This Day in Music History

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Released: February 20, 1974
Pretzel Logic is the third studio album by American
rock band Steely Dan, released by ABC Records...
The album was Steely Dan's last to be made and
released while the group was still an active touring
band, as well as the final album to feature the band's
full quintet-lineup of Becker, Fagen, Denny Dias, Jim
Hodder, and Jeff "Skunk" Baxter...In 2003, the album
was ranked number 385 on Rolling Stone's list of the
"500 Greatest Albums of All Time".

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Released: February 21, 1969
"Sister Morphine" is a song written by Marianne Faithfull,
Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. Faithfull released the
original version of the song as the B-side to her Decca
Records single "Something Better". A different version was
released two years later by the Rolling Stones for their
1971 album Sticky Fingers. Jagger produced the track. The
personnel for the Faithfull version are Marianne on vocals,
Jagger on acoustic guitar, Ry Cooder on slide guitar and bass
guitar, Jack Nitzsche on piano and organ, and Charlie Watts
on drums. It was recorded during the Let It Bleed sessions.

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Released: February 22, 1977
The title track from the Eagles' album of the same name
and was released as a single in February 1977. Writing
credits for the song are shared by Don Felder (music),
Don Henley, and Glenn Frey (lyrics). The Eagles' original
recording of the song features Henley singing the lead
vocals and concludes with an extended section of electric
guitar interplay between Felder and Joe Walsh. The song
is considered the most famous recording by the band, and
its long guitar coda has been voted the best guitar solo of
all time by readers of Guitarist in 1998. The song was a-
warded the Grammy Award for Record of the Year in 1978.

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Released: February 23, 1999
The second studio album and the major-label
debut by American rapper Eminem...At the
42nd Grammy Awards in 2000, the album won
Best Rap Album, while "My Name Is" won Best
Rap Solo Performance. Rolling Stone ranked
The Slim Shady LP number 275 on its list of The
500 Greatest Albums of All Time and 33 on its
list of the "100 Best Albums of the '90s".

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Released: February 24, 1975
Physical Graffiti is the sixth studio album by the English
rock band Led Zeppelin. Released as a double album in
1975, it was the group's first album to be released under
their new label, Swan Song Records...It was commercially
and critically successful upon its release and debuted at
number one on album charts in the UK and number three
in the US...The album has been reissued on CD several
times, including an expansive 40th anniversary edition in
2015. Physical Graffiti was later certified 16× platinum in
the United States by the Recording Industry Association of
America (RIAA) in 2006, signifying shipments of over eight
million copies

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Released: February 25, 1982
Mountain Music is the sixth studio album by country
music group Alabama, released in 1982. A crossover
success, it ranked well as an album on both country
and pop charts and launched singles that were suc-
cessful in several markets. This is Alabama's most suc-
cessful studio album. In 1998, the album was certified
5× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of
America. It peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Country
Albums chart and No.14 on the Billboard 200.

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Released: February 26, 1965
A song by English rock band the Rolling Stones, originally
released as B-side to the song "The Last Time". It was
later included on the American release of their 1965
album Out of Our Heads. "Play with Fire" is credited
to Nanker Phelge, a pseudonym used when tracks were
composed by the entire band, even though lead singer
Mick Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards are the only
Rolling Stones to appear on the track. The song was
recorded late one night in January 1965 while the
Stones were in Los Angeles recording with Phil Spector
at the RCA Studios. Richards performed the song's
acoustic guitar opening while Jagger handled vocals
and tambourine (enhanced using an echo chamber).
Spector played bass (actually a tuned-down electric
guitar), and Jack Nitzsche provided the song's distinctive
harpsichord arrangement and tamtams. The Stones left
for a tour of Australia the following day.

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Released: February 27, 1967
How Great Thou Art is the ninth studio album by American
singer and musician Elvis Presley, released by RCA Victor in
February 1967. How Great Thou Art is a gospel album with
slow numbers on one side, and fast-paced numbers on the
flipside. The album earned Presley a Grammy Award for Best
Sacred Performance, while it became a Billboard top 20 pop
hit and it appeared on the Top Country Albums chart on the
top 10.

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Released: February 28, 1966
If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears is the RIAA Platinum
certified debut album by the Mamas and the Papas
(written as The Mama's and the Papa's), released in 1966...
It is the band's only album to reach number one on the Bill-
board 200. In 2003, If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears
was ranked number 127 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of
the 500 greatest albums of all time, with its rank rising to
number 112 in the 2012 revision.

