This Day in Music
December 15th
A living legend, a concept album, getting in on a fad, and the King is still number one, on this day in music.
People
1946: Legendary American drummer, instructor, author, and influencer, Carmine Appice, is born in New York. Most famous as drummer for 60’s psychedelic band, Vanilla Fudge, he was also drummer for the prog-rock band Cactus, the instrumental trio Beck, Bogert & Appice, Rod Stewart’s late-70’s band, Ozzie Osbourne’s band, and King Cobra. Appice has performed with dozens of other artists across seven decades. He has authored several drumset instructional books, including Rudiments to Rock and Ultimate Realistic Rock. He is a member of the Classic Drummer Hall of Fame and the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame. Happy 79th Birthday, Carmine!
1967: Not ones to pass up a pretentious Rock and Roll fad, The Beach Boys meet with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in Paris, where they learn transcendental meditation. Man, they’re just like, so deep.
Releases
1967: The Who release their third studio album, “The Who Sell Out.” A concept album of sorts, the songs are unrelated, but presented with interspersed fake commercials and public service announcements, as part of a fictional pirate radio station called Radio London.
The title was ironic as The Who were appearing in real commercials during that period of their career. The album cover is a whimsical portrayal of the band promoting fake products, and one real one, Heinz Baked Beans, which is also the title of the second song.
The record was highly-praised by reviewers, earning a 96/100 on Metacritic, and did well commercially, reaching No. 13 on the UK Albums list, and being certified Silver for 60,000 units shipped in-country.
The most famous track from the album is its only single, the stone-cold classic, “I Can See for Miles.” One of The Who’s greatest songs in the opinion of this writer, it reached No. 10 in the UK, No. 9 in the US, and No. 4 in Canada. Pete Townshend considered it to be “the ultimate Who record,” and was disappointed that it didn’t make it to No. 1. (It should have been a No. 1.)
The Daily Elvis
1962: “Return to Sender,” Elvis’s 44th single, peaks at No. 1 in the United Kingdom.
Pictured: Carmine Appice and his Rod Stewart-era drum set. He’s in there somewhere!
