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Welsh band The Alarm formed in 1981 out of a previous punk band called The Toilets.  After extensive touring, the band would release their debut studio album entitled Declaration — released in February 1984 in vinyl and cassette, and the release on then-new compact disc (CD) format was in June of 1984.  The album was on the charts in August when we feature it. The band consisted of Mike Peters on...

Damn Yankees is the debut album from the supergroup of the same name.  Damn Yankees features Tommy Shaw of Styx on guitars and vocals, Jack Blades from Night Ranger is on bass and vocals, Ted Nugent is on guitars and vocals, and Michael Cartellone is on percussion and vocals.  Cartellone was a relative unknown musician at the time, but he is now playing drums for the band Lynyrd Skynyrd.   A&R...

More Hits by the Supremes is the sixth studio album by Motown's all female group, The Supremes. The album is composed largely of songs already released as singles and their B-sides. The group was composed of vocalists Mary Wilson, Florence Ballard, and Diana Ross.  The group was renamed Diana Ross & the Supremes in 1967, but at this time they were still known as The Supremes. Originally formed...

One of the staple groups of the early 80's New Wave genre was Missing Persons.  Their debut album with Capital Records was Spring Session M, an anagram of the band's name. The founding trio was vocalist Dale Bozzio, drummer (and Dale's husband) Terry Bozzio, and guitarist Warren Cuchunullo.  The Bozzio's were working with Frank Zappa and met Cuchunullo when he contributed to a Zappa album.  The tr...

Texas born Janis Joplin died on October 4, 1970, and Pearl was posthumously released in January.  Producer Paul A. Rothchild created a more polished sound on this album than her previous solo work or her work with other bands.  The Full Tilt Boogie Band, Joplin's touring band at the time, also participated in this studio album.  It would be her best selling album, peaking at number 1 on the Billbo...

This is the album that turned heavy metal into pop, or started the hair metal genre of the 80's.  Slippery When Wet was the third studio album by Bon Jovi, and would be their best selling album to date. The band was David Bryan on keyboards, Tico Torres on percussion, Alec John Such on bass, Richie Sambora on guitar, and Jon Bon Jovi on lead vocals and rhythm guitar. Bon Jovi deliberately targeted...

Buffalo Springfield was a fusion of Canadian and American musicians, and was also a fusion of folk, country, and psychedelic rock.  The band lineup included Canadians Neil Young, Bruce Palmer, and Dewey Martin, and Americans Stephen Stills and Richie Furay.  While their debut album was recorded quickly, their second album, Buffalo Springfield Again, would be recorded over a period of nine months....

The pressure on the Eagles to create an album to follow up their 1976 masterpiece "Hotel California" was intense, and it took 18 months and five different studios to produce The Long Run.  This was their sixth studio album, and their last album before thier 14-year hiatus.  It would mark the introduction of Timothy B. Schmit to the band, who took over bass and high vocal duties from the departing...

While The Fixx had already experienced success on the charts with their debut album in 1982, their sophomore studio album entitled Reach the Beach would be this London New Wave group's most successful effort.  This album was released in May 1983, and was heading up the charts in August. The Fixx was led by singer/songwriter Cyril Jon "Cy" Curnin on vocals.  Other members of the band included Ruper...

A case could be made that Led Zeppelin IV is the biggest heavy metal album of all time.  However, "IV" isn't really the name of the album.  The actual title was four symbols, one selected by each band member.  The record company hated the idea for obvious reasons, but what they thought was "professional suicide" turned out to be the best selling album for the band and one of the top rated Rock alb...

The Clash got their start as a punk band, though they would move through elements of reggae, ska, funk, and new wave over time.  The debut album eponymously titled The Clash would stay solidly in the punk movement which began trending the year before.  Lead vocalist Pete Strummer and lead guitarist Mick Jones would write most of their original songs.  Other personnel on this album included bassist...

Squeeze came out of the mid-70's New Wave scene in the UK, but would cross genres into Rockabilly, R&B, and Psychedelia by the early 80's.  In 1982 they released Singles - 45's and Under as a compilation album of their biggest hits.  Squeeze was led by two singer songwriters, Chris Dilford (rhythm guitar and vocals) and Glenn Tilbrook (keyboards, lead guitar, vocals) who composed most of their...

