President Richard Nixon resigned, The Ramones played their first concert and John Lennon reported seeing a UFO in New York City, all in August of 1974. On this week’s MGK Thursday Top 10 Countdown, we featured the top 10 rock albums from August 4, 1974. It’s quite an eclectic lineup of albums on this week’s countdown!

• 10 - Court And Spark - Joni Mitchell

  Joni spent most of 1973 writing and recording her sixth album which would go on to be nominated for four Grammys, and winning one. After peaking at #2, on this week’s countdown, it’s #10.

• 9 - Moontan - Golden Earring

  The famed Dutch band formed in 1961 and got their biggest taste of success with this album.  The original cover was thought to be too risqué for American audiences, so it was switched.  The album peaked here at #9.

   

• 8 - Bridge Of Sighs - Robin Trower

  Former Procol Harum guitarist Robin Trower scored his biggest solo success with this, his second solo album called Bridge Of Sighs.  James Dewars handled lead vocals on the album, which peaked at #7 and drops this week to #8.

• 7 - Diamond Dogs - David Bowie

  Bowie shedded his Ziggy persona, and his Spiders backing band, and played guitar himself on his eighth studio album, which on August 4, 1974, was the #7 rock album in the country.

• 6 - Pretzel Logic - Steely Dan

  Becker and Fagen took a bass line from an old jazz song called “Song For My Father” by Horace Silver and turned it into one of their biggest hits:  “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number.”  It’s off of Pretzel Logic, our #6 rock album this week.

   

• 5 - Tres Hombres - ZZ Top

  The third album buy that little old band from Texas was their breakthrough and established them as a force to be reckoned with.  Translated as “three men,” Tres Hombres was #5 on 8/4/74.

• 4 - Band On The Run - Paul McCartney & Wings

  The third album by Wings remains Paul’s biggest solo success.  9 months after its first release, the album was still in the top 5, here at #4.

   

• 3 - Bachman-Turner Overdrive II - Bachman-Turner Overdrive

  BTO’s second album was their breakthrough, yielding two top 20 singles and making Randy Bachman one of a handful of artists to have top 5 albums with more than one band.  BTO II peaked here at #3.

• 2 - 461 Ocean Boulevard - Eric Clapton

  Eric Clapton’s comeback album got its title from the address of the house where he was staying while recording it at Criteria Studios in Miami.  It was his biggest selling album to date and, on its way to hitting #1, it stops here at #2.

• 1 - Caribou - Elton John

  It’s hard to believe that Elton’s producer Gus Dudgeon called this album “a piece of crap,” and Elton and the band weren’t exactly happy with the result, either.  They were forced to record it quickly, in the Colorado Rockies, before embarking on a tour, but it was still a huge hit for Elton and the band!  Caribou was the #1 rock album on August 4, 1974!

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