Historic events this week from The Rolling Stones, Dire Straits, The Beatles and Fleetwood Mac
AUGUST 31, 1973: THE ROLLING STONES RELEASE GOAT’S HEAD SOUP
The Rolling Stones’ Goats Head Soup continued their streak of US #1 albums by spending 4 weeks at the top. The album’s biggest single, “Angie”, would spend a week at #1 in October. The single would go on to sell a million copies alone. With 3 million sold in the US, Goats Head Soup was their biggest selling album until Some Girls in 1978.
AUGUST 31, 1985: DIRE STRAITS’ BROTHERS IN ARMS IS #1
Dire Straits’ penultimate studio album, Brothers in Arms, spent nine weeks at #1. Brothers in Arms has sold 30 million copies worldwide thanks to strong singles like “So Far Away”, Walk of Life” and the Grammy-winning #1 hit “Money for Nothing.”
SEPTEMBER 3, 1968: RINGO RETURNS TO THE BEATLES
During tense “White Album” sessions, Ringo Starr quit the Beatles after Paul McCartney was too critical of his drumming on “Back in the USSR.” During his absence, the Beatles would record and complete “Back in the USSR” and “Dear Prudence.” After receiving a telegram from the band pleading for him to return, Ringo arrived at the studio to find flowers on his drum kit.
SEPTEMBER 4, 1968: “STREET FIGHTING MAN” BANNED FROM CHICAGO RADIO
The Rolling Stones’ “Street Fighting Man” was released shortly before the violent confrontation in Chicago between police and anti-war demonstrators. Fearing “Street Fighting Man” would encourage further violence, Chicago radio stations banned the song from their playlists.
“I’m rather pleased to hear they have banned (the song), as long as it’s still available in the shops. The last time they banned one of our records in America, it sold a million.” — Mick Jagger, The Rolling Stones: Off the Record
SEPTEMBER 5, 2018: FLEETWOOD MAC’S NEW LINEUP
Five months after Lindsey Buckingham was dismissed from the band, Fleetwood Mac debuted it’s new lineup on Ellen.
The new lineup currently included Mike Campbell of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers on lead guitar, and Neil Finn of Crowded House & Split Enz on vocals and rhythm guitar.
