Today in Music History: 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road' tops album charts
November 10, 2015
History Highlight:
Today in 1973, Elton John started an eight-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. It was the seventh album the man born Reginald Dwight released under the Elton John name, and it was his first double album. Recorded at a chateau near Paris, the album contains the title track, "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road," as well as three other hit singles: "Candle in the Wind," "Bennie and the Jets," and "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting." In 2003, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, and it has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide.
Also, Today In:
1958 - Soul singer Sam Cooke was injured in a car crash in Marion, Ark.; the driver was killed in the crash.
1978 - The Clash's second album Give 'Em Enough Rope, was released in England. The album would be their first U.S. release, preceding the U.S. version of The Clash.
1979 - The Eagles went to No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Heartache Tonight," the group's fifth and final U.S. No. 1.
1983 - Billy Idol released his second solo album, Rebel Yell, which went on to reach number six on the Billboard 200 Album Chart and sell two million copies in the U.S.
1990 - Vanilla Ice started a 16-week run at No. 1 on the US album chart with To The Extreme.
2002 - Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Tom Petty, Elvis Costello, Brian Setzer and Lenny Kravitz made guest appearances on The Simpsons, where they were depicted running a Rock 'n Roll Fantasy Camp.
2003 - While performing a concert in Nice, France, David Bowie cut his concert short due to laryngitis. His voice gave out during "Ziggy Stardust."
2007 - Carrie Underwood was at No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with Carnival Ride.
2008 - Coldplay were declared the biggest-selling band of 2008 at the World Music Awards held in Monaco. The band picked up the prize after their album Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends topped charts around the globe.
2014 - Cranberries singer Dolores O'Riordan was arrested following an alleged air-rage incident on a flight from the United States. O'Riordan was detained after a flight attendant was reportedly attacked in the business section on an Aer Lingus flight from New York to Shannon, County Clare.
Birthday:
Greg Lake of Emerson, Lake & Palmer is 68.
Highlights for Today in Music History are gathered from This Day in Music, Paul Shaffer's Day in Rock, and Wikipedia.