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October 19, 2026
STORY · Rock
How Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Made Damn the Torpedoes
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers declared bankruptcy to escape MCA, then turned the fight into Damn the Torpedoes, released on 19 October 1979.
3 min read
Cover of “Damn the Torpedoes” by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
3 min read
STORY · Rock
How Rush Made Counterparts a Guitar Album Again
In 1993 Rush recorded Counterparts at Le Studio in Morin-Heights. Alex Lifeson pushed the guitar back to the front of the band's sound after a decade of synthesisers.
4 min read
Cover of “Counterparts” by Rush. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
4 min read
STORY · Soul
Why Did Prince's Second Album Turn Him Into a Star?
Prince's self-titled 1979 album sold three million copies and gave him his first Billboard Hot 100 entry, powered by the single 'I Wanna Be Your Lover'.
4 min read
Cover of “Prince” by Prince. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
4 min read
STORY · Rock
Elvis Presley: The Second Album That Made It Look Easy
Elvis Presley cut almost an entire album in three days at Radio Recorders in Hollywood in September 1956. The result topped the Billboard chart for four weeks.
4 min read
Cover of “Elvis” by Elvis Presley. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
4 min read
STORY · Rock
Bob Dylan's New Morning and the Sound of a Voice Returned
Bob Dylan released New Morning on 19 October 1970, four months after Self Portrait, and it brought his familiar nasal voice back to an entire album.
4 min read
Cover of “New Morning” by Bob Dylan. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
4 min read
STORY · Folk
How Did Simon & Garfunkel's First Album Rise from Failure?
Simon & Garfunkel's debut album Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. arrived on 19 October 1964 and sold poorly, until a remixed single pulled it back into the charts.
3 min read
Cover of “Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.” by Simon & Garfunkel. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
3 min read
STORY · Rock
Styx Cornerstone: The Gift That Split the Band
Dennis DeYoung's ballad "Babe" became Styx's only number-one single and pushed Cornerstone to the top five. The pop turn it confirmed split the band's artistic vision.
3 min read
Cover of “Cornerstone” by Styx. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
3 min read
STORY · Alternative
Coldplay's Mylo Xyloto: The Quiet Album That Exploded
Coldplay's fifth album Mylo Xyloto arrived on 24 October 2011 as a sci-fi concept record about the planet Silencia, topping charts in 34 countries.
4 min read
Cover of “Mylo Xyloto” by Coldplay. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
4 min read
STORY · Metal
Why Did Primus Almost End With Antipop?
Primus released Antipop on October 19, 1999, with six producers including Tom Waits and Fred Durst, then went silent for three years.
3 min read
Cover of “Antipop” by Primus. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
3 min read
STORY · Pop
How Madness Turned One Step Beyond Into a Debut Classic
Madness released their debut album One Step Beyond… on 19 October 1979 through Stiff Records. The label took a chance on the band's rowdy take on a Prince Buster ska instrumental.
4 min read
Cover of “One Step Beyond…” by Madness. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
4 min read
STORY · World
The Wailers' Burnin' and the Last Stand of a Trio
The Wailers released Burnin' on October 19, 1973, the final album by Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer as a trio before they split for solo careers.
4 min read
Cover of “Burnin'” by The Wailers. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
4 min read
STORY · Rock
Bauhaus and The Sky's Gone Out
Bauhaus released The Sky's Gone Out on Beggars Banquet in October 1982. The third album was made with live sound engineer Derek Tompkins after the band abandoned plans to produce it alone.
3 min read
Cover of “The Sky's Gone Out” by Bauhaus. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
3 min read
STORY · Other
How The Beach Boys Topped the Chart with a Fake Live Album
The Beach Boys released Beach Boys Concert on 19 October 1964, and it became the first concert record ever to reach number one on the US pop chart.
3 min read
Cover of “Beach Boys Concert” by The Beach Boys. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
3 min read
STORY · Alternative
Jimmy Eat World Futures: The Album That Almost Didn't Happen
Jimmy Eat World's fifth album Futures nearly fell apart when producer Mark Trombino left the sessions. The band regrouped with Gil Norton and released the record in October 2004.
4 min read
Cover of “Futures” by Jimmy Eat World. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
4 min read
STORY · Rock
Greta Van Fleet's Anthem of the Peaceful Army at 8
Greta Van Fleet's debut album Anthem of the Peaceful Army arrived on October 19, 2018. Most of it was written in a two-week Nashville session after the band scrapped their original plan.
3 min read
Cover of “Anthem of the Peaceful Army” by Greta Van Fleet. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
3 min read
STORY · Metal
Why Did Twisted Sister Re-record Stay Hungry as Still Hungry?
