Chords for The History of The Clash

_ _ _ _ [Cm] _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ They're [C] rockin' the casbah!
[Dm] _ _ _ _ [A] _ _ [G] _
_ [Em] _ _ [F] _ _ _ _ [C] _
Welcome [Dm] to WatchMojo.com and [Ab] today we're taking [G] a look at the history of [F] The [C] Clash.
Punk rock band The Clash formed in London, [F] England in 1976.
_ After leaving their previous musical projects, [Bb]
guitarist Mick Jones, bassist Paul Simanon
and drummer Terry Chimes [C] joined vocalist Joe Strummer and guitarist Keith Levine to
[A] form the band. _ _ _ _
_ _ As punk's [E] popularity grew, The Clash spent most of [A] 1976 rehearsing and playing a few shows.
_ _ _ [D] _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [A] _ Early the next year, they [D] landed a contract with CBS Records.
[E]
When The Clash released their eponymous debut later in 1977, Levine and Chimes were no longer
in the lineup.
On the strength of the single White [D] Riot, _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [A] the [D] LP charted within the UK's top 20 [Dbm] and
introduced [C] the band's angry, dirty punk sound and socio [G]-politically charged lyrics.
An import of that self-titled [C] record also achieved massive [G] sales in the US, [C] but was
only released in an altered version as the band's second American album two years later.
[D] By this point, [E] The Clash was headlining in the UK, even though [A] several members had had
run-ins with the law.
The group then added Topper Heaton on drums, and he became their most long [D]-standing drummer.
[Db] With him, they recorded new [C] material, including the punk classic Complete [Dbm]
Control.
_ _ [A] _ _ _ [Gb] _ _
_ [E] _ _ _ [Dbm] _ _ _ [A] _
_ _ [B] _ _ _ _ _ _
[E] Next, the band unveiled Give Em Enough [Gb] Rope.
Though it still contained [E] punk vibes and covered contemporary subjects, the LP [B] featured a more
[A] mainstream rock sound. _
_ [Dbm] _ _ _ _ [D] _ _ [A] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ [Dbm] _
_ _ [D] _ _ [A] _ _ _ _
[D] At home, the album [A] spawned a top 20 track and reached a number two [Am] chart position, [Bm] but
it barely cracked [Gb] Billboard in the US.
_ [E] After spreading their musical message on tour, The Clash finally [A] earned more chart [Dbm] recognition
in the [Em] United States. _ _ _ _
[F] _ _ [Em] _ _ _ _ _ _
[G] _ _ _ _ [Em] _ _ _ _
[F] _ _ [Em] _ _ _ _ _ _
[G] _ _ _ _ [Em] London Calling struck [F] a chord with [C] Americans thanks [Em] to its mix of punk rock, [G] reggae, rockabilly,
[D] and jazz.
_ _ [A] _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
The double LP received rave reviews and reached the Billboard 200's top 30, [Dbm] and today it
is considered one of the best albums in history.
[C] After the [G] 1980s stand-alone single Bank Robber, _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [D] _ _
_ _ [G] _ The Clash followed their musical [C] ambitions
by [D] unveiling the [C] triple album [D] Sandinista.
_ _ [Db] _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [Am] _ _
_ _ _ _ They expanded their brand of [A] punk even further by adding folk, R&B, and rap to their left-leaning lyrics.
_ Despite mixed reviews, the effort still managed a top 20 showing in the UK and reached the
top 30 in the US.
Following the dub and hip-hop-influenced single This Is Radio [G] Clash, _ _ _ _ the band experimented
with dance [B] punk and [Em] new wave on [G] 1982's Combat Rock.
That [A] gamble paid off when [G] the album reached number seven on the [B] American charts, making
[G] it their highest charting album in the US.
The effort also gave them their first and only top 10 American hit, [F] Rock the Cazbah.
[Em] _ [Dm] _ _ _ _ _
_ [G] _ _ _ [Em] _ [F] _ _ _
_ [C] _ _ _ [Dm] _ _ _ _
_ _ [G] _ _ [Em] _ _ [F] _
Meanwhile the [C] LP [A] went to number two in the UK, while [E] Should I Stay or Should I Go topped
the charts there [D] when it was re-released in the 1990s. _ _ _ _
_ [G] Unfortunately, [D] _ _ _ the early 80s were filled with tension.
This eventually resulted [G] in the dismissals of Heaton [D] and Jones.
Along with strummer and simonet, The Clash continued with drummer Pete Howard and [A] guitarists
Nick Shepard and Vince White.
The new lineup played some shows [D] together before dropping _ 1985's critically and commercially
disappointing Cut the Crap.
Its only single, This Is England, [Gm] was later seen in a more positive light by both fans and [Ab] critics.
_ _ [Eb] _
_ _ [Ab] _ _ _ _ [Eb] _ _
_ [Ab] _ _ But [Eb] ultimately, tension [Fm] got the better of them and The Clash [Eb] broke up in [Bb] 1986.
[Ab]
While members [Eb] did go their separate ways, [Ab] they still occasionally [A] worked together.
[D] _ _ _ _ [Db] _ _
_ _ [Bm] _ And this caused rumors of a reunion [D] to surface in the 90s.
A live album appeared before Decade's End, [A] followed by a documentary and [D] some gigs featuring
various [G] members early in the new century.
[D] Sadly, strummer died in 2002 of a heart defect, shortly before The Clash's induction into
the Rock and Roll Hall of [E] Fame the next year.
[Bb] Regardless, The Clash's music [E] lived on in numerous compilations and box sets that have
[D] since been released.
We [A] remember them for their [D] musical passion, their willingness to experiment with genres
and styles, and their fearlessness [A] in speaking their [D] minds on socially and politically relevant topics.
_ _ _ [G] _ _
[D] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ When it comes to punk rock, The [E] Clash is the [D] only band that matters.
_ _ [G] _ [D] _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ [Cm] _ _ _ _