Pick a Day

Music History Events: Comebacks

February 25, 1992 Buddy Guy, 55, wins his first Grammy, taking the award for Best Contemporary Blues Album for Damn Right, I've Got the Blues. He went most of the '80s without a record deal, but the Grammy win makes him more popular than ever. His next two albums earn the same award.

March 8, 1990 Rolling Stone calls Jefferson Airplane's disastrous new comeback album Most Unwanted Comeback of the Year.

April 12, 1989 David Cassidy's comeback begins when Los Angeles KLOS, to which the former Partridge Family singer is listening, wonders what happened to him. Before long, he's at the studio, performing three songs that land him a new record deal.

August 18, 1987 Aerosmith release Permanent Vacation, their first album post-sobriety. With the hits "Dude (Looks Like A Lady)" and "Angel," it propels a remarkable comeback for the band, who have spent the last 10 years battling drug addiction and creative malaise.

November 27, 1985 Rocky IV opens in theaters, introducing a younger generation to James Brown, who performs a new song called "Living In America" before a big fight scene. It's Brown's first big hit since 1974, and also his last.

December 10, 1983 Tina Turner's first solo hit, a cover of Al Green's "Let's Stay Together," charts at #6 in the UK as her comeback gets going.

August 19, 1983 Having been sporadic since it was originally shut down in 1968, "pirate radio" station Radio Caroline makes its comeback on board the ship Ross Revenge in the North Sea's international waters. Six years to the day later, it would be shut down again.

February 5, 1979 Fifteen months after announcing his retirement on stage, Elton John is back in action in Stockholm with the first show of his A Single Man tour.

November 16, 1976 Brian Wilson, resident genius of The Beach Boys, comes out of an eight-year seclusion to give an interview to BBC 2's music show Old Grey Whistle Test.

January 16, 1975 Sly and the Family Stone fail to attract much notice with their eight-show, six-night "comeback" bid at Radio City Music Hall.

August 25, 1967 After a two-year bout with stage fright, Beach Boys founder and resident genius Brian Wilson returns to playing live with the band.

October 8, 1962 Little Richard, who gave up show business to preach in 1957, returns to rock with a UK tour that also includes Sam Cooke and Billy Preston.

February 25, 1961 Elvis Presley plays the first of two charity shows in Memphis. It's his first concert since entering the army in 1958.

October 4, 2019 After being reissued for its 50th anniversary, The Beatles' Abbey Road album returns to #1 in the UK, where it spent 17 weeks in the top spot in 1969 and 1970.

April 15, 2018 Carrie Underwood debuts her song "Cry Pretty" at the Academy of Country Music Awards. It's her first appearance since a fall six months earlier that required over 40 stitches in her face.

June 15, 2017 Shania Twain releases "Life's About To Get Good," her first single in five years.

June 10, 2016 Rick Astley releases 50, his first album of original songs in 15 years, in the UK. It goes to #1 its first week.

December 12, 2015 After going five years without releasing an album, Craig David continues his comeback with a performance at the X Factor finale alongside contestants Reggie 'N' Bollie and Ghanaian singer Fuse ODG. He sings his hit song "Re-Rewind" (originally produced by garage duo Artful Dodger) with a new rap verse.

August 30, 2015 Wilko Johnson, known for his work in the band Dr. Feelgood, returns to the stage after beating cancer when he performs at the Rye Jazz Festival in East Sussex, England.

December 15, 2014 After a 14-year hiatus, D'Angelo releases his third studio album, Black Messiah. It ends up being his last, as pancreatic cancer claims his life in 2025.

April 12, 2013 Five years after the release of Folie à Deux, Fall Out Boy issue their pop-leaning comeback album, Save Rock and Roll, featuring the hit "My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up)."

December 1, 2012 Shania Twain begins a two-year residency at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, returning to the stage for the first time since 2004.More

June 28, 2011 Bluegrass duo Gillian Welch and David Rawlings release The Harrow & The Harvest, their first album in eight years.More

June 21, 2011 Crossfade return after five years with We All Bleed - the band's first album after being dropped by Columbia Records in 2008.

November 7, 2005 Twelve years after the release of her previous album, The Red Shoes, Kate Bush returns to the music scene with Aerial. The double album features the Elvis-inspired single, "King Of The Mountain."

June 14, 2005 Backstreet Boys stray from their traditional pop fare with their rock-leaning comeback album, Never Gone. It debuts at #3 in America, sells over 10 million copies worldwide...and is slayed by critics.

September 14, 2004 Megadeth return after a two-year hiatus with The System Has Failed. This was originally intended to be a solo album by the band's founder Dave Mustaine, but due to contractual obligations owed to his publishing company, it had to be billed as a Megadeth album.

February 2, 2004 Exodus return after a 12-year hiatus with their sixth studio album, Tempo of the Damned.

July 5, 2003 The Lollapalooza tour returns for the first time since 1997 with a show in Noblesville, Indiana. Original headliner Jane's Addiction is on the bill along with Audioslave and Incubus. The tour limps along, plagued by poor ticket sales and cancelled shows.

June 20, 2001 The Cult return with their seventh studio album, and first new recording in seven years, Beyond Good and Evil.