Events in 1975
- Elvis Presley leased a private aircraft for one year. He paid a $26,000 deposit and a monthly rental fee of $13,000.
- Robert Plant, his wife, and their children suffered serious injuries in a car accident on the Greek island of Rhodes. Plant sustained several fractures, including injuries to his ankles and elbow. The accident led to the postponement of Led Zeppelin’s planned North American tour.
- Black Sabbath performed at Convention Hall in Asbury Park, New Jersey.
- Stevie Wonder signed a seven-year, seven-album deal with Tamla/Motown worth a total of $37 million. The contract included a guaranteed $13 million advance, high royalty rates, performance bonuses and extensive artistic control over his music.
- Producer Kim Fowley began assembling The Runaways in Los Angeles. The core of the group consisted of Joan Jett and drummer Sandy West, with additional members including Micki Steele and Lita Ford joining later. The band released four studio albums during their career.
- The Rolling Stones performed at Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, Virginia.
- Album „Made In The Shade“ od The Rolling Stones získalo zlatou certifikaci.
- ZZ Top vystoupili v Calderone Concert Hall v Hempsteadu v New Yorku.
- Hank Williams Jr. survived a 500-foot fall from Ajax Mountain in Montana and suffered facial scarring. After two years of surgeries, he returned to music; he later often concealed the scars with a hat, beard and sunglasses.
- The Rolling Stones, Bobby Womack and The Outlaws performed at the then-Summerfest at Rich Stadium in Buffalo, New York.
- Typically Tropical reached No. 1 on the UK singles chart with their debut single “Barbados”. The song also reached No. 1 in Ireland and South Africa and was their only hit.
- Bee Gees began a two-week run at No. 1 on the US singles chart with “Jive Talkin'.” It was their second US No. 1 hit and the first of several American disco hits to top the chart. The single reached No. 5 in the UK. Barry Gibb was inspired to write the song while driving across a Florida bridge on his way to the recording studio.
- Composer and pianist Dmitry Shostakovich died in Moscow at the age of 68 from lung cancer. He is regarded as one of the most important composers of the 20th century.
- Don Kirshner staged the first Rock Music Award Show in Santa Monica, California. Among the honorees were Eagles, Stevie Wonder and Bad Company.
- Janis Ian was at No. 1 on the US Adult Contemporary chart with “At Seventeen”.
- The vocal group The Manhattan Transfer began a summer replacement variety show, “Manhattan Transfer”, on CBS. The show ran for four episodes.
- Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band began a five-night series of ten sold-out concerts at The Bottom Line in New York. The performances attracted considerable attention from the media and music industry and helped Springsteen gain national attention.
- The Grateful Dead performed at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco. A recording of the concert was subsequently broadcast by the Metromedia Network on September 1.
- He canceled the rental of a Fairchild aircraft and instead purchased a Jet Commander for $508,000. He later flew from Memphis to Las Vegas, but due to breathing difficulties, the aircraft had to make an unplanned landing in Dallas. After resting for several hours at a motel, he continued his journey.
- He officially announced his departure from Genesis. Phil Collins later became the new lead singer after an audition attended by more than 400 musicians.
- Peter Gabriel publicly confirmed his departure from Genesis after the tour for the album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. His departure was also announced in the August 16, 1975 issue of Melody Maker.
- The Stylistics reached No. 1 on the UK singles chart with "Can't Give You Anything (But My Love)", their only UK No. 1. Their compilation album The Best of The Stylistics was also at No. 1 on the UK albums chart.
- Blue Öyster Cult performed at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland.
- Peter Gabriel left Genesis to pursue a solo career.
- The Stylistics reached No. 1 on the UK singles chart with “Can't Give You Anything (But My Love)” and No. 1 on the UK album chart with the compilation The Best of The Stylistics.
- RCA Records released the fourth studio album by the duo Daryl Hall & John Oates. The album reached No. 4 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart, and the single “Sara Smile” became the duo's breakthrough hit in June 1976, also reaching No. 4 on the Hot 100.
- Elvis Presley performed in the showroom of the Las Vegas Hilton on the opening night of a new engagement. During the performance, after “Polk Salad Annie,” he sat down at Ronnie Tutt's drums, and a female fan who had climbed onto the stage gave him “mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.”
- Four Seasons released the single “Who Loves You,” which became their first Top 10 hit in eight years.
- Elvis Presley continued in Las Vegas with the routine he had begun in North Carolina, with Charlie Hodge selecting audience requests from a bucket and Elvis attempting to fulfill them. During the evening show, Elvis at one point lay down on the stage while singing. The program included “See See Rider”, “I Got a Woman/Amen”, “Blue Suede Shoes”, “If You Love Me”, “It’s Now or Never”, “My Boy”, “Love Me”, “Loving You”, “Suspicious Minds”, “Johnny B. Goode”, “Hail Hail Rock’n’Roll”, “T-R-O-U-B-L-E”, “Why Me Lord”, “How Great Thou Art”, “Let Me Be There”, “Crying in the Chapel” and “Can’t Help Falling in Love”. The midnight show included “Young and Beautiful”, “Are You Lonesome Tonight?”, “Softly, as I Leave You”, “Polk Salad Annie”, “Love Me Tender”, “All Shook Up”, “Hound Dog” and “My Boy”.
