Historic events this week from John Mellencamp, Tom Petty, Elton John, Talking Heads and more

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OCTOBER 2, 1976: JOHN MELLENCAMP’S DEBUT ALBUM
John Mellencamp’s debut album, Chestnut Street Incident, was released under the name “Johnny Cougar”.

The album contained six Mellencamp originals and included covers of songs made famous by Roy Orbison, Elvis Presley and The Doors

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OCTOBER 2, 2017: TOM PETTY DIES
It’s already been five years since we lost a legend.

One week after completing a 40th anniversary tour, Tom Petty died unexpectedly after suffering an early morning heart attack.

He was taken off life support after family and bandmates were able to say their goodbyes.

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OCTOBER 5, 1973: GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road was Elton John’s third of eight US #1 albums in a row

Thanks to the singles “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting” and “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”, the album would spend eight straight weeks at #1.

With 8 million copies sold in the US, it remains his biggest album.

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OCTOBER 7, 2016: DESERT TRIP 2016
The epic Desert Trip 2016 took place over two weekends.

The classic rock festival featured performances from Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones (October 7 & 14), Neil Young and Paul McCartney (October 8 & 15), The Who and Roger Waters (October 9 & 16).

The Rolling Stones would cover The Beatles’ “Come Together”, while Paul McCartney (with Neil Young) performed “Why Don’t We Do It in The Road?” live for the very first time.

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OCTOBER 8, 1980: REMAIN IN LIGHT
Talking Heads expanded their sound on their fourth album, Remain in Light, by adding dance-rock and worldbeat to their established New wave and post-punk palette.

Featuring the single “Once in a Lifetime”, the Library of Congress has deemed the album “culturally, historically, or artistically significant”.

Remain in Light was their third and final album produced by Brian Eno.