Feed
Daily stories about music and vinyl: albums, artists, labels. Read on the web or in the CrateCore app.
Filters & search
October 25, 2026
STORY · Rock
How Jeff Beck Rescued Rough and Ready
Epic Records rejected the vocals on Jeff Beck's third album, so Beck replaced singer Alex Ligertwood with Bobby Tench. Rough and Ready arrived on October 25, 1971.
4 min read
Cover of “Rough and Ready” by The Jeff Beck Group. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
4 min read
STORY · World
How Bob Marley Rebuilt the Wailers on Natty Dread
Bob Marley released Natty Dread on October 25, 1974, the first Wailers album without Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer, with all songs written by Marley.
4 min read
Cover of “Natty Dread” by The Wailers. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
4 min read
STORY · Rock
Why Did Europe Widen Their Sound on Secret Society?
Europe made Secret Society without an outside producer at Stockholm's Kingside Studios. Joey Tempest said the 2006 album pushed the band's sound to a new level.
4 min read
Cover of “Secret Society” by Europe. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
4 min read
October 24, 2026
STORY · Hip-Hop
Madlib: The Beatmaker Who Built His Own Universe
Madlib, born Otis Lee Jackson Jr. in Oxnard on 24 October 1973, built a career from crate-digging, alter egos and collaborations from Lootpack to Madvillain.
4 min read
Carl Pocket, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons, modified: re-encoded
4 min read
STORY · Rock
How Did Hannah Montana's First Album Outsell Real Pop Stars?
Walt Disney Records released the Hannah Montana soundtrack on October 24, 2006. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with 281,000 copies sold in its first week.
4 min read
AI-generated illustration
4 min read
STORY · Rock
How James Brown Bet His Own Money on Live at the Apollo
James Brown paid for the Apollo recording himself after King Records refused, and the 1963 album went on to spend 66 weeks on the Billboard chart.
4 min read
AI-generated illustration
4 min read
STORY · Metal
Marilyn Manson's Accidental Platinum EP
Marilyn Manson's Smells Like Children began as a remix single for 'Dope Hat.' It became a platinum EP after a Eurythmics cover and a pressing error sent the uncut version to radio.
4 min read
Cover of “Smells Like Children” by Marilyn Manson. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
4 min read
STORY · Rock
Why Did Backstreet Boys' Unbreakable Prove Them Right?
The Backstreet Boys released Unbreakable on October 24, 2007, their first album as a quartet after Kevin Richardson left. It debuted at number one in Japan.
4 min read
Cover of “Unbreakable” by Backstreet Boys. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
4 min read
STORY · Rock
Don McLean's American Pie at 55
Don McLean's second album American Pie arrived on October 24, 1971, via United Artists Records. It turned a paperboy's memory of Buddy Holly into a national singalong.
3 min read
Cover of “American Pie” by Don McLean. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
3 min read
STORY · Rock
How Rory Gallagher Bet His Sound on a Stranger
In October 1976 Rory Gallagher released Calling Card, his sixth studio album. Deep Purple and Rainbow bassist Roger Glover produced it at Musicland Studios in Munich.
4 min read
Cover of “Calling Card” by Rory Gallagher. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
4 min read
STORY · Alternative
How Frankie Goes to Hollywood's "Relax" Survived a Ban
Frankie Goes to Hollywood's debut single "Relax" arrived on ZTT Records in October 1983. A BBC ban two months later helped turn it into the best-selling UK debut single in history.
3 min read
Cover of “Relax” by Frankie Goes to Hollywood. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
3 min read
STORY · Rock
How Nelly Furtado's Whoa, Nelly! Took Flight
Nelly Furtado's debut Whoa, Nelly! arrived on DreamWorks Records on October 24, 2000, mixing English and Portuguese across twelve tracks and launching the single 'I'm Like a Bird.'
4 min read
Cover of “Whoa, Nelly!” by Nelly Furtado. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
4 min read
STORY · Metal
How Savatage Turned a War Album Into a Christmas Hit
Savatage released Dead Winter Dead on October 24, 1995, a Bosnian War concept album. Its buried track 'Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24)' became a lasting radio hit.
4 min read
Cover of “Dead Winter Dead” by Savatage. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
4 min read
STORY · Hip-Hop
Fat Joe's Jealous One's Envy Turns 31
Fat Joe's second solo album, Jealous One's Envy, arrived on Relativity Records and Violator on October 24, 1995. It also gave Big Punisher his first recorded verse.
4 min read
Mika Väisänen, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons, modified: re-encoded
4 min read
STORY · Rock
How Did Cocteau Twins Survive Losing Their Bassist?
Cocteau Twins lost founding bassist Will Heggie in 1983, then released Head over Heels on 4AD that October as a duo of Elizabeth Fraser and Robin Guthrie.
