Pick a Day

Music History Events: Releases

January 5, 1973 With a boulder on his shoulder, feelin' kinda older, 23-year-old Bruce Springsteen releases his first album, Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J.More

September 28, 1972 The Temptations release "Papa Was A Rollin' Stone." The single is cut to 6:58 because there's not enough vinyl on a 45 to handle the 11:46 album version.

June 16, 1972 David Bowie unveils his landmark album, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars. His breakthrough LP, it sells over 7 million copies and is hailed as one of the greatest albums of all time.More

June 1, 1972 Aretha Franklin's live album Amazing Grace, a collection of spirituals recorded at a church in January, is released. Anchored by Franklin's stunning rendition of "Amazing Grace," it becomes her best-selling album.

May 12, 1972 The Rolling Stones release Exile On Main Street, a landmark double album recorded primarily at a villa in France, where the group is living to avoid British taxes (they are "tax exiles," thus the album name).

February 1, 1972 Neil Young releases the album Harvest, with the hit "Heart of Gold."More

December 17, 1971 David Bowie releases his fourth album, Hunky Dory, which opens with the anthemic "Changes."

November 8, 1971 Led Zeppelin IV - the one with "Stairway To Heaven" - is released.More

June 14, 1971 Emerson, Lake & Palmer release their second album, Tarkus. The creature on the cover is a weaponized armadillo.More

April 23, 1971 The Rolling Stones release Sticky Fingers, which includes "Brown Sugar," "Wild Horses" and "Can't You Hear Me Knocking?" It's the first album released on their own label, Rolling Stones Records.

April 16, 1971 The Rolling Stones issue "Brown Sugar," the first release on their own label, Rolling Stones Records.

February 10, 1971 Carole King releases her seminal album Tapestry.More

November 23, 1970 George Harrison releases "My Sweet Lord," his first single as a solo artist. A spiritual song reflecting Harrison's study of Eastern religion, it goes to #1 in the US and UK, the first chart-topper for any former Beatle.

November 11, 1970 Bob Dylan publishes his first novel, a poorly received stream-of-consciousness work called Tarantula.

October 26, 1970 Elton John releases "Your Song," which becomes his first hit.

May 11, 1970 The soundtrack for the movie Woodstock is released, featuring recordings from the festival. Those who were there realize it didn't sound nearly as good as they remembered it.

May 8, 1970 The Beatles release their final studio album, Let It Be, in the UK. Its American release date is May 18.

February 13, 1970 Black Sabbath release their self-titled debut album, which not coincidentally, comes out on Friday the 13th. To add mystique to the band's image, new manager Patrick Meehan asks the band to stop giving interviews. The plan works, and through word of mouth, the album sell over 5,000 copies in the first week. The first single, "Evil Woman," doesn't chart, but the album reaches #8 in the UK.

January 26, 1970 The Simon & Garfunkel album Bridge Over Troubled Water is released, with the title track simultaneously issued as a single.More

December 8, 1969 The GTO's (Girls Together Outrageously) release their only album, Permanent Damage, with Frank Zappa producing. The band is entirely made up of "groupies." The lineup consists of Pamela Miller (later Des Barres), Mercy Fontenot, Cynthia Wells (later Cale-Binion), Christine Frka, Lucy Offerall, Sandra Rowe and Sandy Parker.More

September 29, 1969 Merle Haggard releases "Okie From Muskogee," a song that protests Vietnam war protesters. The single goes on to reach #1 on the Country chart and #43 on the Billboard Hot 100.

August 16, 1969 Eric Clapton's supergroup Blind Faith release their self-titled album. On the cover is a photo of a naked 11-year-old girl holding a model spacecraft.More

July 11, 1969 David Bowie's "Space Oddity" single is rush-released to beat the moon landing, which happens nine days later.

July 7, 1969 John Lennon releases "Give Peace A Chance" in the US, a song he and Yoko, along with a chorus of guests, recorded at their "bed-in" in a Montreal hotel room.

June 16, 1969 Experimental avant-garde/free-jazz artist Don Van Vliet, aka Captain Beefheart, releases Trout Mask Replica, a polyrhythmic, polytonal collection of noise that is either an unlistenable mess or a work of genius.More

May 29, 1969 Crosby, Stills & Nash release their self-titled debut album, lighting a path for '70s bands like America and the Eagles with rich harmonies and mysterious lyrics.More

May 23, 1969 The Who release their album Tommy, a rock opera about a deaf, dumb and blind boy who plays a mean pinball.More

November 22, 1968 The Beatles release The White Album, a double album that contains both the soothing "Blackbird" and discomfiting "Helter Skelter."

November 11, 1968 John Lennon and Yoko Ono release the album Unfinished Music No.1: Two Virgins with a cover photo of the pair naked. Many record stores stock it in a brown paper wrapper.More

November 1, 1968 George Harrison releases Wonderwall Music, becoming the first member of The Beatles to release a solo album.