On August 16, 1977, Elvis Aaron Presley, died aged 42. He was singer and actor, he had one of the most successful careers in the popular music ever and is regarded as one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century. He played key role in the popularization of Rock and Roll in America and worldwide and became the first global music icon and superstar. Presley is one of the best sold artists in the music history with an army of millions of devoted fans worldwide.
Robert Johnson
On August 16, 1938, Robert Leroy Johnson, died aged 27. He was musician (guitar), singer and songwriter. performed mostly in the streets, in juke joints, and at Saturday night dances, so his career and life were very poorly documented. Only after the reissue of his recordings on the 1961 album “King of the Delta blues singers”, wider audience got a chance to know his exceptional songwriting, singing and guitar playing talent. Today he is recognized as the “Master of the blues”, with huge number of followers and admirers of his work among the world famous musicians. Eric Clapton has called Johnson “The most important blues singer that ever lived”. Johnson was ranked fifth position in the “Rolling Stone” magazine list of “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time”.
Frank Zappa: FZ:OZ
On August 16, 2002, “Vaulternative Records” (label from the “Zappa Family Trust”), released “FZ:OZ”, a live album by Frank Zappa. The two CD’s set contains almost all material from the concert from January 20, 1976, held at the “Hordern Pavilion” in Sydney. The album was produced by Dweezil Zappa.
Personnel:
- Frank Zappa – vocals, guitar
- Andre Lewis – vocals, keyboards
- Norman Gunston– harmonica
- Napoleon Murphy Brock – vocals, tenor saxophone
- Roy Estrada– vocals, bass guitar
- Terry Bozzio – vocals, drums
Track listing:
All tracks by Frank Zappa.
- Hordern Intro (Incan Art Vamp)
- Stink-Foot
- The Poodle Lecture
- Dirty Love
- Filthy habits
- How Could I Be Such a Fool
- I Ain’t Got No Heart
- I’m Not Satisfied
- Black Napkins
- Advance Romance
- The Illinois Enema Bandit
- Wind Up Workin’ in a Gas Station
- The Torture Never Stops
- Canard Toujours
- Kaiser Rolls
- Find Her Finer
- Carolina Hard-Core Ecstasy
- Lonely Little Girl
- Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance
- What’s the Ugliest Part of Your Body
- Chunga’s Revenge
- Zoot Allures
- Keep it Greasy
- Dinah-Moe-Humm
- Camarillo Brillo
- Muffin Man
- Kaiser Rolls (Du Jour)
Neil Young & Crazy Horse: Sleeps With Angels
On August 16, 1995, “Warner Bros” label released “Sleeps With Angels”, the twenty-first Neil Young & Crazy Horse album . It was recorded November 1993 – April 1994, at “The Complex Studios” in Los Angeles, and was produced by Neil Young and David Briggs. Young created the title track after the death of Kurt Cobain, who quoted him in his suicide note.
Personnel:
- Neil Young – lead vocals, guitar, tack piano, accordion, flute, harmonica
- Frank “Poncho” Sampedro – vocals, guitar, grand piano, electric piano, keyboards, bass marimba,
- Billy Talbot – vocals, bass, vibes, bass marimba,
- Ralph Molina – vocals, drums
Track listing:
All tracks by Neil Young, except where noted.
- My Heart
- Prime of Life
- Driveby
- Sleeps With Angels
- Western Hero
- Change Your Mind
- Blue Eden – Ralph Molina, Frank Sampedro, Billy Talbot, Neil Young
- Safeway Cart
- Train of Love
- Trans Am
- Piece of Crap
- A Dream That Can Last
The Pretenders: Pretenders II
On August 15, 1981, label “Sire” released “Pretenders II”, the second Pretenders (The) studio album. It was recorded 1980–1981, at
“Wessex Studios”, London and “Pathe Marconi Studios”, Paris and was produced by Chris Thomas.
Personnel:
- Chrissie Hynde– lead vocals, rhythm guitar
- James Honeyman-Scott– lead guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
- Pete Farndon– bass guitar, backing vocals
- Martin Chambers– drums, backing vocals
- Chris Mercer– tenor saxophone
- Henry Lowther– trumpet
- Jim Wilson– trumpet
- Geoff Bryant– French horn
- Chris Thomas– sound effects
Track listing:
All tracks by Chrissie Hynde except where noted.
