Today in Music History: Public Enemy release 'It Takes a Nation'
April 14, 2016
History Highlight:
Today in 1988, Public Enemy's sophomore album, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, is released. Often cited as one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time, the album spawns such PE classics as "Don't Believe the Hype," "Night of the Living Baseheads," and "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos," as well as the original version of "Bring the Noise."
Also, Today In:
1955 - Fats Domino's "Ain't That A Shame" was released. Pat Boone would later enjoy much greater success with a cover version of the tune, although he had to be dissuaded from changing it to "Isn't That a Shame." Cheap Trick, of course, would later have a hit with the tune as well.
1965 - The Beatles changed the name of their second movie from Eight Arms To Hold You to Help!
1971 - The Illinois Crime Commission came out with a list of drug-oriented tunes. The songs of infamy included "White Rabbit" by the Jefferson Airplane, "Let's Go Get Stoned" by Ray Charles, "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" by The Beatles and "A Whiter Shade of Pale" by Procol Harum.
1972 - David Bowie released "Starman" and "Suffragette City," the advance single from his acclaimed conceptual The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars. Ziggy would remain on the album chart for more than a year, finally putting Bowie over the top in the States.
1975 - Following many rumors and much speculation that Jimmy Page, Chris Spedding, Jeff Beck or even Eric Clapton would replace Mick Taylor in The Rolling Stones, it was announced that Faces guitarist Ron Wood would fill the shoes.
1976 - Motown Records and Stevie Wonder announced the largest contract renewal to date, worth $13 million.
1979 - The Doobie Brothers went to No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "What A Fool Believes", the group's second U.S. No. 1.
1980 - A New Jersey State assemblyman introduces a resolution to make Bruce Springsteen's Born To Run the official state song of New Jersey.
1995 - Radiohead released The Bends, featuring "High & Dry" and "Fake Plastic Trees." Thanks to an opening slot for the band on the R.E.M. Monster tour, The Bends achieved Gold status in the U.S. by early '96.
2009 - Former Beatle George Harrison was honored with a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles. Sir Paul McCartney attended the unveiling outside the landmark Capitol Records building, joining Harrison's widow Olivia and son Dhani. Tom Petty, along with actors Eric Idle and Tom Hanks, also attended the ceremony.
Birthdays:
Country legend Loretta Lynn is 84 today.
JD McPherson is 39.
Win Butler of Arcade Fire is 36.
Highlights for Today in Music History are gathered from This Day in Music, Paul Shaffer's Day in Rock, and Wikipedia.