This Day in Rock History: April 29

Breakthrough Hits and Milestones

• 1972: Three years after its initial release, Roberta Flack's debut album, First Take, made its way to the top of the Billboard albums chart. The album's popularity rose after one of its songs was included in the Clint Eastwood film Play Misty for Me, released in 1971.
• 2007: The Arctic Monkeys enjoyed the start of a three-week run at the top of the U.K. Albums Chart with their second album, Favourite Worst Nightmare. This was the band's first album with new bassist Nick O'Malley, and it won several awards, including Best British Album.
• 2016: Following his tragic passing eight days earlier, 14 of Prince's albums re-entered the British charts, showing an immediate response from fans after the tragic news. The Very Best Of, Ultimate, and Purple Rain was at No. 3, with the "Purple Rain" single reaching No. 6 on the Official Singles Chart.

Cultural Milestones

• 1933: Crank up a Willie Nelson tune today to celebrate this influential musician's birthday. Although Nelson is mainly known for his country hits, his talents spread into many genres, and he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2023.
• 1946: Iconic guitarist Mick Ronson was born in Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, England. He was part of David Bowie's Spiders From Mars and recorded five studio albums with "The Thin White Duke", as well as four albums with Ian Hunter and collaborations with artists like Bob Dylan, Lou Reed, Van Morrison, and John Mellencamp.
• 1972: New York City mayor John Lindsay supported John Lennon and Yoko Ono with their US Deportation challenges, personally writing to the Immigration and Naturalization Service and urging them to let the artists stay in the country. Lennon was ultimately given a green card in 1976.
• 2007: Making a rare television appearance, Nancy Sinatra had a cameo on an episode of the HBO series, The Sopranos. Sinatra plays herself and performs a song called “Boss Man” in front of members of the Sopranos cast.

Notable Recordings and Performances

• 1981: Van Halen released their fourth studio album, Fair Warning, via Warner Bros. Records. Despite being generally well-reviewed by critics, it only peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and is the band's lowest-selling album from the David Lee Roth era.
• 1985: Freddie Mercury released his first and only solo studio album during a period when Queen was taking a break from recording. It was a departure from Queen's traditional sound, with disco and pop influences, and achieved Gold certification in the UK.
• 1997: Lynyrd Skynyrd released their ninth studio album, Twenty. The album got its name because it had been 20 years since the plane crash that killed Ronnie Van Zant, the original singer, Steve Gaines, the guitarist, and Cassie Gaines, a backup singer.
• 2007: Rage Against the Machine played the first show of their reunion tour, as they headlined the final day of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. It was the band's first tour since they broke up in 2000 and went on sporadically for four years, with shows every year except 2009.

Industry Changes and Challenges

• 1963: Publicist Andrew Oldham, only 19 at the time, and booking agent Eric Easton, signed the Rolling Stones to their first management deal after paying £90 for the band's demo recordings. Two weeks later, Oldham helped them sign a record deal with Decca Records.
• 1999: Mötley Crüe lost Tommy Lee when he announced he was leaving the band to focus on his new band, Method of Mayhem. The artist also cited wanting to spend time with family as a reason for quitting.