Music History Today: April 8, 2023

April 8, 1975: Aerosmith released their first commercially successful album, Toys in the Attic.

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The first single from Aerosmith's LP Toys in the Attic, "Sweet Emotion," was released on May 19, and the original version of "Walk This Way" followed on August 28 of the same year. The album sold nine million copies, according to the RIAA. In 2003, the album was ranked No. 228 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

Read more: Wikipedia

April 8, 1964: Them, fronted by Van Morrison, recorded the single "Gloria."

"Gloria," a song written by Van Morrison, is about a girl who comes by for (presumably) sexual encounters. The recorded version is a tidy two-and-a-half minute with nothing explicit. When Them (and later The Doors) would perform the song live, it often became an extended jam with Morrison going into more graphic, spoken-word detail about the encounter. 

Read more: Songfacts

April 8, 1978: "You're the One That I Want" from the movie Grease, performed by John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, moved from Number 65 to 30 on Billboard's Hot 100.

"You're the One That I Want" plays at the finale of the movie Grease as Travolta (Danny) and Newton-John (Sandy) overcome the social constraints of high school and declare their lust for each other. Like the title track, it was not in the original stage musical of Grease but was written specifically for the movie. Also, like the title track, it was a Number 1 hit in America. 

Read more: Songfacts

April 8, 1989: The Swedish duo Roxette had their first Number 1 hit on the US singles chart with "The Look."

Roxette's "The Look" was a hit in their home country. An American exchange student returned from Sweden and urged the Minneapolis radio station KDWB to play the song. Even though it hadn't yet been released in the United States, the song spread to other American radio stations on cassette copies. 

Read more: Songfacts

April 8, 1994: The Offspring's breakthrough album Smash was released. Thanks to the success of the singles "Come Out and Play" and "Self Esteem," it became one of the best-selling independent records of all time.

Sweet Emotion
Aerosmith