November 22nd: The Biggest Music Headlines

Scroll down the page to see all the music headlines, stories and events for November 22 throughout music history

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The Beatles Release ‘The White Album’

On November 22, 1968, The Beatles released their double self-titled masterpiece (known colloquially as The White Album). Considered to be among the greatest albums of all time, the ambitious 30-track LP spans a range of styles, including avant-garde, folk, blues, ska, and pre-heavy-metal. Many of the songs were written in India, when the band was studying Transcendental Meditation. Featuring such enduring favorites as “Back in the U.S.S.R.,” “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,”Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da,” and “Dear Prudence,” The White Album topped charts across the globe, spending eight non-consecutive weeks at No.1 in the UK and nine in the US, where it became the band’s highest-certified album, with a 24x Platinum certification from the RIAA.

In 1997, Michael Hutchence, the 37-year-old frontman of INXS, took his own life. During his career, the magnetic singer, songwriter, and actor captivated audiences with hits like “Need You Tonight,” “Never Tear Us Apart,” and “New Sensation.” The best-selling Australian band, which earned multiple ARIAs during Hutchence’s lifetime, was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2001.

In 1994, Pearl Jam released their third studio album, Vitalogy. Featuring such hits as “Better Man” and “Spin the Black Circle,” Vitalogy became one of the fastest-selling albums ever at the time, second only to the band’s own Vs. (1993). The multi-platinum-selling title topped the US album chart and peaked at No.4 in the UK.

In 1963, the Beatles released their second studio album, With The Beatles. Boasting an engaging mix of originals (“All My Loving,” “It Won’t Be Long,” among them) and covers (Chuck Berry’s “Roll Over Beethoven,” Smokey Robinson’s “You Really Got a Hold on Me”), With The Beatles was a No.1 hit in Germany as well as in the UK, where it became the second album ever to sell one million copies (following 1958’s South Pacific soundtrack).

In 1957, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel appeared as Tom and Jerry on American Bandstand, where they performed their first single, “Hey Schoolgirl” (a Top 50 US hit). The future folk stars were juniors in high school at the time.

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BORN ON NOVEMBER 22:

1946: Aston Barrett (The Upsetters, Bob Marley and the Wailers)
1950: “Little Steven” Van Zandt
1950: Tina Weymouth (Talking Heads)
1968: Rasa Don (Arrested Development)
1970: Chris Fryar (Zac Brown Band)
1978: Karen O (Yeah Yeah Yeahs)

