Pick a Day

Music History Events: Took A While

June 16, 2017 Bob Seger, one of the last major holdouts of the digital age, makes his catalog available for streaming and download for the first time. His beef was in the paltry payouts for these services. For much of the 2000s he earned a lot more selling physical copies of his albums, but as CD players disappeared, so did that revenue.

May 5, 2015 After years working in Nashville as a songwriter and as a member of the bands The SteelDrivers and The Jompson Brothers, Chris Stapleton, 37, releases his debut album, Traveller, with a rootsy sound that harkens back to the days of Hank Williams. It wins the Grammy for Best Country Album and both the ACM and CMA awards for Album Of The Year.

October 1, 2011 After 28 years and two children together, Gene Simmons (62) and Shannon Tweed (54) finally get married. Their wedding song is "At Last," sung by their daughter Sophie.More

September 24, 2009 On his 19th attempt, Ozzy Osbourne finally passes his driving test. He celebrates by buying a new Ferrari, which he gets into an accident with the following year. Why did he keep failing the tests? That Afroman song will explain it.

May 24, 2008 Forty-two years after releasing his first album, Neil Diamond scores his first #1 when Home Before Dark tops the albums chart.

November 22, 2006 After decades of living in California, Fleetwood Mac drummer Mick Fleetwood is finally naturalized as a citizen of the United States.

June 8, 2006 Weezer lead singer Rivers Cuomo graduates from Harvard with a degree in English. He enrolled in 1995 after the band released their first album, growing a beard so he wouldn't be recognized. He took classes on and off between tours and recording, finally earning his degree 11 years later.

February 15, 2006 Thanks to download sales, Weezer's "Buddy Holly" is certified Gold (500,000 copies) 12 years after it was released. It wasn't sold as a single in America so fans would have to buy the album to get it.

November 11, 2005 Billy Joel begins touring again, launching his first solo tour in eight years.

August 15, 2005 Sly Stone comes out of a long seclusion to visit the Knitting Factory in Los Angeles, where his little sister Vet headlines with the latest version of the Family Stone.

May 15, 2001 God Bless the Go-Go's, the Go-Go's fourth album, is released. It is the band's first studio album in 17 years.

May 1, 2000 David Gray's album White Ladder, which has been available in Europe for over a year, is finally issued in America as the first release on Dave Matthews' new label, ATO Records. It goes on to sell a million copies there; ATO goes on to sign Crowded House, Brandi Carlile, Alabama Shakes and many other big names.

October 22, 1999 The Temptations earn their first platinum record when their 56th album Phoenix Rising finally sells its millionth copy.

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."

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 5, 1992 Spin Doctors release their first single, "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong."More

June 21, 1990 Little Richard finally gets a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Says Richard: "Like everything I got, it took a long time to get."

May 11, 1990 The late Ritchie Valens is finally awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6733 Hollywood Blvd.

June 9, 1987 At Gay Head in Martha's Vineyard, Carly Simon plays the first of two shows that are recorded for her HBO special Carly Simon - Coming Around Again. It's her first concert appearance since 1980, when her tour was truncated by stage fright and exhaustion.

May 26, 1982 Bobby Darin, who died in 1973, gets a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

March 15, 1982 The Songwriters Hall Of Fame, formed in 1969, finally lets Bob Dylan in.

May 28, 1977 Bruce Springsteen is finally free to record after a legal battle with his former manager Mike Appel kept him out of the studio for two years. Springsteen learns that it's not a good idea to sign a contract on the hood of a car.

April 29, 1972 Roberta Flack's debut album, First Take, released three years earlier in 1969, goes to #1 thanks to the Clint Eastwood movie Play Misty For Me, which uses the song "Feel Like Makin' Love." It's a huge career boost for Flack, who lands another huge hit the next year with "First Time Ever I Saw Your Face."

July 16, 2022 Jennifer Lopez marries Ben Affleck at a quickie wedding in Las Vegas. The couple were engaged in 2002 and had a lavish ceremony planned, but they called it off. They started dating again in 2021 after Lopez' marriage to Marc Anthony and Affleck's marriage to Jennifer Garner ended.

November 12, 2021 Britney Spears' conservatorship, in place since 2008, finally comes to an end when a judge terminates it. "Best day ever... praise the Lord," she posts on social media.

November 5, 2021 ABBA release Voyage, their first album in 40 years, and also their last. They decided to make it while preparing for their show Voyage, which features digital avatars ("Abba-tars") of the band members. The album goes to #1 in most European countries and also Australia.

July 31, 2020 The Psychedelic Furs release Made Of Rain, their first album since 1991, the year they disbanded. The group re-formed in 2000 but didn't get around to releasing new music until 20 years later.

April 11, 2020 Bob Dylan, 78, lands his first #1 on a Billboard chart when "Murder Most Foul" tops the Rock Digital Song Sales tally.

January 22, 2020 Neil Young, born in Canada but a resident of California since 1966, finally becomes a US citizen.