SOUNDTRACK OF A GENERATION

10 classic albums that almost didn't make it

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Embark on a journey through the corridors of music history as we unveil the captivating tales behind some of the most iconic albums of the past decades. From legendary bands to solo ventures, each of these albums has a secret story that, in one way or another, contributed to their legacy in the annals of music.

Join us as we explore the lesser-known struggles behind these 10 timeless classics.

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The Beatles' groundbreaking album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" was born out of their desire to reinvent themselves at a point in their career where being The Beatles was becoming an increasingly dangerous (and tiresome) job.

Band members were in fear of their own fans, to the point where the lyrics of "With A Little Help From My Friends" originally said "What would you do if I sang out of tune? / Would you stand up and throw tomatoes at me?" but was changed because Ringo believed that would just be asking for tomatoes to the face.

Image: Stephen Harlan

Pink Floyd's magnum opus, "The Dark Side of the Moon," was initially conceived as an exploration of the pressures musicians had to face within the industry. A series of interviews with the staff that worked at Abbey Road Studios were recorded - they even interviewed Paul McCartney! However, the thematic scope was ultimately expanded to delve into the more universal themes of madness, mortality, and the human condition.

The album was a huge success, and interestingly 10% of the proceeds from it were donated by the band to help fund British comedy troupe Monty Python.

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Michael Jackson's "Thriller" became a cultural phenomenon, solidifying his status as the King of Pop. However, making the legendary album was no walk in the park.

When the nine songs that would be released in the final version were finished, both Jackson and his producer were still dissatisfied with the results. They decided to go back to the studio and remix each song again until everything was perfect, a process that took over two months of intense work. But the effort was certainly worth it because the album not only shattered records but also helped transcend racial and cultural barriers in the music industry.

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Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours" is a testament to the power of music amidst personal turmoil. Despite a number of soap opera-level internal conflicts and romantic entanglements within the band, they managed to stay focused and channel their emotions into a timeless masterpiece. Given the conditions, the entire album could have easily been a trainwreck, but the result was a piece so raw and powerful that it quickly became one of their most beloved releases.

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Before "Born to Run," Springsteen was an up-and-coming troubadour of the American Dream, still a long way from becoming "The Boss." Drawing from his blue-collar spirit and folk influences, his 1975 release was acclaimed by fans and critics alike, positioning alongside the rock greats, such as Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, and Bob Dylan.

The album, filled with anthemic songs and cinematic storytelling, resonated deeply with a generation that grew up longing for escape and redemption. In fact, the legend of Springsteen’s perfectionism was likely born during the recording of the album, as the title song alone took more than six months to finish!

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The Beatles' swan song, "Abbey Road," marked the culmination of their musical evolution. Although the tensions between band members were almost to the point of no return - for the promotional video, each Beatle was filmed separately - they managed to set aside their differences and create a collective masterpiece. Allegedly, the band’s longtime producer, George Martin, initially refused to participate in the album but was ultimately coaxed by the band into working with them one more time.

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Eagles' "Hotel California" epitomizes the excesses and lingering disillusionment of the 1970s California rock scene. With its haunting lyrics and mesmerizing guitar solos, the album captured the zeitgeist of its era, earning it a place in rock music history. Amusingly, lead guitarist Don Felder almost forgot the chords for the titular song, as more than a year had passed since he first recorded it, and the band had to call his housekeeper in Malibu to blast the original cassette recording through the phone until they could reconstruct it.

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Prince's "Purple Rain" was more than just an album, it was an ambitious crossover between cinema, music, and real life. Blending genres and exploring cultural taboos, Purple Rain served to showcase Prince’s virtuosity as a musician and enigmatic persona. Proof of the intense commitment that the project demanded, all band members were forced to take dancing classes before filming, and one of the lead actresses came perilously close to hospitalization due to hypothermia after shooting a scene on an ice-cold lake in Minnesota.

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A gritty and raw portrayal of life on the edge, and despite receiving mostly lukewarm reviews from the critics, The Rolling Stones’ "Sticky Fingers" was a huge commercial success - and proved that the band could still push forward and reinvent itself after the tragic events of the 1969 Altamont concert. From Andy Warhol’s provocative cover to the bluesy riffs, the whole album was a celebration of the rock and roll culture of excess and defiance.

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When The Beach Boys - a band mostly known for their sunny and carefree lyrics - released "Pet Sounds," an album filled with intricate arrangements and introspective lyrics, few could contain their surprise. The label was convinced it was going to flop, and wanted the songs to go in a different, more easygoing, direction. The change in trajectory, however, was quite deliberate on the part of the band, as they even hired a copywriter to help give the album’s lyrics more depth. Luckily, Brian Wilson’s genius prevailed and the release went on to become one of the most critically acclaimed albums of all time.

Rare jobs from distant times

Do you know what a costermonger is? 10 obsolete occupations explained

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From milliners and stevedores to knocker-ups and fletchers, time has taken away a good number of trades. Social, economic, and technological changes, along with the emergence of new consumer habits, have led to the disappearance of certain jobs that were once popular and profitable. Here is a list of 10 English words describing occupations and professions that are rare or have become obsolete but will certainly leave you speechless.

