Wednesday, March 22, 2023

Music History Today: March 23, 2023

March 23, 1997: Pop became U2's fifth Number 1 album in the US.
Pop continued U2's 1990s musical reinvention, incorporating alternative rock, techno, dance, and electronica influences into their sound.

U2 Pop album cover 

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Various production techniques that were new to U2 were used, including sampling, loops, programmed drum machines, and sequencing. The lead single, "Discothèque," reached number one in 35 countries, including the United Kingdom and the United States. 

Read more: Wikipedia
March 23, 1953: American singer Chaka Khan was born in Great Lakes, Illinois.
Chaka Khan achieved success as part of the soul-funk band Rufus, delivering hits like "Tell Me Something Good," "Sweet Thing," and "Hollywood."

Chaka Khan

Khan's solo career in the late '70s made waves on the charts again with tunes like "I'm Every Woman," "I Feel for You," "This Is My Night," and "Through the Fire." 
Read more: Biography

March 23, 1970: Leon Russell released his self-titled studio album in the US.
Three-fifths of The Rolling Stones, half of the Beatles, Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Delaney and Bonnie Bramlett, Merry Clayton, Klaus Voorman, and Joe Cocker all contributed to Leon Russel's first LP.

Leon Russell
Leon Russell

Starting a rock album with a ballad has always been risky, but a debut album? Even more so. Still, Russell softly opens not with a bang but a seduction: the incomparable "A Song For You." 
Read more: Albumism

March 23, 1979: Van Halen released "Van Halen II."
The album is called "Van Halen II" not just because it's the band's second album but because it's virtually a carbon copy of their 1978 debut.

"Van Halen II" album cover 

There's only one cover this time, Betty Everett's "You're No Good." But there are two bona fide party anthems in "Dance the Night Away" and "Beautiful Girls."  
Read more: Allmusic

March 23, 2008: Jack Johnson debuted at Number 1 on the US album chart with his fifth album, Sleep Through The Static. The first single, "If I Had Eyes," was released via Johnson's MySpace page.



Discothèque
U2

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