Historic events this week from John Mellencamp, Neil Young, Prince, Elton John and U2
OCTOBER 25, 1985: JOHN MELLENCAMP’S UH-HUH
Uh-Huh, John Mellencamp‘s official follow up to his #1 album American Fool, was his second Top 10 album.
His 3x Platinum seventh album contains the hit songs “Crumblin’ Down”, “Pink Houses” and “Authority Song.”
OCTOBER 26, 1970: ELTON JOHN’S FIRST HIT SINGLE
After releasing seven singles between 1968 and 1970, Elton John finally scored a hit.
As the second single from his eponymous second album, “Your Song” reached #8 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and sold 2,000,000 copies on its own.
The Elton John/Bernie Taupin-penned song was first recorded by Three Dog Night, but was not released as a single.
OCTOBER 27, 1982: 1999
Prince‘s fifth studio album, 1999, is widely credited as his commercial breakthrough, introducing the infectious “Minneapolis Sound” that defined 1980s synth-funk and pop. The double-LP generated massive hits like the iconic title track and “Little Red Corvette,” the latter of which became one of the first videos by a Black artist to enter heavy rotation on MTV.
OCTOBER 28, 1977: NEIL YOUNG’S 3LP DECADE COMPILATION
Neil Young‘s comprehensive 3LP compilation gathered classic songs from the first decade his career.
The Platinum-selling Decade gathers 35 tracks from Young’s career, including his time with Buffalo Springfield and CSN&Y.
OCTOBER 30, 2000: U2’s ALL THAT YOU CAN’T LEAVE BEHIND
All That You Can’t Leave Behind was widely considered a triumphant “return to form,” shedding the electronic experimentation of the 1990s for a more classic, anthemic rock sound.
The album was a massive commercial and critical success, notably becoming the only record in history to have two different songs—”Beautiful Day” and “Walk On”—win the Grammy Award for Record of the Year in successive years.
