Monday, July 26, 2021

Music History Today: July 27, 2021

July 27, 1985: Motley Crue made a big move on the US music chart, from Number 61 to 48, with "Smokin' in the Boys Room."

Before the release of 1985's Theatre of Pain, Motley Crue were on the launchpad to superstardom. There was just one problem: The album wasn't strong enough and they knew it.

Motley Crue
Motley Crue

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Luckily, singer Vince Neil had a ringer in mind. "It was me who suggested covering 'Smokin' in the Boys Room,'" Neil revealed in his 2010 book Tattoos & Tequila. "Everybody knows that song kind of saved our asses at that time." 

Read more: Ultimate Classic Rock

July 27, 1963: Johnny Cash made it into Billboard's Hot 100 singles Top 20 when "Ring of Fire" made it to Number 17.

From the opening trumpet melody to Johnny Cash's gravelly vocal, every aspect of "Ring Of Fire" is uncommonly iconic. 

Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash

The 1963 country music hit became synonymous with the Man In Black for the rest of his career, topping the country chart for seven weeks and spawning myriad covers in Nashville and every other genre over the next 50 years. Saying it's one of the greatest hits of Cash's career is an understatement. 

Read more: Wide Open Country

July 27, 1974: "Radar Love" by Golden Earring made it to Number 13 on the US singles chart.

It’s not really normal for a band eight albums into their career to suddenly enjoy a worldwide breakout. 

Golden Earring rock group
Golden Earring

And for it to happen with a track over six minutes long with elongated instrumental passages and a somewhat mysterious narrative is even stranger. Any resistance fades, however, when you hear the opening strains of “Radar Love” by Golden Earring, still the song most likely to inspire a speeding ticket some 47 years after it was first released. 

July 27, 1985: Paul Young hit Number 1 with "Every Time You Go Away," a cover of a Hall & Oates song released in 1980.
"Everytime You Go Away" was written by Daryl Hall and first recorded in 1980 Hall & Oates but was not released as a single. English singer Paul Young recorded a cover version of the song titled "Every Time You Go Away" for his studio album The Secret of Association in 1985. Young's version, along with his cover of "Oh Girl" by the Chi-Lites, was one of two top 10 hits he had on the U.S. pop singles chart. 
Read more: Wikipedia

 

July 27, 1991:  Jesus Jones peaked at Number 2 with "Right Here, Right Now."
"Right Here, Right Now" was inspired by events in Europe of the late 1980s, particularly Perestroika in the Soviet Union.

Jesus Jones
Jesus Jones

Mike Edwards has since noted some lyrics were influenced by the band's experiences playing in Romania in February 1990 right after the overthrow of CeauČ™escu. Lyrics were also inspired by Prince's 1987 song "Sign o' the Times" and a 1989 cover version of the same song by Simple Minds, which the members of Jesus Jones disliked. 
Read more: Wikipedia 

Motley Crue
Smokin' in the Boys' Room

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