So my brother and I arrived at our new home with our mother, our aunt and our cousins. After getting my things settled in my new room, I walk into my cousins bedroom and there before me was an entire room full of KISS posters. On one side of the room, a record player and stacks and stacks of albums. I had heard of KISS, I knew who they were and I had heard a couple of their songs on the radio, but I had never in my life seen this type of dedication to a band. I was INSTANTLY hooked. I didn't have to hear the music, it just struck a chord in me like I had never had happen before. I immediately wanted more. I have always had this obsessive personality, but prior to this moment, my focus had gone from Sesame Street to Star Wars...this however, was uncharted territory.
That fall, both of my cousins...Donnie and his sister Shannon would introduce me to many bands - KISS, Def Leppard, Billy Squier, Motley Crue, Van Halen and even the New Wave bands . I had always loved music and would spend hours listening to the radio and my mom's records but this hard rock felt like it was MINE.
I would spend hours going through their albums. I would ask questions about who the bands were, I would especially go through the KISS albums and ask about them. Why were there four albums that each featured a member of the band? Why was the cat not in some of the pictures? What was the song "War Machine" about? I kept looking at one particular album over and over again. It was KISS's "Creatures of the Night" and I was just drawn to it. I asked if I could take it to my room to give it a listen. I asked which song I should listen to first and Donnie suggested "I Love It Loud". I put the needle to the record - Side 2, Song 1. The song started with this thunderous drum sound followed by this infectious chant and I was instantly transformed from Star Wars geek to a hard rock junkie.
I was late to the KISS Party, but once I showed up, I've never been able to leave. This of course led to me listening to just about all things hard rock and heavy metal, but I never would have known this music if it wasn't for the pioneers that learned how to tune their instruments differently and turn the volume up to piercing levels. And of course if it wasn't for my new musical heroes, my cousins Donnie and Shannon....I still "Love It Loud, Right Between The Eyes". Let's rock this!!!!
Black Sabbath - The true Godfathers of Heavy Metal, Black Sabbath were formed in Birmingham, England in 1968 by lead guitarist Tony Iommi and drummer Bill Ward who were in a band together prior to Black Sabbath. The duo recruited bassist Geezer Butler and lead singer John "Ozzy" Osbourne. The original name of the band was Earth and they started out as more of a blues rock band. Iommi left the band while they were still Earth and joined Jethro Tull. His stint in Jethro Tull was very short-lived and he quit the band to return to Earth. Upon his return, the band learned that another band already had the name "Earth" so they had to change their name.
Across the street from their rehearsal space, a movie was playing at the local theater called "Black Sabbath". Geezer Butler noticed the long lines of people waiting to see the movie and stated that it seemed strange that people would pay money to be scared. Butler and Osbourne wrote lyrics for a song based on the movie title. Because of the dark lyrics, Iommi wrote a dark riff based on the "tri-tone". This new song, "Black Sabbath" inspired the band to go in a darker direction. Also adding to this new, darker sound, Iommi, who had lost the tips of two of his fret fingers in a machining accident earlier in his career, had to tune his guitar down to accommodate his injury.
Their self-titled debut was released on Friday, February 13th, 1970. It reached #8 in the UK Album Charts and when it was released in the US in May of that year, it reached #23 on the US Billboard Charts. Along with the title track, the album also contained classic tracks such as "N.I.B." and "The Wizard". Based on the success of the album, the band immediately re-entered the studio in June of 1970 to begin work on their follow-up album "Paranoid". The album was released in January of 1971. This follow-up contained instant classics, "War Pigs", "Paranoid", "Fairies Wear Boots" and "Iron Man" which contains one of the greatest guitar riffs of all time.
The band began to have conflicts toward the end of the 70's, which eventually led to the dismissal of their lead singer Ozzy Osbourne. He was replaced by Rainbow singer Ronnie James Dio and the band had additional success, however, they never achieved the same level of success as the original lineup. The band influenced countless metal bands, including Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Slayer, Pantera and Metallica. James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich inducted the band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006. Sabbath have had a couple of successful reunion tours and continue to perform. The latest incarnation of the band featured Osbourne, Iommi and Butler. Bill Ward refused to perform with the band due to failed contract negotiations.
Black Sabbath - War Pigs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_V-afAs1gwk
Essential Black Sabbath tracks:
Led Zeppelin - Another band on the list that actually started in the 60's, their popularity rose to its highest in the 70's. They started out as The New Yardbirds after Jimmy Page after the original Yardbirds had disbanded. Page had decided he wanted to form a supergroup with members of The Who. The band never came together and through his search for a singer, Page tried to recruit a vocalist named Terry Reid. Reid declined but suggested vocalist Robert Plant for the job. Page brought Plant into the band and Plant suggested they consider drummer John Henry "Bonzo" Bonham. Bassist John Paul Jones inquired about the vacant bass position at the suggestion of his wife. He was accepted and Led Zeppelin was born.
Their first two albums (Led Zeppelin and Led Zeppelin II) were both released in 1969. The first album reached #10 on the US Billboard Chart and the second album reached #1. The first album was more based in blues and psychedelic rock but contained heavy guitars and heavy drums. The second album went in more of a harder rock direction and the band built on that foundation and became one of the earliest bands to develop the hard rock/heavy metal sound. Those two albums released several of the bands hits, such as "Good Times Bad Times", "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You", "Dazed and Confused", "Communication Breakdown", "Whole Lotta Love", "Thank You" and the drum solo filled "Moby Dick".
The 1970's saw the band continue to grow in their hard rock status with the release of "Led Zeppelin III" in October of 1970. As much as the band grew, so did their notoriety. There were constant stories of their debauchery on the road and their penchant for partying. In November of 1971, the band released their most popular and most important album. While the album does not have an official title, it is known by a few different titles. The two most common titles listed for the album are "Led Zeppelin IV" and "Zoso" because of the four symbols shown on the albums cover. The album sold more than 37 million albums world-wide and is one of the greatest selling albums of all time. The album spawned more hits, including "Black Dog", "Rock and Roll", "When The Levee Breaks" and one of the most requested (and most learned by guitarists) rock songs of all time, "Stairway to Heaven".
The band released the album "Houses of the Holy" in 1973 and took a different direction than the bands previous releases. They began to deepen their sound by adding more layers to their songs and adding keyboards/synthesizers to their sound. This album contains some amazing songs as well such as "The Rain Song", "Over the Hills and Far Away", "Dancing Days", "No Quarter" and "The Song Remains The Same". The tour was filmed during a stop at Madison Square Garden and would be used for the film "The Song Remains The Same" later in the decade. Ironically, the song "Houses of the Holy" was recorded for the album, but was not released until it debuted on the album "Physical Graffiti" in 1975. In addition to that track, the double album also contained the Zeppelin classics "In My Time of Dying", "In The Light", "Ten Years Gone", "Trampled Under Foot" and the amazing "Kashmir".
