Lafayette’s Rock and Alternative 106.3 wants to help you look back at the best events, music, news stories, and more from the rock and alternative genre.
Each week, we will bring you a list of major events from history that opened in our music scene.
Let’s dive in!
November 3rd
1992 – Sade released their fourth studio album, Love Deluxe. It features the singles “No Ordinary Love,” “Feel No Pain,” “Kiss of Life,” and “Cherish the Day.”
1993 – Russian inventor Leon Theremin died. Theremin is best known for the electronic musical instrument that bears his name. He first performed the Theremin with the New York Philharmonic in 1928; in pop music, the Theremin features prominently in the Beach Boys’ hit song, “Good Vibrations.”
1990 – “Ice Ice Baby” by Vanilla Ice became the first rap record to top the U.S. singles chart.
1990 – EMF released “Unbelievable” in the U.K. It was a big success, peaking at No. 3, but did even better when it released in the U.S., where it hit No. 1.
1991 – A large crowd attended the free “Laughter, Love and Music,” concert at San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, which celebrated the life and work of Bill Graham. The 60-year-old concert promoter and impresario, who was instrumental in the rise of the ‘60s counterculture movement, was killed a week earlier in a helicopter crash. Many of the acts that Graham had supported performed at the memorial event, including the Grateful Dead, Santana, and a reunited Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.
1992 – Bob Dylan released his twenty-eighth studio album, Good as I Been to You. It features traditional folk and blues covers including “Frankie & Albert,” “Jim Jones,” and “Blackjack Davey.”
1992 – Ned’s Atomic Dustbin released their second studio album, Are You Normal?. It features the singles “Not Sleeping Around” and “Intact.”
1992 – Bon Jovi released their fifth studio album, Keep the Faith. It features the singles “Keep the Faith,” “Bed of Roses,” “In These Arms,” “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead,” “I Believe,” and “Dry County.”
1992 – Positive K released his debut studio album, The Skills Dat Pay da Bills. It features the singles “Nightshift,” “I Got a Man,” “Ain’t No Crime,” and “Carhoppers.”
1995 – Hootie & the Blowfish settle out of court with Bob Dylan, who sees their lifting of lyrics from “Tangled Up In Blue” on their hit “Only Want To Be With You” as more plagiarism than tribute.
1998 – Beck released his sixth studio album, Mutations. It features the singles “Tropicalia,” “Cold Brains,” and “Nobody’s Fault but My Own.”
1998 – Alanis Morissette released her fourth studio album, Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie. It features the singles “Thank U,” “Joining You,” “So Pure,” and “Unsent.”
1998 – Pedro the Lion released their debut studio album, It’s Hard to Find a Friend.
November 4th
1985 – The Clash released their sixth and final studio album, Cut the Crap. It features “This Is England.”
1986 – The Pretenders released their fourth studio album, Get Close. It features the singles “Don’t Get Me Wrong,” “Hymn to Her,” and “My Baby.”
1986 – They Might Be Giants released their debut studio album, They Might Be Giants. It features the singles “Don’t Let’s Start” and “(She Was A) Hotel Detective.”
1988 – Talk Is Cheap by Keith Richards and his X-pensive Winos cracked the Top 30 album chart.
1988 – The U2 documentary Rattle And Hum opens worldwide.
1989 – Roxette scored their second U.S. No. 1 single with “Listen To Your Heart.”
1991- Irish alt rockers My Bloody Valentine release Loveless, an album that defined the shoegazing genre.
1993 – Depeche Mode’s Martin Gore was arrested at the Denver Westin Hotel after refusing to turn down his music.
1994 – Fred “Sonic” Smith (of The Sonics, MC5), plagued by poor health, dies of heart failure at age 45.
1996 – Spice Girls released their debut studio album, Spice. It features the singles “Wannabe,” “Say You’ll Be There,” “2 Become 1,” “Mama,” and “Who Do You Think You Are.”
1996 – Aphex Twin released his fourth studio album, Richard D. James Album. It features the tracks “4” and “Girl/Boy Song.”
1997 – Shania Twain released her third studio album, Come On Over. It features the singles “Love Gets Me Every Time,” “Don’t Be Stupid (You Know I Love You),” “You’re Still the One,” “From This Moment On,” “When,” “Honey, I’m Home,” “That Don’t Impress Me Much,” “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!,” “You’ve Got a Way,” “Come On Over,” “Rock This Country!,” and “I’m Holdin’ On to Love (To Save My Life)”
1997 – The live compilation album Tibetan Freedom Concert, recorded at the Tibetan Freedom Concert in New York City, was released. It features performances by Radiohead, U2, Sonic Youth, Foo Fighters, Beastie Boys, Björk, Rage Against the Machine, and many others.
1997 – Jane’s Addiction released the compilation album Kettle Whistle. It features new, alternate, unreleased, and live tracks including “Kettle Whistle,” “So What!,” “Jane Says” (live), and “My Cat’s Name Is Maceo.”
November 5th
1984 – REO Speedwagon released their 11th studio album, Wheels Are Turnin’. It features “I Do’ Wanna Know,” “Can’t Fight This Feeling,” “One Lonely Night,” and “Live Every Moment.”
1984 – Alison Moyet released her solo studio debut, Alf. It features “Love Resurrection,” “All Cried Out,” “Invisible,” and “For You Only.”
