Music History Events: Releases
October 17, 1977 Lynyrd Skynyrd release Street Survivors, the last album with frontman Ronnie Van Zant and guitarist Steve Gaines, as both are killed only three days later after the band's plane goes down en route to Baton Rouge, Louisiana.More
September 16, 1977 Talking Heads release their debut album, Talking Heads: 77, featuring their first chart hit, "Psycho Killer," a song written four years earlier at the Rhode Island School of Design.
July 9, 1977 The Steve Miller Band hits #8 in the US with "Jet Airliner," a song written by the blind folk singer Paul Pena.
July 7, 1977 Styx tie in with the date (7-7-77) by releasing their 7th album, The Grand Illusion.
April 8, 1977 The Clash release their self-titled debut album on CBS Records.
March 26, 1977 The Clash release their first single, making an immediate political statement with "White Riot." It is released only in the UK and not available in America until two years later.
February 8, 1977 Television release their debut album, Marquee Moon. It doesn't chart in the US but is later hailed by many critics as landmark, with a guitar sound that influences a number of New Wave and rock acts.
February 4, 1977 Fleetwood Mac release their landmark album Rumours. The LP sets a record for most weeks at #1 with 31, and becomes one of the best-selling albums of all time, with worldwide sales estimated at about 40 million.More
January 20, 1977 Jimmy Buffett releases his seventh studio album, Changes In Latitudes, Changes In Attitudes, which features his signature song "Margaritaville." Peaking at #8, the tropical-themed track remains his highest entry on the Billboard Hot 100.More
October 22, 1976 Bob Seger releases Night Moves, his first studio album to make an impact outside of Michigan.More
August 25, 1976 Boston release their self-titled debut album, which despite being mostly recorded in Tom Scholz' basement studio, becomes one of the best-selling debuts of all time.More
June 1, 1976 The Runaways release their eponymous debut album. Billed as the first all-female hard-rock band, the disc has little domestic success, peaking at #194, but the band are hugely successful in Japan, hitting the #1 spot with their single "Cherry Bomb."
May 31, 1976 Ten years after it appeared on The Beatles' Revolver album, Capitol Records issues "Got To Get You Into My Life" as a single in America.More
April 23, 1976 The Ramones release their self-titled debut album, a punk rock landmark filled with frantic 2-minute songs like "Blitzkrieg Bop" and "Beat On The Brat."More
April 12, 1976 Bob Seger, beloved in Michigan but an obscurity elsewhere, releases Live Bullet, which captures the intensity of his live performances and makes him a national act.More
March 6, 1976 EMI Records reissues 23 singles by The Beatles - every one of them charts (again) in the UK.
February 17, 1976 The Eagles release Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975), a collection of 10 songs from their first four albums. It becomes the top-selling album in US history.More
January 6, 1976 Peter Frampton's live double album, Frampton Comes Alive!, is released. Powered by his trusty talkbox sound, it becomes one of the best-selling live albums in history.More
October 25, 1975 Paul Simon issues his fourth solo album, Still Crazy After All These Years. "Gone At Last," "50 Ways To Leave Your Lover," and the title track all reach the US Top 40, and the album hits #1, Simon's first to do so. Emancipated from Simon & Garfunkel, fans stop shouting "Where's Artie?" at his shows.
August 25, 1975 Bruce Springsteen releases his third album and big breakthrough: Born to Run.
June 28, 1975 David Bowie releases "Fame," featuring John Lennon on backing vocals. It become Bowie's first #1 hit in the US.
February 18, 1974 Kiss release their debut, self-titled album, featuring "Strutter" and "Cold Gin."
November 9, 1973 Billy Joel releases his second album, Piano Man. The title track, based on his nights performing at a piano bar in Los Angeles called The Executive Room, becomes his first hit when it peaks at #25 in America.
November 3, 1973 Daryl Hall and John Oates release Abandoned Luncheonette, their first album under their own names (a previous album was released as "Whole Oates"). The tracks "Laughing Boy," "She's Gone" and "Las Vegas Turnaround (The Stewardess Song)" become concert favorites for the duo.
October 26, 1973 The Who release Quadrophenia in the UK (the American debut is a week later). Like their 1969 album Tommy, it is a rock opera, this time centered on the character Jimmy, a mod on a search for meaning.
August 13, 1973 Lynyrd Skynyrd release their debut album, Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd. It's an impressive set, containing the Skynyrd classics "Tuesday's Gone," "Simple Man" and "Free Bird."More
July 6, 1973 In the UK, Queen release their self-titled debut album, along with their first single, "Keep Yourself Alive." The album is released in America on September 4.
April 13, 1973 The Wailers, led by Bob Marley, release their fifth studio album, Catch a Fire. The first album on their new label, Island Records, it makes Marley and the Wailers international recording stars and brings reggae music to the forefront.More
March 1, 1973 Pink Floyd release Dark Side Of The Moon. The album debuts at an inauspicious #95 on the US Albums chart, but becomes far and away the album with the most weeks on the tally, thanks in large part to a run from 1977-1988 when it never leaves.
January 26, 1973 Elton John issues his sixth studio album, Don't Shoot Me, I'm Only The Piano Player, in America. It features two of his most popular songs: the '50s flashback "Crocodile Rock" (Elton's first #1 hit in America) and the Vietnam War-inspired "Daniel."More
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