This week in rock history, Billboard began their famous singles chart, Paul Mccartney announced the establishment of Wings, Debbie Harry went solo, Guns N' Roses hit Number One and David Crosby's drug woes earned him 5 days in prison.
Aug 4, 1958: Billboard begins its Hot 100 singles chart
A hit just isn't a hit until it reaches the top of the Hot 100. The weekly ranking of singles has been a benchmark of mainstream music success since it was launched by Billboard magazine. The first Number One song: "Poor Little Fool" by TV heartthrob-turned-singer Ricky Nelson.
The Hot 100 is based on sales and radio play-a pose that doesn't always contemplate the new digital culture, and one that can be surprisingly contradictory to an artist's popularity. For instance, while the Beatles' 1 compilation album celebrated their 27 singles to top the Billboard list and/or the UK's Record Retailer list, not all major artists enjoy the same prominence on the Hot 100. Pink Floyd enjoyed enormous success atop the Billboard Albums chart with 1973's Dark Side of the Moon, placing in the Billboard album rankings for 741 weeks from 1973 to 1988. Yet Pink Floyd's labyrinthine songs didn't read to the radio-friendly Hot 100, and their limited appearance on it suggested a band far less massive than they were.
Aug 3, 1971: Paul McCartney announces the organization of a new group, Wings, with wife Linda
Macca and Lovely Linda did quite good for themselves in the Seventies; their cheery rock group lasted through the x as a top anthemic rock band. The McCartneys were the lone permanent members of the ever-revolving lineup, along with guitarist/singer Denny Laine (also of the Moody Blues), until their breakup in 1981.
McCartney's ability to make wonderful, succinct pop melodies (arguably underrated in the Beatles next to his fashionably counterculture bandmates) was the directing power of Wings - their singles "My Love," "Maybe I'm Amazed" and "Live and Let Die" displayed him at his finest balance of enthusiasm and tenderness. Wings also proven a forum for McCartney's droll side; "Mary had a Little Lamb" and "Silly Love Songs" were penned in reply to critics who mocked his more maudlin lyrics, and both charted well. Wings recorded seven albums, all of which went top 10 in the United Kingdom and/or the United States.
July 31, 1981: Debbie Harry's first solo album is released in the U.K.
The first solo album by punk priestess Debbie Harry had an ambitious objective: to develop worldwide audiences. The gorgeous Blondie lead singer, so strongly associated with the riotous punk and New Wave scene of New York City, recorded KooKoo while on a year-long hiatus from Blondie, and it reflected ambitious new disco leanings; Harry worked with New York dance group Chic and incorporated dance-heavy funk beats into her tracks. The cover art was besides a new direction: a stark, black-and-white figure of her face sliced with four spikes, created by Swiss artist H.R. Giger (who also leant his macabre designs to the film Alien).
The experimentalism paid off more in the United Kingdom than the States (where it was released a few years prior). KooKoo (and single "Backfired") was a genius in the London club scene, ultimately reaching Number Six on the U.K. charts. In the United States, the album peaked under the Top 20. To date, Harry has released 5 solo albums and 9 more with Blondie.
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