Their next album "Presence" was released in 1976. It reached platinum status, but it contained mixed reaction among fans. Prior to the recording of that album, Plant had a car wreck which resulted in major injuries to him and his wife. Because of these injuries, the band was not able to tour in 1976. Instead of touring, they released the film and soundtrack "The Song Remains The Same". The band began to tour again in 1977, but the tour was plagued with problems. Mid-year of that year, Plant received word that his five year old son had died from a stomach virus and the tour was immediately cancelled.
The band joined together again in November of 1978 to record their final album of studio originals. The album "In Through The Out Door" was released in August of 1979. Again, the album received mixed reviews due to the experimentation on the album, but still born the popular singles, "Fool in the Rain", "All My Love" and "In The Evening". The band performed some warm up shows in August of 1979 to prepare for their 1980 World Tour. During the European leg of the tour, John Bonham collapsed on stage in the middle of the third song at a stop in Germany. The show had to be cancelled and speculation began that Bonham collapsed due to extreme abuse of drugs and alcohol. The band claimed it was due to over-eating. The band was scheduled to begin a North American leg of the tour in October of 1980. In September, the band was attending rehearsals at Bray Studios in Berkshire, England. The bands assistant picked up John Bonham and Bonham requested a stop for breakfast. During the breakfast, Bonham began drinking heavily. The band practiced through the day and Bonham continued drinking. After a full day of rehearsals, the band retired to Jimmy Page's house. After midnight, Bonham had passed out and was taken to his room and put to bed on his side. The next day, the bands tour manager and bassist John Paul Jones had gone to retrieve Bonham from his room at 1:45 pm and found the drummer deceased. The cause of death was later to be determined as asphyxiation from vomit.
The tour was cancelled, but there were rumors that the band may hire a replacement drummer to resume the tour. However, the band released a statement in December of 1980 announcing their disbandment. The band released an album in 1982 of unreleased material called "Coda". The three surviving members have appeared in a few one-off performances together since the band was dissolved. The first was in 1985 at the massive Live-Aid event. This event used both Tony Thompson and Phil Collins for drums. The set was plagued with problems however and did not go well. All of the other reunions have resulted in John's son, Jason Bonham playing drums. The last live appearance was in December 2007 at the Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert.
The band was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and The UK Music Hall of Fame in 2006. They also received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1995. The three surviving members were named in 2012 as recipients of The Kennedy Center Honors.
Led Zeppelin - No Quarter
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGzk2O9QhB8
Essential Led Zeppelin songs:
Deep Purple - Formed in 1968, the band started out as a progressive rock act, however, in the early part of the 70's, the band shifted its sound to hard rock. Together with Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin, the three bands are considered the trinity of British heavy metal. While the band has gone through several lineup changes throughout its career (which has included famous members such as David Coverdale (Whitesnake), Tommy Bolin, Glenn Hughes, Joe Lynn Turner and Joe Satriani), the most popular and successful lineup (referred to as Deep Purple - Mark II) was Ritchie Blackmore (guitar), Jon Lord (keyboards), Ian Paice (drums), Ian Gillan (lead vocals/harmonica) and Roger Glover (bass). The bands most popular record, Machine Head, released in 1972 contained the hits "Highway Star", Space Truckin'" and the immediately recognizable "Smoke on the Water". This song was ranked #4 on the Total Guitar Magazine's Greatest Guitar Riffs Ever.
While the band was popular with fans, critics of the band have not been quite as nice. They were famously shunned from nomination for The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They were finally nominated in 2012 for induction, but were not included on the final ballot.
Deep Purple - Smoke on the Water (live)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mCK05dgwgU
Aerosmith - Formed in 1970 in Boston, Massachusetts Aerosmith was started by guitarist Joe Perry and bassist Tom Hamilton, who had been in a band together prior to Aerosmith. They hooked up with vocalist Steven Tyler, drummer Joey Kramer and guitarist Ray Tabano. By 1971, Tabano was out and the band brought in Brad Whitford. They developed a following in Boston and were signed to Columbia Records in 1972. Their self-titled debut album was released the following year and contained the power ballad "Dream On". The single would later reach the Billboard Top 10 when it was re-released in 1976.
Their follow-up album, "Get Your Wings" was released in 1974 and contained classics such as "Same Old Song and Dance", "Train Kept-A-Rollin'" and "Seasons of Wither". That album reached triple platinum status by the early 2000's. It wasn't until their third album "Toys in the Attic" that the band finally went mainstream. Released in 1975, it is their highest selling album. It contains several of the bands biggest hits, such as "Toys in the Attic", "Big Ten Inch Record", "Walk This Way" and "Sweet Emotion". "Walk This Way" would help revive the bands career in the mid-80's when it was re-released as a Run DMC/Aerosmith collaboration.
The album "Rocks" followed in 1976 and continued on the bands success with songs like "Rats in the Cellar", "Last Child" and "Back in the Saddle". While the band continued on its successful ride, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry became heavily involved in drugs, so much to the point that they were often referred to as the "Toxic Twins". Due to the heavy partying, the band began to fizzle apart by the end of the 70's. They did stay together, but several members left and were replaced with other members. The band finally reunited in 1984 and had moderate success, but following the popularity of the Run D.M.C. collaboration of "Walk This Way" in 1986 (thanks in a huge part to MTV), the band released the album "Permanent Vacation" in 1987 and once again reached super-stardom. Their popularity continued into the 90's when many hard rock bands fell victim to the grunge movement.
Aerosmith has won four Grammy Awards, six American Music Awards, four Billboard Music Awards and multiple other awards. In addition, they were inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001. While there has been problems in the band over the last few years again, they still continue to tour to this day, packing in large arenas across the globe.
Aerosmith - Sweet Emotion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82cJgPXU-ik
Essential Aerosmith songs (70's):
KISS/Alice Cooper - While we've already touched on both KISS and Alice Cooper earlier in another blog entry (see #8 - "It's All About The Gimmick") - I just wanted to remind everyone that these were two of the biggest bands in the early hard rock/heavy metal movement and both bands are continuing to survive as of 2015! Here are a few 70's era songs that must be heard from these bands:
KISS:
Rush - Rush is a Canadian power trio formed in 1968 by guitarist Alex Lifeson and drummer John Rutsey. Within weeks of being formed, the original bassist/vocalist (Jeff Jones) was replaced by Geddy Lee, who had attended school with Lifeson. There were other members in and out of the band, but by 1971, the band decided to carry on as the trio of Lifeson, Lee and Rutsey. This incarnation of the band recorded their self-titled debut album in 1974. While the album did very little to gain attention (or airplay), it did manage to reach #105 on the Billboard Hot 200 and it also produced a single that is a live standard for the band with "Working Man".
