Chart History: Sweet

Chart History is a feature that highlights a hard rock/heavy metal act and how well the duo/group or individual performed on the Billboard charts.

Today we focus on Sweet. Here is a rundown of all singles and albums that charted while the group was together. Greatest hits and other compilations are not included -only studio and live albums are.

Albums:
1973: The Sweet (No.191)
1975: Desolation Boulevard (No.25)
1976: Give Us A Wink (No.27)
1977: Off the Record (No.151)
1978: Level Headed (No.52)
1979: Cut Above The Rest (No.151)

Singles:
1. Co-Co (No.99)
2. Blockbuster (No.73)
3. Little Willy (No.3)
4. Ballroom Blitz (No.5)
5. Fox On The Run (No.5)
6. Action (No.20)
7. Funk It Up (David's Song) (No.88)
8. Love Is Like Oxygen (No.8)
9. California Nights (No.76)

Chart History: Aerosmith

Chart History is a feature that highlights a hard rock/heavy metal act and how well the duo/group or individual performed on the Billboard charts.

Today we focus on Aerosmith. Here is a rundown of all singles and albums that charted while the group was together. Greatest hits and other compilations are not included -only studio and live albums are.

Albums:
1973: Aerosmith (No.21)
1974: Get Your Wings (No.74)
1975: Toys In The Attic (No.11)
1976: Rocks (No.3)
1977: Draw The Line (No.11)
1978: Live Bootleg (No.13)
1979: Night In The Ruts (No.14)
1982: Rock In A Hard Place (No.32)
1985: Done With Mirrors (No.36)
1986: Classics Live (No.84)
1987: Permanent Vacation (No.11)
1989: Pump (No.5)
1993: Get A Grip (No.1)
1997: Nine Lives (No.1)
1998: A Little South Of Sanity (No.12)
2001: Just Push Play (No.2)
2004: Honkin' On Bobo (No.5)
2005: Rockin' The Joint: Live at The Hard Rock Hotel (No.24)

Singles:
1. Dream On (No.59)
2. Sweet Emotion (No.36)
3. Dream On (No.6) Re-chart
4. Home Tonight (No.71)
5. Last Child (No.21)
6. Back In The Saddle (No.38)
7. Draw The Line (No.42)
8. Walk This Way (No.10)
9. Come Together (No.23)
10. Kings and Queens (No.70)
11. Chip Away The Stone (No.77)
12. Remember (Walking In The Sand) (No.67)
13. Dude (Looks Like A Lady) (No.14)
14. Angel (No.3)
15. Rag Doll (No.17)
16. Love In An Elevator (No.5)
17. Janie's Got A Gun (No.4)
18. What It Takes (No.9)
19. The Other Side (No.22)
20. Amazing (No.24)
21. Cryin' (No.12)
22. Livin' On The Edge (No.18)
23. Blind Man (No.48)
24. Crazy (No.17)
25. Falling In Love (Is Hard On The Knees) (No.35)
26. Hole In My Soul (No.51)
27. Pink (No.27)
28. I Don't Want To Miss A Thing (No.1)
29. Jaded (No.7)
Co-Hits
30. Walk This Way w/Run DMC (No.3)

Chart History: Grand Funk Railroad

This week we are going to move away from the videos a bit and focus on chart history. We will use this time over the next week to catch up and reload some new videos on the site. It seems a lot of videos on YouTube are being taken off and I'll have to find ones to replace them.

Chart History is a feature that highlights a hard rock/heavy metal act and how well the duo/group or individual performed on the Billboard charts.

Today we focus on Grand Funk Railroad. Here is a rundown of all singles and albums that charted while the group was together. Greatest hits and other compilations are not included -only studio and live albums are.

