On This Date, November 8th in 1971: Led Zeppelin released their fourth album, Led Zeppelin IV which contained the massive hit, “Stairway to Heaven.” The album would reach number two on the Billboard 200 album chart and sell 23 million copies in the U.S. alone, making it the third biggest selling album in U.S. history.
On This Date, November 1st in in 1971: The Band called Alice Cooper released their fourth album, Killer, which went on to reach number 21 on the Billboard 200 album chart and sold one million copies in the US, initially. By now, the album has gone Platinum. Killer was the first Alice Cooper band album to not have a photo of the group on its cover. The snake featured on the cover of Killer is Kachina, a boa constrictor owned by drummer Neal Smith.
On This Date, October 28th in 1977: Sex Pistols released their only album, Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols, which featured the singles “Anarchy In The UK,” “God Save The Queen,” “Pretty Vacant” and “Holidays In The Sun.” In spite of a ban that kept the album out of many record stores and prevented some of their songs from getting radio play, Never Mind the Bollocks managed to reach the #1 spot on the UK albums chart. In other news, check out my rad interview with Sex Pistols’ drummer Paul Cook at This Link!
On this Date, September 24th, in 1991: Nirvana released its sophomore album, Nevermind — a record that was inarguably responsible for bringing alternative rock into the mainstream. Nevermind would enter the Billboard 200 album chart at 144, peaking at Number 1 in January of 1992.
On This Date, July 25th, in 1980: AC/DC released Back in Black, their first album with Brian Johnson as their lead singer. The album was dedicated to late vocalist Bon Scott and has gone on to sell more than 50 million copies worldwide. To date it is the second highest selling album of all time, as well as the best-selling hard rock or heavy metal album.