Shortly after the release of the debut album, John Rutsey left the band due to health concerns and a general dislike of touring. Rutsey's last appearance as a member of the band was on July 25th, 1974. 4 days later, drummer Neil Peart was hired as his replacement. In addition to becoming the drummer, Peart decided to take on the role of band lyricist as Geddy Lee had decided he wasn't fond of the lyric writing process. Immediately the bands style changed to match the writing style of Peart and the next album, Fly By Night (1975) started to show the band experimenting with odd-time signatures and longer songs.
The same year, they released their third album, Caress of Steel. The album only contained 5 songs. 4 songs on the A-side and the nearly 20 minute "The Fountain of Lamneth" as the B-side. The album was considered to be a commercial failure. In addition to the failure, the band was close to being dropped by their record company. Record execs were pressuring the band to write more "radio friendly" songs that were contained on their first two albums. Despite the intense pressure from the record execs, the band decided to "do or die" with their next album 2112.
Released in 1976, 2112 was the first album for the band that went platinum in Canada and sent the band into the mainstream. The A-Side to the album contained the 20:32 title track which is broken down into seven sections. The album is considered to be The Definitive Rush album. The subsequent tour produced the bands first live album, "All The World's A Stage" in 1976. Rush closed out the 70's with two more albums, "A Farewell To Kings" (1977) and "Hemispheres" (1978). The band continued to go in a more progressive direction and were soon to be considered pioneers in the prog-metal genre. The last two albums of the decade had produced some hits for the band. Hits like "Closer To The Heart" and "The Trees" remain staples for their live set.
The band considered adding additional members to deepen their sound, but instead of bringing in other members, the band remained a trio and began to play other instruments. Neil Peart would experiment with several types of percussive instruments and Geddy Lee would take on keyboards and synthesizers (sometimes playing bass with his hands, while playing keyboards with his feet, all while singing).
The band continued to grow in the 80's with huge albums such as "Permanent Waves" (1980) and "Moving Pictures" (1981), which produced the bands most popular hit, "Tom Sawyer". While the band continued to grow and gain a huge fan base, the critics were not so kind to the band. The band is considered to be some of the best players in rock music (drummer Neil Peart is often times referred to as "The Professor" due to his expertise on the drums), but was overlooked into induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for many years. They were finally inducted in 2013. The band continues to successfully record and tour, although the 2015 tour (40th Anniversary Tour) is rumored to possibly be their final full tour.
Rush - Tom Sawyer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auLBLk4ibAk
Essential Rush tracks:
AC/DC - AC/DC was formed in Australia in 1973 by brothers Malcolm (rhythm guitar) and Angus (lead guitar) Young. Their older brother, George had achieved fame as a member of the band "The Easybeats" in the 1960's. The band had gone through several lineup changes when they were first formed, but Angus and Malcolm remained the only two mainstays. Angus began to experiment with different costume ideas, but finally settled on a school-boy outfit at the suggestion of his sister Margaret. Angus continues to perform in a school-boy outfit to this day.
In 1974, after several lineup changes, the band found singer Bon Scott, who was a friend of their brother George. Later that year, the band released their first album, "High Voltage", but it was only released in Australia. While the band continued to go through lineup changes, brother George played bass on the album to fill the gap. Shortly after the album's release, the band hired drummer Phil Rudd and bassist Mark Evans. The band released the single "It's A Long Way To The Top" shortly after. The song became the signature song for Bon Scott and featured him playing bagpipes in the hard rocking song. The song was included on the second album, "TNT" (1975) (Australia only). The album also featured songs like "TNT", the song "High Voltage" and "The Jack".
With popularity growing heavily in Australia, the band signed an international deal with Atlantic Records in 1976 and began to tour heavily. They opened for other hard rock bands, including KISS, Black Sabbath and Aerosmith. After signing to Atlantic, they released a new international version of "High Voltage" which featured songs from their first two Australia only releases. Later in the same year, they released their next album "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" as both an Australian and an International version, but was not released in the US until 1981.
Their next album, "Let There Be Rock", was released in 1977 and was the last album to feature bassist Mark Evans. He was fired by the band and bassist Cliff Williams was brought on board. Cliff still remains with the band as of 2015. Cliff made his recording debut with the band in 1978 with "Powerage". Powerage took the band in a harder rock direction and move away from the more bluesy sound they started with. The band was recorded live during the tour for Powerage and they released their first live album, "If You Want Blood, You've Got It" in 1978.
The bands first major breakthrough came the following year with the release of "Highway To Hell". This was the bands first album to break the Top 100 US Billboard charts. It eventually reached #17. This was the last album to be produced by brother George and his producing partner Harry Vanda. It was produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange and developed a successful collaboration between himself and the band. While that became the beginning of a successful new direction for the band, it also became the end of an era for the band as well. Following the tour, the band began working on their follow-up album. However, on February 20, 1980, Bon Scott had died as a result of passing out and suffocating on his own vomit. He had been a passenger in the vehicle of a friend of his. During the drive, he reportedly passed out in the passenger seat. His friend attempted to wake him but after several attempts, left him to "sleep it off" in the car. The next morning, he was found deceased in the car.
The band had considered to quit, but Bon Scott's parents insisted that Bon would want them to carry on without him. After much consideration, they decided to carry on and eventually hired Brian Johnson to replace them. Their follow-up album "Back In Black" is considered to not only be AC/DC's essential album, but one of the greatest hard rock albums of all time.
While the band has gone through a few lineup changes with the drummer over the years (Rudd was fired in 1983 following the release of "For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)"), Malcolm and Angus Young, Brian Johnson and Cliff Williams have remained the same since 1980. Phil Rudd rejoined the band in 1993 and remained with them from that point forward. However, in 2014, two major announcements came from the band. First it was reported that Malcolm's health had quickly deteriorated after the "Black Ice" tour. Due to his worsening health, he was no longer able to record or tour with the band. He was replaced by Angus and Malcolm's cousin Stevie Young. Shortly after this announcement, Phil Rudd was arrested on complaints of drugs and attempting to hire a hitman for murder. While the murder for hire charge was eventually lowered, there are other pending charges. The band chose to bring in Chris Slade as a replacement. Slade had played on the band's early 90's release "The Razor's Edge".
