This Day in Music

A classic band takes it to the limit, the pride of Union Square becomes a rock and roll animal, the down under blues get heavy, and the King is mobbed, on this day in music.

Releases

1975: Australian heavy blues-rockers AC/DC release their debut album, “High Voltage,” in Australia and New Zealand only. This is not the “High Voltage” album you think it is. More on that further down.

Brother guitarists Angus and Malcolm Young formed the band in 1973, but had trouble finding other players that fit the style and sound they were seeking. By late 1974, they had found the perfect frontman in Bon Scott, but were still struggling to find the right fit for bass and drums, subsequently using two musicians for each position during the recording of the album. It would take until the production of their second album in 1975 before they settled on the classic rhythm section of Mark Evans on bass and Phil Rudd on drums.

The high-energy hard rock sound was a hit with audiences, sending the album to great commercial success. It peaked at No. 14 on the Australian Albums Chart, and was certified 5x Platinum in the country.

Following the success of AC/DC's second album, "T.N.T.," released in July of 1975, a revised edition of "High Voltage" was released to a global audience, now with a track list that also featured some songs from "T.N.T.," including "T.N.T." itself, the classic "It's A Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock and Roll)," and the song "High Voltage,” which was not on the original “High Voltage” album. Got it?

The international version of the album has been certified 3x Platinum in the US, Platinum in Germany and Switzerland, and Gold in the UK and France.

AC/DC would of course go on to be one of the world's biggest bands, with their 1980 release, "Back in Black," now ranking as the second-highest selling album of all time at an estimated 50 million units shipped, behind Michael Jackson's "Thriller" at 70 million.

1976: Eagles release their first compilation album, "Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975)” to unprecedented commercial success.

Since compilation albums are not singular works, aside from the occasional introduction of a new song, there's little reason to commemorate their release anniversaries, and are almost never discussed in this column. Eagles Greatest Hits package is a rare exception.

The first four Eagles studio albums had some great moments, but came with baggage. A compilation of just the best of those four was enormously popular, and became a smash hit. It rocketed to No. 1 on the Billboard 200, where it remained for five weeks, and it was the first album ever to be certified Platinum by the RIAA, which had only introduced that level of honour in 1976. It was at one time the highest-selling album in history, and is today still the fifth-highest, with estimated sales of 44 million units, and is the only compilation in the Top-10 of best-sellers.

Including the two best Eagles songs at the time, “Already Gone” and “Take It to the Limit,” the latest US certification for “Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975)” is 4x Diamond, meaning 40 million certified sales of the album, and in Canada, the record is currently 2x Diamond.

1974: Legendary American avant-garde art-rocker Lou Reed releases his first live solo album, "Rock N Roll Animal." It is a recording of Reed's December 21, 1973 performance at the Academy of Music in New York.

With "Sweet Jane" extended to over seven minutes, "Heroin" clocking-in at just over 13, and "Rock 'n' Roll" stretched to just past ten minutes, there was only space on the album for five tracks, four of which were songs Lou originally wrote and performed with The Velvet Underground. The fourth track was "White Light/White Heat," and his one solo-era song, "Lady Day,” from his excellent album, “Berlin,” was the fifth.

Those five songs make for a fantastic listening experience. Critics heaped praise upon the LP, with Robert Christgau remarking in his 1970's record guide, "...this is a live album with a reason for living," and Rolling Stone editor Timothy Ferris declaring it "...a record to be played loud."

Fans also embraced "Rock N Roll Animal," sending it to No. 45 on the Billboard 200, and an unexpected No. 26 on the UK Albums list. It was certified Gold in the United States and France.

1975: "Rock 'n' Roll,” a collection of late 1950's and early 1960's cover songs by John Lennon is released. All tracks were originally performed by artists who had influenced Lennon's early years.

It was his fifth studio solo album, ninth solo record overall when including works with Yoko Ono and Plastic Ono Band, and would be his last solo studio LP, since his final two releases, "Double Fantasy" in 1980 and "Milk and Honey" posthumously in 1984, were co-written, co-produced, and co-performed with Yoko.

The album earned respectable reviews for its fine performances of early Rock and Roll classics, with the standout hit being "Stand By Me," a Leiber-Stoller song co-written with Ben E. King. It generated so much interest in Ben E. King's original single, that both versions made the Top-40 at the same time that year.

Lennon would retire from music following the release of the album to focus on raising the only child from his marriage to Yoko, Sean Ono Lennon. He would return in 1980.

The Daily Elvis

1958: Filming for the Elvis Presley movie "King Creole" begins in New Orleans. The crowds that showed up to witness the on-location shoot were so numerous and boisterous, they almost caused a shutdown in production.

Pictured: AC/DC on stage in 1975. He’s not visible, but Phil Rudd is back there behind his patented deep-tom Sonor drumset.