- The Adultress
- Bad Boys Get Spanked
- Message of Love
- I Go to Sleep – Ray Davies
- Birds of Paradise
- Talk of the Town
- Pack It Up – Chrissie Hynde, James Honeyman-Scott
- Waste Not Want Not
- Day After Day – Chrissie Hynde, Honeyman-Scott
- Jealous dogs
- The English Roses
- Louie Louie
Led Zeppelin: In Through The Out Door
On August 15, 1979, label “Swan Song” released “In Through the Out Door”, the eighth Led Zeppelin studio album . It was recorded November – December 1978 at ABBA’s “Polar Studios” in Stockholm, and was produced by Jimmy Page.This was band’s final album with completely new material and the last one released before the death of the drummer John Bonham in 1980. “In Through the Out Door” was certified 2 x Platinum in Australia by the “ARIA”; Platinum in UK by the “BPI” and 6 x Platinum in the US by the “RIIA”.
Personnel:
- Robert Plant– lead vocals
- Jimmy Page– electric and acoustic guitars, Gizmotron
- John Paul Jones– bass guitar, mandolin, keyboards, synthesizer, piano
- John Bonham– drums
- Hipgnosis – covert art
Track listing:
- In the Evening – John Paul Jones, Robert Plant, Jimmy Page
- South Bound Saurez – John Paul Jones, Robert Plant
- Fool in the Rain – Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones
- Hot dog – Jimmy Page, Robert Plant
- Carouselambra – John Paul Jones, Robert Plant, jimmy Page
- All My Love – John Paul Jones, Robert Plant
- I’m Gonna Crawl – John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant
The Who: Who’s Next
On August 14, 1971, “Track” label released “Who’s Next”, the fifth Who studio album. It was recorded April -June 1971, at the “Olympic Studios” and “Stargroves” (Rolling Stones Mobile Studio) in London, and was produced by Glyn Johns, Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, John Entwistle and Keith Moon.
Personnel:
- Roger Daltrey– vocals
- Pete Townshend– vocals, guitar, VCS3, organ, R.P. synthesiser, piano
- John Entwistle– vocals, bass, brass, piano
- Keith Moon– drums, percussion
- Leslie West– lead guitar
- Nicky Hopkins– piano
- Al Kooper– organ
- Dave Arbus– violin
Track listing:
All tracks by Pete Townshend, except where noted.
- Baba o’Riley
- Bargain
- Love Ain’t for Keeping
- My Wife – John Entwistle
- The Song is Over
- Getting it True
- Going Mobile
- Behind Blue Eyes
- Won’t Get Fooled Again
The Mahavishnu Orchestra: The Inner Mounting Flame
On August 14, 1971, “Columbia” label released “The Inner Mounting Flame”, the debut Mahavishnu Orchestra studio album . It was recorded in 1971, and was produced by John McLaughlin, Rick Laird, Billy Cobham, Jan Hammer and Jerry Goodman.
Personnel:
- John McLaughlin – guitar
- Jan Hammer – keyboards, organ
- Jerry Goodman – violin
- Rick Laird – bass
- Billy Cobham – drums, percussion
Track listing
All tracks by John McLaughlin.
- Meeting of the Spirits
- Dawn
- The Noonward Race
- A Lotus on Irish Stream
- Vital Transformation
- The Dance of Maya
- You Know You Know
- Awakening
The Pixies: Bossanova
On August 13, 1990, “4AD” label released “Bossanova”, the third Pixies studio album. It was recorded in 1990, at “Silverlake Studio” in Hollywood, “Cherokee Studios” in Hollywood, “Hansa Ton Studio” in Berlin and “AIR” studios in London and was produced by Gil Norton.
Personnel:
- Black Francis– vocals, guitar
- Joey Santiago– lead guitar
- Kim Deal– vocals, bass guitar
- David Lovering– drums
- Robert F. Brunner – theremin
Track listing:
All compositions by Black Francis; except where noted.
- Cecilia Ann – Frosty Horton, Steve Hoffman
- Rock Music
- Velouria
- Allison
- Is She Weird
- Ana
- All Over the World
- Dig for Fire
- Down to the Well
- The Happening
- Blown Away
- Hang Wire
- Stormy Weather
- Havalina
John Cage
On August 12, 1992, John Milton Cage Jr. died aged 79. He was composer, music theorist, writer, and artist, Cage was pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, non-standard use of musical instruments and together with his partner, choreographer Merce Cunningham, in the development of the modern dance. He is regarded as one of the most important American composers of the 20th century and the leading figure of the post-war avant-garde. Cage’s work had influence on musicians and artists from various music styles, including Sonic Youth (band performed some of the Number Pieces), Stereolab (named a song after Cage), Brian Eno (his label Obscure Records released works by Cage), Aphex Twin (Prepared piano, which Cage popularized, is featured on their album Drukqs), Frank Zappa and Thom Yorke, who considered Cage one of his “all time heroes”.
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