Albums:
1969: On Time (No.27)
1970: Grand Funk (No.11)
1970: Closer To Home (No.6)
1971: Live Album (No.5)
1971: Survival (No.6)
1972: E Pluribus Funk (No.5)
1972: Phoenix (No.7)
1973: We're An American Band (No.2)
1974: Shinin' On (No.5)
1975: All The Girls In The World Beware!!! (No.10)
1975: Caught In The Act (No.21)
1976: Born To Die (No.47)
1977: Good Singin' Good Playin' (No.52)
1981: Grand Funk Lives (No.149)

Singles:
1. Mr. Limousine Driver (No.97)
2. Time Machine (No.48)
3. Closer To Home (No.22)
4. Heartbreaker (No.72)
5. Feelin' Alright (No.54)
6. Gimme Shelter (No.61)
7. Mean Mistreater (No.47)
8. Footstompin' Music (No.29)
9. Rock N' Roll Soul (No.29)
10. Upsetter (No.73)
11. We're An American Band (No.1)
12. Shinin' On (No.11)
13. Walk Like A Man (No.19)
14. The Loco-Motion (No.1)
15. Bad Time (No.4)
16. Some Kind Of Wonderful (No.3)
17. Can You Do It (No.45)
18. Sally (No.69)
19. Take Me (No.53)

Chart History: Foghat

This week we are going to move away from the videos a bit and focus on chart history. We will use this time over the next week to catch up and reload some new videos on the site. It seems a lot of videos on YouTube are being taken off and I'll have to find ones to replace them.

Chart History is a feature that highlights a hard rock/heavy metal act and how well the duo/group or individual performed on the Billboard charts.

Today we focus on Foghat. Here is a rundown of all singles and albums that charted while the group was together. Greatest hits and other compilations are not included -only studio and live albums are.

Albums:
1972: Foghat (No.127)
1973: Foghat II (No.67)
1974: Energized (No.34)
1975: Rock And Roll Outlaws (No.40)
1976: Fool For The City (No.23)
1977: Night Shift (No.36)
1977: Foghat Live (No.11)
1978: Stone Blue (No.25)
1979: Boogie Motel (No.35)
1980: Tight Shoes (No.106)
1981: Girls To Chat & Boys To Bounce (No.92)
1982: In The Mood For Something Rude (No.162)
1983: Zig-Zag Walk (No.192)

Singles:
1. I Just Want To Make Love To You (No.83)
2. What A Shame (No.82)
3. Fool For The City (No.45)
4. Slow Ride (No.20)
5. Drivin' Wheel (No.34)
6. I Just Want To Make Love To You (No.33) re-release
7. I'll Be Standing By (No.67)
8. Stone Blue (No.36)
9. Stranger In My Home Town (No.81)
10. Third Time Lucky (No.23)

Chart History: T.Rex

This week we are going to move away from the videos a bit and focus on chart history. We will use this time over the next week to catch up and reload some new videos on the site. It seems a lot of videos on YouTube are being taken off and I'll have to find ones to replace them.

Chart History is a feature that highlights a hard rock/heavy metal act and how well the duo/group or individual performed on the Billboard charts.

Today we focus on T.Rex. Here is a rundown of all singles and albums that charted while the group was together. Greatest hits and other compilations are not included -only studio and live albums are.

Albums:
1970: T.Rex (No.113)
1971: Electric Warrior (No.32)
1972: The Slider (No.17)
1973: Tanx (No.102)

Singles:
1. Hot Love (No.72)
2. Ride A White Swan (No.76)
3. Bang A Gong (Get It On) (No.10)
4. Telegram Sam (No.67)

Chart History: BTO

This week we are going to move away from the videos a bit and focus on chart history. We will use this time over the next week to catch up and reload some new videos on the site. It seems a lot of videos on YouTube are being taken off and I'll have to find ones to replace them.

Chart History is a feature that highlights a hard rock/heavy metal act and how well the duo/group or individual performed on the Billboard charts.

Today we focus on BTO. Here is a rundown of all singles and albums that charted while the group was together. Greatest hits and other compilations are not included -only studio and live albums are.

Albums:
1973: Bachman-Turner Overdive (No.4)
1974: BTO II (No.4)
1974: Not Fragile (No.1)
1975: Four Wheel Drive (No.5)
1976: Head On (No.23)
1977: Freeways (No.70)
1978: Street Action (No.130)
1979: Rock N' Roll Nights (No.165)

Singles:
1. Blue Collar (No.68)
2. Let It Ride (No.23)
3. Takin' Care of Business (No.12)
4. Free Wheelin' (No.1)
5. You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet (No.1)
6. Roll On Down The Highway (No.14)
7. Hey You (No.21)
8. Down To The Line (No.43)
9. Looking Out For #1 (No.65)
10. Gimme Your Money Please (No.70)
11. Take It Like A Man (No.33)
12. Heartaches (No.60)

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Def Leppard II

This second video from Def Leppard is off the 10-million selling Hysteria.