AC/DC is one of very few bands who achieved even more success in their second lead singer following a successful run with their original singer. They were inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003. The band is also the fifth best-selling band in US History and their album "Back In Black" has been certified Double Diamond (20 million copies) and is the fifth best selling US album of all-time.
AC/DC - It's A Long Way To The Top (If You Want To Rock and Roll)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDCs7ijNUVM
Essential AC/DC songs:
Bon Scott
Heart - I'd be sexist if I didn't recognize a pair of hard rocking women who formed the band Heart. The band was born from a progression of different band lineups headed by Steve Fossen (bass guitar) and Roger Fisher (lead guitar). The band went through several lineup changes, as well as name changes (The Army, White Heart, Hocus Pocus) before finally settling on Heart. Ann Wilson joined the band in the early 70's as the vocalist. Roger's brother Mike came to one of their shows and Ann fell in love with him. She followed him to Canada and the rest of the band followed along. Ann's sister Nancy joined the band in 1974 and soon became involved with Roger.
The band developed their sound while in Canada and soon became a popular band in The Great White North. The band began recording their debut album "Dreamboat Annie" and hired drummer Mike DeRosier. The album was released on an independent label in Canada in 1975. It was later released in the United States on Valentine's Day of 1976. The debut album contained three hit singles in "Crazy On You", "Dreamboat Annie" and "Magic Man". "Magic Man" was written by Ann as a love song about Mike Fisher. The debut album sold over one million copies and reached #7 on the Billboard Hot 200 album chart.
Their follow-up album "Little Queen" was released in 1977 (and re-released in 2004 with two bonus tracks) and reached #9 on the Billboard Hot 200 Albums. Fueled by the track "Barracuda", the album was another success for the band and the hard rocking sisters. "Barracuda" reached #11 on the US Singles chart and is considered the bands signature song. While "Little Queen" is considered to be their second album, their former record label (Mushrooms Records) had released an unfinished album of theirs, titled "Magazine". The album was later re-recorded released by their new record label Portrait Records in 1978.
Also in 1978, the band recorded and released the album "Dog and Butterfly". The album was also successful and contained two hit singles with the title track and "Straight On". By 1979, the Wilson/Fisher relationships ended. The band voted Roger out of the band and brother Mike quit shortly after. By the early 80's, the band's popularity took a quick dive, however, thanks to a new direction and new lineup, and with the help of MTV, the band found a new audience and more popularity with songs and videos like "What About Love", "These Dreams" and "Never".
The band has gone through several line-up changes (as well as a name change to "The Lovemongers" for a brief time in the 90's), but continue to tour and record. In 2012, Led Zeppelin was a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors and Heart performed an amazing version of "Stairway To Heaven" (with Jason Bonham on drums) as part of the ceremony. Then in 2013, they were inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Heart - Barracuda
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0OX_8YvFxA
Heart (featuring Jason Bonham) - Stairway To Heaven
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFxOaDeJmXk
Essential Heart tracks:
Van Halen - The epitome of California Hard Rock, Van Halen was formed in Pasadena, CA in 1972 by brothers Eddie and Alex Van Halen. Early in their music career, Eddie started on drums and Alex played guitar, but the two eventually switched instruments and the rest as they say is history. The brothers formed a band called Genesis (no, not THAT Genesis) with bassist Mark Stone and Eddie handling vocals. The band rented a sound system from David Lee Roth and to save money, they decided to let him sing lead vocals (although he had unsuccessfully tried out for the band in the past). By 1974, the band replaced Stone with bassist Michael Anthony and Anthony also took on back vocal duties with his unique sound.
The band found out that there was another band named Genesis and shortly used the name Mammoth. After a short time, they settled on the name Van Halen. They started out playing backyard parties and developed a following through heavy self-promotion. This lead to their first big break to being invited to play at Gazzarri's (a famous hard rock club on the Sunset Strip). During this time, Gene Simmons from KISS went to see the band play and following their show, offered to produce a demo of the band. The band recorded the demo and Simmons had them sign a contract to attempt to get them signed to his band's record company. When the record company said "Van Halen will never make it", he tore up the contract and released the band from any obligations to him.
By mid-1977, a pair of record execs from Warner Bros saw Van Halen perform at another famous LA club, The Starwood. The two record execs, Mo Ostin and Ted Templeman signed the band to Warner within a week. In September of that year, the band entered the studio to record their self-titled debut album. The album reached #17 on Billboard's Album Charts and contained instant Van Halen classics, "Runnin' With The Devil", "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love" and a cover version of The Kinks' "You Really Got Me". The intro to "You Really Got Me" contained a guitar solo titled "Eruption". With that solo alone, a true Guitar God was born. Eddie's finger-pick guitar solo had never been heard before and has since been copied by thousands of guitarists worldwide.
The band closed out the 70's with a second release, titled Van Halen II. The album picked up in the same musical direction as the debut album and featured the hits "Dance The Night Away" and "Beautiful Girls". The album peaked even higher than the debut at #6 on the Billboard Charts. Through heavy touring and quick recording turn around, the band developed a huge fan base that continued to build. However, as the band grew more popular, tensions rose in the band which eventually led to Roth leaving the band in 1985. He was replaced by former Montrose singer Sammy Hagar, which continued to grow popular. This has sparked many debate about which version of Van Halen is better...The David Lee Roth years or The Sammy Hagar years (often referred to as Van Hagar).
Ironically, tensions soon rose with Hagar as well and by the end of the 90's, he was out of the band. For a brief period, he was replaced by former Extreme frontman Gary Cherone and they released one album (Van Halen III) together. The fans rejected this new version and the band attempted one more tour with Sammy Hagar. The tour was a success, but it did nothing to repair the strained relationship between Hagar and the Van Halen's. To futher add to the drama, Michael Anthony was fired from the band shortly after, due to his continued musical relationship and friendship to Hagar. Anthony was replaced by Eddie's son Wolfgang Van Halen. The band did manage to bring Diamond David Lee Roth back into the mix and in 2012 they released "A Different Kind of Truth" The band was also inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007.
Van Halen - And The Cradle Will Rock
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKiNfs0TE7s
Essential Van Halen (David Lee Roth) tracks:
New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) - Motorhead, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden
Toward the end of the 70's, as punk was dying out, there arose a new heavy sound from "across the pond". Referred to as The New Wave of British Heavy Metal, it defined a new heavier, faster sound that would later develop into thrash and other versions of metal. While the popularity didn't actually start happening until the early 80's, it did get its beginning in the 70's and should be mentioned briefly as I close this entry out.
