In music, time is everything. And we don’t just mean tempo. We’re talking actual calendar dates — the kind stamped in memory, circled in diaries, and etched into liner notes. These 60 songs don’t just mention months or moods — they name the day, the month, sometimes even the hour. Whether it’s heartbreak on May 5th or revolution on April 4th, these artists knew the date — and made sure you remembered it too.
So here it is: the definitive calendar of music history, one track at a time.
January
1. “New Year’s Day” – U2 (Jan. 1)
Bono’s icy anthem started as a love song, but transformed into a tribute to the Polish Solidarity movement. It was U2’s first international hit — and probably the most emotionally heavy Jan. 1 in rock history.
2. “January 28th” – J. Cole (Jan. 28)
A tribute to his own birthday and a flex on legacy over chart position. “If I die today, my legacy is straight.” No wonder Jan. 28th is sacred in Cole World.
3. “Clothes Line Saga” – Bob Dylan & The Band (Jan. 30)
“It was January the 30th, and everybody was feelin’ fine.” A neighbor says the vice president’s gone mad, but Dylan’s still just watching the laundry dry.
February
4. “Cosmic Charlie” – Grateful Dead (Feb. 1)
“Kite on ice since the first of February.” That’s about as concrete as the Dead ever got. Psychedelic poetry disguised as a date.
5. “February Stars” – Foo Fighters (Feb. unspecified)
A slow build of emotion that blooms like winter into spring. Grohl doesn’t need the exact day — the chill of February is all over this ballad.
March
6. “Town With No Cheer” – Tom Waits (March 21)
March 21st, and the only bar in town is closed. Tom Waits turns an Australian newspaper clipping into a harmonium dirge of thirst and doom.
7. “Ballad of Mott the Hoople” – Mott the Hoople (March 26)
They nearly broke up on March 25. By March 26, that disillusionment became a glam-rock farewell… until Bowie showed up and saved them.
8. “Nothing Happened Today” – The Boomtown Rats (March 28)
“Today was Tuesday, and this is the date — March 28th.” Nothing happened… except this slice of deadpan genius from Bob Geldof.
April
9. “Pride (In the Name of Love)” – U2 (April 4)
“Early morning, April 4” marks the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Bono later corrected the lyric in live shows — but the sentiment still shakes.
10. “April 5th” – Talk Talk (April 5 – title only)
It’s not in the lyrics, but the song bleeds spring: acoustic textures, seasonal change, and a sense that April 5th is bigger than it looks on paper.
11. “4/20/02” – Pearl Jam (April 20)
A hidden, gut-wrenching tribute to Layne Staley. Vedder recorded it in grief, then buried it on a bonus disc. To find it is to feel it.
12. “April 29, 1992 (Miami)” – Sublime (April 29 — and mistakenly April 26)
Bradley Nowell got the date wrong, but the riot was real. “April 29” became an anthem of rage, smoke, and police scanners.
May
13. “May 1, 1990” – Adrian Belew (May 1)
The night he met his future wife after a David Bowie show. Love, synths, and stars aligning — it’s all there in this soft-spoken gem.
14. “First of May” – Bee Gees (May 1)
Named after Barry Gibb’s dog’s birthday. “Sad to say, Barnaby’s gone, but the song lives on.” Pet loss never sounded so majestic.
15. “Night of the 4th of May” – Al Stewart (May 4)
Restless love and growing distance set to a soft melody. May 4 was just a party — but it changed everything.
16. “Student Demonstration Time” – The Beach Boys (May 4)
Kent State, 1970. Protesters died. Mike Love gave it a blues-rock pulse. A rare political detour from California’s sunniest band.
17. “Isis” – Bob Dylan (May 5)
He married her on May 5, then hit the road. Egyptian mythology, heartbreak, and rolling thunder. Classic Dylan.
18. “You Don’t Even Know Me” – Al Stewart (May 7)
He took her to see Hendrix “on the seventh day of May.” Another date, another failed love story in Stewart’s diary.
19. “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” – The Band (May 10)
“By May the 10th, Richmond had fell.” A Civil War epic, written with heartbreak and history — even if the dates blur a little.
20. “I’ve Known No War” – The Who (May 19)
Townshend was born just after WWII. He missed the war but caught the Cold War — and turned it into a slow-burning anthem.
June
21. “The Loner” – Ian Hunter (June 3)
Born on the third of June with a Gemini moon. The ultimate rock’n’roll loner intro.
22. “Desiree” – Neil Diamond (June 3 & 4)
He became a man on June 3. On June 4, he couldn’t sleep. Desiree did what only great muses do: left him wrecked and inspired.
23. “The Last Day of June 1934” – Al Stewart (June 30)
A song about the Night of the Long Knives. Hitler, Rohm, and history wrapped in a chilling narrative.
July
24. “4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)” – Bruce Springsteen (July 4)
Boardwalk dreams and summer love. The night that launched the Boss’s storytelling universe.