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Did you know that women were in charge of the ale brewing process before industrialization? And they even had a special name for their profession: alewife. An alewife was a woman who kept an ale-house, that is, a brewster. There are records of the use of the word in England dating back to 1393.

Throughout the Middle Ages, before the Black Death struck Europe, it was considered a female profession that helped women earn extra income. Although this job was later taken over by men, until about the 17th century some women still continued to brew for both domestic and commercial use.

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Long before fast fashion and industrial mass production, people used to take care of their shoes as if they were gold. If something happened to them and they had to fix them, they would go to a cobbler. The word derives from Middle English cobeler, cobelere which meant "mender of shoes."

Originally, the term cobbler was used pejoratively to refer to those who were not very good at their trade. Over time, it came to be used for those who only mended shoes to differentiate them from shoemakers.

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You probably know what a fishmonger is, but what about a costermonger? In medieval London, costermongers were street apple sellers. The term appeared in written English for the first time in the 16th century. It is derived from the words costard —an apple variety— and monger, meaning seller. Over time the term was extended to any fruit and vegetable vendor who roamed the towns pushing carts or carrying baskets.

Costermongers were especially popular during the Victorian era. It is believed that at the time there were between 30,000 and 45,000 costermongers in London. Unfortunately, in the second half of the 20th century, they began to decline and their famous melodic sales poems and chants disappeared from the streets.

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Ok, this is not a profession that is necessarily extinct, but you may know it by another name: Hatter or hat maker. The word milliner dates back to the 16th century and originally meant someone from Milan. It referred to Italian merchants who sold everything from hats to gloves and jewelry.

Over time, the term expanded, and starting in the 18th century it was more closely related to women who made bonnets and other accessories. By the early 20th century it is believed that there were more than 80,000 people, mostly women, working as milliners in New York alone.

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During the Industrial Revolution, in countries like Britain, Ireland, and the Netherlands, a large mass of workers had to report to work at specific times. But there was a problem: Clocks were expensive and inaccessible to the working class. Luckily, a new profession emerged, the knocker-up or knocker-upper, who was in charge of waking people up every morning so they could get to work on time.

This job was usually done by pregnant women and older men. Knocker-uppers used a cane or stick to bang on their customers’ doors. Others used pea shooters. It was a fairly profitable profession until the mid-20th century, although in some towns of industrial England, you could still see knockers-up walking the streets in the 1970s.

Image: Lewis Hine, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a stevedore is "one who works at or is responsible for loading and unloading ships in port." The term was borrowed from Portuguese or Spanish and introduced into English by sailors. In the United States, the words longshoreman or dockworker are more common.

Stevedores have existed since ancient times but their role has evolved through time. In the Medieval period, dockworkers played a crucial role, but they were especially important during the Industrial Revolution when trade volumes increased exponentially. Nowadays, this job is close to extinction, and the few stevedores remaining mostly move around big containers through heavy machinery.

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It seems that taxes have always been a touchy subject. Do you know what tax collectors were called in medieval England? Catchpoles. The word is a combination of Old English cace, "catch" and medieval Latin pullus, meaning _"_chicken." It turns out that in popular belief, tax debtors were as difficult to catch as a cheeky hen on a farm.

In the early days of this profession, chatchpoles were freelancers who charged a commission on the debt they managed to collect. And for that, they used any method they considered necessary. Later, their job became official and they began to work directly for the bailiff, leaving behind their more violent ways.

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This profession is now a bit different and has a different name, however, it was an important trade during the Middle Ages. A draper was a seller of cloth, especially fabric that was used to make garments. The first known use of the term in English is from the 14th century and derives from Old French draper, "to weave, make cloth."

Some historians regard this period as the birth of fashion due to the increase in fabric production. Clothing was no longer considered a mere utilitarian good but began to carry a symbolic capital. In this sense, it is no coincidence that the profession of draper became so popular and profitable around this time.

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Although today it may be hard to believe that this was a profession, it was very popular in England during the 18th and 19th centuries. If you read Mary Shelley's Frankenstein you probably know what we are talking about. In those days, resurrectionists were commonly employed by anatomists to exhume the bodies of the recently dead for research.

Due to advances in science, corpses were a commodity in high demand. While this job was not well regarded, technically the resurrectionists were not doing anything illegal because the bodies were not considered anyone's property. However, the rise of gangs and the increase in murders meant that the trade began to disappear, and by the 1850s it no longer existed.

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The first recorded use of the term fletcher dates back to the 14th century. It derives from the French word flèche, which means "arrow". In the Middle Ages, fletchers were in charge of making arrows, which were the number one chosen battlefield weapon at the time.

Perhaps pursuing a career as a fletcher today doesn't make much sense, but back then they were in high demand. An army going to war might have needed to take hundreds of thousands of arrows with them, so they needed trained men who could make them of good quality. By all accounts, a talented fletcher could produce up to 10 arrows per hour. Sounds like a lot, don’t you think?