This was a hair metal anthem in the 80s - "Pour Some Sugar on Me."

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Def Leppard

Def Leppard, in many ways, was the definitive hard rock band of the '80s. There were many bands that rocked harder, and were more dangerous, than the Sheffield quintet, but few others captured the spirit of the times quite as well. Emerging in the late '70s as part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, the group actually owed more to the glam rock and metal of the early '70s.

Def Leppard had their origins in a Sheffield-based group Rick Savage (bass) and Pete Willis (guitar) formed in their late teens in 1977. A few months later, vocalist Joe Elliott, a fanatic follower of Mott the Hoople and T. Rex, joined the band, bringing the name Deaf Leopard. After a spelling change, the trio, augmented by a now-forgotten drummer, began playing local Sheffield pubs, and within a year they had added guitarist Steve Clark, as well as a new drummer. Later in 1978, the recorded their debut EP, Getcha Rocks Off, and released it on their own label, Bludgeon Riffola. The EP became a word-of-mouth success, earning airplay on the BBC. The group members were still in their teens.

Following the release of Getcha Rocks Off, Rick Allen was added as the band's permanent drummer, and Def Leppard quickly became the subject of the British music weeklies. Soon, they signed with AC/DC's manager, Peter Mensch, who helped them secure a contract with Mercury. On Through the Night, the band's full-length debut, was released in 1980 and instantly became a hit in the U.K., also earning significant airplay in the U.S., where it reached number 51 on the charts. Over the course of the year, Def Leppard relentlessly toured Britain and America, including opening slots for Ozzy Osbourne, Sammy Hagar, and Judas Priest. High 'n' Dry followed in 1981, and it became the group's first platinum album in the U.S., thanks to MTV's strong rotation of "Bringin' on the Heartbreak." MTV would be vital to the band's success in the '80s.

As the band recorded the follow-up to High 'n' Drywith producer Mutt Lange, Pete Willis was fired from the band for alcoholism, and Phil Collen, a former guitarist for Girl, was hired to replace him. The resulting album, 1983's Pyromania, became an unexpected blockbuster, due not only to Def Leppard's skillful, melodic metal, but also to MTV's relentless airing of "Photograph" and "Rock of Ages." Pyromania went on to sell ten million copies, establishing Def Leppard as one of the most popular bands in the world. Despite their success, the band was about to enter a trying time for their career. Following an extensive international tour, the group re-entered the studio to record the follow-up, but producer Lange was unavailable, so they began sessions with Jim Steinman, the man responsible for Meat Loaf's Bat Out of Hell. The pairing turned out to be ill-advised, so the group turned to its former engineer, Nigel Green. One month into recording, Allen lost his left arm in a New Year's Eve car accident. The arm was reattached, but it had to be amputated once an infection set in.

Without a drummer, Def Leppard's future looked cloudy, but by the spring of 1985 — just a few months after his accident — Allen began learning to play a custom-made electronic kit assembled for him by Simmons. Soon, the band resumed recording, and within a few months Lange was back on board, but once he joined the team, he judged the existing tapes inferior and had the band begin work all over again. The recording continued throughout 1986, and that summer, the group returned to the stage for the European Monsters of Rock tour. Def Leppard finally completed their fourth album, now titled Hysteria, early in 1987, releasing it that spring to lukewarm reviews; many critics felt that the album compromised Leppard's metal roots for sweet pop flourishes.

