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October 26, 2026
STORY · Electronic
What Made Darude's "Sandstorm" a Global Phenomenon?
Darude's "Sandstorm" came out on 16 Inch Records on October 26, 1999. It grew from a week of studio work with Jaakko "JS16" Salovaara into a two-million-selling single.
4 min read
Cover of “Sandstorm” by Darude. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
4 min read
STORY · Jazz
Why Did Herbie Hancock's Head Hunters Shock Jazz?
Herbie Hancock's Head Hunters arrived on Columbia Records on October 26, 1973, with no guitar and a clavinet up front. It became the biggest-selling jazz record of its time.
4 min read
Cover of “Head Hunters” by Herbie Hancock. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
4 min read
STORY · Alternative
The Fall: How Dragnet Turned a Crisis Into a New Sound
The Fall released Dragnet on October 26, 1979, with only Mark E. Smith and Marc Riley left from the previous line-up and a murky sound that Cargo Studios wanted taken off the cover.
4 min read
Cover of “Dragnet” by The Fall. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
4 min read
STORY · Hip-Hop
Why Did Too Short's Get in Where You Fit In Go Platinum?
Too Short released Get in Where You Fit In on October 26, 1993. The album reached number 4 on the Billboard 200 before earning platinum certification from the RIAA.
4 min read
Giuseppe Di Maria, Pexels License, via Pexels
4 min read
STORY · Folk
Why Did Johnny Cash Fight Radio Over Bitter Tears?
Johnny Cash bought a full-page Billboard ad calling radio programmers gutless for refusing to play The Ballad of Ira Hayes. He then mailed out more than 1000 copies of the single himself.
4 min read
Cover of “Bitter Tears” by Johnny Cash. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
4 min read
STORY · Rock
Why Did The Velvet Underground's Reunion Album Divide Them?
Live MCMXCIII, The Velvet Underground's 1993 concert album from three nights at L'Olympia in Paris, documented an unlikely reunion. It then became a source of fresh friction.
4 min read
Cover of “Live MCMXCIII” by The Velvet Underground. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
4 min read
STORY · Pop
How Calvin Harris Stopped Singing and Broke a Chart Record
Calvin Harris released 18 Months on October 26, 2012, stepping back from the mic and letting guest vocalists carry a run of nine UK top-ten singles.
4 min read
Cover of “18 Months” by Calvin Harris. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
4 min read
STORY · Soul
Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye: How a Joint Nearly Killed It
Diana Ross walked out of a Motown studio in 1973 when she found Marvin Gaye's session thick with marijuana smoke. Diana & Marvin still reached stores that October.
3 min read
Cover of “Diana & Marvin” by Diana Ross. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
3 min read
STORY · Alternative
Why Did 10,000 Maniacs' Unplugged Album Capture a Farewell?
10,000 Maniacs taped MTV Unplugged at Sony Music Studios on April 21, 1993. The album arrived on October 26, 1993, after Natalie Merchant had already left the group.
3 min read
Cover of “MTV Unplugged” by 10,000 Maniacs. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
3 min read
STORY · Other
Why Did Freddie Mercury Sing Opera with Montserrat Caballé?
Freddie Mercury of Queen and soprano Montserrat Caballé released the single "Barcelona" on Polydor in October 1987. The duet began with a fan's wish spoken on Spanish television.
4 min read
Cover of “Barcelona” by Freddie Mercury. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
4 min read
STORY · Rock
Why Did America's Hat Trick Break Their Platinum Streak?
Two platinum albums in a row, and then a record about muskrats. The American folk-rock trio America had sold millions with their first two LPs, but on October 2…
3 min read
Cover of “Hat Trick” by America. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
3 min read
STORY · Folk
Why Did Dolly Parton Bet Her Career on Bluegrass?
Dolly Parton released The Grass Is Blue on October 26, 1999, with no record deal at all, and turned a bluegrass album into a Grammy winner.
4 min read
Cover of “The Grass Is Blue” by Dolly Parton. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
4 min read
STORY · Alternative
Why Does The Cure's First Live Album Still Matter?
Concert: The Cure Live, released on October 26, 1984, captured the English post-punk band mid-tour behind The Top. The cassette edition added a bonus album of rarities from 1977 to 1984.
3 min read
AI-generated illustration
3 min read
STORY · Hip-Hop
Why Did Black Eyed Peas Return to Boom-Bap on Masters of the Sun?
Black Eyed Peas released Masters of the Sun Vol. 1 on October 26, 2018, their first album in eight years and their first without Fergie, built on boom-bap drums and raw verses.
4 min read
Aubrey Gemignani, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons, modified: re-encoded
4 min read
STORY · Metal
How Dream Theater Turned an Inside Joke into a Murder Mystery
Dream Theater released Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory on October 26, 1999, turning a joke title into the band's first concept album and a murder mystery.
4 min read
Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons, modified: re-encoded
4 min read
STORY · Alternative
How Did Robbie Williams Survive His Second Album?