Bands such as Motorhead, Judas Priest and Iron Maiden would define this early sound. I couldn't have this list without mentioning these pioneers in the list. While I won't expand on these bands, I will list some of their essential tracks...check them out:
Motorhead:
Across the street from their rehearsal space, a movie was playing at the local theater called "Black Sabbath". Geezer Butler noticed the long lines of people waiting to see the movie and stated that it seemed strange that people would pay money to be scared. Butler and Osbourne wrote lyrics for a song based on the movie title. Because of the dark lyrics, Iommi wrote a dark riff based on the "tri-tone". This new song, "Black Sabbath" inspired the band to go in a darker direction. Also adding to this new, darker sound, Iommi, who had lost the tips of two of his fret fingers in a machining accident earlier in his career, had to tune his guitar down to accommodate his injury.
Their self-titled debut was released on Friday, February 13th, 1970. It reached #8 in the UK Album Charts and when it was released in the US in May of that year, it reached #23 on the US Billboard Charts. Along with the title track, the album also contained classic tracks such as "N.I.B." and "The Wizard". Based on the success of the album, the band immediately re-entered the studio in June of 1970 to begin work on their follow-up album "Paranoid". The album was released in January of 1971. This follow-up contained instant classics, "War Pigs", "Paranoid", "Fairies Wear Boots" and "Iron Man" which contains one of the greatest guitar riffs of all time.
The band began to have conflicts toward the end of the 70's, which eventually led to the dismissal of their lead singer Ozzy Osbourne. He was replaced by Rainbow singer Ronnie James Dio and the band had additional success, however, they never achieved the same level of success as the original lineup. The band influenced countless metal bands, including Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Slayer, Pantera and Metallica. James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich inducted the band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006. Sabbath have had a couple of successful reunion tours and continue to perform. The latest incarnation of the band featured Osbourne, Iommi and Butler. Bill Ward refused to perform with the band due to failed contract negotiations.
Black Sabbath - War Pigs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_V-afAs1gwk
Essential Black Sabbath tracks:
- Black Sabbath
- Iron Man
- War Pigs
- Paranoid
- NIB
- Fairies Wear Boots
- Sweet Leaf
- Snow Blind
- Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
- Changes
Led Zeppelin - Another band on the list that actually started in the 60's, their popularity rose to its highest in the 70's. They started out as The New Yardbirds after Jimmy Page after the original Yardbirds had disbanded. Page had decided he wanted to form a supergroup with members of The Who. The band never came together and through his search for a singer, Page tried to recruit a vocalist named Terry Reid. Reid declined but suggested vocalist Robert Plant for the job. Page brought Plant into the band and Plant suggested they consider drummer John Henry "Bonzo" Bonham. Bassist John Paul Jones inquired about the vacant bass position at the suggestion of his wife. He was accepted and Led Zeppelin was born.
Their first two albums (Led Zeppelin and Led Zeppelin II) were both released in 1969. The first album reached #10 on the US Billboard Chart and the second album reached #1. The first album was more based in blues and psychedelic rock but contained heavy guitars and heavy drums. The second album went in more of a harder rock direction and the band built on that foundation and became one of the earliest bands to develop the hard rock/heavy metal sound. Those two albums released several of the bands hits, such as "Good Times Bad Times", "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You", "Dazed and Confused", "Communication Breakdown", "Whole Lotta Love", "Thank You" and the drum solo filled "Moby Dick".
The 1970's saw the band continue to grow in their hard rock status with the release of "Led Zeppelin III" in October of 1970. As much as the band grew, so did their notoriety. There were constant stories of their debauchery on the road and their penchant for partying. In November of 1971, the band released their most popular and most important album. While the album does not have an official title, it is known by a few different titles. The two most common titles listed for the album are "Led Zeppelin IV" and "Zoso" because of the four symbols shown on the albums cover. The album sold more than 37 million albums world-wide and is one of the greatest selling albums of all time. The album spawned more hits, including "Black Dog", "Rock and Roll", "When The Levee Breaks" and one of the most requested (and most learned by guitarists) rock songs of all time, "Stairway to Heaven".
The band released the album "Houses of the Holy" in 1973 and took a different direction than the bands previous releases. They began to deepen their sound by adding more layers to their songs and adding keyboards/synthesizers to their sound. This album contains some amazing songs as well such as "The Rain Song", "Over the Hills and Far Away", "Dancing Days", "No Quarter" and "The Song Remains The Same". The tour was filmed during a stop at Madison Square Garden and would be used for the film "The Song Remains The Same" later in the decade. Ironically, the song "Houses of the Holy" was recorded for the album, but was not released until it debuted on the album "Physical Graffiti" in 1975. In addition to that track, the double album also contained the Zeppelin classics "In My Time of Dying", "In The Light", "Ten Years Gone", "Trampled Under Foot" and the amazing "Kashmir".
Their next album "Presence" was released in 1976. It reached platinum status, but it contained mixed reaction among fans. Prior to the recording of that album, Plant had a car wreck which resulted in major injuries to him and his wife. Because of these injuries, the band was not able to tour in 1976. Instead of touring, they released the film and soundtrack "The Song Remains The Same". The band began to tour again in 1977, but the tour was plagued with problems. Mid-year of that year, Plant received word that his five year old son had died from a stomach virus and the tour was immediately cancelled.
The band joined together again in November of 1978 to record their final album of studio originals. The album "In Through The Out Door" was released in August of 1979. Again, the album received mixed reviews due to the experimentation on the album, but still born the popular singles, "Fool in the Rain", "All My Love" and "In The Evening". The band performed some warm up shows in August of 1979 to prepare for their 1980 World Tour. During the European leg of the tour, John Bonham collapsed on stage in the middle of the third song at a stop in Germany. The show had to be cancelled and speculation began that Bonham collapsed due to extreme abuse of drugs and alcohol. The band claimed it was due to over-eating. The band was scheduled to begin a North American leg of the tour in October of 1980. In September, the band was attending rehearsals at Bray Studios in Berkshire, England. The bands assistant picked up John Bonham and Bonham requested a stop for breakfast. During the breakfast, Bonham began drinking heavily. The band practiced through the day and Bonham continued drinking. After a full day of rehearsals, the band retired to Jimmy Page's house. After midnight, Bonham had passed out and was taken to his room and put to bed on his side. The next day, the bands tour manager and bassist John Paul Jones had gone to retrieve Bonham from his room at 1:45 pm and found the drummer deceased. The cause of death was later to be determined as asphyxiation from vomit.