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November 22nd

On this day in music

22 Nov 2023 Former model, Sheila Kennedy sued Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose for alleged sexual assault and battery. According to her lawsuit, the rock musician attacked her during a violent hotel room encounter in New York in 1989. Ms Kennedy said in her complaint that she was a 26-year-old model for Penthouse magazine when she met Mr Rose in a New York City nightclub in early 1989.
22 Nov 2019 Pollstar published their list of the top touring artists of the 2010s in North America. U2 came in first with a gross of $1,038,104,132, followed by The The Rolling Stones ($929,196,083), Ed Sheeran ($922,361,663), Taylor Swift ($899,627,048) and Bon Jovi ($868,715,392).
22 Nov 2016 The Hendersonville, Tennessee property where Johnny Cash and his wife June Carter Cash lived for most of their thirty five years of marriage was put up for sale by the current owner. The house was destroyed in a fire in 2007, but a one-bedroom apartment building, a tennis court, a swimming pool and a covered boat dock remained standing. The couple made their home there until their deaths in 2003.
22 Nov 2010 After just one week of availability on the iTunes store, The Beatles music sold more than 450,000 albums and 2 million individual songs. The Fab Four's debut on iTunes was accompanied by an extensive world-wide marketing campaign.
22 Nov 2005 A gig by former Stone Roses front man Ian Brown was abandoned after 20 minutes because the floor at the venue began to sag. 2,000 people were told to leave Newcastle's Carling Academy, which had only been open for a month. Organisers said it was simply a safety precaution after joists under the main dance floor came out of their springs.
22 Nov 2005 Poems written by Bob Dylan in his college days sold for $78,000 (£45,000) at a New York City auction. The 16 pages of poems were the first known time Robert Zimmerman used the Dylan name and came from his studies at the University of Minnesota during 1959-60.
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22 Nov 2004 U2 shot the video for 'All Because Of You' from a moving flat bed truck on the streets of Brooklyn in New York City. Later in the day, they performed a brief concert under the Brooklyn Bridge, which was taped by MTV for a later showing.
22 Nov 2004 Ozzy Osbourne struggled with a burglar who escaped with jewellery worth about £2m from his Buckinghamshire mansion. Osbourne told reporters that he had the masked raider in a headlock as he tried to stop him. The burglar broke free and jumped 30 ft from a first floor window. A large amount of jewellery was stolen in the raid in which two burglars were involved.
22 Nov 2002 The surviving members of The Doors Ray Manzarek and Robby Krieger, announced they would record and tour again with a new line up including ex- Cult singer Ian Astbury and former Police drummer Stewart Copeland. Original drummer John Densmore was not able to take part because he was suffering from severe tinnitus.
22 Nov 1998 Alanis Morissette was at No.1 on the US album chart with her fourth album ‘Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie.’ The first single from album 'Thank You' received a Grammy Award nomination for "Best Female Pop Vocal Performance".
22 Nov 1997 INXS frontman Michael Hutchence was found dead in his Sydney hotel suite, having taken his own life. The 37 year old, who co-founded the best-selling Australian band in 1977, was beloved for his emotive vocals and captivating live performances.
22 Nov 1994 Pearl Jam released their third studio album Vitalogy, which was first released on vinyl and became the first vinyl album to appear on the US chart, since the domination of the compact disc format. They followed the release in other formats two weeks later, whereupon it became the second-fastest-selling CD in history, behind only the band's previous release Vs.
