This Day in Music
On this day in music, May 12, 2017, Kendrick Lamar topped the Billboard 200 with his fourth studio album, DAMN, less than a month after its release. The Compton-raised rapper enlisted the help of numerous artists and producers to collaborate on the album, including executive producer and Top Dawg Entertainment label head Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith, Sounwave, Rihanna, and U2. Widely considered to be among the best releases of the year, DAMN won Best Rap Album at the 2018 Grammys and became the first non-jazz or classical work to earn a Pulitzer Prize for Music.
In 1967, The Jimi Hendrix Experience released their debut album, Are You Experienced, in the UK. Broadly regarded as one of the greatest albums of all time, the record showcased Hendrix’s revolutionary songwriting and guitar playing and was an immediate critical and commercial success, spending an impressive 33 weeks on the British charts. Across the Atlantic, the album was released several months later with revised album art that reflected the psychedelic nature of the music. Decades later, the LP was inducted into the National Recording Registry in recognition of its cultural significance.
In 1972, The Rolling Stones released Exile on Main St. on their self-titled label. Writing and recording began during the London sessions for their previous LP, Sticky Fingers, and continued through mid-1971 in the South of France. Featuring the hit singles “Happy” (with rare lead vocals from Keith Richards), “Sweet Virginia,” and “Tumbling Dice,” the band’s 10th album topped the charts in six countries, including the UK and US. According to Mick Jagger, the band felt the cover artwork reflected “runaway outlaws using the blues as its weapon against the world.”
In 1984, Lionel Richie’s “Hello” began a two-week run atop the Billboard Hot 100. The single, which marked the former Commodore’s second solo US No.1, also found massive success around the globe, including the UK, where it held the top spot for six weeks.
In 1965, Wilson Pickett recorded “In the Midnight Hour” at Stax Studios. Co-written with guitarist and producer Steve Cropper at Memphis’ Lorraine Motel (the site of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination three years later) the single reached No.1 on the R&B charts, marking the soul star’s first chart-topper and his first hit for Atlantic Records.
In 1958, The Everly Brothers began a four-week run at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “All I Have to Do is Dream.” Written by Boudleaux Bryant (of the husband-and-wife songwriting team Felice and Boudleaux Bryant), the song was recorded in two takes and featured Chet Atkins on guitar.
BORN ON MAY 12
1928: Burt Bacharach
1940: Norman Whitfield (Songwriter, Producer)
1942: Ian Dury
1946: Ian McLagan (Small Faces)
1948: Steve Winwood
1950: Billy Squier
1976: Matt Mangano (Zac Brown Band)
