Historic events this week from Iron Maiden, Collective Soul, John Fogerty, Deep Purple, Bob Dylan, Soundgarden, Stone Temple Pilots and Pink Floyd
MARCH 22, 1982: IRON MAIDEN’S THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST
Influential English heavy metal band, Iron Maiden, released a classic with their third album. The Number of the Beast was the first to feature the now-iconic Bruce Dickinson on lead vocals.
Containing one of their most well-known songs (“Run to the Hills”) the controversial album has sold over 20 million copies worldwide.
MARCH 22, 1994: COLLECTIVE SOUL’S DEBUT ALBUM
Collective Soul burst onto the scene with their debut album, Hints Allegations and Things Left Unsaid, which was originally released on an indie label before being picked up by Atlantic Records. The album’s massive success was spearheaded by the multi-format hit “Shine,” a track that combined a heavy grunge riff with a soaring, spiritual chorus, catapulting the band from a regional Georgia act to international stardom.
MARCH 23, 1985: JOHN FOGERTY’S CENTERFIELD IS #1
John Fogerty‘s Centerfield was his first solo album of all-original songs. Arriving 10 years after John Fogerty, his second solo album, Centerfield would spend a week at #1.
Containing “Rock and Roll Girls” (#5), “Centerfield” (#4) and “The Old Man Down the Road” (#1), Centerfield went on to sell over 2 million copies in the US.
MARCH 25, 1972: MACHINE HEAD BY DEEP PURPLE
Deep Purple‘s sixth album, Machine Head, remains their biggest selling album with over 2 million sold.
Their highest charting album in the US (#7) contains “Space Truckin’,” “Highway Star” and the classic rock radio staple “Smoke on the Water.”
MARCH 25, 2001: BOB DYLAN BECOMES AN OSCAR WINNER
Two months after winning his first Best Original Song Golden Globe for “Things Have Changed” from Wonder Boys starring Michael Douglas, Bob Dylan became an Academy Award winner in the same category.
He accepted the award in Sydney via satellite.
“I want to thank the members of the Academy who were bold enough to give me this award for this song, which obviously is a song that doesn’t pussyfoot around nor turn a blind eye to human nature” – Bob Dylan
MARCH 26, 1994: SOUNDGARDEN’S SUPERUNKNOWN IS #1
Soundgarden‘s fourth album, Superunknown, debuted at #1 ahead of Nine Inch Nails‘ The Downward Spiral.
The band finally became Grammy winners when the album won two Grammys: Best Metal Performance (“Spoonman”) and Best Hard Rock Performance (“Black Hole Sun”).
MARCH 26, 1996: TINY MUSIC… SONGS FROM THE VATICAN GIFT SHOP
Stone Temple Pilots took a sharp turn into psychedelic pop and glam rock with their third album, Tiny Music… Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop. Moving away from the heavy grunge of their earlier work, the record showcased the band’s versatility with hit singles like the breezy “Big Bang Baby,” the jazz-inflected “Lady Picture Show,” and the driving, melodic “Trippin’ on a Hole in a Paper Heart.”
MARCH 28, 1994: PINK FLOYD’S THE DIVISION BELL
Pink Floyd‘s 14th studio album, The Division Bell, was their second without founding member Roger Waters.
The album has sold over 7 million worldwide, with over 3,330,000 sold in the US alone.
The Division Bell‘s third single, “Keep Talking” featured Stephen Hawking and went to #1 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock charts.
