This Week in Music History | August 24 – 30

August 30, 2020

Posted in: This Week in Music History

This week in music, we’re reliving the US debut of Elton John in front of only 250 people, Queen stepping into the studio to create a rock & roll anthem, and celebrating the life of a guitar god and a pop icon. Here’s everything you need to know about what went down this week in music history.

1970 – August 25th, Elton John made his US live debut when he kicked off a tour in LA.

  • In the audience that night were Don Henley, Quincy Jones and Leon Russell.
  • Elton played 8 shows in 6 nights at the Troubadour in LA.
  • Rolling Stone included these shows in their list of the 50 Greatest Concerts of the Rock Era.
  • Prior to the Troubadour, Elton hadn’t had much success with his career.
  • This stint turbo-charged his career and made him into rock’s biggest star since the Beatles.

1975 – August 24th, Queen started recording ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ at Rockfield Studios in Wales.

  • The song was recorded over three weeks.
  • Freddie Mercury had mentally prepared the song beforehand and directed the band throughout the sessions.
  • May, Mercury, and Taylor sang their vocal parts continually for ten to twelve hours a day.
  • The song peaked in the US at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 after being used in Wayne’s World.

1975 – August 25th, Bruce Springsteen released his third studio album Born to Run.

  • Two singles were released from the album: ‘Born to Run’ and ‘Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out’.
  • The cover art of Born to Run is one of rock music’s most recognizable images.
  • Springsteen’s previous two albums had been commercial flops, the band was in need of a break.
  • Born to Run served as a breakout album for the band and peaked at #3 on the Billboard chart.

1976 – August 25th, Boston released their self-titled debut album.

  • In an elaborate ruse, Tom Scholz tricked his label into thinking the band was recording on the west coast.
  • In reality, the bulk of the album was being tracked solely by Scholz at his Mass. home.
  • Despite being recorded in a basement studio, it became the best-selling debut in the US at the time.
  • The album’s singles, most notably ‘More Than a Feeling’ and ‘Long Time’, were major radio hits.

1990 – August 27th, Stevie Ray Vaughan was killed in a helicopter crash.

  • The helicopter was navigating through dense fog and hit a ski slope.
  • He had played 107 of the 110 dates on the tour when the crash happened.
  • During his career, he was nominated for 13 Grammy Awards and won 6 of them.

1991 – August 27th, Pearl Jam released their debut album Ten.

  • The album produced three hit singles: ‘Alive’, ‘Even Flow’, and ‘Jeremy’.
  • Even though Ten was recorded and released before Nirvana’s “Nevermind”, Pearl Jam was accused of hopping on the grunge bandwagon at the time.
  • The album is credited with popularizing alt-rock in the mainstream.

2001 – August 25th, American singer, actress Aaliyah was killed in a plane crash in the Bahamas aged 22.

  • Aaliyah had been filming a video for her latest release ‘Rock The Boat’ on the island.
  • The pilot was unlicensed at the time of the accident and had traces of cocaine and alcohol in his system.
  • Over her career, Aaaliyah sold an estimated 24 to 32 million albums worldwide.
  • She acted in the films Romeo Must Die and Queen of the Damned.
  • In 2001, her self-titled third and final studio album topped the Billboard 200.

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