Historic events this week from Bruce Springsteen, John Mellencamp, Tom Petty and Elton John

SEPTEMBER 30, 1982: SPRINGSTEEN’S NEBRASKA
Bruce had intended to follow up The River with another E Street Band record.

He recorded the demos for Nebraska alone, and decided to release them as is, without overdubs.

Despite not releasing any singles in the US, the album peaked at #3 on the Billboard 200 and remains a classic in his catalog.

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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.

• • •
OCTOBER 5, 1973: GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road was Elton’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.