40 Years Ago: Elvis Costello Breaks In America But Hates It

Elvis Costello gained traction in London’s underground music scene during classic rock’s heyday in the late 1970s. While his music wasn’t topping charts in the U.K., his popularity across the Atlantic in the United States grew with the 1979 album release of Armed Forces which reached the top 10 stateside. Global fame quickly followed with the rollout of the 1983 album Punch the Clock, where his perception of fame shifted when the album’s lead single “Everyday I Write the Book” became an instant hit on the record despite it being the track he spent the least amount of time creating. Costello went on to rearrange the song, playing with different song compositions over the years but ultimately discovered that sometimes an artist’s least nostalgic tracks end up being some of their all-time greatest hits. (Ultimate Classic Rock)