On This Date, January 1st in 1976: Peter Frampton released his breakthrough double live album Frampton Comes Alive! The album would be certified gold less than 8 weeks after its release and go on to sell 6 million copies and is currently the biggest-selling Live rock album in history. Frampton Comes Alive! is definitely an important album in my personal history and, in my opinion, it’s among the best live albums ever released. That record unlocks so many great memories for me from that time in music. I was lucky enough to be one of about 56,000 people to see Frampton in concert (with co-headliners Yes) at California’s Anaheim Stadium back in the lovely summer of 1976, and that was a concert I will never forget.
On This Date, December 4th, in 1976: Tommy Bolin, guitarist for Deep Purple and The James Gang, as well as a gifted solo artist, was found dead in a Miami hotel room from a drug overdose. He was 25 years old.
On This Date, November 26th, in 1976: The Sex Pistols released their debut single “Anarchy in the U.K.,” from the very excellent album, Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols. “Anarchy…” peaked at number 38 on the UK singles chart but did not chart in the US. In 2007, the band’s surviving members (not including Bassist Glen Matlock) re-recorded the song for the video game Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock because the masters could not be found.
Please join me in wishing a very Happy Birthday to my dear friend, Author, fellow fan of the Street Art, and perpetual side kick, Geoffrey Dicker, who celebrates another year of life on the planet today, September 20th. Happy Birthday, G!
On This Date, July 27th, in 1976: After being ordered to leave the country more than three years earlier, John Lennon finally received his Green Card and was granted permanent U.S. residency.
