Devo - Oh No! It's Devo

Happy Halloween, readers. Are any of you going to a party in a potato costume?

Today we celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of Oh No! It’s Devo, the fifth studio album from Devo. It went to number 57 in Australia and number 10 in New Zealand; here in the US it climbed as high as number 47 on the Billboard Hot 200. By this point, the Akron, Ohio, band had moved more to a synthesizer-based electronic sound.

Donald Fagen - the Nightfly

This week (October 29th) marks the thirtieth anniversary of the release of The Nightfly, the first solo album from Steely Dan founder Donald Fagen. This 1982 record went Platinum in both the US and the UK. Chart-wise, it peaked at number 44 in the UK, number 16 in the Netherlands, number 9 in New Zealand, number 8 in Sweden, number 11 on the US Billboard Hot 200 and number 24 on the Billboard R&B charts.

Pat Benatar - Get Nervous

Today (October 29th) marks the thirtieth anniversary of Get Nervous, the fourth studio album from rocker Pat Benatar. This Platinum selling album peaked at number 73 in the UK, number 15 in Australia and number 4 on the US Billboard Hot 200 as part of its forty six weeks on that chart.

Benatar’s band had a change up with this release; Charlie Giordano joined the group on keyboards. The rest of the group continued to be Roger Capps on bass, Myron Grombacher on drums, and her newly-wed husband Neil Giraldo on guitars.

The Fixx - Shuttered Room

This month marks the thirtieth anniversary of Shuttered Room, the debut album from the British new-wave band the Fixx. The group was made up of lead singer Cy Curnin, keyboardist Rupert Greenall, guitarist Jamie West-Oram, bassist Charlie Barrett and drummer Adam Woods.

The album charted at number 77 in Australia, number 54 in the UK, and number 52 in Canada. In the US, its highest chart position was number 106 on the Billboard Hot 200.

Prince - 1999 (30th anniversary)

Today (October 27th) marks the thirtieth anniversary of the release of 1999, one of my favorite albums from one of my favorite musicians ever Prince.

For my gushing review of this seminal 80's album, click here.

To celebrate, I plan to listen to this one and party like it's 1999 all over again.

Chilliwack - Opus X

Hailing out of Vancouver, British Columbia, the Canadian rock band Chilliwack got their start in the late 1960’s. After five albums in the early 70’s that were known mostly only in their native country, they started to cross the border into the US in the later part of the decade.

In October of 1982, they released their tenth studio album Opus X. Today, we will take a look at that album in celebration of its thirtieth anniversary. This Platinum certified record went to number 12 in Canada and number 112 on the US Billboard Hot 200. At the time, the group consisted of Bill Henderson (vocals, guitars, and keyboards), Brian MacLeod (vocals, drums, guitars, and keyboards) and Ab Bryant (bass).

Marvin Gaye - Midnight Love

This month we celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of Midnight Love, the seventeenth studio album from American R&&B and soul singer Marvin Gaye. The October 1982 release went Gold in the UK where it peaked at number 10. Here in the US, the album sold Platinum three times over and reached number 7 on the Billboard Hot 200 and number 1 on the Billboard R&B album charts.

Rolling Stone magazine ranked it at number 37 on its list of the 100 Greatest Albums of the 1980's. Nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best R&B Male Vocal Performance, it was also the final album Gaye would release before his death in April of 1984.