Music History Events: Releases
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.
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.
June 11, 1981 13-year-old Celine Dion releases her first single, "Ce n'était qu'un reve," in her native Canada. It earns her a local following and leads the way for her debut album, La voix du bon Dieu, in November. For the rest of the decade, she records in her native French and becomes quite popular in Canada and across Europe. She starts recording in English at the start of the '90s.
February 24, 1981 Rick Springfield releases his breakthrough album Working Class Dog, with the #1 hit "Jessie's Girl." The pooch on the cover is his bull terrier Ronnie.
November 17, 1980 John Lennon releases Double Fantasy. A few weeks later, he is shot and killed, and the album quickly goes to #1 in many countries.
October 17, 1980 Bruce Springsteen releases The River.
October 17, 1980 Dire Straits release their third album, Making Movies. Three of the songs - "Romeo And Juliet," "Tunnel Of Love" and "Skateaway" - are accompanied by short films sold on a home video also called Making Movies.
June 23, 1980 The Rolling Stones release Emotional Rescue.
May 16, 1980 Alabama release their first RCA Nashville single, "Tennessee River," which becomes their first #1 hit on the Country chart.
September 24, 1979 The Eagles release their sixth album, The Long Run. The lead single is "Heartache Tonight," a song co-written by Bob Seger.
August 20, 1979 Bob Dylan, a recent convert to Christianity, releases the faith-driven album Slow Train Coming.More
July 21, 1979 Robert Palmer releases "Bad Case of Loving You."
June 15, 1979 Unknown Pleasures, the debut long-player from British post-punk band Joy Division, is released. Although it does not chart, it becomes hugely influential and is widely critically acclaimed as one of the defining albums of the post-punk era.More
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