The record was slow out of the starting gates — "Women," the first single, failed to really take hold. But with the second single, "Animal," Hysteria began to take off. It became the group's first Top 40 hit in the U.K., but more importantly, it began a string of six straight Top 20 hits in the U.S., which also included "Hysteria," "Pour Some Sugar on Me," "Love Bites," "Armageddon It," and "Rocket," the latter of which arrived in 1989, a full two years after the release of Hysteria. During those two years, Def Leppard was unavoidable — they were the kings of high-school metal, ruling the pop charts and MTV, and teenagers and bands alike replicated their teased hair and ripped jeans, even when the grimy hard rock of Guns N' Roses took hold in 1988.

Hysteria proved to be the peak of Leppard's popularity, yet their follow-up remained eagerly awaited in the early '90s as the band set to work on the record. During the recording, Steve Clark died from an overdose of alcohol and drugs. Clark had long had a problem with alcohol, and following the Hysteria heyday, the band forced him to take a sabbatical; he did enter rehab, but to no apparent effect. In fact, his abuse was so crippling that Collen had to play the majority of the guitar leads on Hysteria.

Following Clark's death, Def Leppard resolved to finish their forthcoming album as a quartet, releasing Adrenalize in the spring of 1992. Adrenalize was greeted with mixed reviews, and even though the album debuted at number one and contained several hit singles, including "Let's Get Rocked," "Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad," and "Make Love Like a Man," the record was a commercial disappointment in the wake of Pyromaniaand Hysteria. After the release of Adrenalize, the group added former Whitesnake guitarist Vivian Campbell.

The band continues to tour and record but has yet to recapture their glory days when everything they touched turned to gold.

Chart History: MC5

Chart History is a feature that highlights a hard rock/heavy metal act and how well the duo/group or individual performed on the Billboard charts.

This week we focus on MC5. Here is a rundown of all singles and albums that charted while the group was together. Greatest hits and other compilations are not included -only studio and live albums are.

Albums:
1969: Kick Out The Jams (No.30)
1970: Back In The USA (No.137)

Singles:
1. Kick Out The James (No.82)

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Y&T II

The closest Y&T ever had to a legitimate hit on the charts. This was a summertime staple for hair metal fans in the mid-80s.

It's "Summertime Girls" from their Down for the Count album. Oh the memories from that song.

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Y&T

Y&T were within reach of the Grail of rock & roll stardom many times in their long career. Unfortunately for the group, the ultimate prize always seemed to elude them in the end due to a series of mistakes and sheer bad luck. A legendary live band, the group never managed to translate their electric on-stage intensity into the studio, and despite their 20 years of service, they have now become little more than a blot on the American hard rock canvas.

Taking their name from a Beatles album, Yesterday. . . and Today, Yesterday & Today formed in San Francisco around 1973 with Dave Meniketti on vocals and lead guitar, Phil Kennemore on bass and Leonard Haze on drums. After stealing rhythm guitarist Joey Alves from a rival band, the foursome began to gig constantly around the Bay Area, opening for such heavyweights as Journey and the Doobie Brothers.

They were eventually picked up by London Records, which released their eponymous debut in 1976 and followed it with Struck Down two years later. Neither album ended up being successful, though, and after being dropped from the label, the band spent another two years struggling to stay alive.

Their perseverance finally paid off in early 1981, when they inked a long-term deal with A&M Records and shortened their name to Y&T in the process. Earthshaker, their first album for the label came out later that year and was a resounding success, earning the band a number of high-profile opening slots with AC/DC and Kiss.

The group's newfound success culminated in a performance at the prestigious Monsters of Rock festival in Donington, England. An optimistic Y&T returned to England the following year to begin work on Earthshaker's follow-up, Black Tiger. But despite its strong material, the record was let down by an uncharacteristically lifeless production job from veteran Chris Tsangarides and failed to meet the lofty expectations of both the media and their label.

Inexplicably, the group reunited with Tsangarides for 1983's Mean Streak, obtaining equally disappointing results despite scoring a decent international hit with "Midnight in Tokyo." Subsequent releases such as In Rock We Trust (1984) and Down for the Count (1985) fared no better, and by the time they found redemption with the blistering power of their first live set, Open Fire, the band had been forgotten and surpassed by an entire generation of younger bands. The band's association with A&M finally came to an end later that year and was effectively buried with the obligatory greatest-hits set, Best of Y&T (1981-1985).