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Released: February 29, 2000
A country music song. Initially recorded by the band Sons
of the Desert for an unreleased album in the late 1990s,
the song gained fame when it was recorded by the Dixie
Chicks on their fifth studio album, Fly. After charting from
unsolicited airplay in late 1999, the song was released as
that album's third single in 2000, peaking at #13 on Billboard's
Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) charts.

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Released: March 01, 1973
The Dark Side of the Moon is the eighth studio album
by the English rock band Pink Floyd...The record builds
on ideas explored in Pink Floyd's earlier recordings and
performances, while omitting the extended instrumentals
that characterised the band's earlier work...As of 2013,
The Dark Side of the Moon had sold over 45 million copies
worldwide, making it the band's best-selling release, the
best-selling album of the 1970s, and the fourth-best-selling
album in history. In 2012, the album was selected for pre-
servation in the United States National Recording Registry
by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically,
or aesthetically significant". It was inducted into the Grammy
Hall of Fame in 1999.

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Released: March 02, 1993
Nanci Griffith's tenth album, released in 1993. It con-
sists of songs written by other songwriters who have
influenced her own career. Guest artists who appear
in their own compositions include Frank Christian play-
ing guitar on "Three Flights Up", Bob Dylan playing har-
monica on "Boots of Spanish Leather", and John Prine
lending harmony vocals on "Speed of the Sound of Lone-
liness". The album get its name from the Truman Capote
novel of the same name.

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Released: March 03, 1986
Master of Puppets is the third studio album by American
heavy metal band Metallica...It was the band's last album
to feature bassist Cliff Burton, who died in a bus accident
in Sweden during the album's promotional tour...It is widely
considered to be one of the greatest and most influential
heavy metal albums of all time, and is credited with con-
solidating the American thrash metal scene...In 2015, Master
of Puppets became the first metal recording to be selected
by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National
Recording Registry for being "culturally, historically, or
aesthetically significant."

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Released: March 04, 1968
We're Only in It for the Money is the third studio album
by American rock band the Mothers of Invention, re-
leased on Verve Records. As with the band's first two
efforts, it is a concept album, and satirizes left and
right-wing politics, particularly the hippie subculture,
as well as the Beatles' album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts
Club Band...As of 2015, the album was ranked number
297 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest
albums of all time. Additionally, Rolling Stone ranked the
album number 77 in its August 1987 article, "The Top 100:
The Best Albums of the Last Twenty Years". It is also in-
cluded in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before
You Die along with the Mothers' first release, Freak Out!.

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Released: March 05, 1986
The debut album from singer-songwriter Steve Earle. It
topped the Billboard country album charts, and the title
song reached #7 on the country singles charts. Earle was
also nominated for two 1987 Grammy Awards, Best Male
Country Vocalist and Best Country Song, for the title track.
In 2003, the album was ranked number 489 on Rolling Stone
magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. In
2012, the magazine ranked it at #482 on a revised list, calling
it "the rocker's version of country, packed with songs about
hard living in the Reagan Eighties." In 2006, it ranked 27th
on CMT's 40 Greatest Albums in Country Music.

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Released: March 06, 1973
The debut album by American singer-songwriter Tom
Waits, released on Asylum Records...The album is noted
for being predominantly folk influenced although Waits
intended for Closing Time to be "a jazz, piano-led album."
Upon release, the album was mildly successful in the United
States.

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Released: March 07, 1975
Young Americans is the ninth studio album by the
English musician David Bowie...A departure from
the glam rock style of previous albums, the record
showcased Bowie's interest in soul and R&B. Music
critics have described the sound as blue-eyed soul;
Bowie himself labelled the album's sound "plastic
soul"...Young Americans was Bowie's breakthrough
in the US, reaching the top 10 on the Billboard chart
and the single "Fame" also became Bowie's first number
one hit.

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Released: March 08, 1965
The Beach Boys Today! is the eighth studio album by the
American rock band the Beach Boys, released on Capitol
Records. It signaled a departure from their previous re-
cords with its orchestral sound, intimate subject matter,
and abandonment of car or surf songs...The album was
produced, arranged, and largely written by Brian Wilson
with additional lyrics by Mike Love...In 2012, it was ranked
number 271 on Rolling Stone's list of the "500 Greatest Albums
of All Time".

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Released: March 09, 1987
The Joshua Tree is the fifth studio album by Irish rock
band U2...The Joshua Tree received critical acclaim,
topped the charts in over 20 countries, and became the
fastest-selling album in British history. According to Rolling
Stone, the album increased the band's stature "from heroes
to superstars". It produced the hit singles "With or Without You",
"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For", and "Where the Streets
Have No Name", the first two of which became the group's only
number-one singles in the US. The album won Grammy Awards for
Album of the Year and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with
Vocal in 1988...In 2014, The Joshua Tree was selected for preservation
in the US National Recording Registry, having been deemed "culturally,
historically, or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress.