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22 Nov 1991 Alice Cooper came to the rescue of two of his fans; Patrick and Dee Ann Kelly, whose California home was about to be repossessed. Patrick had painted Coopers face on the house to help sell the property. Mr Cooper signed autographs to help raise money for the couple.
22 Nov 1990 Bill Wyman announced that his 17-month marriage to model Mandy Smith was over. With the consent of her mother, Smith had started dating the 47-year-old Rolling Stones bassist when she was aged 13.
22 Nov 1987 Jesus and Mary Chain singer Jim Reid was arrested in Canada after being accused of assaulting members of the audience with his microphone stand, he was released on $2,000 bail.
22 Nov 1986 Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble kicked off a 149-date North American and European tour at the Towson Center in Towson, Maryland.
22 Nov 1980 ABBA scored their sixth UK No.1 album when Super Trouper started a nine week run at the top of the charts. The album which features the No.1 singles 'The Winner Takes It All' and 'Super Trouper', became the biggest-selling of 1980 in the UK.
22 Nov 1975 KC and the Sunshine Band started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'That's The Way (I Like It)', the group's second US No.1 of the year, it made No.4 in the UK.
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22 Nov 1975 Scottish comedian Billy Connolly was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with a parody of the Tammy Wynette song D.I.V.O.R.C.E. Connolly's early career as a singer led to him forming a folk-pop duo called The Humblebums in the late 60s, with future rock star Gerry Rafferty.
22 Nov 1969 Iron Butterfly supported by Steel Mill, (featuring Bruce Springsteen) appeared at the Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Virginia. The gig was held in the school's 3,500- seat Crenshaw Gymnasium.
22 Nov 1968 The Beatles double White Album was released in the UK. Featuring 'Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da', 'Dear Prudence', 'Helter Skelter', 'Blackbird' 'Back In The USSR' and George Harrison's 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps'. Priced at £3.13 shillings, ($8.76), it spent eight weeks as the UK No.1 album.
22 Nov 1965 Bob Dylan married Sara Lowndes in a secret ceremony during a break in his tour. The marriage took place under an oak tree on a judge's lawn on Mineola, Long Island, New York. Sara who is the mother of singer Jakob Dylan filed for divorce on March 1st 1977.
22 Nov 1963 The Beatles released their second album With The Beatles which went on to spend 51 weeks on the UK charts. The LP had advance orders of a half million and sold another half million by September 1965, making it the second album to sell a million copies in the UK, (after the soundtrack to the 1958 film South Pacific).
22 Nov 1961 Working at Columbia Studio in New York City, Bob Dylan recorded six songs for his debut album: 'Man Of Constant Sorrow,' 'Pretty Peggy-O,' 'See That My Grave Is Kept Clean,' 'Gospel Plow,' 'Highway 51,' and 'Freight Train Blues'. The album did not receive much attention at first, but it achieved some popularity following the growth of Dylan's career, charting in the UK three years after its release.
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22 Nov 1957 Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel appeared as Tom and Jerry on ABC-TV's American Bandstand. Close friends through childhood, the first time they appeared on stage together was in a school play, Alice in Wonderland (Simon as the White Rabbit, Garfunkel as the Cheshire Cat). They later began performing together in their junior year as Tom and Jerry, with Simon as Jerry Landis and Garfunkel as Tom Graph.