Episode Notes Yes indeed, folks, Christmas time is here again!  We at What the Riff!?! want to wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas, and here are a few rocking songs of the season for you to put on your playlist. “Merry Christmas (I Don't Want to Fight Tonight)” by the Ramones The founders of the punk movement offer this take on a Christmas song, with the rapid tempo and rough lyrics we've co...

By the time Billy Joel released The Stranger, his fifth studio album, he was at risk of being dropped by Columbia Records.  His second album, Piano Man, had been a surprise success, but the follow-up third and fourth studio albums had met with disappointing commercial appeal.    Joel had a solid band that had toured with him for his previous album, Turnstiles, and he wanted to keep that band for t...

Although Dookie is the third studio album by Green Day, it is their first release on a major label.  This may explain some of their seemingly overnight stardom.  The trio consisted of Billie Joe Armstrong on vocals and lead, Mike Dirnt on bass and backing vocals, and Tre Cool on percussion, and they had been in the underground scene in the San Francisco Bay area since before 1988 (Tre Cool replace...

This second studio album from The Monkees was number 1 on the Billboard 200 for 18 weeks, displacing their debut album to get there.  More of the Monkees has been certified quintuple platinum, was the first pop/rock album to be the best selling album of the year in the U.S. – and the third best-selling album of the 60’s. It is also the one that Monkee Michael Nesmith said was “probably the worst a...

Metallica got its start back in 1981, but their 1988 album ...And Justice for All would be the one to bring them mainstream success.  Today Metallica has an international celebrity status as a founding band of thrash metal, but at the time they were much less well known and considered inaccessible to mainstream listeners.  The band also saw a lineup change for this album, as their previous bassist...

Alright, folks, break out your platform shoes and your dance clothes, because What the Riff is headed down to the club!  KC and the Sunshine Band was playing in all the disco dance studios in 1977, but they were particularly prominent in the Miami market, near their home town of Hialeah, Florida.  We're riffing on Part 3, unexpectedly the fourth studio album from the group (though there was a bit...

Band on the Run would be the turning point for Paul McCartney's post-Beatles career.  After completing two solo albums, McCarney formed Paul McCartney and Wings, with the Wings name being inspired by a time of prayer at the hospital while his wife Linda was having serious complications delivering their second child. Wings had already produced two albums which had met with mixed reviews.  McCartney...

Canadian prog rock band Saga released their fourth album Worlds Apart in September 1981, but it took some time to catch fire.  By March 1983 their first single was peaking on the charts.   Rupert Hine, producer for Canadian power trio Rush, also produced this album which was both a critical and commercial success.  The band consisted of Steve Negus on percussion, Jim Gilmour on lead synthesizer, I...

Believe it or not, Fly Like an Eagle is the ninth studio album by the Steve Miller Band.  Guitarist, lead singer, and founder Steve Miller got his start in Chicago playing the blues.  He formed the Steve Miller Blues Band after moving to San Francisco in 1966, and shortened it to the Steve Miller Band not long after its formation.  The band started with a psychedelic rock feel in their first album...

A number of groups came out of the psychedelic pop scene in Northern England and Scotland in the late 80's including Primal Scream, Teenage Fanclub, Jesus and the Mary Chain, and The Soup Dragons.  Their third album, Hotwired, was released in October 1992. The Soup Dragons got their name from a character in a 1970's UK children's television series called "Clangers," which consisted of short films...

Hi Infidelity would be the biggest selling rock album of 1981, and would be the high water mark for REO Speedwagon.  The band at the time was Kevin Chronin on lead vocals, Gary Richrath on lead guitars, Neal Doughty on keyboards, Bruce Hall on bass, and Alan Gratzer on drums. REO Speedwagon started out in 1967, and the name comes from a 1915 truck called the REO Speed Wagon.  Neal Doughty saw the...

Queen's fourth studio album is the one that would launch them into super stardom and bring them personal financial success as well.  A Night at the Opera got its name from the Marx Brothers film, and many consider it to be the best album Queen ever made. The band lineup was Freddie Mercury on lead vocals, Brian May on guitar, John Deacon on bass, and Roger Taylor on drums.  Backing vocals were per...

The Troggs were a garage band from Andover, England who would come to be highly influential in the garage band genre of the 60's and the punk movement of the 70's.  The name is a shortened version of troglodyte, a mythical cave dweller.  The troggs wanted to create an earthy, raw feel in their music, and this inspired the name.  Their debut album From Nowhere hit the stores in 1966. The Troggs wer...