On March 4, 1983, Thin Lizzy released what would end up being their final studio LP, 'Thunder And Lightning.' Two years earlier, band leader Phil Lynott brought in guitarist John Sykes to replace Snowy White and join the core band of Lynott, guitarist Scott Gorham and the ever-loyal Brian Downey on drums.
Early in the morning of March 4, 1986, Richard Manuel, one of the most recognizable and emotive voices in rock and roll, was silenced by his own hands. After a concert at the 'Cheek to Cheek' lounge in Winter Park, Fla., by the Band, who had re-formed without guitarist Robbie Robertson, a depressed and drug-abused Manuel returned to his hotel room and ended his life by hanging himself.
From the mocking cover art to the orchestral notes that grace the music to the loose thematic ties that link the songs, the Mothers of Invention’s ‘We’re Only in It for the Money’ turns ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ on its head. But it’s not so much the Beatles’ masterpiece -- which was released nine months before the Mothers album -- that Frank Zappa and his band of musical pranksters ruthlessly skewer; it’s the culture that fed and supported it.
The Rolling Stones -- like so many other great groups that got their start in the '60s -- began as a cover band, working through rock, blues and R&B favorites. Their first few albums consisted almost entirely of cover songs. As
Did he or didn't he? The late Doors frontman Jim Morrison was charged with exposing himself before a stunned audience in Florida on March 1, 1969, though he vehemently denied the allegation. Bandmate Robby Krieger still says that no photographic evidences exists to prove it.
Styx were one of the biggest American rock groups of the '70s, with a string of hit albums and songs including 'Lady,' 'Come Sail Away,' 'Renegade' and 'Blue Collar Man.' The group scored two of their biggest successes with concept albums -- 1977's 'The Grand Illusion,' and 'Paradise Theatre' in 1981. On Feb. 28, 1983, Styx released 'Kilroy Was Here,' their most ambitious concept album yet. But within a year, tensions in the group came to a breaking point, bringing the classic era of Styx to an end.
On Feb. 29, 1988, Robert Plant released his fourth solo album, 'Now and Zen,' and in the process finally admitted to himself and the world that it was pretty cool to have been the singer of Led Zeppelin.
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...
There have been many Fleetwood Macs over the years: the late '60s blues-rock titans, the transitional folk-rock successors, and the unexpected crossover pop-rock mega-stars of the late '70s. But this complex game of musical chairs begins way back in February of 1968. That's when the band released their fascinating debut album, defining a new era of British blues.
On Feb. 23, 1978, Whitesnake, led by former Deep Purple singer David Coverdale, performed their first concert at the Sky Bird Club in Nottingham, U.K.