The tour was cancelled, but there were rumors that the band may hire a replacement drummer to resume the tour. However, the band released a statement in December of 1980 announcing their disbandment. The band released an album in 1982 of unreleased material called "Coda". The three surviving members have appeared in a few one-off performances together since the band was dissolved. The first was in 1985 at the massive Live-Aid event. This event used both Tony Thompson and Phil Collins for drums. The set was plagued with problems however and did not go well. All of the other reunions have resulted in John's son, Jason Bonham playing drums. The last live appearance was in December 2007 at the Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert.
The band was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and The UK Music Hall of Fame in 2006. They also received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1995. The three surviving members were named in 2012 as recipients of The Kennedy Center Honors.
Led Zeppelin - No Quarter
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGzk2O9QhB8
Essential Led Zeppelin songs:
- Babe I'm Gonna Leave You
- Dazed and Confused
- Good Times, Bad Times
- Whole Lotta Love
- Thank You
- Ramble On
- Immigrant Song
- Rock and Roll
- Stairway to Heaven
- Kashmir
- Dancing Days
- No Quarter
- Ten Years Gone
- In The Light
- Fool in the Rain
- All My Love
- In The Evening
While the band was popular with fans, critics of the band have not been quite as nice. They were famously shunned from nomination for The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They were finally nominated in 2012 for induction, but were not included on the final ballot.
Deep Purple - Smoke on the Water (live)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mCK05dgwgU
Aerosmith - Formed in 1970 in Boston, Massachusetts Aerosmith was started by guitarist Joe Perry and bassist Tom Hamilton, who had been in a band together prior to Aerosmith. They hooked up with vocalist Steven Tyler, drummer Joey Kramer and guitarist Ray Tabano. By 1971, Tabano was out and the band brought in Brad Whitford. They developed a following in Boston and were signed to Columbia Records in 1972. Their self-titled debut album was released the following year and contained the power ballad "Dream On". The single would later reach the Billboard Top 10 when it was re-released in 1976.
Their follow-up album, "Get Your Wings" was released in 1974 and contained classics such as "Same Old Song and Dance", "Train Kept-A-Rollin'" and "Seasons of Wither". That album reached triple platinum status by the early 2000's. It wasn't until their third album "Toys in the Attic" that the band finally went mainstream. Released in 1975, it is their highest selling album. It contains several of the bands biggest hits, such as "Toys in the Attic", "Big Ten Inch Record", "Walk This Way" and "Sweet Emotion". "Walk This Way" would help revive the bands career in the mid-80's when it was re-released as a Run DMC/Aerosmith collaboration.
The album "Rocks" followed in 1976 and continued on the bands success with songs like "Rats in the Cellar", "Last Child" and "Back in the Saddle". While the band continued on its successful ride, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry became heavily involved in drugs, so much to the point that they were often referred to as the "Toxic Twins". Due to the heavy partying, the band began to fizzle apart by the end of the 70's. They did stay together, but several members left and were replaced with other members. The band finally reunited in 1984 and had moderate success, but following the popularity of the Run D.M.C. collaboration of "Walk This Way" in 1986 (thanks in a huge part to MTV), the band released the album "Permanent Vacation" in 1987 and once again reached super-stardom. Their popularity continued into the 90's when many hard rock bands fell victim to the grunge movement.
Aerosmith has won four Grammy Awards, six American Music Awards, four Billboard Music Awards and multiple other awards. In addition, they were inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001. While there has been problems in the band over the last few years again, they still continue to tour to this day, packing in large arenas across the globe.
Aerosmith - Sweet Emotion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82cJgPXU-ik
Essential Aerosmith songs (70's):
- Dream On
- Same Old Song and Dance
- Sweet Emotion
- Back in the Saddle
- Seasons of Wither
- Walk This Way
- Kings and Queens
KISS/Alice Cooper - While we've already touched on both KISS and Alice Cooper earlier in another blog entry (see #8 - "It's All About The Gimmick") - I just wanted to remind everyone that these were two of the biggest bands in the early hard rock/heavy metal movement and both bands are continuing to survive as of 2015! Here are a few 70's era songs that must be heard from these bands:
KISS:
- Detroit Rock City
- Love Gun
- Calling Dr. Love
- Black Diamond
- Strutter
- Deuce
- Rock and Roll All Nite
- God of Thunder
- Shock Me
- I'm Eighteen
- School's Out
- No More Mr. Nice Guy
- Welcome To My Nightmare
- The Ballad of Dwight Fry
- Only Women Bleed
- How You Gonna See Me Now
Rush - Rush is a Canadian power trio formed in 1968 by guitarist Alex Lifeson and drummer John Rutsey. Within weeks of being formed, the original bassist/vocalist (Jeff Jones) was replaced by Geddy Lee, who had attended school with Lifeson. There were other members in and out of the band, but by 1971, the band decided to carry on as the trio of Lifeson, Lee and Rutsey. This incarnation of the band recorded their self-titled debut album in 1974. While the album did very little to gain attention (or airplay), it did manage to reach #105 on the Billboard Hot 200 and it also produced a single that is a live standard for the band with "Working Man".
Shortly after the release of the debut album, John Rutsey left the band due to health concerns and a general dislike of touring. Rutsey's last appearance as a member of the band was on July 25th, 1974. 4 days later, drummer Neil Peart was hired as his replacement. In addition to becoming the drummer, Peart decided to take on the role of band lyricist as Geddy Lee had decided he wasn't fond of the lyric writing process. Immediately the bands style changed to match the writing style of Peart and the next album, Fly By Night (1975) started to show the band experimenting with odd-time signatures and longer songs.
The same year, they released their third album, Caress of Steel. The album only contained 5 songs. 4 songs on the A-side and the nearly 20 minute "The Fountain of Lamneth" as the B-side. The album was considered to be a commercial failure. In addition to the failure, the band was close to being dropped by their record company. Record execs were pressuring the band to write more "radio friendly" songs that were contained on their first two albums. Despite the intense pressure from the record execs, the band decided to "do or die" with their next album 2112.
Released in 1976, 2112 was the first album for the band that went platinum in Canada and sent the band into the mainstream. The A-Side to the album contained the 20:32 title track which is broken down into seven sections. The album is considered to be The Definitive Rush album. The subsequent tour produced the bands first live album, "All The World's A Stage" in 1976. Rush closed out the 70's with two more albums, "A Farewell To Kings" (1977) and "Hemispheres" (1978). The band continued to go in a more progressive direction and were soon to be considered pioneers in the prog-metal genre. The last two albums of the decade had produced some hits for the band. Hits like "Closer To The Heart" and "The Trees" remain staples for their live set.
