This Day in Rock History: October 4

Breakthrough Hits and Milestones

• 1969: The Beatles' eleventh and final studio album, Abbey Road, reached the top spot of the U.K. singles chart, where it spent an unprecedented 17 weeks in total. It returned to the top spot half a century later, in 2019, with its 50th-anniversary expanded edition, marking the longest gap between No. 1 album runs.
• 1969: On the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, Creedence Clearwater Revival reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart with their third studio album Green River. It was their first U.S. No. 1 album and stayed there for four weeks.
• 1980: Queen started a three-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles chart with their hit song "Another One Bites the Dust." Written by bass player John Deacon, it became the band's most successful single ever.

Cultural Milestones

• 1968: Led Zeppelin, then called The New Yardbirds and featuring Jimmy Page, played their first concert in the U.K. at the Mayfair Ballroom in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It followed their Scandinavian tour and would prove to be a pivotal moment in rock history, including future legendary songs such as "Dazed and Confused," "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You," "Communication Breakdown," and "How Many More Times."
• 1970: Janis Joplin died of an alleged heroin overdose at the Landmark Motor Hotel in Hollywood, California. She had been working on her Pearl album, which was released posthumously and spent nine weeks at the top spot of the Billboard 200 chart.

Notable Recordings and Performances

• 1982: The Smiths played their first-ever show at The Ritz in Manchester, England. They opened for a band called Blue Rondo à la Turk as part of a student music and fashion show called An Evening of Pure Pleasure.
• 1999: Paul McCartney released his eleventh solo studio album, Run Devil Run, via Parlophone Records. It mostly consisted of 1950s rock and roll song covers, alongside three McCartney original compositions.