MUSIC’S MEMORABLE MOMENTS

A look at some musical escapades that left an indelible mark

By Kendall Polidori

Even when musicians travel a long and winding road to fame, it can seem like recognition strikes suddenly. One moment they’re unknown, and the next they’re famous. Music’s most memorable moments have etched more than a few names into the collective psyche almost overnight. Let’s examine a few.

1964: The Beatles perform on The Ed Sullivan Show

The Beatles had already scored a No. 1 U.S. hit with I Want to Hold Your Hand when they appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show on Feb. 9, 1964. But their performance on the popular American TV variety show helped make them truly international stars. More than 70 million people tuned in and saw frenzied teenage girls screaming and weeping over the band. The stodgy old Sullivan was met with ear-piercing shrieks from the audience as he introduced the Fab Four, all dressed in dapper suits and ties. They played eight minutes of songs, including All My Loving. The rest is history.

1967: The Stooges’ live shows

When the proto-punk band The Stooges, originally known as the Psychedelic Stooges, played their first house show in their hometown of Ann Arbor, Michigan, lead singer Iggy Pop showed up wearing a dress he picked up from a thrift store and a shower cap with strands of aluminum foil attached. Iggy reportedly made experimental noises with a vacuum cleaner and a blender. Behind him, his bandmates pounded on their instruments, putting together a loud and energetic show that the 20 people in attendance would never forget.

The Psychedelic Stooges went on to play their first official live show in 1968 at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, opening for Blood, Sweat & Tears. They shortened their name before becoming a leading force in rock, laying the groundwork for bands like The Sex Pistols and the Ramones. Iggy’s outrageous shirtless frontman performances made history.

He famously crowd-surfed into a glass table, cutting himself and spitting blood onto the audience. He carved an X into his chest and proceeded to bleed on stage. Slathering his chest with peanut better, he then flicked the stuff off his body and into the audience. When he threw a whole watermelon into the crowd, be gave a fan a concussion. Accidentally snorting PCP, he was inspired to place his penis on top of an amplifier.

1972: Alice Cooper nude with a boa constrictor

In the 1970s, talent manager Shep Gordon found himself struggling to get Alice Cooper and his band’s harsh rock into the ears of the masses. The idea was to push boundaries, putting on a theatrical live show instead of just relying on the music. Gordon saw Cooper as an opportunity to position a certain aesthetic as the embodiment of the generation gap. Essentially, he wanted parents to hate the band so all the kids would love it.

When Gordon booked the band a show at the 10,000-seat Wembley Arena in London and had sold only 500 seats a month out, he had to think of something out of the box—and quickly. A few days before the show, Gordon secretly arranged for Cooper to take a promotional photo with shock value: Cooper sprawled nude with a boa constrictor across his private area. Gordon then proceeded to get a billboard-sized version of the photo and plastered it onto the side of a truck. He drove it through the heavy traffic of Piccadilly Circus.

The stunt resulted in chaos, with a line of cars following the truck and news helicopters flying over the scene and broadcasting it on television. Parliament discussed banning Cooper from the country, followed by headlines like Ban Alice the Horror Rocker. He’s Absolutely Sick. But the kids loved it. The band’s latest single sky-rocketed to the top of the U.K. charts and their Wembley show sold out. Alice Cooper went on to become one of the biggest American acts in the U.K.

1988: Milli Vanilli’s lip-syncing downfall

While at a disco in his hometown, German singer, songwriter and producer Frank Farian heard the song Girl You Know It’s True by Baltimore band Numarx. He liked it and knew that with a little more finesse it could become a much bigger hit. So, he brought in singers to contribute to the track and ended up mixing so many voices on the chorus that it’s difficult to tell who’s singing. He had the hit, and all he needed was a photogenic face to go along with the group. That’s when Farian found Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus, who were living in a housing project in Munich. He paid them $4,000 each to become the German-French R&B duo Milli Vanilli, even though they didn’t sing a single word on the record.

Girl You Know It’s True became lodged in the Billboard Hot 100 for 26 weeks straight, peaking at No. 2 in April 1989. To celebrate their success, the duo joined the inaugural Club MTV Tour with names like Paula Abdul and Tone Loc. Performing in front of 80,000 people at the theme park Lake Compounce in Bristol, Connecticut, they kicked off their set with their trademark energy and dance moves. But once the chorus hit, the lyrics began repeating, “Girl you know it’s, girl you know it’s, girl you know it’s …” over and over.

The audience had to question their singing capability, yet the duo still went on to win three trophies at the American Music Awards in January 1990 and the Grammy for Best New Artist. They toured shortly after and found themselves tripping up over their song’s audio—either skipping or not playing at all. The nuisance of lip-syncing caused so much trouble for the group that they eventually were ready to call it quits. Farian beat them to the punch and released a statement, but the duo still held a press conference of their own, stating that they were “seduced, abused and felt very guilty.”

It became one of the biggest lip-syncing scandals in pop culture history and ended with Arista dropping them and deleting their entire catalog. It was the first and only time a Grammy award was revoked.

2010: Lady Gaga’s meat dress

In the early 2010’s, songs like Telephone and Bad Romance were keeping Lady Gaga at the top of pop charts. And her outlandish outfits were also keeping her name on the lips of listeners. They couldn’t stop talking about her appearance at the MTV Video Music Awards clad head-to-toe in cuts of raw meat. The meat dress was designed by Argentinian designer Franc Fernandez and styled by Nicola Formichetti. The dress, small wrist bag and beret were made from Argentinian beef bought from Fernandez’ butcher in Los Angeles.

The idea was to make a statement at the awards show about her distaste for the U.S. military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. To that end, she also made a speech titled The Prime Rib of America. But it was the outfit that made headlines and created talk show buzz for weeks to follow. On The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Gaga said that “if we don’t stand up for what we believe in and if we don’t fight for our rights, pretty soon we’re going to have as much rights as the meat on our bones.” To keep the meat dress fresh on the night of the show, Gaga’s crew packed it in several coolers backstage. That night was the first and last time she wore it, but soon afterward the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame paid $6,000 to taxidermist Sergio Vigilato to preserve the dress for display. He essentially turned the meat into beef jerky, making it look much different from its original form.