Y&T wasn't ready to give up yet, though. Signed to Geffen by A&R guru John Kalodner — best known for resurrecting the career of Aerosmith — the group decided to revamp their image in order to fit into the late-'80s hair band scene. The band continue to release albums that received sporadic sales and called it quits in 1997.

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Whitesnake II

This video was from the huge album "Whitesnake" in 1987. This video had everything. Led Zep riffs and vocals and very hot Tawney Kitaen as the video vixen of the month.

Good song, little too much of a Zeppelin ripoff, but good nonetheless. This is when hair metal ruled the airwaves.

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Whitesnake

After recording two solo albums, former Deep Purple vocalist David Coverdale formed Whitesnake around 1977. In the glut of hard rock and heavy metal bands of the late '70s, their first albums got somewhat lost in the shuffle, although they were fairly popular in Europe and Japan. During 1982, Coverdale took some time off, so he could take care of his sick daughter.

When he re-emerged with a new version of Whitesnake in 1984, the band sounded revitalized and energetic. Slide It In may have relied on Led Zeppelin's and Deep Purple's old tricks, but the band had a knack for writing hooks; the record became their first platinum album. Three years later, Whitesnake released an eponymous album which was even better.

Portions of the album were blatantly derivative — "Still of the Night" was a dead ringer for early Zeppelin — but the group could write powerful, heavy rockers like "Here I Go Again" that were driven as much by melody as riffs, as well as hit power ballads like "Is This Love." Whitesnake was an enormous international success, selling over six million copies in the U.S. alone.

Before they recorded their follow-up, 1989's Slip of the Tongue, Coverdale again assembled a completely new version of the band, featuring guitar virtuoso Steve Vai. Although the record went platinum, it was a considerable disappointment after the across-the-board success of Whitesnake. Coverdale put Whitesnake on hiatus after that album.

1997 saw Coverdale resurrect Whitesnake (guitarist Adrian Vandenberg was the only remaining member of the group's latter lineup), issuing Restless Heart the same year. Surprisingly, the album wasn't even issued in the United States. On the ensuing tour, Coverdale and Vandenberg performed an "unplugged" show in Japan, which was recorded and issued the following year under the title Starkers in Tokyo. By the late '90s however, Coverdale once again put Whitesnake on hold, as he concentrated on recording his first solo album in nearly 22 years.

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Saxon II

Here's another from NWOBHM rockers Saxon. It's the name of this blog. This is title track from the great album "Denim and Leather."

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Saxon

Saxon was one of the early leaders of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, along with Iron Maiden and Def Leppard. The band was formed in Barnsley in 1977 by vocalist Biff Byford, guitarists Graham Oliver and Paul Quinn, bassist Steve Dawson, and drummer Pete Gill.

Originally calling themselves Son of a Bitch, they soon decided to find a more subtle name, settling on Saxon. Like many young metal bands of the day, Saxon found it difficult to land a record deal in post-punk England, but eventually signed with French-based Carrere Records.

Though Saxon's 1979 self-titled debut album was marred by a lightweight production job, the band built a strong following touring Britain as support group to Motörhead and Nazareth. The band capitalized on this exposure with their sophomore effort the following year. Wheels of Steel featured a much heavier, metallic sound which finally did their songs justice. The album was immediately heralded as a NWOBHM classic by fans and critics alike and the band was apparently on their way.

They released two more fine albums, Strong Arm of the Law and Denim and Leather, over the next year while touring relentlessly across Britain, Europe, and the U.S. Even the loss of founding drummer Pete Gill to Motörhead (replaced by Nigel Glockler) didn't slow their momentum, and a live album, The Eagle Has Landed, capped their hot streak in 1982.

Though they'd barely dented America, Saxon's early success was only rivaled by Iron Maiden, and the band seemed poised on the brink of worldwide success. Then a strange thing happened. A series of unfocused, lackluster albums (Power and the Glory and Crusader) stopped the band cold in its tracks. And when they attempted to follow the trend set by other British bands like Whitesnake (who cracked the U.S. with a peroxide-fueled fashion makeover), the band's career went into an irreversible slide.

Despite never being able to break in America, Saxon remains a solid act in Europe and Japan.