Robbie Williams released I've Been Expecting You on October 26, 1998. It became the best-selling album in the United Kingdom that year despite a lawsuit over one borrowed line.
4 min read
wonker from London, United Kingdom, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons, modified: re-encoded
4 min read
STORY · Rock
How Billy Joel Brought Rock to the Soviet Stage
A rock star smashes a microphone stand in Moscow, then jumps into a crowd in Leningrad. That man is Billy Joel, the American singer-songwriter, and those moment…
3 min read
U.S. Department of Defense photo by SRA Andrew J. Rice, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons, modified: re-encoded
3 min read
October 25, 2026
STORY · Alternative
Why Did Joni Mitchell Paint Herself as Van Gogh?
Joni Mitchell's fifteenth studio album, Turbulent Indigo, arrived on October 25, 1994. Its cover recast her own face in the style of Vincent van Gogh.
4 min read
Cover of “Turbulent Indigo” by Joni Mitchell. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
4 min read
STORY · Rock
How Art Garfunkel's Watermark Was Saved by a Cover
Columbia released Art Garfunkel's third solo album Watermark on October 25, 1977, with a first single that never charted. A cover of "(What a) Wonderful World" turned the record around.
3 min read
Cover of “Watermark” by Art Garfunkel. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
3 min read
STORY · Pop
Why Did Madonna Soften Her Sound on Bedtime Stories?
Madonna released Bedtime Stories on October 25, 1994, trading the shock of Erotica and the Sex book for romance, heartache and R&B. Dallas Austin, Babyface and Dave Hall produced the softer sound.
4 min read
Cover of “Bedtime Stories” by Madonna. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
4 min read
STORY · Pop
Fishmans: How One Song Became an Album
Fishmans released Long Season on Polydor Records on October 25, 1996. The 35-minute album was built from a single composition that grew out of the September single "Season."
3 min read
Cover of “Long Season” by Fishmans. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
3 min read
STORY · Metal
Why Did Dio's Strange Highways Sound So Dangerous?
Ronnie James Dio released Strange Highways in Europe on October 25, 1993, after quitting Black Sabbath a second time. The album arrived with a new guitarist and a last-minute bassist.
3 min read
Cover of “Strange Highways” by Dio. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
3 min read
STORY · Rock
Why Did Jethro Tull's First Album Sound So Different?
Jethro Tull's debut This Was cost 1200 pounds, reached number 10 in Britain and captured a band split between Ian Anderson and guitarist Mick Abrahams.
4 min read
Cover of “This Was” by Jethro Tull. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
4 min read
STORY · Pop
How Did Britney Spears Make Blackout in Total Chaos?
Britney Spears's fifth album Blackout arrived on October 25, 2007, built in fragments across six cities while her private life was falling apart in public.
4 min read
Cover of “Blackout” by Britney Spears. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
4 min read
STORY · Jazz
Al Di Meola's Land of the Midnight Sun at 50
Al Di Meola released Land of the Midnight Sun on Columbia Records on October 25, 1976, a debut that paired a nine-minute suite with a Bach sarabande.
3 min read
Cover of “Land of the Midnight Sun” by Al Di Meola. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
3 min read
STORY · Metal
Why Did Sepultura Return to Ross Robinson?
Sepultura reunited with producer Ross Robinson for The Mediator Between Head and Hands Must Be the Heart. The album was recorded in his Venice, California home studio in mid-2013.
3 min read
Cover of “The Mediator Between Head and Hands Must Be the Heart” by Sepultura. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
3 min read
STORY · Pop
How Yoko Takahashi Got A Cruel Angel's Thesis
Yoko Takahashi recorded 'A Cruel Angel's Thesis' for Neon Genesis Evangelion without knowing the plot. TV Tokyo had rejected Hideaki Anno's classical opening.
4 min read
Harvey Tan Villarino, Pexels License, via Pexels
4 min read
STORY · Rock
Why Did The Rolling Stones Risk Ed Sullivan in 1964?
On October 25, 1964, The Rolling Stones played The Ed Sullivan Show for the first time. The band was betting that raw blues could survive prime-time television.
4 min read
Steve Denenberg, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons, modified: re-encoded
4 min read
STORY · Rock
Why Did Paul Simon Call Himself Crazy in 1975?
Paul Simon released Still Crazy After All These Years on Columbia Records on October 25, 1975. The ten-track solo album was built with jazz players, gospel singers and a Muscle Shoals rhythm section.
4 min read
Cover of “Still Crazy After All These Years” by Paul Simon. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
4 min read
STORY · Rock
How Did Chicago Turn Carnegie Hall Into a Rock Landmark?
Chicago became the first rock group to sell out a full week at Carnegie Hall in April 1971. The resulting four-record live set, Chicago at Carnegie Hall, arrived on October 25, 1971.
3 min read
Cover of “At Carnegie Hall” by Chicago. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
3 min read