Born on this day in music

22 Nov 1981 British singer and songwriter Ben Adams from A1 who had the 2000 UK No.1 single, 'Same Old Brand New You'. He represented Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 along with Gaute Ormåsen as a part of pop band Subwoolfer.
22 Nov 1979 Scott Robinson, vocals, with English boy band Five, who had the 1998 UK No.2 single 'Everybody Get Up' and the 1999 UK No.1 single 'Keep On Movin'. Their single 'When the Lights Go Out', (1998) became an international hit, peaking at No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, No. 4 in the UK, and within the top ten of six further countries.
22 Nov 1978 South Korean-born American singer, musician, and songwriter Karen O from Yeah Yeah Yeahs who had the 2006 UK No. 18 single ‘Gold Lion’. Their second, Show Your Bones, released in 2006 was named the second-best album of the year by NME.
22 Nov 1970 Chris Fryar American drummer with the Grammy Award winning country music group, Zac Brown Band. Their 2015 album Jekyll + Hyde which debuted at No.1 on the US chart featured the single 'Heavy Is the Head' with vocals from Chris Cornell.
22 Nov 1968 Rasa Don, from American alternative hip hop group Arrested Development who scored the 1992 UK No.2 and US No. 8 single 'People Everyday'. The group won two Grammy Awards in 1993 for Best New Artist and Best Rap Performance and were also named Band of the Year by Rolling Stone magazine.
22 Nov 1966 American musician Charlie Colin. He was the bassist for the rock band Train, of which he was a founding member. They scored the 2001 hit 'Drops of Jupiter'. He was found dead in a friend's home in Brussels on May 17, 2024, having fallen in a shower.
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22 Nov 1966 Francis Anthony 'Eg' White, songwriter and producer. He formed Brother Beyond with his brother, David White, in the late 1980s. He turned to songwriting in 1997, winning the Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically in 2004, for 'Leave Right Now' recorded by Will Young. Natalie Imbruglia, James Morrison, Kylie Minogue, Adele, Take That, Craig David, Pink, Florence and the Machine, Paloma Faith, Duffy and many other artists have all recorded his songs.
22 Nov 1960 James Morrison, (Jim Bob), from the English indie rock band Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine. They had the 1992 UK No.7 single 'The Only Living Boy In New Cross'. They made their name with a distinctive style of power pop, fusing samples, sequenced basses and drum machines and off-beat wordplay-loaded lyrics.
22 Nov 1958 American musician, singer-songwriter, and guitarist Jason Ringenberg, the lead singer of Jason & the Scorchers. The band had several hits, including 'Golden Ball and Chain' and a rock version of Bob Dylan's 'Absolutely Sweet Marie.'
22 Nov 1957 Sharon Bailey from the British reggae/ska/pop band Amazulu who had the 1986 UK No.5 single 'Too Good To Be Forgotten', (which was originally a hit for The Chi-Lites in 1974).
22 Nov 1950 American musician Tina Weymouth, bassist with Talking Heads, who had the 1983 US No.9 single 'Burning Down The House', 1985 UK No.6 single 'Road To Nowhere'. Also a member of Tom Tom Club, (which she co-founded with her husband, Talking Heads drummer Chris Frantz), who had the 1981 UK No.7 single 'Wordy Rappinghood'.
22 Nov 1950 American musician and actor Steven Van Zandt, (Little Steven or Miami Steve), guitarist with South Side Johnny, then Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band and Little Steven and The Disciples of Soul. Created music-industry activist group Artists United Against Apartheid as an action against the Sun City resort in South Africa, Springsteen, U2, Bob Dylan and Run DMC, collaborated on 'Sun City'. He starred as Silvio Dante in the TV Series The Sopranos.
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22 Nov 1947 English guitarist Rod Price, best known for his work with the rock band Foghat. He was known as 'The Magician of Slide', 'The Bottle', and 'Slide King of Rock and Roll', due to his proficiency on slide guitar. Price died at his home in Wilton, New Hampshire, on 22 March 2005, after having a heart attack and falling down a flight of stairs; he was 57 years old.
22 Nov 1946 Jamaican musician and Rastafarian Aston "Family Man" Barrett, who was a member of The Upsetters and is best known as the bass-guitar bandleader of Bob Marley and the Wailers. Barrett's "Family Man" nickname came about before he had any children of his own. Barrett foresaw his role as a band leader and started to call himself "Family Man". He subsequently fathered 41 children: 23 daughters and 18 sons. Barrett died in Miami, Florida, on 3 February 2024, at the age of 77.
22 Nov 1944 Jamaican reggae and roots musician Max Romeo. He achieved chart success in his home country and the UK. He had several hits with the vocal group the Emotions. His song 'Wet Dream' (1968) included overtly sexual lyrics and was banned by BBC Radio in the UK, although the singer claimed that it was about a leaking roof. In 1980, he appeared as a backing vocalist on 'Dance' on The Rolling Stones album Emotional Rescue. Romeo died of heart complications on 11 April 2025, at the age of 80.
22 Nov 1943 Canadian drummer Floyd Sneed, from Three Dog Night, who had the 1970 UK No.3 & US No.1 single with a cover of the Randy Newman song 'Mama Told Me Not To Come'. The band scored 21 Billboard Top 40 hits (with three hitting No.1) between 1969 and 1975. Sneed died on 27 January 2023, at the age of 80.
22 Nov 1942 Stephen Caldwell from the American R&B group The Orlons. In 1962, the group provided back-up vocals for Dee Dee Sharp's hits 'Mashed Potato Time' and 'Gravy (For My Mashed Potatoes). They later found fame with their first national hit, 'The Wah-Watusi', which reached No. 2 in the US pop chart and which triggered the brief Watusi dance craze. Caldwell died on October 2, 2025 (aged 82), making him the last of the original members to pass away.
22 Nov 1941 American singer and songwriter Jesse Colin Young, who, with The Youngbloods had the 1969 US No.5 single 'Get Together'. He later had a successful solo career. He died on 16 March 2025, at the age of 83.
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22 Nov 1936 Opal Courtney Jr, singer with Fifties doo-wop group The Spaniels. Their 1954 hit 'Goodnite, Sweetheart, Goodnite' was featured in such films as Three Men and a Baby and American Graffiti. The Spaniels became one of the first artists to sign with Vee-Jay Records, the first large, independent Afro-American owned record label. He died on 18 September 2008.