ROCK REWIND: Big Debuts, Rick Rolled, and the Loss of Some Legends

So what happened THIS week in Rock History?

Some major accolades occurred:

The Beatles’ Eight Days a Week hit #1 in 1965, already the groups 7th chart topper!

In 1966, the theme song to the TV series Batman reaches its chart peak of #17

Gloria Gaynor’s ”I Will Survive” hit #1, her only chart topper, in 1979

In 1985, REO Speedwagon has their second to last #1 hit with ”Can’t Fight This Feeling”

Written by Bruce Hornsby and his brother, John Hornsby, “Jacob’s Ladder” by Huey Lewis & the News climbs to #1 in the US in 1987

In 1988, Rick Astley Rick-Rolled us all when ”Never Gonna Give You Up” hit #1

18-year-old Debbie Gibson goes to #1 in America with her second album, Electric Youth in 1989

In 1994, The Supremes receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

Cher’s Believe hits #1 in 1999, becoming the artist with the longest gap between #1 hits as her last was “Dark Lady” in 1974.

Some MAJOR debuts occurred:

Philips publicly demonstrated the Compact Disc for the first time in 1979

Metallica made their live debut in 1982 when they appeared at Radio City in Anaheim, California

In 1983, Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora and Alec John Such formed Bon Jovi

MTV broadcasted the video of Michael Jackson’s song “Billie Jean” for the first time in 1983

U2 release their fifth studio album, The Joshua Tree in 1987. The first two singles, “With Or Without You” and “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” climb to #1 in America

In 1993, Beavis and Butt-Head debuted on MTV

Paul McCartney had some ups & downs:

In 1969, he married Linda Eastman … she became Linda McCartney and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1997 BUT in 1973, he was fined 100 pounds for growing marijuana on his farm in Campbelltown, Scotland

Some “falling outs” and retirements happened:

Eric Clapton quit The Yardbirds due to musical differences with the other band members in 1965

In 2006, Isaac Hayes quit South Park because the show mocked his religion. He said, “There is a place in this world for satire, but there is a time when satire ends and intolerance and bigotry towards religious beliefs of others begins.”

Phil Collins retired so he could be a full-time father to his two young sons in 2011

A lot in financial goings ons:

Michael Jackson was forced to refinance his Neverland Ranch in 2008 to save it from being auctioned off

A jury awarded Marvin Gaye’s estate (his children Marvin III, Frankie and Nona) $7.3 million, after finding that the Robin Thicke song “Blurred Lines” is too similar to Gaye’s 1977 hit “Got To Give It Up: In 2015

In 2016, Sony payed $750 million to Michael Jackson’s estate for half of Sony/ATV Music. The publishing company owns the rights to 4,000 pop songs, including 250 Lennon-McCartney tunes from the Beatles catalog. Jackson bought ATV Music in 1985 for $47.5 million and merged with Sony a decade later

And we lost quite a few legends:

Andy Gibb died of a heart inflammation at age 30 in 1988

In 1997, The Notorious B.I.G. was killed at the age of 24 in a drive-by shooting.

Boston lead singer Brad Delp took his own in 2007, leaving a note saying he was a “lonely soul.”  Boston guitarist Don Scholz would be quoted saying, “We’ve just lost the nicest guy in rock and roll.”

In 2011, Alice in Chains bassist Mike Starr died of a drug overdose.

Beatles producer George Martin died in 2016 at age 90. Paul McCartney said: “From the day that he gave The Beatles our first recording contract, to the last time I saw him, he was the most generous, intelligent and musical person I’ve ever had the pleasure to know.”