On this day in music history…
In 1985, Freddie Mercury released his debut solo album, Mr. Bad Guy. Mercury wrote all 11 songs that appear on the album. He produced the project alongside Reinhold Mack, who had previously worked with Mercury as Queen’s producer. Mr. Bad Guy peaked at number 6 on the U.K. albums chart, but it performed poorly in the U.S., only reaching number 159.
In 1997, Lynyrd Skynyrd released their Twenty album. Their ninth studio album, the title was a reference to the fact that it had been 20 years since the infamous plane crash which killed Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines, and Cassie Gaines along with three others. Three of the band members on the album were survivors of the crash: guitarist Gary Rossington, bassist Leon Wilkeson, and keyboardist Billy Powell. Twenty peaked at number 97 on the albums chart.
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