November 18th

November 18th

Billy Joel - 52nd Street

1978 Billy Joel’s “52nd Street,” containing “My Life” and “Big Shot,” is his first #1 album.

The set begins an eight-week run atop the Billboard chart.


1991 U2’s seventh studio album “Achtung Baby” arrives.

Produced by Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno, the set contains “Even Better Than The Real Thing,” “One” and “Mysterious Ways.”


1997 Metallica’s “Re-Load,” the follow-up to “Load,” is out.

The group’s seventh studio album debuts at #1 on the Billboard 200.


2008 The Killers’ third album, “Day & Age,” is released.

The album goes to #6 on the Billboard 200 eventually moving 3 million copies.

MORE TODAY IN ROCK…

1950 Rudy Sarzo (born Rodolfo Maximiliano Sarzo Lavieille Grande Ruiz Payret y Chaumont) best known for his work with Quiet Riot, is born in Havana, Cuba. 

1953 Vixen founder and guitarist, Jan Kuenemund, is born. 

1962 Guitarist Kirk Hammett (Metallica) roars into the world.

1970 Jerry Lee Lewis and Myra divorce after fourteen years of marriage. The controversy surrounding Jerry Lee’s marriage to his then thirteen-year-old second cousin virtually halted his career in the ‘50s.

1972 The needle and the damage done. Crazy Horse guitarist Danny Whitten ODs on heroin at age 29. Crazy Horse was Neil Young’s backing band. Later, Young composes “Tonight’s The Night” memorializing his friend and drug casualty.

1975 Bruce Springsteen begins his inaugural European Tour. London’s Hammersmith-Odeon Theatre is the first stop. Reacting negatively to the hype, Springsteen tears down posters at the theatre proclaiming him “the next big thing.” He walks through the Hammersmith-Odeon performance. A few nights later he returns for a killer show.

1980 “B-52’s” goes gold. The story goes a “retired” John Lennon heard the album (released in ’79) and felt the time was right for his return.

1987 The Dalton Brothers open for U2 in L.A. So what? The Daltons turn out to be U2 too. That’s one way to ensure you won’t be upstaged.

1990 Paul McCartney’s birth certificate goes for $18,000 at an auction.

1993 Nirvana tapes their MTV Unplugged segment in New York City. It’s not really unplugged since frontman Kurt Cobain insists on feeding his acoustic guitar through effects pedals and amplifiers. Brilliant, though it initially displeases the MTV execs.

1994 A portion of a Dallas Rolling Stones concert is broadcast live online – a first for a major label group.

2003 Blink 182 issue their self-titled album.  Led by the singles “Feeling This” and “I Miss You,” the set debuts at #3 on the Billboard 200 and subsequently sells 7 million copies worldwide. 

2004 U2’s Bono and The Edge perform at the dedication of the Bill Clinton Presidential Center and Library in Little Rock.

2005 The U.S. Senate defeats a resolution honoring Bruce Springsteen for his contributions to American culture. Sponsored by New Jersey Senators Frank Lautenberg and Jon Corzine to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the release of the Boss’ classic “Born To Run” album, the motion is rejected by Republicans, apparently in response to Springsteen’s endorsement of Democratic nominee John Kerry during the ’04 Presidential elections.

2005 AC/DC’s Angus Young tops Maxim Magazine‘s list of the “25 greatest short dudes of all time.” The 5-foot, 2-inch guitarist beat out the two-inch taller Napoleon Bonaparte and former NBA guard Spud Webb, who is a majestic 5-foot, 7-inches.

2005 U2’s The Edge and producer Bob Ezrin announce the Music Rising fund, a charity initiative that distributes instruments to musicians affected by the Gulf Coast hurricanes. “Providing replacement instruments through Music Rising will… ensure that one of the Gulf Coast’s greatest assets, its music, rises again,” says the guitarist.

2007 Daughtry earns three statues at the ’07 American Music Awards in L.A. The group captures Favorite Breakthrough Artist, Favorite Pop or Rock Album, and Favorite Adult Contemporary Music Artist trophies.

2008 Foo Fighters’ “Live at Wembley Stadium” concert video is out in the U.S. The package features 18 performances from two ’07 shows, including guest appearances by Led Zeppelin’s guitarist Jimmy Page and bassist John Paul Jones.

2009 The Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights presents U2’s Bono with its Ripple of Hope Award at the Center’s annual dinner held at Chelsea Piers in New York. The award honors Bono for his role in founding the advocacy organization ONE and the (RED) product line, along with his efforts to fight poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa.

2009 Kings Of Leon take “Woodie of the Year,” the highest honor, at mtvU’s Sixth Annual Woodie Awards held at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City. The event recognizes the best music on college radio – as voted by listeners.

2010 The Allman Brothers return to the stage for the first time since Gregg Allman’s liver transplant playing the first of three shows at Boston’s Orpheum Theatre. “Can’t thank everyone enough for their help and support,” says Allman in a statement.

2012 Maroon 5 takes the Pop/Rock Band honor while Linkin Park takes home the Best Alternative Band trophy at the 40th Anniversary American Music Awards.

2014 Former KISS drummer and cancer survivor Peter Criss is inducted into the Cancer Research & Treatment Fund’s Hall Of Fame as the year’s Cancer Survivor Honoree. The ceremony takes place in New York City.

2016 Metallica unleash their tenth studio album, “Hardwired…To Self-Destruct.”  The double set is the long-awaited follow-up to ‘08’s “Death Magnetic.”

2017 Young, guitarist and co-founder of AC/DC, dies at the age of 64 after suffering from dementia for at least three years.

2021 Primary Wave Music announce a deal to acquire the music publishing catalog of Toto drummer Jeff Porcaro for approximately $30 million. The deal also encompasses master royalties on all albums he performed on with the band. The catalog includes the songs “Africa,” “Rosanna” and “Hold The Line.” 

2022 Nightwish vocalist Floor Jansen says she is “cancer-free” after undergoing breast cancer surgery in October to remove a tumor. 

2023 “Might Love Myself,” Beartooth’s eleventh entry on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart, is their first #1. 

2024 Sammy Hagar and his business partner, chef Guy Fieri, go public with news that their joint tequila business suffered a huge setback after two trucks carrying about $1 million worth of their Santo Tequila was hijacked in a double heist near Lorado. TX.