Pick a Day

Music History Events: Releases

March 17, 1998 Van Halen release Van Halen III, their only album with their third lead singer, Gary Cherone. Pushing against the legacies of their lineups led by David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar, it sells poorly and disappoints fans. The band goes on hiatus a year later and returns with Roth in 2007.

January 26, 1998 Edwin McCain releases "I'll Be."

November 25, 1997 Garth Brooks releases his eighth album, Sevens, with the hits "Two Piña Coladas" and "Longneck Bottle."

November 25, 1997 2Pac's R U Still Down? (Remember Me) is released posthumously.

November 18, 1997 John Denver's last recording, The Unplugged Collection, is released.

November 18, 1997 AC/DC release their Bon Scott tribute compilation Bonfire.

November 13, 1997 Celine Dion releases "Be The Man," her first single in Japanese. It is released in Japan only and is the theme to the Japanese TV drama Eve.

November 4, 1997 Capitol Records releases the four-disc set The Pet Sounds Sessions, chronicling the creation of The Beach Boys' classic 1966 LP. In addition to a remastered version of the original album, it also contains outtakes, unreleased tracks, and a capella tracks.

October 14, 1997 Max Steiner's acclaimed score to 1942's legendary film Casablanca is finally released, including selected dialogue and the vocal hit "As Time Goes By."

September 30, 1997 Patty Loveless releases Long Stretch of Lonesome.

September 29, 1997 The Verve, which broke up just two years earlier, release their breakthrough album Urban Hymns. The album started as a solo project for frontman Richard Ashcroft, but ended up pulling the band back together.

September 23, 1997 Jackson Browne releases The Next Voice You Hear: The Best of Jackson Browne.

September 23, 1997 The Rolling Stones release Bridges To Babylon.

July 15, 1997 Sarah McLachlan releases her fourth album, Surfacing, 10 days after starting the Lilith Fair, where she's a featured performer along with other musical ladies like Sheryl Crow and Jewel. It's a slow build: By the time the hit single "Adia" is on the charts, the second Lilith Fair is under way. The album eventually sells over 8 million copies in America and another million in her native Canada.

July 15, 1997 Missy Elliott releases her debut album, Supa Dupa Fly, with lead single "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)," a reworking of the Ann Peebles song "I Can't Stand The Rain." Guests on the album include Ginuwine, Busta Rhymes and Aaliyah, all artists Elliott has produced.

June 17, 1997 Blink-182, a pop-punk trio from San Diego, release their major-label debut, Dude Ranch. The album boasts their first rock-radio hit, "Dammit," a breakup tune that blows out bassist Mark Hoppus' vocal chords.More

May 20, 1997 Foo Fighters release their second album, The Colour And The Shape, with the hits "Everlong" and "My Hero." It's their first album with members other than Dave Grohl (Pat Smear on guitar and Nate Mendel on bass).

April 14, 1997 Creed release their debut album, My Own Prison, on their own label, Blue Collar Records. When a local radio station in Tallahassee puts the title track in rotation, they earn a deal with Wind-Up Records, which re-issues the album in August.

October 22, 1996 Journey return to action with Trial By Fire, their first album of new music in 10 years. It's their last with lead singer Steve Perry, whose hip condition keeps him from touring. He leaves the band in 1998, replaced by the similar-sounding Steve Augeri.

October 12, 1996 Though they've refused to release it on video for 27 years, largely due to dissatisfaction over their own performance, The Rolling Stones finally release their landmark 1968 all-star BBC television special, The Rolling Stones' Rock And Roll Circus.

October 1, 1996 A collection of live Nirvana performances is released on the album From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah.

June 25, 1996 Jay-Z issues his debut album, Reasonable Doubt, as the first release on his own label, Roc-A-Fella Records. The first track is "Can't Knock the Hustle," which features Mary J. Blige and tells the story of Jay's come-up in Brooklyn. Roc-A-Fella later partners with Def Jam Records, which appoints Jay-Z president in 2004.

April 30, 1996 With "Satellite" from their 1994 major-label debut album Under The Table and Dreaming still getting airplay, The Dave Matthews Band release Crash, which provides a new set of radio hits, including "Crash Into Me," "So Much To Say" and "Too Much."

March 12, 1996 Celine Dion releases her biggest-selling album, Falling Into You. It includes her covers of "All By Myself" and "River Deep - Mountain High," as well as the hits "Because You Loved Me" and "It's All Coming Back to Me Now."

March 4, 1996 The Beatles song "Real Love," compiled from a John Lennon demo recording, is released in the UK.

November 21, 1995 The Beatles release Anthology I (including the previously unreleased track "Free As A Bird," and sell 450,000 copies the first day).

November 21, 1995 Bruce Springsteen releases The Ghost Of Tom Joad.

November 13, 1995 The Rolling Stones release Stripped.

November 7, 1995 Alice In Chains' self-titled album is released on CD and cassette. Previously, the album only existed in a vinyl edition, released on Halloween of 1995.

November 6, 1995 Queen release Made In Heaven, an album pieced together from recordings made before Freddie Mercury's 1991 death. It debuts at #1 in the UK.