Pick a Day

Music History Events: Releases

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

March 7, 1987 The first four Beatles albums are released on compact disc: Please Please Me, With The Beatles, A Hard Day's Night, Beatles For Sale. This marks the first time the band's official UK albums have been available as standard Beatles albums in the US, many being presented for the first time in America in their original mono mixes.

February 23, 1987 Jody Watley releases her self-titled debut album, which earns her the Grammy award for Best New Artist thanks to hits like "Don't You Want Me" and "Looking For A New Love."

December 8, 1986 Salt-N-Pepa release their debut album, Hot, Cool & Vicious, which makes history as the first female rap album to achieve gold and platinum status in the US. Along with Cheryl "Salt" James and Sandra "Pepa" Denton, Latoya Hanson appears on the cover art as the original DJ Spinderella. She was ousted during the making of the album and replaced by high schooler Deidra Roper.

November 10, 1986 Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band releases Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band Live: 1975-85; it sells one-million copies in one day.

September 20, 1986 Huey Lewis & the News release the album Fore!, the title a reference to golf (their previous album: Sports) and to it being their fourth album. It contains two #1 hits: "Stuck with You" and "Jacob's Ladder."

August 18, 1986 Bon Jovi release their third album, Slippery When Wet, which catapults them to the top with the hits "You Give Love A Bad Name" and "Livin' On A Prayer." Seasoned from years of touring, the group is ready for the big crowds and quickly become a top live draw.

July 4, 1986 Run-DMC release their rap version of "Walk This Way" featuring Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith, the group that released the original version in 1975. It's the first major collaboration between rappers and rockers, proof positive that the styles can work together. Both groups get a huge boost when the song becomes a hit; for Aerosmith, it launches a comeback.

June 16, 1986 The Smiths release their third album, The Queen Is Dead, with a title track that takes a sardonic and spiteful look at the British monarchy. It's the last studio album released before their breakup a year later. (A fourth album, Strangeways, Here We Come, is released soon after their split.)

March 24, 1986 The Rolling Stones release their album Dirty Work. The first single is a cover of the soul classic "Harlem Shuffle."

March 5, 1986 After years grinding away on the Nashville music scene, Steve Earle, 31, releases his debut album, Guitar Town, with the title track recalling his time touring in a van and working on his "motel tan" (no tan at all). Not quite country, not quite rock, it helps define a new genre known as Americana.

February 4, 1986 Janet Jackson, 19, asserts her independence on her third album, Control, where she takes on much of the songwriting and production. With five big hits, including the #1 "When I Think of You," it vaults her into a league with her brother Michael.More

November 7, 1985 Lots of Dylan is now available in one place as his five-album Biograph set is released.

June 1, 1985 Sting releases his first solo album, The Dream of the Blue Turtles. Tracks include "Moon Over Bourbon Street" (inspired by the novel Interview With The Vampire) and "Russians," a song that looks at the Cold War from the perspective of the USSR.

May 17, 1985 Dire Straits release their best selling album, Brothers In Arms. It goes to #1 in many territories, but the subsequent tour wipes out the band, which go on an extended hiatus and don't release another album until 1991.

February 19, 1985 Mick Jagger releases his first solo album, She's The Boss.

February 11, 1985 The Smiths release their second album, Meat Is Murder. The title track is a vegetarian touchstone, with their animal rights activist lead singer, Morrissey, decrying how eating meat causes "death for no reason," and is therefore murder. In their native UK, the album goes to #1.

January 21, 1984 Bon Jovi release their self-titled debut album. The first track is "Runaway," the group's debut single and first to get airplay. It was written by frontman Jon Bon Jovi, who recorded it with session musicians before the band formed.

January 9, 1984 Van Halen release their sixth album, 1984, which finds Eddie Van Halen playing synthesizer as well as guitar. It's their most popular album, reeling in new fans with radio-friendly songs like "Jump" and "I'll Wait" while feeding their faithful with rockers like "Panama" and "Hot For Teacher." Lead singer David Lee Roth leaves the next year, replaced by Sammy Hagar.

November 7, 1983 The Rolling Stones release Undercover.

June 16, 1983 Ringo Starr releases his ninth solo album, Old Wave.

February 1, 1983 Journey release their eighth album, Frontiers. It sells 6 million copies and spawns the hit singles "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" and "Faithfully," but has the misfortune of being released while Michael Jackson's Thriller is red hot; it holds Frontiers at #2 for nine weeks.