This Day in Music
Three albums of three distinct styles, and Elvis says aloha from Hawaii, on this day in music.
Brother Love’s Travelling Salvation Show
1969: Pack up the babies and grab the old ladies because American singer-songwriter and guitarist Neil Diamond is releasing his fourth studio album, “Brother Love's Travelling Salvation Show.”
Diamond would release the non-album single “Sweet Caroline” only a month after the album. The unexplained popularity of “Caroline,” which reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, motivated the record company, Uni, to add it to the album in subsequent pressings.
Featuring the great title track, which itself went to No. 22 on the Billboard Hot 100, “Brother Love's Travelling Salvation Show” peaked at No. 82 on the Billboard 200 and was certified Gold in the U.S. It was a better album without “Sweet Caroline,” however.
Rio Grande Mud
1972: “Rio Grande Mud,” the second studio album from Texas blues-rockers ZZ Top is released. Modestly rated by critics, the album peaked at No. 104 on the Billboard 200.
The only single was “Francine,” which became their first song to chart, making it to No. 69 on the Billboard Hot 100. The best song on the album though is the excellent “Sure Got Cold After the Rain Fell,” one of Zed Zed Top’s best tracks.
Cool for Cats
1979: New wave rockers from London Squeeze release their second studio album, “Cool for Cats.” Though the record only peaked at No. 45 in the U.K., critics received it warmly. AllMusic reveals a rating of 4.5-Stars, Uncut ranked it 9/10, and the Village Voice graded it B. It spun out four hit singles, including the title track (Cool for Cah-ah-ah-ah-ats), “Up the Junction,” and “Goodbye Girl.”
There have been 28 band members in Squeeze over the years, which is nearly as many as Spinal Tap. The founding members were Chris Difford (g; v), Glenn Tilbrook (g; v), Harry Kakoulli (bg), Jools Holland (key), and Gilson Lavis (d). Both Tilbrook and Difford have departed and returned a couple of times, and are the only founding members in the band’s current lineup. Jools Holland, of course, has hosted excellent music programming on the BBC for decades.
The Daily Elvis
1973: Aloha From Hawaii, the Elvis TV special recorded on the 13th and 14th of January in 1973, received its broadcast debut in the U.S. It had originally been simulcast live by satellite only to Europe and Asia.
Pictured: Neil Diamond in 1969.