The band considered adding additional members to deepen their sound, but instead of bringing in other members, the band remained a trio and began to play other instruments. Neil Peart would experiment with several types of percussive instruments and Geddy Lee would take on keyboards and synthesizers (sometimes playing bass with his hands, while playing keyboards with his feet, all while singing).
The band continued to grow in the 80's with huge albums such as "Permanent Waves" (1980) and "Moving Pictures" (1981), which produced the bands most popular hit, "Tom Sawyer". While the band continued to grow and gain a huge fan base, the critics were not so kind to the band. The band is considered to be some of the best players in rock music (drummer Neil Peart is often times referred to as "The Professor" due to his expertise on the drums), but was overlooked into induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for many years. They were finally inducted in 2013. The band continues to successfully record and tour, although the 2015 tour (40th Anniversary Tour) is rumored to possibly be their final full tour.
Rush - Tom Sawyer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auLBLk4ibAk
Essential Rush tracks:
- Working Man
- Fly By Night
- 2112
- Closer To The Heart
- The Trees
- The Spirit of Radio
- Freewill
- Limelight
- Tom Sawyer
- Subdivisions
- Time Stand Still
AC/DC - AC/DC was formed in Australia in 1973 by brothers Malcolm (rhythm guitar) and Angus (lead guitar) Young. Their older brother, George had achieved fame as a member of the band "The Easybeats" in the 1960's. The band had gone through several lineup changes when they were first formed, but Angus and Malcolm remained the only two mainstays. Angus began to experiment with different costume ideas, but finally settled on a school-boy outfit at the suggestion of his sister Margaret. Angus continues to perform in a school-boy outfit to this day.
In 1974, after several lineup changes, the band found singer Bon Scott, who was a friend of their brother George. Later that year, the band released their first album, "High Voltage", but it was only released in Australia. While the band continued to go through lineup changes, brother George played bass on the album to fill the gap. Shortly after the album's release, the band hired drummer Phil Rudd and bassist Mark Evans. The band released the single "It's A Long Way To The Top" shortly after. The song became the signature song for Bon Scott and featured him playing bagpipes in the hard rocking song. The song was included on the second album, "TNT" (1975) (Australia only). The album also featured songs like "TNT", the song "High Voltage" and "The Jack".
With popularity growing heavily in Australia, the band signed an international deal with Atlantic Records in 1976 and began to tour heavily. They opened for other hard rock bands, including KISS, Black Sabbath and Aerosmith. After signing to Atlantic, they released a new international version of "High Voltage" which featured songs from their first two Australia only releases. Later in the same year, they released their next album "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" as both an Australian and an International version, but was not released in the US until 1981.
Their next album, "Let There Be Rock", was released in 1977 and was the last album to feature bassist Mark Evans. He was fired by the band and bassist Cliff Williams was brought on board. Cliff still remains with the band as of 2015. Cliff made his recording debut with the band in 1978 with "Powerage". Powerage took the band in a harder rock direction and move away from the more bluesy sound they started with. The band was recorded live during the tour for Powerage and they released their first live album, "If You Want Blood, You've Got It" in 1978.
The bands first major breakthrough came the following year with the release of "Highway To Hell". This was the bands first album to break the Top 100 US Billboard charts. It eventually reached #17. This was the last album to be produced by brother George and his producing partner Harry Vanda. It was produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange and developed a successful collaboration between himself and the band. While that became the beginning of a successful new direction for the band, it also became the end of an era for the band as well. Following the tour, the band began working on their follow-up album. However, on February 20, 1980, Bon Scott had died as a result of passing out and suffocating on his own vomit. He had been a passenger in the vehicle of a friend of his. During the drive, he reportedly passed out in the passenger seat. His friend attempted to wake him but after several attempts, left him to "sleep it off" in the car. The next morning, he was found deceased in the car.
The band had considered to quit, but Bon Scott's parents insisted that Bon would want them to carry on without him. After much consideration, they decided to carry on and eventually hired Brian Johnson to replace them. Their follow-up album "Back In Black" is considered to not only be AC/DC's essential album, but one of the greatest hard rock albums of all time.
While the band has gone through a few lineup changes with the drummer over the years (Rudd was fired in 1983 following the release of "For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)"), Malcolm and Angus Young, Brian Johnson and Cliff Williams have remained the same since 1980. Phil Rudd rejoined the band in 1993 and remained with them from that point forward. However, in 2014, two major announcements came from the band. First it was reported that Malcolm's health had quickly deteriorated after the "Black Ice" tour. Due to his worsening health, he was no longer able to record or tour with the band. He was replaced by Angus and Malcolm's cousin Stevie Young. Shortly after this announcement, Phil Rudd was arrested on complaints of drugs and attempting to hire a hitman for murder. While the murder for hire charge was eventually lowered, there are other pending charges. The band chose to bring in Chris Slade as a replacement. Slade had played on the band's early 90's release "The Razor's Edge".
AC/DC is one of very few bands who achieved even more success in their second lead singer following a successful run with their original singer. They were inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003. The band is also the fifth best-selling band in US History and their album "Back In Black" has been certified Double Diamond (20 million copies) and is the fifth best selling US album of all-time.
AC/DC - It's A Long Way To The Top (If You Want To Rock and Roll)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDCs7ijNUVM
Essential AC/DC songs:
Bon Scott
- It's A Long Way To The Top (If You Want To Rock and Roll)
- TNT
- The Jack
- Let There Be Rock
- Whole Lotta Rosie
- Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
- Jailbreak
- Squealer
- Soul Stripper
- Highway To Hell
- Back in Black
- You Shook Me All Night Long
- Hells Bells
- For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)
- Flick of the Switch
- Who Made Who
- Thunderstruck
- Moneytalks
- Stiff Upper Lip
Heart - I'd be sexist if I didn't recognize a pair of hard rocking women who formed the band Heart. The band was born from a progression of different band lineups headed by Steve Fossen (bass guitar) and Roger Fisher (lead guitar). The band went through several lineup changes, as well as name changes (The Army, White Heart, Hocus Pocus) before finally settling on Heart. Ann Wilson joined the band in the early 70's as the vocalist. Roger's brother Mike came to one of their shows and Ann fell in love with him. She followed him to Canada and the rest of the band followed along. Ann's sister Nancy joined the band in 1974 and soon became involved with Roger.