25. “Saturday in the Park” – Chicago (July 4)
Is it the Fourth of July? Yes. No. Every day feels like it. That’s the point.
26. “Born on the Bayou” – CCR (July 4)
Fogerty mythologized a bayou life he never lived — “on the Fourth of July” with a hoodoo twist.
27. “Yankee Rose” – David Lee Roth (July 4)
Statue of Liberty as a fox. Fireworks. Patriotism in spandex. Only Diamond Dave.
28. “Jack Straw” – Grateful Dead (July 4)
Two outlaws, one dusty trail, and the day they left Texas — the Fourth of July.
29. “4th of July” – X (July 4)
Written before he joined the band, Dave Alvin’s heartbreaker turns the fireworks inward.
30. “4th of July” – Soundgarden (July 4)
A bad trip on Independence Day. Cornell thought it was the end. The song makes you feel like it was.
31. “Medley: Yell Help / Wednesday Night / Ugly” – Elton John (July 13)
“I wish it wasn’t the 13th of July.” Unclear why, but if Elton’s worried, we’re worried too.
August
32. “The First Day of August” – Carole King (Aug. 1)
She just wants to wake up with you on August 1. The most delicate way to mark a calendar.
33. “Rainmaker” – Harry Nilsson (Aug. 1)
It’s been dry since May. On August 1, the Rainmaker comes to town. Folk-psychedelia at its best.
34. “Who Killed Marilyn?” – Misfits (Aug. 5)
“5:25, August 5th, 1962.” The exact time Marilyn Monroe’s body was found. Danzig turns it into punk noir.
35. “August 7, 4:15” – Jon Bon Jovi (Aug. 7)
A tribute to a murdered child. Heartbreaking, raw, and still unsolved. One of Bon Jovi’s most vulnerable moments.
36. “Friday Night, August 14th” – Funkadelic (Aug. 14)
Income tax came in. The trip kicked in. Acid-fueled funk history, stamped with a real date.
37. “Someday (August 29, 1968)” – Chicago (Aug. 29)
The Democratic Convention. Tear gas. Riot police. Chicago wrote it into brass-and-rage perfection.
September
38. “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone” – The Temptations (Sept. 3)
“The third of September, that day I’ll always remember…” Even if Dennis Edwards’ dad actually died in October.
39. “September” – Earth, Wind & Fire (Sept. 21)
There’s no reason for the 21st — it just sang better. And now it lives rent-free in your brain forever.
October
40. “Snookeroo” – Ringo Starr (Oct. 30)
“I was born on the eve of Halloween.” Not quite — Ringo was born in July — but let’s not ruin the vibe.
41. “October 33” – Black Pumas (Imaginary Oct. 33)
A date that doesn’t exist, but a heartbreak that absolutely does. Soulful, surreal, and timeless.
November
42. “Remember” – John Lennon (Nov. 5)
“Remember, remember the fifth of November…” Then the piano explodes. Literally.
43. “Hijack” – Jefferson Starship (Nov. 23)
Hijacking a spaceship to start a new world. Of course it happens on November 23. Sci-fi rock at its peak.
44. “November 18th” – Drake (Nov. 18)
A Houston homage and a slow jam confession. November 18th became a holiday for the H-Town faithful.
December
45. “December 1963 (Oh What a Night)” – Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons (Dec. 1963)
A nostalgic rush about the night everything changed — and probably a first time for someone.
46. “Christmas in Hollis” – Run-D.M.C. (Dec. 24)
“December 24th on Hollis Ave in the dark.” Santa, soul food, and Queens swagger. Instant holiday classic.
Undated but Date-Themed Bonus Tracks
47. “Calendar Girl” – Neil Sedaka (All months)
Every month gets its moment — and a new reason to fall in love.
48. “Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.” – Simon & Garfunkel (Wednesday)
A quiet crime and a quiet goodbye. A weekday never felt so final.
49. “January Friend” – Goo Goo Dolls (Implied January)
The one who only shows up once a year — in a flannel, with a mixtape.
50. “January Hymn” – The Decemberists (Implied January)
A snowy love song that aches like bare hands and lost mittens.
51. “August” – Taylor Swift (Implied August)
A phantom fling remembered in golden light. August slipped away into a song.
52. “July” – Noah Cyrus (Implied July)
“Pushed me away and I gave in.” A breakup delivered with July humidity.
53. “4th of July” – Shooter Jennings (July 4 – again!)
Fireworks, heartbreak, and honky-tonk melodies. Nothing’s simple on America’s birthday.
54. “June 27th Freestyle” – DJ Screw (June 27)
Houston’s unofficial national anthem. Eight rappers, one screwed-up masterpiece.
55. “Friday the 13th” – Gorillaz ft. Octavian (Friday the 13th)
Paranoia, post-apocalyptic funk, and Friday the 13th energy in every synth.