4 min read
Cover of “Head over Heels” by Cocteau Twins. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
4 min read
STORY · Folk
How Taylor Swift Made a Country Debut on Her Own Terms
Taylor Swift released her self-titled debut on Big Machine Records on October 24, 2006, with every song written or co-written by her.
4 min read
Cover of “Taylor Swift” by Taylor Swift. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
4 min read
STORY · Pop
How Did Justin Bieber's 'Beauty and a Beat' Become a Hit?
Justin Bieber's 'Beauty and a Beat' debuted at number 72 on the Billboard Hot 100. It climbed to number 5 after a stolen-footage video shot at a San Dimas water park.
3 min read
Cover of “Beauty and a Beat” by Justin Bieber. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
3 min read
STORY · Rock
Why Did Rush Risk Everything on Hemispheres?
Rush rented a Welsh farmhouse in 1978 with no songs written and left with Hemispheres. The album was built on an 18-minute epic and a fight for one perfect take.
4 min read
Cover of “Hemispheres” by Rush. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
4 min read
STORY · Metal
How Linkin Park Made Rejection Into Hybrid Theory
After 42 showcases and rejections from most major labels, Linkin Park released Hybrid Theory on October 24, 2000. The debut album went on to sell 32 million copies worldwide.
3 min read
Cover of “Hybrid Theory” by Linkin Park. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
3 min read
STORY · Classical
David Oistrakh Played Until the Final Hours
Soviet violinist David Oistrakh died of a heart attack on October 24, 1974, hours after walking off a stage in Amsterdam. He had already survived one heart attack in 1964.
4 min read
Efrem Efre, Pexels License, via Pexels
4 min read
October 23, 2026
STORY · Rock
How Def Leppard Played Three Continents in One Day
On October 23, 1995, Def Leppard played acoustic sets in Tangier, London and Vancouver in a single day. The stunt launched Vault, the band's greatest-hits collection on Mercury Records.
4 min read
AI-generated illustration
4 min read
STORY · Pop
How Adele's Hello Broke Every Record That Mattered
Adele's 'Hello' arrived on XL Recordings and Columbia Records in October 2015. It became the first song to sell over a million downloads in a single week in the US.
4 min read
Cover of “Hello” by Adele. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
4 min read
STORY · Hip-Hop
How DMX Captured a Nation's Anxiety on The Great Depression
DMX released The Great Depression on October 23, 2001, and the album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with 440,000 copies sold in its first week.
4 min read
Cover of “The Great Depression” by DMX. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
4 min read
STORY · Rock
How Robert Plant and Alison Krauss Made Raising Sand
Robert Plant and Alison Krauss released Raising Sand on October 23, 2007. The T-Bone Burnett-produced album of covers reached number 2 on the Billboard 200.
4 min read
Cover of “Raising Sand” by Robert Plant. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
4 min read
STORY · Rock
Why Did Phil Collins Write Another Day in Paradise?
Phil Collins turned a street encounter with a man begging beside two children into Another Day in Paradise, the first single from ...But Seriously, released on October 23, 1989.
3 min read
Cover of “Another Day in Paradise” by Phil Collins. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
3 min read
STORY · Rock
Why Did Seventh Sojourn End The Moody Blues?
Seventh Sojourn gave The Moody Blues their first US number one in 1972, but the sessions convinced the band they could not keep going together.
4 min read
Cover of “Seventh Sojourn” by The Moody Blues. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
4 min read
STORY · Rock
How Trespass Nearly Ended Genesis and Then Saved It
Genesis released Trespass on 23 October 1970, the last album with guitarist Anthony Phillips and the only one with drummer John Mayhew. Phillips's departure nearly broke the band up.
4 min read
Cover of “Trespass” by Genesis. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
4 min read
STORY · Metal
Ozzy Osbourne's Ozzmosis: The Album That Had to Be Rebuilt
Ozzy Osbourne's Ozzmosis was rebuilt after Epic Records replaced producer Michael Wagener with Michael Beinhorn, and the album arrived on October 23, 1995.
4 min read
Cover of “Ozzmosis” by Ozzy Osbourne. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
4 min read
STORY · Soul
Toni Braxton's Snowflakes: R&B Christmas on Thin Ice
Toni Braxton released Snowflakes on Arista Records on October 23, 2001, her first Christmas album. It mixed five original R&B songs with carols and a Shaggy guest spot.
3 min read
Cover of “Snowflakes” by Toni Braxton. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
3 min read
STORY · Rock
Bruce Springsteen's Letter to You, Six Years On
Bruce Springsteen's Letter to You arrived on Columbia Records on October 23, 2020. It mixed three songs written before his 1973 debut with a four-day session by the E Street Band.
4 min read
Cover of “Letter to You” by Bruce Springsteen. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
4 min read