Music History Events: Releases
July 19, 1993 Smashing Pumpkins release their album Siamese Dream, planting their flag in the fecund field of alternative rock. Tracks like "Today" and "Disarm" get lots of airplay, earning the band a headlining slot on Lollapalooza 1994.
April 20, 1993 At 31, Toby Keith releases his self-titled debut album. The first single, "Should've Been A Cowboy," goes to #1 on the Country chart, the first of 20 chart-toppers for Keith on that tally.
April 13, 1993 Bruce Springsteen releases his second live album, In Concert / MTV Unplugged.
November 3, 1992 Rage Against The Machine release their self-titled debut album. It's filled with incendiary protest songs that take on topics like media manipulation ("Bullet In The Head"), oppression of indigenous people ("Freedom") and government warmongering ("Know Your Enemy").More
October 5, 1992 Spin Doctors release their first single, "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong."More
September 21, 1992 ABBA, which split up in 1982, release Gold: Greatest Hits, which in America becomes by far their best-selling album, moving over 6 million copies.
September 8, 1992 Tom Waits' album Bone Machine drops a sonic avalanche of apocalyptic percussion sounds, snarls, and deathly wails - and fans love him for it.More
October 22, 1991 Black Sheep release their debut album, A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing, with the classic "The Choice Is Yours." The hip-hop duo are part of the Native Tongues collective along with De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest.
September 24, 1991 A Tribe Called Quest release their second album, The Low End Theory, with the tracks "Check The Rhime" and "Scenario." A hip-hop landmark, the album integrates jazz samples on songs like "Excursions" and "Verses From The Abstract."
August 13, 1991 Cypress Hill introduce a new strain of West Coast gangsta rap with the release of their self-titled debut album. The lead single is "How I Could Just Kill A Man," a song that deals with gang life in their stomping grounds of South Gate, California.
April 2, 1991 The Rolling Stones release Flashpoint, a live album recorded throughout their Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle Tour.
March 5, 1991 Amy Grant, a fixture in the CCM community, releases a pop album, Heart In Motion. The first four singles all hit the Top 10, and "Baby Baby," a tribute to her baby daughter Millie, hits #1.
October 20, 1990 Nine Inch Nails release their debut album, Pretty Hate Machine. Frontman Trent Reznor writes, sings and plays every instrument on all the songs on the album, which he also co-produces. The album includes the enduring NIN tunes "Head Like A Hole" and "Down In It."
April 2, 1990 After releasing eight studio albums in her native French, Celine Dion issues her first English-language album, Unison. The lead single, "Where Does My Heart Beat Now," goes to #4, setting the stage for her American breakthrough.
March 27, 1990 Digital Underground, a rap collective that later includes Tupac Shakur, release their debut album, Sex Packets. It's a concept album about a drug that simulates the experience of having sex.More
March 20, 1990 Sinead O'Connor releases her second album, I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got. The single "Nothing Compares 2 U," written by Prince, propels her to stardom.
September 19, 1989 Janet Jackson releases her groundbreaking album Rhythm Nation 1814. It contains seven Top 5 hits and a message imploring young people to come together and stand up for education and equality.More
September 12, 1989 Aerosmith continue their comeback with the album Pump, which contains both the raucous "Love In An Elevator" and the weighty "Janie's Got A Gun."
September 1, 1989 Newly sober Mötley Crüe release their fifth album, Dr. Feelgood, which goes to #1 and becomes their best seller. The debaucherous bunch draw on their exploits for subject matter: the title track is about their drug dealers; "Kickstart My Heart" tells the story of bass player Nikki Sixx' near-fatal overdose.More
August 1, 1989 The Rolling Stones release their album Steel Wheels, which contains the hit "Mixed Emotions."
July 11, 1989 Miami Sound Machine lead singer Gloria Estefan releases her first solo album, Cuts Both Ways, with the hits "Don't Wanna Lose You" and "Get on Your Feet."
October 18, 1988 The Traveling Wilburys, a supergroup for the ages, release their debut album, Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1. The band is comprised of Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Roy Orbison, Tom Petty and Electric Light Orchestra frontman Jeff Lynne. For the project, the five music legends humorously take on Wilbury family pseudonyms: Lucky (Dylan), Nelson (Harrison), Lefty (Orbison), Charlie T. Jr. (Petty) and Otis (Lynne). The album includes two popular songs, "Handle With Care" and "End Of The Line," and goes on to win a Grammy for the Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group in 1990.
September 19, 1988 Erasure release "A Little Respect."
May 2, 1988 Melissa Etheridge releases her self-titled debut album, adding a much-welcome new female voice to rock radio with the singles "Bring Me Some Water" and "Like the Way I Do."
April 5, 1988 Tracy Chapman's eponymous debut album is released.
March 14, 1988 Six months after the breakup of his group The Smiths, Morrissey issues his first solo album, Viva Hate. It goes to #1 in the UK and has two hit singles: "Suedehead" and "Everyday Is Like Sunday." It's the start of a very successful solo career for Morrissey, who rejects all offers of a Smiths reunion.
November 4, 1987 Sinead O'Connor, 20, releases her debut album, The Lion And The Cobra. It earns her a tour with INXS and a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female. Her next album, I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got, is a global sensation.
August 18, 1987 Aerosmith release Permanent Vacation, their first album post-sobriety. With the hits "Dude (Looks Like A Lady)" and "Angel," it propels a remarkable comeback for the band, who have spent the last 10 years battling drug addiction and creative malaise.
July 13, 1987 Kylie Minogue, a soap opera star in Australia, breaks into music by releasing a cover of "The Loco-Motion" as her first single there. It goes to #1 and is released globally the following year, becoming a hit in many territories and giving her international exposure as a pop star.
May 15, 1987 Mötley Crüe release the album Girls, Girls, Girls, the pinnacle of their rock star excess.More
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