allman, CS&N, Bob Seger and Roky Erickson
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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.
MAY 27, 1963: BOB DYLAN’S FREEWHEELIN’ BOB DYLAN
Bob Dylan came into his own as a songwriter with his second album, The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan.
Bob 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.”
MAY 30, 2017: BOB SEGER’S GREATEST HITS CERTIFIED DIAMOND
Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band’s Greatest Hits, their biggest selling album, was certified Diamond 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).
MAY 31, 2019: ROKY ERICKSON DIES
Roky Erickson is another one of those artists who has flown under the radar while maintaining a very loyal cult following.
Classic rockers like Janis Joplin and ZZ Top consider(ed) themselves fans of Roky and his band The 13th Floor Elevators (one of the first psychedelic rock bands), and it’s even said that Janis based her singing style on Roky’s.
Roky’s sad story included paranoid schizophrenia, institutions, involuntary electroconvulsive therapy, and he later claimed an alien had inhabited his body.
No cause of death has ever been revealed. He was 71.