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Released: March 10, 1967
I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You is the tenth
studio album by American singer Aretha Franklin re-
leased by Atlantic Records. It was Franklin's first re-
lease under her contract with the label, following her
departure from Columbia Records after nine unsuccess-
ful Jazz standard albums, and marked a commercial
breakthrough for her, becoming her first top 10 album
in the United States, reaching number 2 on the Billboard
200. Two singles were released to promote the album:
"Respect" and "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)".
The former topped the Billboard Hot 100, while latter
reached the top 10...It received a number 83 ranking on
Rolling Stone magazine's 2003 list of the 500 greatest al-
bums of all time, 84 in a 2012 revised list and 13 in the
2020 edition.

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Released: March 11, 1970
Déjà Vu is the second studio album by the American
folk rock group Crosby, Stills & Nash, and their first
as a quartet with the addition of Neil Young. It was
released in March 1970 by Atlantic Records. It topped
the pop album chart for one week and generated three
Top 40 singles: "Woodstock", "Teach Your Children", and
"Our House"...In 2003, the album was ranked No. 148 on
Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums
of all time, and later was ranked No. 220 on the 2020 ed-
ition of the list. Certified 7× platinum by RIAA, the album's
sales currently sit at over 8 million copies. It remains the
highest-selling album of each member's career to date.

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Released: March 12, 1967
The Velvet Underground & Nico is the debut album
by American rock band the Velvet Underground and
German singer Nico...It sold poorly and was mostly
ignored by contemporary critics, but later became
regarded as one of the most influential albums in the
history of popular music... In 2003, it ranked 13th on
Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Al-
bums of All Time", and in 2006, it was inducted into the
National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress.

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Released: March 13, 2007
A live album by Canadian musician Neil Young. Released in
2007, the album features a solo, acoustic performance from
Massey Hall in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on 19 January 1971
during the Journey Through the Past Solo Tour...In 2009, the
album was named by Fretbase as the second best album
featuring a singer-songwriter on acoustic guitar of all time.

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Released: March 14, 1966
Folk-Country is the major-label debut album
by American country music artist Waylon Jennings,
released in 1966 on RCA Victor. It was his first
collaboration with producer Chet Atkins.

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Released: March 15, 1982
The sixth and final album by British
husband-and-wife rock duo Richard
and Linda Thompson. It was produced
by Joe Boyd and released in 1982 on
his Hannibal label. A critically acclaimed
work, AllMusic's Mark Deming noted that
Shoot Out the Lights has "often been cited
as Richard Thompson's greatest work, and
it's difficult for anyone who has heard his
body of work to argue the point."

[Hummdrum]

March 15th, 1976

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March 15th, 1976

The fourth studio album by American rock band Kiss, released on Casablanca Records in the US. It was
the third successive Kiss album to reach the top 40 in the US, as well as the first to chart in Germany
and New Zealand. The album was certified gold by the RIAA on April 22, 1976, and platinum on November
11 of the same year, the first Kiss album to achieve platinum. The album marked a departure from the raw
sound of the band's first three albums.

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Released: March 16, 1964
A song composed by Paul McCartney (credited to
Lennon–McCartney) and released by the English rock
band the Beatles on the A-side of their sixth British
single, with "You Can't Do That" as the B-side, in March
1964. The song was then released on the group's third
UK album A Hard Day's Night. 

Rolling Stone ranks
"Can't Buy Me Love" at number 295 on its list of the 500
Greatest Songs of All Time.

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Released: March 17, 1967
The Grateful Dead is the debut album of the Grateful
Dead. It was released by Warner Bros. Records in March
1967. According to the biographies of both bassist Phil
Lesh and drummer Bill Kreutzmann, the band released
the album as San Francisco's Grateful Dead.

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Released: March 18, 1977
The debut solo album by American rock singer Iggy Pop.
It was the first of two LPs released in 1977 which Pop
wrote and recorded in collaboration with David Bowie,
who is credited as producer. The sessions for the album
began before the recording of Bowie's Low (1977); thus,
The Idiot has been called the unofficial beginning of Bowie's
Berlin period. Described by Pop as "a cross between James
Brown and Kraftwerk," The Idiot is a departure from the
guitar-based proto-punk of his former band the Stooges, and
has been compared with Bowie's "Berlin Trilogy" of albums in
its electronic sounds and introspective atmosphere. Its title
was inspired by Dostoyevsky's novel The Idiot, three of the
participants in the recording—Bowie, Pop and Tony Visconti—
being familiar with the book.