This Day in Rock History: November 23

Breakthrough Hits and Milestones

• 1936: Robert Johnson, widely considered to be the most influential Delta blues artist of all time, recorded 10 tracks in a San Antonio hotel. They included classics such as “Sweet Home Chicago” and “I Believe I’ll Dust My Broom,” which were covered by countless other artists and contributed to the birth of rock and roll two decades later.
• 1975: Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” climbed to the top of the U.K. singles chart. Despite being almost six minutes long and having an unorthodox compositional style, it proved to be a hit and spent nine consecutive weeks at No. 1.

Notable Recordings and Performances

• 1970: George Harrison released “My Sweet Lord,” the lead single from his triple album, All Things Must Pass. It was Harrison’s first single as a solo artist, and it went to No. 1 on many national singles charts, including in the U.S., the U.K., Sweden, France, Canada, and Australia.
• 1979: Pink Floyd released their most successful and widely known single, “Another Brick in the Wall, Pt. 2,” from their album, The Wall. It sold over 4 million copies and went to No. 1 on the singles charts in 14 countries, including the U.S. and the U.K.
• 2004: Evanescence released their first live album, Anywhere But Home, via Wind-up Records. It featured a show in Paris from May 25 of that year and came with a DVD that included three previously unreleased songs, four music videos, and behind-the-scenes footage.
• 2008: Guns N’ Roses released their long-awaited sixth studio album, Chinese Democracy, through Geffen Records and Black Frog. It was the band’s first album with original material since 1991’s double release of the Use Your Illusion albums and only featured Axl Rose from the band’s classic lineup.