TWENTY FIVE YEARS AGO VAN HALEN PLAYED OAKLAND ON “THE BALANCE TOUR.” IT WAS ALSO CALLED THE “AMBULANCE” TOUR BY EDDIE VAN HALEN BECAUSE EDDIE WAS HOBBLED FOR MOST OF THE TOUR DUE TO A HIP INJURY, AND HIS BROTHER ALEX WORE A NECK BRACE FOR MOST OF THE TOUR. THIS WOULD BE THE LAST TOUR WITH SAMMY HAGAR HANDLING LEAD VOCALS UNTIL A REUNION IN 2004. THE OPENING NIGHT IN FLORIDA AND 2 SHOWS FROM TORONTO CANADA WERE BROADCAST ON PAY PER VIEW. THERE WERE ALSO PLANS TO RELEASE FOOTAGE FROM THE TWO TORONTO SHOWS ON DVD, BUT IT WAS NEVER RELEASED. THE BALANCE TOUR LASTED 7 LEGS WITH 135 SHOWS, AND EARNED OVER $ 30 MILLION DOLLARS. HERE’S THE FULL SHOW PAY PER VIEW SPECIAL
TWENTY SEVEN YEARS AGO ‘PLUSH’ FROM STP WAS RELEASED AS A SINGLE IN THE UK AND EUROPE. IN AMERICA NO SINGLES FROM THE ALBUM ‘CORE’ WERE MADE AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE, SINCE ATLANTIC RECORDS LIKED SELLING $16 ALBUMS MORE THAN $2 SINGLES. DESPITE NOT BEING RELEASED IN THE USA AS A SINGLE, THE SONG HIT # 1 ON THE ALBUM ROCK CHART. PLUSH ALSO WON THE GRAMMY IN 1994 IN THE CATEGORY OF “BEST HARD ROCK PERFORMANCE” AND EARNED STP AN “MTV MUSIC AWARD” FOR “THE BEST NEW ARTIST” IN 1993. THE LYRICS FOR ‘PLUSH’ WERE ACTUALLY INSPIRED BY AN UNFORTUNATE EVENT IN STP’S HOMETOWN OF SAN DIEGO ABOUT A MISSING WOMAN WHO WAS LATER DISCOVERED DEAD BY LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT (AND I FEEL, WHEN THE DOGS BEGIN TO SMELL HER…”) OTHER WEIRD FACTS ABOUT ‘PLUSH INCLUDE THE TITLE NEVER APPEARS IN THE LYRICS OF THE ACTUAL SONG. THIS IS ALSO TRUE OF THE ‘CORE’ TRACKS ‘SEX TYPE THING’ AND ‘NAKED SUNDAY’. THE LINE “WHERE YOU GOING WITH THE MASK I FOUND” IS OFTEN MISHEARD AS “WHERE YOU GOING WITH THE MASTER PLAN?”
HERE’S THE OFFICIAL VIDEO FOR ‘PLUSH’ WITH STP
AND FINALLY, FILE THIS ONE UNDER WTF !!! ON THIS DATEIN 1971, ON HIS 21ST BIRTHDAY, STEVIE WONDER RECEIVED ALL OF HIS CHILDHOOD EARNINGS. DESPITE HAVING EARNED OVER $30 MILLION DOLLARS FROM RECORD SALES AND CONSTANT TOURING, HE RECEIVED ON $1 MILLION DOLLARS. ONE WOULD SAY THEY ROBBED HIM BLIND. I HOPE THIS YEAR HE’S HAVING A BETTER BIRTHDAY !! HAPPY 69TH BIRTHDAY STEVIE WONDER.
HERE’S SOME LIVE STEVIE WONDER.
AND ANOTHER…… JUST BECAUSE I LOVE STEVIE WONDER
stevie wonder photo thanks- Mary
van halen photo thanks-Rogelio A. Galaviz C.