Rock
This section gathers album stories, birthdays, and anniversaries tied to the artists and bands who shaped rock, along with notes on new vinyl reissues as they surface. Rock grew up alongside the LP: gatefold sleeves and a running order built around two sides of a record were part of how the genre presented itself from the start, and a large share of its catalog keeps coming back through official reissue programs. Expect the human side of the records here: the sessions, the lineup changes, the decisions that turned into landmark albums, and why particular pressings matter to collectors.
521 STORIES
The Long Run Almost Became Eagles' Double Album
Eagles' 1979 album The Long Run was originally planned as a double album. The band couldn't write enough material, so it became a single disc that sold over eight million copies.
· 4 min read
In Absentia: The Album That Tripled Porcupine Tree's Sales
Porcupine Tree's 2002 album In Absentia tripled the band's previous sales, marking their major-label debut and first full step into progressive metal.
· 4 min read
Läther: The Box Set Zappa Couldn't Release
Frank Zappa's Läther was scheduled for Halloween 1977, cancelled before release, and finally issued by Rykodisc in 1996 as a three-disc posthumous box set.
· 4 min read
David Bowie Heroes: How a Berlin Wall Song Was Recorded
In 1977, David Bowie recorded 'Heroes' at Hansa Studio 2. Tony Visconti's multi-latch microphone system defined a song about lovers by the Berlin Wall.
· 3 min read
Bob Marley: Why His Final Pittsburgh Show Still Matters
On September 23, 1980, Bob Marley gave his final concert at Pittsburgh's Stanley Theater. He was two days past a Central Park collapse and flew in against doctors' orders.
· 4 min read
Peter Gabriel: The Album That Took Seven Years to Surface
Peter Gabriel's Up finally appeared on September 23, 2002. The album arrived after seven years of sessions that outlasted two British prime ministers and an entire US presidential administration.
· 4 min read
The Rolling Stones: The 1966 Moment That Changed Everything
The Rolling Stones' 1966 album Aftermath, the band's first entirely self-written record, capped a four-year rise. The journey began with a Dartford railway platform reunion in 1961.
· 4 min read
Ani DiFranco: How a 19-Year-Old Built a Folk Empire Alone
Ani DiFranco, born in 1970, built Righteous Babe Records at nineteen and turned independent folk music into a career that reached Broadway.
· 5 min read
Buddy Holly: How 'That'll Be the Day' Took Over the Charts
On September 23, 1957, The Crickets' 'That'll Be the Day' hit number one on the American charts, launching Buddy Holly to stardom.
· 4 min read
Love You Live: The Rolling Stones' 1977 Double Album
A 1977 double album recorded partly at a small Toronto club. Love You Live captured the Rolling Stones across three tours and marked Ronnie Wood's debut on an official live release.
· 3 min read
Neil Young: How the 2006 Americana Honor Defined a Rebel
In September 2006, Neil Young received Artist of the Year at the Americana Honors and Awards, just after releasing the protest album Living With War.
· 5 min read
Ani DiFranco Is Her Own Label
Ani DiFranco, born in Buffalo in 1970, built a career on independence by starting her own label at nineteen and releasing over twenty albums on it.
· 3 min read
Bruce Springsteen: The Jersey Boardwalk Dream
Bruce Springsteen, born September 23, 1949, in Long Branch, New Jersey, turned 77 in 2026. He has sold over 140 million records worldwide.
· 4 min read
Joan Jett: How a Folk Guitar Lesson Sparked a Rock Rebellion
A folk-guitar teacher's rejection in a Maryland lesson room sent Joan Jett toward a rock rebellion that peaked with I Love Rock 'n Roll in 1982.
· 4 min read
Farm Aid: Why a Dylan aside built a 40-year movement
A throwaway aside by Bob Dylan at Live Aid in 1985 became a four-decade movement. Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, and Neil Young turned it into Farm Aid.
· 4 min read
The Band: How Five Sidemen Invented a New American Sound
In 1969, The Band released their self-titled second album, turning rural American history into an urgent sound. It corrected everything psychedelic rock had become.
· 4 min read
Nirvana: The 1990 Show Dave Grohl Watched Before Joining
Dave Grohl watched Nirvana from a crowd of 15,000 on September 22, 1990, days before his audition. The biggest show the band had played became an accidental preview of its future.
· 4 min read
Why did The Band record their 1969 album in a pool house?
The Band recorded their untitled 1969 album in a rented pool house in Los Angeles. They were chasing a loose, intimate sound that conventional studios couldn't deliver.
· 4 min read
Gentle Giant: The Power and the Glory at 52
Gentle Giant's 1974 album The Power and the Glory used a die-cut sleeve and a king of spades to frame a concept about corruption and power.
· 4 min read
How Nick Cave turned a Victorian childhood into gothic rock
Nick Cave was born on September 22, 1957, in Warracknabeal, Victoria, and grew from a rural Anglican childhood into the baritone voice behind gothic rock.
· 4 min read
Radiohead's Creep: Why the band tried to kill their hit
Radiohead released 'Creep' on 21 September 1992 as an accidental debut single. Its raw vulnerability became a worldwide hit the band spent decades trying to escape.
· 5 min read
Oasis: How Liam Gallagher's Birthday Shaped Britpop's Legacy
Liam Gallagher, born 21 September 1972 in Manchester, became the voice of a generation. His brother Noel supplied nearly every melody, fueling Oasis's rise and fall.
· 3 min read
Sam Rivers: The Bassist Who Held Limp Bizkit Together
Sam Rivers, born September 21, 1977, co-founded Limp Bizkit and played bass on every studio album. He anchored the band's nu-metal sound from 'Three Dollar Bill, Y'all$' to 'Still Sucks'.
· 4 min read
Faith Hill: How a Mississippi Rodeo Singer Ruled 90s Country
Faith Hill, born Audrey Faith Perry in Mississippi in 1967, rose from church and rodeo stages to rule 1990s country radio. Her string of number-one hits and crossover pop career followed.
· 5 min read