The Blues Brothers - Briefcase Full of Blues

Today (November 28th) marks the thirty-fifth anniversary of Briefcase Full of Blues, the debut album from the Blues Brothers. Formed out of a Saturday Night Live sketch, actors Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi turned their love of the old soul and blues music into a genuine recording act. The record, a collection of covers recorded live on September 9th of 1978 at the Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles, hit a chord with the American public as it went all the way to number 1 on the US Billboard Album chart in February of 1979 (knocking out Billy Joel's 52nd Street) and eventually achieved double-Platinum sales.

Eric Clapton - Money and Cigarettes

Today (February 1st) marks the thirtieth anniversary of the release of Money and Cigarettes, the eighth solo studio album from British guitar legend Eric Clapton. This 1983 album went to number 20 in Australia, number 16 in the Netherlands and on the US Billboard Hot 200, number 13 in the UK, number 11 in New Zealand, number 9 in Japan, number 5 in Sweden and number 3 in Norway.

Assisting Clapton on the record were Ry Cooder (guitar), Albert Lee (guitar, keyboards and vocals), Donald “Duck” Dunn (bass), and Roger Hawkins (drums). Backing vocals were also provided by Chuck Kirkpatrick and John Sambataro.

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

Welcome to another edition of Seventies Saturday. Today (October 20th) is a special one as we also celebrate the sixty-second birthday of Florida-born American rocker Tom Petty.

Petty and his band the Heartbreakers made their recording debut on the November 9th, 1976, self-titled release. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers did not initially take off in the US; only after a UK tour and reaching number 24 on the charts there did it spark in the States (where it ultimately went to number 55 on the US Billboard Hot 200 in 1978). It also charted at number 57 in Australia and number 18 in New Zealand.