Pick a Day

Music History Events: Debut Albums

August 6, 1988 Yo! MTV Raps premieres on MTV, with Run-DMC hosting the pilot episode.

June 13, 1988 Paula Abdul's debut album, Forever Your Girl, is released. An accomplished cheerleader and choreographer, she proves successful as a singer as well, as the album produces four #1 hits: "Straight Up," the title track, "Cold Hearted" and "Opposites Attract."

January 23, 1988 At age 16, Tiffany becomes the youngest female singer with a #1 album in the US when her self-titled debut tops the chart.

October 30, 1987 George Michael releases his first solo album, Faith. Packed with hits ("I Want Your Sex," "Father Figure," the title track), it goes to #1 in both the UK and US, and wins the Grammy Award for Album of the Year.

July 21, 1987 Guns N' Roses release their first album, Appetite For Destruction. It's a landmark debut, featuring the hits "Welcome To The Jungle" and "Sweet Child O' Mine."More

July 1, 1987 Napalm Death release their debut album, Scum, widely acknowledged as the first grindcore album. It peaks at #7 in the UK Indie chart.

November 18, 1985 LL Cool J releases his debut album, Radio, the first album ever issued on Def Jam Records. It goes Platinum and makes LL the first solo act on par with reigning rap kings Run-D.M.C.

August 18, 1984 After years toiling in clubs, Red Hot Chili Peppers release their self-titled debut album.

August 10, 1984 Red Hot Chili Peppers release their self-titled debut album, an arduous collaboration with producer Andy Gill of the British rock band Gang of Four.More

January 28, 1984 Def Jam Records release their first single: "It's Yours" by T La Rock and Jazzy Jay. The rap label becomes wildly successful, attracting Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, Kanye West and many other big-name artists.

July 27, 1983 Madonna releases her first album. The self-titled debut doesn't burn up the charts and is derided by Rolling Stone (which calls her voice "irritating as hell"), but gets traction in dance clubs, setting the stage for her breakout second album, Like A Virgin.

April 12, 1983 R.E.M. release their debut album, Murmur.

March 7, 1983 The English new wave duo Tears For Fears release their debut album, The Hurting, featuring the melancholic "Mad World." The album is inspired by the work of American psychologist Arthur Janov, founder of primal therapy.More

March 7, 1983 Bananarama release their debut album, Deep Sea Skiving, featuring a hit cover of Steam's "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" and the Top 10 UK entry "Shy Boy."

August 6, 1981 Stevie Nicks releases her first solo album, Bella Donna.

July 8, 1981 The Go-Go's release their debut album, Beauty and the Beat. It reaches #1 in the US, becoming the first by an all-girl band to do so.

February 17, 1978 Kate Bush, a 19-year-old singer-songwriter from Britain, releases her debut album, The Kick Inside. The collection of art pop features the #1 UK hit single "Wuthering Heights."More

February 10, 1978 Van Halen release their self-titled debut album. The lead single is a cover of the Kinks classic "You Really Got Me."

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.

April 26, 1977 Jim Steinman's play Neverland opens at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. Five months later, three of the songs he wrote for the production appear on Meat Loaf's seminal album Bat Out Of Hell, which would become one of the 10 best-selling albums of all time.

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.

September 2, 1976 Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five become the first rap act to play a theater when they do their first major gig, performing at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem. They introduce various DJ techniques along with rap interplay and choreography.

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. However, the band are hugely successful in Japan, hitting the #1 spot with their single "Cherry Bomb."

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

January 5, 1975 The Wiz premieres at the Majestic Theatre on Broadway. An adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz with an all-black cast, it stars future disco diva Stephanie Mills ("Never Knew Love") as Dorothy. In 1978, the production is turned into a movie starring Michael Jackson and Diana Ross.

February 19, 1974 The First Annual American Music Awards, Dick Clark's answer to the Grammys, is broadcast on ABC. Hosts include Smokey Robinson, Helen Reddy and Roger Miller.

February 18, 1974 Kiss release their debut, self-titled album, featuring "Strutter" and "Cold Gin."