Pick a Day

Music History Events: Releases

January 21, 2014 Against Me! release the album Transgender Dysphoria Blues, their first since lead singer Laura Jane Grace came out as transgender. The album began as a concept piece about a transexual prostitute back when Grace was still presenting as a man (Tom Gabel). The personal implications became clear when she came out and her bandmates figured out what was going on. Two of the four members of the band - drummer Jay Weinberg and bass player Andrew Seward - quit before it is completed, but the album earns strong reviews and Grace becomes a leader in the fight for transgender rights.

December 16, 2013 Brantley Gilbert releases his country chart-topper "Bottoms Up," a song about dropping the tailgate, finding the keg and filling your cup. It quickly becomes one of his live favorites.

September 13, 2013 Hozier releases "Take Me to Church," the lead single from his self-titled debut album.

August 27, 2013 To celebrate the band's 40th anniversary, Alabama reunites for Alabama & Friends, a tribute album with some of the group's biggest hits sung with contemporary country artists like Kenny Chesney, Toby Keith and Jason Aldean.

July 4, 2013 Jay-Z releases his twelfth studio album, Magna Carta... Holy Grail, as a free download, but only for Samsung customers who can access it through the Jay-Z Magna Carta app. Non-Samsung users will have to tough it out and buy the album at retail price four days later.

June 12, 2013 BTS release their debut album, 2 Cool 4 Skool. In later years, the date is celebrated with releases targeted to their fan club, ARMY.

April 26, 2013 Deep Purple release Now What?!, their first album produced by Bob Ezrin.

April 12, 2013 Five years after the release of Folie à Deux, Fall Out Boy issue their pop-leaning comeback album, Save Rock and Roll, featuring the hit "My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up)."

March 22, 2013 Australian singer-songwriter Vance Joy releases his debut EP, God Loves You When You're Dancing.

February 12, 2013 The second single from Soundgarden's album King Animal, "By Crooked Steps," is released. Its video is directed by Dave Grohl.

January 8, 2013 Enigmatic pop icon David Bowie releases the single "Where Are We Now?," from his upcoming album The Next Day. The date of the release also coincides with his birthday. It is his first release in over a decade.

January 8, 2013 Twenty One Pilots release their breakthrough album, Vessel. The chorus-free favorite "Car Radio" becomes one of their signature songs.

November 19, 2012 Rihanna releases the single "Nobody's Business," featuring the man who assaulted her three years earlier, Chris Brown.

November 13, 2012 RCA Records releases a greatest hits album to commemorate the late Whitney Houston, who died in February 2012. The album, titled I Will Always Love You - The Best of Whitney Houston, includes all 11 of her #1 Billboard charting hits.

November 13, 2012 Soundgarden release their sixth album, King Animal, their last with Chris Cornell.

September 21, 2012 No Doubt release the album Push and Shove, their first release in 11 years. Lead singer Gwen Stefani explains that they "made the record of their lives," so why rush it?

September 19, 2012 The Dave Matthews Band sees their album Away From the World debut at #1 on the Billboard albums chart. This continues the band's unbroken winning streak of six #1 albums on the Billboard 200.

August 21, 2012 Lynyrd Skynyrd release Last of a Dyin' Breed, their 14th studio album. Guitarist John Lowery, better known by stage name "John 5," contributes to a couple of the tracks.

June 19, 2012 Fiona Apple releases her fourth album, The Idler Wheel..., her first since Extraordinary Machine in 2005.More

June 12, 2012 Rush release a concept album titled Clockwork Angels, their 20th (and last) studio effort. On the album Neil Peart uses a new method in which producer Nick Raskulinecz "conducts" Peart's drumming during recordings.

May 27, 2012 On his 90th birthday, actor Christopher Lee announces the release of his Heavy Metal single "Let Legend Mark Me as the King."

May 8, 2012 Fiona Apple releases "Every Single Night," her first new song since 2005. The song is a visceral expression of her internal struggle, as she sings about how every single night is a fight with her brain.

March 26, 2012 Madonna releases her dance-heavy 12th album, MDNA, the title a play on her name and also the club drug ecstacy. It goes to #1 in America, giving Madonna her eighth chart-topper.

February 22, 2012 Five months after debuting the song in her native Canada, Carly Rae Jepsen releases the single "Call Me Maybe" in America. With help from a video of Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez and other tween celebs lip-syncing to the song, it rises up the charts and becomes a worldwide hit. In the US, it is the song of the summer, topping the Hot 100 on June 23 and staying until August 25.

October 21, 2011 Tom Waits releases Bad as Me, his 16th studio album and his first in five years to feature entirely new material (the last being 2006's Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards).

October 10, 2011 Lana Del Rey releases her first single, "Video Games," a song inspired by two fractured relationships.

September 13, 2011 After an eight-year absence, Anthrax release their 10th studio album, Worship Music. Joey Belladonna, who hasn't been with the band since 1992, returns to handle lead vocals.

September 12, 2011 Ed Sheeran's debut album, +, is released in the UK, where it tops the albums chart.

July 26, 2011 Eric Church releases his breakthrough album, Chief, with the hits "Springsteen" and "Drink In My Hand." The album cover is his first where he's wearing his signature Aviator sunglasses.

July 19, 2011 Rebecca Black, the world's most ironic celebrity, cashes in on her worldwide viral Internet fame by launching her own record label, RB Records, and her first single on the label, "My Moment." The song fails to get the same attention as her breakout hit, "Friday."