- America performed at Canadian National Exhibition Stadium in Toronto.
- Black Sabbath performed at the International Amphitheater in Chicago, Illinois.
- The song “Fallin' in Love” by Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, where it remained for one week. It was their first and only US number-one single. The song was credited to the group even though drummer Tommy Reynolds had left three years earlier and was replaced by Alan Dennison. It reached number 33 in the UK.
- Queen began recording the song “Bohemian Rhapsody” at Rockfield Studios in Monmouth, Wales.
- Alan Stivell, Babe Ruth, Heavy Metal Kids, Kursaal Flyers, Snafu, Supertramp, The Ozark Mountain Daredevils, Thin Lizzy, Yes and Zzebra performed at the Reading Festival.
- The Eagles' album “One of These Nights” entered its final week at number one on the US album chart. It was subsequently replaced at the top by Elton John's album “Captain Fantastic”.
- Queen began recording „Bohemian Rhapsody“ at Rockfield Studio 1 in Monmouth, Wales. Freddie Mercury had prepared the song in advance and led the band during the three-week recording process; Mercury, Brian May and Roger Taylor sang their parts for 10–12 hours a day, producing 180 separate vocal overdubs. Four additional studios were also used to complete the song. After its release, the song reached No. 1 in the U.K., No. 9 in the U.S. and the Top 10 in 13 other countries.
- Bruce Springsteen released his third studio album “Born to Run” on Columbia Records, marking a major breakthrough in his career. The album reached number three on the US Billboard chart and eventually sold seven million copies in the US. The title track reached number 23 on the US chart and “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” reached number 83.
- Bruce Springsteen performed a legendary five-night series of concerts at New York's The Bottom Line, which preceded his breakthrough with the album “Born to Run”.
- Bruce Springsteen released the single “Born to Run”.
- Elton John performed the first of three nights at The Troubadour in Los Angeles. The concerts were intended to raise $150,000 for the Jules Stein Eye Institute at UCLA.
- Glen Campbell was at No. 1 on the US country chart with “Rhinestone Cowboy”. The song was one of six songs released in 1975 that reached No. 1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard Hot Country Singles.
- Australian singer, songwriter and actress Natalie Imbruglia was born.
- The Four Seasons released the single “Who Loves You”, which became their first Top 10 song in eight years.
- Eric Clapton performed at Market Square Arena in Indianapolis, Indiana.
- American rapper Mason Durell Betha, known as Mase, was born in Jacksonville, Florida. He became known for the songs “Feel So Good” and “Lookin' at Me” from his solo debut “Harlem World” in 1997. In 1998, he had the UK hit “Top Of The World” with Brandy and also worked with Puff Daddy, Blackstreet and The Notorious B.I.G.
- Aerosmith performed at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland.
- “Walk This Way” was released as the second single from Aerosmith’s album “Toys in the Attic”. The song originated during a soundcheck in Honolulu, where Steven Tyler, Joey Kramer, and Joe Perry worked on a groove influenced by funk and James Brown. It initially failed to make an impact on the charts, but after being reissued the following year it reached No. 10 and became one of Aerosmith’s most important songs.
- Guitarist and singer Kyle Cook, known as a member of the rock band Matchbox Twenty, was born in Frankfort, Indiana. The band achieved international success with its 1996 debut album "Yourself or Someone Like You", which received twelve-times-platinum certification in the US and multi-platinum certifications in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.
- Casey Johnson, bassist with American Hi-Fi, was born.
- Elton John’s ninth studio album “Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy” returned to No. 1 on the US Billboard 200 after a six-week break. That same year, it also topped the charts in Australia, Canada and New Zealand.
- Eric Clapton performed at the Scope arena in Norfolk, Virginia.
- KC and the Sunshine Band reached No. 1 on the US singles chart with “Get Down Tonight”. It was the first of five of their singles to reach No. 1, and the song reached No. 21 in the UK. It later received a platinum certification for sales of one million copies in the US and reached No. 1 in Canada.
- Paul Kossoff, guitarist with Free and Back Street Crawler, was taken to hospital after a sudden deterioration in his health, where he was considered dead for 35 minutes. Kossoff died on March 19, 1976, from heart failure following long-term problems with drug use.
- Rod Stewart reached No. 1 on the UK albums chart with “Atlantic Crossing”, which began a five-week run at the top.
- Rod Stewart and the Faces, Loggins & Messina, Fleetwood Mac and Lynyrd Skynyrd performed at Balboa Stadium in San Diego, California.