July 26 marks important anniversaries for many of rock’s biggest stars, although the occasions are much happier for some than for others.
Happy Birthday to Mick Jagger
Let’s start with today’s more joyous occasions. Happy 82nd birthday to Mick Jagger, born on this day in 1943. For over six decades he’s served as the singer for the biggest band in rock history, the Rolling Stones.
(Not getting into “Stones vs. Beatles” in terms of quality or impact right now, but in terms of career accomplishments and longevity there’s no contest.)
They are showing no signs of slowing down, having recently released a scorching cover of a song by one of their heroes, Clifton Chenier.
Happy Birthday to Roger Taylor
Queen drummer Roger Taylor is also celebrating a birthday, his 76th, today. Here’s a vintage clip of the band in concert from 1981, demonstrating how important his backing vocals are to the band’s live sound. On the group’s recent tours with Adam Lambert, Taylor has taken on co-lead vocal duties on another classic, “Under Pressure.”
1973: ZZ Top Break Through with ‘Tres Hombres’
On this day in 1973, ZZ Top released their big commercial breakthrough, Tres Hombres. The group’s third album was their first to break into the Top 10. It features their signature song, “La Grange,” as well as the opening one-two punch of “Waitin’ for the Bus”and “Jesus Just Left Chicago.”
The vinyl version also includes what just might be the greatest gatefold photo in rock history:
1986: James Hetfield Breaks His Wrist
On this day in 1986, James Hetfield SHOULD have learned that backstage skateboarding isn’t a great idea. The Metallica frontman broke his wrist prior to a show where the group was scheduled to open for Ozzy Osbourne, forcing them to miss the concert.
“We told the management, ‘Hey, look we’re thinking about taking boards out on tour,'” Hetfield later explained. “I thought he was going to go, ‘Oh shit, no way, you can’t.’ He just said, ‘Well, you break something, you still play.'”
And they did, quickly recruiting longtime friend John Marshall to handle the rhythm guitar parts for the next two months starting with the very next show on Osbourne’s tour, with Hetfield remaining on vocal duty. You can see footage of one of those shows below.
After recovering, Hetfield returned to his skateboarding ways – and broke his arm again less than a year after his first accident.
1977: Tragedy Rocks Led Zeppelin
In much sadder news, on July 26, 1977 Robert Plant’s five-year-old son Karac suddenly died of a stomach virus, leaving the Led Zeppelin singer devastated and unsure he wanted to continue his career.
The band’s already troubled tour was immediately called off, and Plant seriously pondered a career in higher education. “”I just thought there was something far more honest and wholesome about just digging in and putting the ego away in the closet,” he later told GQ.
“Because no matter what we say, entertainers are usually quite insecure, wobbly characters underneath – and maybe that bit of glory or that bit of expression or whatever it is compensates in some area. But I thought I should be rid of it. … Sometimes I still feel like that.”
Plant did eventually return to the band, writing In Through the Out Door’s “All My Love” as a tribute to his lost child. It would be the last album the group released before the 1980 death of drummer John Bonham.
1990: The Grateful Dead’s Brett Mydland Dies
Longtime Grateful Dead keyboardist Brett Mydland died on July 26, 1990. He joined the band prior to 1980’s Go To Heaven and remained with them until his passing, even taking lead vocals on “Tons of Steel” from 1987’s double-platinum In the Dark.
2013: JJ Cale Dies
JJ Cale, who wrote two of Eric Clapton’s biggest hits, “After Midnight” and “Cocaine,” died on July 26, 2013 at the age of 74. Cale’s own struggling recording career got a big boost when Clapton covered “After Midnight” in 1970, and the song “Crazy Mama” from his 1971 solo debut Naturally cracked the Top 30.
He got another boost in 1974 when Lynyrd Skynyrd covered his song “Call Me the Breeze” for their second helping album. In 2006 he and Clapton collaborated on an album named The Road to Escondido.
1985: Chevy Chase Takes a Second ‘Vacation’
Lastly, on the pop culture front, the second of Chevy Chase’s Vacation movie series, National Lampoon’s European Vacation, arrived in theaters on this day in 1985. Hot take: It’s the third-best movie in the series, behind the 1983 original and 1989’s Christmas Vacation.
