the Pretenders “Pretenders” released on this date, January 19th, 1980. Their debut album, it charted at #1 in the UK the week of its release and reached the top10 in the US. The single “Brass in Pocket” was the album’s biggest hit, reaching #14 on the Billboard pop singles chart.

I guess I like the Pretenders alright; Pretenders is a hard-driving, aggressive pop album with whispers of punk influences. But it is Chrissie Hynde who really fascinates me. Not just for her songwriting talent and unique voice but for her Forrest Gump-like romp through the Zeitgeist of 70′s counterculture history. I believe the story goes is that she was at Kent State University shooting in 1970, then moved to England in 1973, landing a job with Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood working at their SEX store. She almost married Johnny Rotten and then Sid Vicious. In ‘76 she auditioned for 999 and nearly became a member of what would become The Damned and teamed up briefly with Mick Jones of The Clash. Hynde then capped off in the early 80′s having a daughter with Ray Davies of the Kinks and then marrying Jim Kerr of Simple Minds. But NONE of this made her famous – it is her own band, songwriting and voice that brought her into the pop culture lexicon.