The band developed their sound while in Canada and soon became a popular band in The Great White North. The band began recording their debut album "Dreamboat Annie" and hired drummer Mike DeRosier. The album was released on an independent label in Canada in 1975. It was later released in the United States on Valentine's Day of 1976. The debut album contained three hit singles in "Crazy On You", "Dreamboat Annie" and "Magic Man". "Magic Man" was written by Ann as a love song about Mike Fisher. The debut album sold over one million copies and reached #7 on the Billboard Hot 200 album chart.
Their follow-up album "Little Queen" was released in 1977 (and re-released in 2004 with two bonus tracks) and reached #9 on the Billboard Hot 200 Albums. Fueled by the track "Barracuda", the album was another success for the band and the hard rocking sisters. "Barracuda" reached #11 on the US Singles chart and is considered the bands signature song. While "Little Queen" is considered to be their second album, their former record label (Mushrooms Records) had released an unfinished album of theirs, titled "Magazine". The album was later re-recorded released by their new record label Portrait Records in 1978.
Also in 1978, the band recorded and released the album "Dog and Butterfly". The album was also successful and contained two hit singles with the title track and "Straight On". By 1979, the Wilson/Fisher relationships ended. The band voted Roger out of the band and brother Mike quit shortly after. By the early 80's, the band's popularity took a quick dive, however, thanks to a new direction and new lineup, and with the help of MTV, the band found a new audience and more popularity with songs and videos like "What About Love", "These Dreams" and "Never".
The band has gone through several line-up changes (as well as a name change to "The Lovemongers" for a brief time in the 90's), but continue to tour and record. In 2012, Led Zeppelin was a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors and Heart performed an amazing version of "Stairway To Heaven" (with Jason Bonham on drums) as part of the ceremony. Then in 2013, they were inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Heart - Barracuda
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0OX_8YvFxA
Heart (featuring Jason Bonham) - Stairway To Heaven
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFxOaDeJmXk
Essential Heart tracks:
- Barracuda
- Crazy On You
- Magic Man
- Dreamboat Annie
- Straight On
- Dog & Butterfly
- Even It Up
- How Can I Refuse?
- What About Love?
- Never
- These Dreams
- Nothin' At All
- Alone
- All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You
Van Halen - The epitome of California Hard Rock, Van Halen was formed in Pasadena, CA in 1972 by brothers Eddie and Alex Van Halen. Early in their music career, Eddie started on drums and Alex played guitar, but the two eventually switched instruments and the rest as they say is history. The brothers formed a band called Genesis (no, not THAT Genesis) with bassist Mark Stone and Eddie handling vocals. The band rented a sound system from David Lee Roth and to save money, they decided to let him sing lead vocals (although he had unsuccessfully tried out for the band in the past). By 1974, the band replaced Stone with bassist Michael Anthony and Anthony also took on back vocal duties with his unique sound.
The band found out that there was another band named Genesis and shortly used the name Mammoth. After a short time, they settled on the name Van Halen. They started out playing backyard parties and developed a following through heavy self-promotion. This lead to their first big break to being invited to play at Gazzarri's (a famous hard rock club on the Sunset Strip). During this time, Gene Simmons from KISS went to see the band play and following their show, offered to produce a demo of the band. The band recorded the demo and Simmons had them sign a contract to attempt to get them signed to his band's record company. When the record company said "Van Halen will never make it", he tore up the contract and released the band from any obligations to him.
By mid-1977, a pair of record execs from Warner Bros saw Van Halen perform at another famous LA club, The Starwood. The two record execs, Mo Ostin and Ted Templeman signed the band to Warner within a week. In September of that year, the band entered the studio to record their self-titled debut album. The album reached #17 on Billboard's Album Charts and contained instant Van Halen classics, "Runnin' With The Devil", "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love" and a cover version of The Kinks' "You Really Got Me". The intro to "You Really Got Me" contained a guitar solo titled "Eruption". With that solo alone, a true Guitar God was born. Eddie's finger-pick guitar solo had never been heard before and has since been copied by thousands of guitarists worldwide.
The band closed out the 70's with a second release, titled Van Halen II. The album picked up in the same musical direction as the debut album and featured the hits "Dance The Night Away" and "Beautiful Girls". The album peaked even higher than the debut at #6 on the Billboard Charts. Through heavy touring and quick recording turn around, the band developed a huge fan base that continued to build. However, as the band grew more popular, tensions rose in the band which eventually led to Roth leaving the band in 1985. He was replaced by former Montrose singer Sammy Hagar, which continued to grow popular. This has sparked many debate about which version of Van Halen is better...The David Lee Roth years or The Sammy Hagar years (often referred to as Van Hagar).
Ironically, tensions soon rose with Hagar as well and by the end of the 90's, he was out of the band. For a brief period, he was replaced by former Extreme frontman Gary Cherone and they released one album (Van Halen III) together. The fans rejected this new version and the band attempted one more tour with Sammy Hagar. The tour was a success, but it did nothing to repair the strained relationship between Hagar and the Van Halen's. To futher add to the drama, Michael Anthony was fired from the band shortly after, due to his continued musical relationship and friendship to Hagar. Anthony was replaced by Eddie's son Wolfgang Van Halen. The band did manage to bring Diamond David Lee Roth back into the mix and in 2012 they released "A Different Kind of Truth" The band was also inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007.
Van Halen - And The Cradle Will Rock
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKiNfs0TE7s
Essential Van Halen (David Lee Roth) tracks:
- Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love
- Runnin' With The Devil
- Eruption/You Really Got Me
- Jamie's Crying
- Beautiful Girls
- Dance The Night Away
- And The Cradle Will Rock
- Everybody Wants Some
- Unchained
- Jump
- Hot For Teacher
- I'll Wait
- Panama
New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) - Motorhead, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden
Toward the end of the 70's, as punk was dying out, there arose a new heavy sound from "across the pond". Referred to as The New Wave of British Heavy Metal, it defined a new heavier, faster sound that would later develop into thrash and other versions of metal. While the popularity didn't actually start happening until the early 80's, it did get its beginning in the 70's and should be mentioned briefly as I close this entry out.
Bands such as Motorhead, Judas Priest and Iron Maiden would define this early sound. I couldn't have this list without mentioning these pioneers in the list. While I won't expand on these bands, I will list some of their essential tracks...check them out:
Motorhead:
- Ace of Spades
- Iron Fist
- Overkill
- Eat the Rich
- You've Got Another Thing Coming
- Living After Midnight
- Breaking The Law
- Heading Out To The Highway
- Victim of Changes
- Beyond the Realms of Death
- A Touch of Evil
- Turbo Lover
- The Green Manalishi
- Run To The Hills
- The Number of the Beast
- The Trooper
- Wasted Years
- Aces High
- The Phantom of the Opera
- Hallowed Be Thy Name
