Pick a Day

Music History Events: Releases

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.

January 20, 1983 Def Leppard release their third album, Pyromania. Like their previous effort, High 'n' Dry, it's produced by Mutt Lange, who does the Gunter Glieben Glauten Globen on "Rock of Ages."More

October 8, 1982 Culture Club release their debut album, Kissing To Be Clever, in their native UK. Issued in America a few months later, it kicks out three Top 10 hits in that country ("Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?," "I'll Tumble 4 Ya" and "Time (Clock of the Heart)"), leading a wave of MTV-friendly UK acts that includes Duran Duran and Eurythmics.

October 1, 1982 Steely Dan frontman Donald Fagen releases his debut solo album, The Nightfly. The album, which includes the singles "I.G.Y. (What A Beautiful World)" and "New Frontier," reaches #11 on the albums chart. The Nightfly and its tracks go on to receive a total of seven nominations at 1983 Grammy Awards.

September 30, 1982 Bruce Springsteen releases Nebraska, an album made up of tunes Bruce recorded on a 4-track tape machine in his home studio.

May 28, 1982 Roxy Music release their final album, Avalon, featuring the dreamy title track and the melancholy "More Than This." It very slowly catches on in America, where it's certified Platinum 10 years later in 1992.

March 29, 1982 Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney release "Ebony And Ivory."

March 22, 1982 Iron Maiden release The Number Of The Beast, their third album and first with lead singer Bruce Dickinson. It goes to #1 in their native UK and also makes an impact in America, where it sells over a million copies.

July 27, 1981 Blondie frontwoman Debbie Harry releases her first solo album, KooKoo. Its highest charting single is "Backfired," which hits #43 in the US, but the album still sells over 500,000 copies.

July 20, 1981 Journey release Escape, their most popular album. The ballad "Open Arms" is the highest charting single, but "Don't Stop Believin'" is the one that endures, becoming one of the biggest songs of all time.