Bands

Rod Stewart on Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert

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This week in 1971, Rod Stewart topped the charts with the release of his acclaimed song “Maggie May.”  Initially a B-side to the single “Reason to Believe,” the song went No. 1 in the U.S., U.K., and Australia. Every Picture Tells A Story, the album containing the hit, went No. 1 upon its initial release as well.  Maggie May was ranked #130 in Rolling Stone magazine’s list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.  A performance of Maggie May, filmed in England, was featured on Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert in 1974.

Rod Stewart was highly regarded in his early career for combining folk, blues, country, and rock influences into his own unique musical style.  With a career spanning over 50 years, he has become one of the best selling artists of all time.  He has sold over 100 million records, achieved six No. 1 albums, and sixteen Top 10 singles.  He has been ranked #17 on Billboard magazine’s Hot 100 Top All-Time Artists and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.   Stewart was also given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in February 2006 and to this day continues to produce soul driven music and tour around the world.

Bands

Jim Croce Tribute on Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert

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This past week in 1973, Jim Croce’s hit “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown” took the crown as the No. 1 single in the United States. Croce was inspired to write the material during his time in the military and based the song on a fellow he had known whose frustration with the system got the better of him. The man went AWOL after only one week, and when he eventually returned to claim his paycheck, he was cuffed and taken in for questioning. The single received two Grammy nominations and has been covered by such artists as Frank Sinatra and Dolly Parton. Sadly, just a few months later, 30-year-old Jim Croce died with five others in a tragic plane crash September 20, 1973.

Croce’s life and musical accomplishments were celebrated on Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert on January 1, 1984 in a tribute episode hosted by record producer and close friend Tommy West. The program featured candid moments of Croce, including images of Jim with his two-year-old son, Adrian James, who has since followed in his father’s footsteps and become an accomplished musician. The program showcased performances and videos for Croce’s songs including “Photographs and Memories”, “Hard Way Every Time”, “Workin’ At The Car Wash Blues”, “Speedball Tucker”, “Rapid Roy”, “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown”, “Time In A Bottle”, “I Fell In Love With A Roller Derby Queen”, “Salon and Saloon”, “Lover’s Cross”, and “I Got A Name”.

Many notable musicians have cited Croce as an influence on their work over the years. Freddie Mercury wrote the song “Bring Back Leroy Brown” for the Queen album Sheer Heart Attack, which was released following Croce’s death. Croce released six studio albums, three achieved Gold certification by the RIAA, and he has since been inducted into the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame. Croce was known for being an inspiration to the everyman and will always be remembered as one of the music industry’s most important and cherished recording artists.

Bands

Black Sabbath on Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert

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This past week in 2007, Black Sabbath front man Ozzy Osbourne was honored as recipient of the first star on the Birmingham Walk of Fame.  Much like its Hollywood counterpart, the British rendition celebrates world-renowned natives that have performed at one of Birmingham’s major venues and made valuable contributions to the entertainment, sports, and business industries.  Osbourne’s star was placed on Broad Street’s canal bridge.  Toni Iommi, the lead guitarist and only constant member of Black Sabbath, was honored as well in November of the following year.  On February 19th, 1979, Black Sabbath appeared on Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert to perform “Never Say Die.”  “Never Say Die” was their last single with Osbourne before his initial departure from the band.

While performing under the name “Earth”, the band caught a late screening of the 1963 horror film Black Sabbath across the street from their rehearsal space.  Inspired by the menacing material and a vision bassist Geezer Butler had of a dark silhouette lurking over the foot of his bed, the band began work on a new song of the same name.  Leaning heavily on the tritone octave gave their work a darker edge, opposed to the trend of more pop driven tunes that were being produced in the current music industry.    The band changed their name to Black Sabbath in August of 1969 and recorded their debut self titled album the following year, it has since been certified platinum by the RIAA.

Black Sabbath is widely considered one of the most influential heavy metal bands in music history and has sold more than 100 million records worldwide.  Metallica band members James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich inducted the band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006 after eleven years of eligibility.  Metallica is one of the many successful bands that have cited Black Sabbath as a major influence on their work.  Others include Guns N’ Roses and Alice in Chains.  Sabbath was also a seminal force in sparking the grunge revolution in Seattle during the early 90’s.

Queen on Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert

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Around this time in 1970, Mercury recording artist “Smile,” comprised of guitarist Brian May, drummer Roger Taylor, and vocalist/bassist Tim Staffell, officially disbanded. It was after two years of playing the London music scene and a short-lived series of studio recording sessions that Staffell decided to leave the band to front “Humpy Bong,” another local British group featuring ex-Bee Gees’ drummer Colin Peterson and guitarist Jonathon Kelly. Upon Staffell’s departure, May and Taylor almost decided to call it quits before Freddie Bulsara (later known as Freddie Mercury), a friend and dedicated fan of the band, encouraged them to continue and jumped in to filled the vacancy left by their former frontman. With the addition of Bulsara, a future legacy was born. On June 27th 1970, the band had officially changed their name from “Smile” to “Queen” and performed their first show together. Videos for “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Somebody to Love,” “Fat Bottom Girl,” “Bicycle Race,” “Under Pressure,” (with David Bowie) and “Sweet Lady” were showcased on several episodes of Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert.

After bringing John Deacon aboard as the band’s permanent bass player in 1971, the new lineup began playing a string of local gigs at Imperial College. Eager to gain studio access, the band was given a chance to record some demo material in exchange for testing equipment at a startup label called “De Lane Lea.” With four songs down on tape, Queen shopped their work around and eventually scored a recording contract with EMI. Queen released their self-titled debut album in the summer of 1973. Along with achieving Gold certification in both the UK and US by the RIAA, the album received positive reviews by critics and Gordon Fletcher of the Rolling Stone considered it to be a superb debut. In 1974, their sophomore effort Queen II spiked to the number five spot on the UK charts and the band’s third album Sheer Heart Attack hit the number two spot at the tail end of the year. Mercury, an art student prior to the formation of the band, is known to have designed the band’s logo, the Queen Crest emblem.

In 1988, fans and spectators of the band began to notice Mercury’s crippled stage performances and suspected he may have contracted the AIDS virus. Mercury denied this fact and insisted his weakness was merely due to exhaustion. His illness worsened. He continued to record new material with Queen until November 23, 1991 when, in a prepared statement, he revealed the true nature of his physical state. Mercury confirmed his contraction of AIDS and in less than a day died from bronchial pneumonia, a complication resulting from the disease. Freddie Mercury’s death was one of the inspirations behind the Elton John AIDS Foundation, a nonprofit organization established to raise money and awareness about the fatal disease.

To this day, with 18 number one album releases, 18 number one singles, and clocking in over 150 million record sales worldwide, Queen has firmly stationed themselves among music history’s most prominent bands. Many artists have cited Queen as a significant influence on their own artistic vision. Some of the bands that have drawn inspiration from Queen’s work include Nirvana, Def Leppard, Foo Fighters, Guns N’ Roses, Iron Maiden, Panic at the Disco, The Killers, Metallica, Muse, Radiohead, and The Smashing Pumpkins.