Twisted Sister released Still Hungry on October 19, 2004. It was a track-by-track re-recording of their 1984 breakthrough Stay Hungry, which the band felt was too polished.
4 min read
Cover of “Still Hungry” by Twisted Sister. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
4 min read
STORY · Other
Why Fatboy Slim Couldn't Find the Man on His Album Cover
Fatboy Slim's second album You've Come a Long Way, Baby used a 1983 snapshot of a stranger from a Virginia festival on its cover. Norman Cook spent years trying to find him.
3 min read
Cover of “You've Come a Long Way, Baby” by Fatboy Slim. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
3 min read
October 18, 2026
STORY · Alternative
How Sick of It All Scratched the Surface of Hardcore
Sick of It All bought their way out of Relativity Records for $200,000 and made Scratch the Surface with full creative control on East West Records.
4 min read
Cover of “Scratch the Surface” by Sick of It All. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
4 min read
STORY · Rock
How Chuck Berry Turned Prison into Rock and Roll
Chuck Berry left a Missouri reformatory at twenty-one and cut 'Maybellene' four years later. The single sold over a million copies and made him rock and roll's first great songwriter.
3 min read
Joop van Bilsen for Anefo, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons, modified: re-encoded
3 min read
STORY · Pop
Why Did Christina Perri's 'A Thousand Years' Outlive Twilight?
Christina Perri's 'A Thousand Years' debuted at number 63 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2011. It grew into a diamond-certified modern standard long after the Twilight films ended.
4 min read
Cover of “A Thousand Years” by Christina Perri. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
4 min read
STORY · Metal
Queensrÿche's Promised Land: The Album That Broke Their Mold
Queensrÿche released Promised Land on October 18, 1994, after more than two years of work. It became their highest-charting album, reaching number 3 on the Billboard 200.
4 min read
Cover of “Promised Land” by Queensrÿche. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
4 min read
STORY · Hip-Hop
Why Did Scarface Call His Third Album The Diary?
Scarface released his third studio album The Diary on October 18, 1994, through Rap-A-Lot and Noo Trybe. The title framed the record as a private confession rather than a celebration.
4 min read
Cover of “The Diary” by Scarface. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
4 min read
STORY · Rock
Frank Zappa's Them or Us at 42
Frank Zappa released Them or Us on October 18, 1984. The seventy-three-minute album came out on his own Barking Pumpkin Records and mixed live tapes, studio overdubs and borrowed covers.
4 min read
Cover of “Them or Us” by Frank Zappa. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
4 min read
STORY · Rock
How Bryan Adams Turned a Rejected Riff into a Chart-Topping Hit
Bryan Adams wrote 'Run to You' on 10 January 1983, offered it to Blue Öyster Cult and .38 Special, and then recorded it himself as the lead single from Reckless.
4 min read
Cover of “Run to You” by Bryan Adams. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
4 min read
STORY · Rock
How Paul McCartney Survived His First Quarry Men Gig
On 18 October 1957, Paul McCartney played his first public gig with John Lennon's Quarry Men at a Conservative Club social in Norris Green, Liverpool. He froze during the lead intro to 'Raunchy'.
3 min read
AI-generated illustration
3 min read
STORY · Rock
How Toto Lost Their Voice on Isolation
Toto released Isolation on October 18, 1984, with Fergie Frederiksen replacing Bobby Kimball on vocals. It became the band's only record with a single lead singer.
4 min read
Cover of “Isolation” by Toto. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
4 min read
STORY · Alternative
Jane's Addiction's The Great Escape Artist at 15
Perry Farrell's Jane's Addiction returned in 2011 with The Great Escape Artist. It was the band's fourth album, made after a revolving door of bassists and an eight-year studio silence.
3 min read
Silvio Tanaka from Sao Paulo, Brazil, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons, modified: re-encoded
3 min read
STORY · Metal
How Cactus Made a Heavy Blues-Rock Stand with Restrictions
On October 18, 1971, Cactus released Restrictions, a third album of heavy blues rock recorded at Electric Lady Studios and produced by Geoffrey Haslam.
3 min read
Cover of “Restrictions” by Cactus. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
3 min read
STORY · Alternative
M83's Hurry Up, We're Dreaming and the Risk That Paid Off
M83's sixth studio album, Hurry Up, We're Dreaming, became the French band's highest-charting release and a Grammy nominee despite its double-disc gamble.
3 min read
Nic Wood, Pexels License, via Pexels
3 min read
STORY · Rock
Why Did The Bangles' Everything End Their First Era?
The Bangles released Everything on October 18, 1988, after more than a year of sessions, and the album became their last before a nine-year break.
4 min read
Cover of “Everything” by The Bangles. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
4 min read