This Day in Music
A little dirty work, running afoul of a beer conglomerate, and Elvis is officially private, on this day in music.
Releases
1986: Legendary British rock and rollers The Rolling Stones release their 25th studio album, “Dirty Work.” Produced by Steve Lillywhite and The Glimmer Twins (i.e. the Jagger-Richards production partnership), it was the first release for the band’s new distributor, CBS Records, which at that time was a subsidiary of Columbia (now Sony Music Entertainment.)
The LP was recorded at a difficult time for the band. Jagger and Richards were at odds with the direction the group should take musically, Jagger wanting to further embrace the modern sound, but Richards wanting to return to the Stones’ R&B roots. Most of the band had spent the previous two years working on solo or side projects further impacting their lack of collaboration. Ronnie, Bill, and Charlie were rarely in the studio at the same time as Jagger and Richards, making it difficult to be one unit.
Unknown to the public at the time, Watts was suffering from alcohol and heroin addiction, and was unable to record the entire album. “Late Night with David Letterman” drummers Steve Jordan and Anton Fig filled in the gaps, and even Ron Wood played drums on two tracks, “Too Rude” and “Sleep Tonight.” Watts’s condition was the primary reason Jagger vetoed a tour of the album, preferring to allow Charlie the time necessary to get sober.
In addition to Steve Jordan appearing on the album, who is now the Stones’ full-time touring drummer and recorded the bulk of their latest album, “Hackney Diamonds,” Chuck Leavell, ex- of The Allman Brothers Band joins the group for the first time, and would ultimately remain as Musical Director and keyboard player for every subsequent tour and most recording sessions. Both Jordan and Leavell performed with The Rolling Stones on the Hackney Diamonds Tour in 2024.
Critics were less than enthusiastic about the record, with AllMusic compiling a rating of only 3-Stars, The Rolling Stone Album Guide ranking it barely 4-Stars, and Uncut also assigning a 3-Star review. Surprisingly, the curmudgeonly Robert Christgau of the Village Voice graded it A, and wrote that it was, “...a bracing and even challenging record [which] innovates without kowtowing to multi-platinum fashion or half-assed pretension. It’s honest and makes you like it.”
Fans were also critical of the record, particularly the songwriting, and complained that Jagger was holding back his best work for his solo albums. With Bill Wyman already signalling a readiness to leave, there was genuine talk that this would be the final Stones output.
Nonetheless, this is a Stones album, and that meant it got radio play and sold well, though not as many units as a typical Rolling Stones release. The two singles, “Harlem Shuffle” and “One Hit to the Body,” were received well and likely kept the album from being a sales disaster. It reached No. 4 on both the Billboard 200 and the U.K. Albums Chart, No. 2 in Canada, and went all the way to No. 1 in Netherlands. It received Platinum certification in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and Gold in the U.K., Germany, Netherlands, and France.
It was a low point for the band, particularly since the previous record, “Undercover,” wasn’t exactly a classic itself. Was it truly the end? No way! The Rolling Stones roared back to life in 1989 with their sixth highest-selling studio LP of all time, “Steel Wheels,” accompanied by a huge world tour. Wyman subsequently retired from the band on good terms and even rejoined them on rare occasions, including for the track “Live by the Sword” from their last album.
The Stones never looked back, and released their 31st studio album, “Hackney Diamonds,” in October of 2023 to critical and commercial praise, with some fans, including this author, considering it their best work since “Tattoo You” in 1981.
The band is rumoured to be working on a new studio album, but has confirmed there will be no tour in 2026.
1977: Speaking of rumours, Fleetwood Mac releases their 24th single, “Dreams,” the second cut from their seminal album, “Rumours.” With the great track “Songbird” as the B-side, the 45 sold over one million copies and shot straight to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and also to No. 1 on the Canada RPM Top 100.
One of the band's enduring classics and legacy songs, it is ranked No. 9 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time (c) 2021. A quirky Tik Tok video in 2020 led to a resurgence of the song's popularity and appearance on both the Apple Music and Spotify song charts in the U.S., Canada, and Western Europe.
Events
1991: Opening for ZZ Top on their 1991 tour, The Black Crowes run afoul of the sponsor, Miller Beer, and are dropped from the production.
Though ostensibly fired for criticizing the Miller Brewing Co., it was widely considered that their dismissal was for upstaging ZZ Top. At that time, the Crowes were firing on all cylinders, but ZZ Top was not having a good year, with the synthesizer-driven sound of their then-current LP, “Recycler,” alienating long-time fans of their heavy blues-rock format.
The Daily Elvis
1958: Elvis Presley is officially sworn-in to the U.S. Army at the rank of Private. His serial number is 53310761 and he will earn $78 per month.
Pictured: The Rolling Stones in 1986, from L to R: Ron Wood (g), Mick Jagger (g; vox), Keith Richards (g; vox), Billy Wyman (bg; dancing), and Charlie Watts (d).
