Prince - Parade: Music from the Motion Picture Under the Cherry Moon (30th anniversary)

Today (March 31st) marks the thirtieth anniversary of Parade: Music From the Motion Picture Under the Cherry Moon, the eight studio album from Prince. This 1986 release went to number 11 in Canada, number 10 in Norway, number 8 in Australia, number 7 in Austria and New Zealand, number 6 in Germany, number 5 in Sweden, number 4 in the UK, number 3 on the US Billboard Album chart (with a twenty-eight week total on the chart), number 2 in Switzerland and on the US Billboard R&B chart, and number 1 in the Netherlands.

For more on this album, click here.

For more from Prince, click here.

The Singles of '76 (part 5)

Last week (click here if you missed it), I presented numbers 50 to 26 in my countdown of the Billboard charting singles of 1976. This is part of a month long celebration of the songs from this year that I am doing with online blogging buddies Herc (of Herc's Hideaway) and Mark (of 1976-1985: My Favorite Decade).

Today, we will wrap up my favorites of the year with a countdown of numbers 25 to 1.

Thin Lizzy - Jailbreak

MM: Today we have another guest post from my online buddy Herc (of Herc's Hideaway). I will sprinkle my comments through out in italics, starting with an MM: marker. - Martin

Thin Lizzy's Jailbreak (click here to listen to on Spotify), the band's sixth album, was their American breakthrough. Released forty years ago today (March 26, 1976), the Irish rock band with a dual lead guitar attack featured Phil Lynott on bass and vocals.

Pet Shop Boys - Please

MM: Today we have a guest post from my online buddy Herc (of Herc's Hideaway). I will sprinkle my comments through out in italics, starting with an MM: marker. - Martin

Today (March 24th) marks the landmark thirtieth anniversary of Please, the debut album from Pet Shop Boys. The 1986 album was certified Platinum in Canada, the UK and the US where it remains the duo's best-selling album to this date. Please spent 31 weeks on the US Billboard Album chart, peaking at number 7. It also reached number 38 in Germany, number 21 in Sweden, number 20 in Switzerland, number 13 in Norway, number 10 in Australia, number 4 in Finland, number 3 in both Canada and the UK and number 2 in New Zealand.

The Singles of '76 (part 4)

Last week (click here if you missed it), I presented numbers 75 to 51in my countdown of the Billboard charting singles of 1976. This is part of a month long celebration of the songs from this year that I am doing with online blogging buddies Herc (of Herc's Hideaway) and Mark (of 1976-1985: My Favorite Decade).

Today, we will continue going through my favorites of the year with a countdown of numbers 50 to 26.

Anita Baker - Rapture (30th anniversary)

Today (March 20th) marks the thirtieth anniversary of Rapture, the second studio album from Anita Baker. This 1986 release went to number 50 in Germany, number 33 in Australia, number 32 in Sweden, number 25 in Canada, number 13 in the UK and number 12 in New Zealand. Here in the US, it spent one hundred and fifty-seven weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 11. It also went to number 12 on the US Billboard R&B chart.

For my full review, click here.

For more from Anita Baker, click here.

The Singles of '76 (part 3)

Last week (click here if you missed it), I presented numbers 100 to 76 in my countdown of the Billboard charting singles of 1976. This is part of a month long celebration of the songs from this year that I am doing with online blogging buddies Herc (of Herc's Hideaway) and Mark (of 1976-1985: My Favorite Decade).

Today, we will continue going through my favorites of the year with a countdown of numbers 75 to 51.

KISS - Destroyer

Today (March 15th) marks the fortieth anniversary of Destroyer, the fourth studio album from KISS. This 1976 multi-Platinum release spent seventy-eight weeks on the US Billboard Album chart, peaking at number 11. It also reached number 36 in Germany, number 25 in Norway, number 22 in the UK, number 17 in Japan, number 16 in New Zealand, number 13 in Switzerland, number 6 in Australia and Canada, and number 4 in Sweden.

The Singles of '76 (part 2)

Last week (click here if you missed it), I presented the runner-ups in my countdown of the Billboard charting singles of 1976. This is part of a month long celebration of the songs from this year that I am doing with online blogging buddies Herc (of Herc's Hideaway) and Mark (of 1976-1985: My Favorite Decade).

Today, we will start going through my favorites of the year with a countdown of numbers 100 to 76.

Donna Summer - A Love Trilogy

Today (March 5th) marks the fortieth anniversary of A Love Trilogy, the third studio album from Donna Summer. This 1976 release spent twenty-seven weeks on the US Billboard
Album chart, peaking at number 21. It also climbed to number 41 in the UK, number 24 in Germany, number 18 in Sweden, number 16 on the US Billboard R&B chart, number 14 in Norway, number 8 in Austria, and number 1 in both Italy and Spain. Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte served as both producers and co-writers of all but one of the tracks on the record.

Stars On 45 - Stars On Long Play

In early 1981, the world was introduced to a Dutch novelty pop act called Stars On 45. The group consisted of session musicians, directed by Golden Earring's Jaap Eggermont, and their style was creating medleys of hit songs with an underlying backbeat. This month marks the thirty-fifth anniversary of the release of their debut album Stars On Long Play which went to number 1 in both Australia and the UK while in the US it spent twenty-four weeks on the Billboard Album chart, peaking at number 9.

The Singles of '76 (part 1)

1976 - it was the year of the American Bicentennial.

For me, I was eleven years old. Education-wise, I was closing one chapter by finishing up elementary school in 5th grade (Mr. Reardon's class) and moving on to the Dunkirk Middle School in 6th grade. This was the year I really got into buying super-hero comic books (DC and Marvel titles), and it was also the year I remember really listening to a lot more of the radio.