Pick a Day

Music History Events: Releases

March 17, 2017 Popular World War II-era singer Vera Lynn releases Vera Lynn 100 to celebrate her 100th birthday. The album debuts at #3 on the UK chart, making her the oldest living artist to have an album on the tally.

November 18, 2016 Metallica issue their 10th album, Hardwired... To Self-Destruct.

October 21, 2016 Leonard Cohen releases his last album, You Want It Darker. Cohen was in poor health while the album was being made, and never went to the recording studio, relying on his son Adam to handle the sessions and integrate his tracks. Cohen dies a few weeks later age age 82.

October 20, 2016 Little Big Town release the single "Better Man," which they later reveal was written by Taylor Swift, marking the first time she pitched a song to another artist.

October 14, 2016 JoJo releases her third album, Mad Love., her first since 2006, as legal issues have kept her from issuing new material.

October 7, 2016 Sum 41 release 13 Voices, their first album in five years. Much of it deals with lead singer Deryck Whibley's path from alcoholism to sobriety.

June 17, 2016 Red Hot Chili Peppers release The Getaway, their first album since 2011 and their first since 1991 without Rick Rubin producing - Brian "Danger Mouse" Burton is the producer.

June 10, 2016 Rick Astley releases 50, his first album of original songs in 15 years, in the UK. It goes to #1 its first week.

May 20, 2016 The National release an anthology album of 59 Grateful Dead covers called Day of the Dead, with appearances by Lucinda Williams, Bruce Hornsby, Courtney Barnett and Wayne Coyne. Proceeds go to the Red Hot Organization, which helps fight AIDS.

May 20, 2016 Barenaked Ladies release the live album BNL Rocks Red Rocks, which was recorded on June 10, 2015, at the famous Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado, during the band's Last Summer On Earth tour. Guests include former Men at Work frontman Colin Hay and Violent Femmes sax player Blaise Garza, who join BNL for a rendition of Hay's 1982 hit "Who Can It Be Now?"

May 13, 2016 Blake Shelton releases "Straight Outta Cold Beer," the third promotional single for his If I'm Honest album.

April 1, 2016 Actor-turned-singer Kiefer Sutherland releases his debut single, "Not Enough Whiskey."

March 18, 2016 Gwen Stefani, recently split from Gavin Rossdale and dating Blake Shelton, releases This Is What the Truth Feels Like, her first solo album since 2006. The album deals with her divorce and subsequent renaissance - or you could say, "Gwenaissance."

February 12, 2016 Kanye West drops "Famous," with the lyric: I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex Why? I made that bitch famous West claims that he got Taylor Swift's blessing before releasing the song, but she clearly doesn't expect it. Her spokesperson says she was never told the actual lyric, and takes issue with it.

October 23, 2015 Following the release of her acclaimed Greatest Hits: Decade #1 album, Carrie Underwood issues her fifth studio album, Storyteller. A chart-topping hit, it makes her the first artist in history to have six consecutive #1 albums on the Country chart.

June 23, 2015 Leon Bridges releases his debut album, Coming Home, featuring the popular retro-soul singles "Coming Home" and "Smooth Sailin'."More

May 17, 2015 Twenty One Pilots release their fourth album, Blurryface, their first to land at #1 in the US. "Blurryface" is a character that represents frontman Tyler Joseph's insecurities, represented by black paint on his hands and neck.

April 28, 2015 Twenty One Pilots release "Stressed Out," which becomes their first hit. The song looks back on a time before the pressures of adulthood kicked in; the duo do their best to retain their youthful spirit as they become more popular than they ever imagined.

March 15, 2015 Kendrick Lamar releases his third studio album, To Pimp A Butterfly, which debuts at #1.

December 15, 2014 After a 14-year hiatus, D'Angelo releases his third studio album, Black Messiah. It ends up being his last, as pancreatic cancer claims his life in 2025.

November 24, 2014 Iggy Azalea reissues her debut album, The New Classic, as Reclassified. The re-release features five newly recorded songs.

November 24, 2014 Eminem releases the two-disc compilation album Shady XV.

November 21, 2014 David Guetta releases Listen, his sixth studio album.

October 14, 2014 David Bowie debuts his new single "Sue (Or In A Season Of Crime)," a jazzy seven-and-a-half-minute song, on BBC Radio 6 to promote his upcoming compilation album Nothing Has Changed.

October 7, 2014 Weezer release their ninth studio album, Everything Will Be Alright in the End. The band's first album on Republic Records, it marks the return of producer Ric Ocasek, who produced the band's 1994 debut album, The Blue Album, and their 2001 Green Album.

September 26, 2014 Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke releases his second solo album, Tomorrow's Modern Boxes, for just $6 on the peer-to-peer file-sharing platform BitTorrent. According to the album's producer, Nigel Godrich, "It could be an effective way of handing some control of Internet commerce back to people who are creating the work." In just over a week, the album averages 1.8 million downloads.

September 9, 2014 Vance Joy releases his debut studio album, Dream Your Life Away, four days after its release in his native Australia.

May 9, 2014 Michael Jackson's second posthumous album, Xscape, is released.

April 14, 2014 Sam Smith releases "Stay With Me," his breakthrough hit in America. It's a song about yearning and loneliness that Smith later reveals is about guy.

March 21, 2014 Shakira releases her 10th studio album, Shakira, featuring guest vocalist Rihanna on the lead single, "Can't Remember To Forget You."