1988 – The Beach Boys went to No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with “Kokomo.” The track had been featured in the Tom Cruise film, Cocktail.
1995 – A charity performance of The Wizard of Oz in Concert was staged at New York’s Lincoln Center, featuring Jewel (Dorothy), Jackson Browne (The Scarecrow), Roger Daltrey (The Tin Man), and Nathan Lane (The Cowardly Lion).
1996 – Johnny Cash released Unchained, his second album produced by Rick Rubin. He’s backed by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers and covers their song “Southern Accents.”
1996 – The Presidents of the United States of America released their second studio album, II. It features the singles “Mach 5,” “Supersonics,” “Volcano,” and “Tiki God.”
1998 – Former Smiths singer Morrissey lost an appeal ruling that all band profits should have been split equally and faced a backdated payout to former Smiths member Mike Joyce estimated at £1 million.
2002 – U2 released their second greatest hits album, The Best of 1990–2000. It features the singles “Electrical Storm” and “The Hands That Built America.”
2002 – Johnny Cash released his sixty-seventh studio album, American IV: The Man Comes Around. It features the singles “Personal Jesus” and “Hurt.”
2002 – Billy Guy, the original baritone singer of The Coasters, died of heart disease at age 66.
2002 – The Mountain Goats released their seventh studio album, Tallahassee. It features the singles “See America Right” and “No Children.”
November 6th
1982 – The Soft Cell hit, “Tainted Love,” logged a record 43 weeks on Britain’s Top 100.
1982 – The Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes song “Up Where We Belong,” from the film An Officer And A Gentleman, went No. 1 in America.
1990 – Madonna releases “Justify My Love,” which stirred controversy when MTV banned the video. The drama piqued interest in the song, which became her ninth No. 1 hit in the U.S.
1990 – Trash Can Sinatras released their debut studio album, Cake.
1990 – Whitney Houston released her third studio album, I’m Your Baby Tonight. It features the title track, “All the Man That I Need,” “Miracle,” “My Name Is Not Susan,” “I Belong to You,” and “We Didn’t Know.”
1992 – Rage Against the Machine released their debut studio album, Rage Against the Machine. It features the singles “Killing in the Name,” “Bullet in the Head,” “Bombtrack,” and “Freedom.”
1993 – Pearl Jam went to No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with Vs, selling 950,378 copies in one week.
1993 – Meat Loaf hits No. 1 in America with “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That).” The version that opens his album Bat Out Of Hell II: Back Into Hell is over 12-minutes long, but the single is cut to 5:13.
1995 – Queen release Made In Heaven, an album pieced together from recordings made before Freddie Mercury’s 1991 death. It debuts at No. 1 in the U.K.
1999 – Bill Miller takes home top honors at the second annual Native American Music Awards, presented at Popejoy Hall in Albuquerque. Miller wins five honors, including artist of the year, songwriter, male artist, and song (“Ghostdance”).
2000 – Madonna played her first show in eight years when she performed a short 20-minute set at New York’s Roseland Ballroom. Madonna wore a tight black vest bearing the sequinned name of 18 year-old Britney Spears.
2001 – Less than a year after the breakup of the Smashing Pumpkins, Billy Corgan re-emerged with a new band called Zwan. The new Chicago combo featured former Pumpkins’ drummer Jimmy Chamberlin.
November 7th
1973 – Bob Dylan recorded “Forever Young” and “On A Night Like This.”
1975 – Elton John started a three-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with Rock Of The Westies, the singer’s tenth studio album and seventh U.S. No. 1.
1975 – A new world record was set for continuous guitar-string plucking by Steve Anderson, who played for 114 hours and 17 minutes.
1979 – The Rose, a film starring Bette Midler as a rock singer who hits the big time, opened in theaters. The film is based on the life of Janis Joplin, but filmmakers couldn’t secure the rights to use her image or story. Midler received an Oscar nomination for Best Actress for the role. Meanwhile, the film’s theme song, “The Rose,” written by Amanda McBroom, would go on to become one of Midler’s biggest hit singles and earned her a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
1981 – Hall and Oates started a two-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with “Private Eyes”, the duo’s third U.S. No. 1, a No. 32 hit in the U.K.
1987 – Tiffany became the youngest act to score a U.S. No. 1 since Michael Jackson (“Ben”, in 1972) with “I Think We’re Alone Now”. The song written by Ritchie Cordell was initially a 1967 hit for Tommy James & the Shondells. Fun fact: Tiffany hated the idea of recording a version of her own for her album because she thought the song wasn’t modern or hip enough.
1989 – Queen Latifah released her debut studio album, All Hail the Queen. It features “Ladies First.”
1995 – Alice in Chains released their self-titled third album. It features “Grind,” “Heaven Beside You,” and “Again.”
1995 – Coolio released his second studio album, Gangsta’s Paradise. It features the title track, “Too Hot,” and “1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin’ New).”
1995 – GZA released his second studio album, Liquid Swords. It features the title track, “Cold World,” and “Shadowboxin’.”
1995 – Sunny Day Real Estate released their second studio album, LP2. It features “Red Elephant.”
2005 – Twelve years after the release of her previous album, The Red Shoes, Kate Bush returns to the music scene with Aerial. The double album features the Elvis-inspired single, “King Of The Mountain.
News and Information from The Current