Pick a Day

Music History Events: Releases

November 7, 1983 The Rolling Stones release Undercover.

June 16, 1983 Ringo Starr releases his ninth solo album, Old Wave.

February 1, 1983 Journey release their eighth album, Frontiers. It sells 6 million copies and spawns the hit singles "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" and "Faithfully," but has the misfortune of being released while Michael Jackson's Thriller is red hot; it holds Frontiers at #2 for nine weeks.

January 20, 1983 Def Leppard release their third album, Pyromania. Like their previous effort, High 'n' Dry, it's produced by Mutt Lange, who does the Gunter Glieben Glauten Globen on "Rock of Ages."More

October 8, 1982 Culture Club release their debut album, Kissing To Be Clever, in their native UK. Issued in America a few months later, it kicks out three Top 10 hits in that country ("Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?," "I'll Tumble 4 Ya" and "Time (Clock of the Heart)"), leading a wave of MTV-friendly UK acts that includes Duran Duran and Eurythmics.

September 30, 1982 Bruce Springsteen releases Nebraska, an album made up of tunes Bruce recorded on a 4-track tape machine in his home studio.

May 28, 1982 Roxy Music release their final album, Avalon, featuring the dreamy title track and the melancholy "More Than This." It very slowly catches on in America, where it's certified Platinum 10 years later in 1992.

March 29, 1982 Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney release "Ebony And Ivory."

March 22, 1982 Iron Maiden release The Number Of The Beast, their third album and first with lead singer Bruce Dickinson. It goes to #1 in their native UK and also makes an impact in America, where it sells over a million copies.

July 27, 1981 Blondie frontwoman Debbie Harry releases her first solo album, KooKoo. Its highest charting single is "Backfired," which hits #43 in the US, but the album still sells over 500,000 copies.

July 20, 1981 Journey release Escape, their most popular album. The ballad "Open Arms" is the highest charting single, but "Don't Stop Believin'" is the one that endures, becoming one of the biggest songs of all time.

June 11, 1981 13-year-old Celine Dion releases her first single, "Ce n'était qu'un reve," in her native Canada. It earns her a local following and leads the way for her debut album, La voix du bon Dieu, in November. For the rest of the decade, she records in her native French and becomes quite popular in Canada and across Europe. She starts recording in English at the start of the '90s.

February 24, 1981 Rick Springfield releases his breakthrough album Working Class Dog, with the #1 hit "Jessie's Girl." The pooch on the cover is his bull terrier Ronnie.

November 17, 1980 John Lennon releases Double Fantasy. A few weeks later, he is shot and killed, and the album quickly goes to #1 in many countries.

October 17, 1980 Bruce Springsteen releases The River.

October 17, 1980 Dire Straits release their third album, Making Movies. Three of the songs - "Romeo And Juliet," "Tunnel Of Love" and "Skateaway" - are accompanied by short films sold on a home video also called Making Movies.

June 23, 1980 The Rolling Stones release Emotional Rescue.

May 16, 1980 Alabama release their first RCA Nashville single, "Tennessee River," which becomes their first #1 hit on the Country chart.

September 24, 1979 The Eagles release their sixth album, The Long Run. The lead single is "Heartache Tonight," a song co-written by Bob Seger.

August 20, 1979 Bob Dylan, a recent convert to Christianity, releases the faith-driven album Slow Train Coming.More

July 21, 1979 Robert Palmer releases "Bad Case of Loving You."

June 15, 1979 Unknown Pleasures, the debut long-player from British post-punk band Joy Division, is released. Although it does not chart, it becomes hugely influential and is widely critically acclaimed as one of the defining albums of the post-punk era.More

March 23, 1979 Van Halen release their second album, Van Halen II, setting a furious pace that finds them issuing an album a year from 1978-1982. The album includes the concert favorites "Dance the Night Away" and "Somebody Get Me a Doctor."

March 16, 1979 Supertramp release their breakout album, Breakfast In America. The title track mirrors their story, telling the tale of young British kids who come to America and make it big.

February 20, 1979 George Harrison issues his eighth, self-titled album.

December 23, 1978 Rod Stewart releases "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy" in the US.

December 9, 1978 The Blues Brothers release their first single, a cover of "Soul Man." The original is by Sam & Dave, whom the Blues Brothers (John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd) emulated to create their act.

September 8, 1978 David Bowie releases his second live album, Stage. The album was recorded at concerts in Philadelphia, Providence and Boston.

July 29, 1978 Kenny Loggins and Stevie Nicks release "Whenever I Call You 'Friend'."

June 20, 1978 Foreigner release their second album, Double Vision. Hits from the set include the title track and "Hot Blooded."