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The Dark Side Of The Moon was released 50 years ago: other legendary albums turning half a century in 2023

It does not seem fifty years since the release of these legendary albums that wrote music history and are still among the most listened to albums worldwide.

It was 1973 when these records were produced and marketed on the international market. 50-year-old records are historic, not only because of the songs, but also because of the iconic covers of these albums, often recognisable even just by the design on the cover.

Here are the historical records that will turn half a century old in 2023: browse the photogallery to get to know them all.

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The historical records that turn 50 years old in 2023
It does not seem like 50 years have passed since the release of these legendary albums that wrote music history and, even today, are among the most listened to albums worldwide. It was 1973 when these records were produced and marketed on the international market. 50-year-old albums are historic, not only because of the songs, but also because of the iconic covers of these albums, which are often recognisable even from the record design alone. Here are the historical music productions that turn half a century old in 2023: browse the photogallery to get to know them all.
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The Dark Side of The Moon - Pink Floyd
It does not need too much introduction: The Dark Side of The Moon is a very famous album, in which the songs are linked by common themes, namely inner conflict, the relationship with money, the passing of time, death, the conflicting relationship with the other than oneself and mental alienation. The album was certified with 74 platinum records worldwide, including 15 in both the US and the UK. The album was released on 1 March 1973 in the US and 23 March in the UK.
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Tres Hombres - ZZ Top
From this album is extracted the famous song La Grange, which allowed the Texan band to further expand their fame, gaining many new fans worldwide. According to many critics, Tres Hombres is the best album of ZZ Top's career.
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Innervisions - Stevie Wonder
Innervisions won the Grammy Award in the categories Album of the Year and Best Engineered Non-Classical Recording. Rolling Stone magazine ranked this record 23rd on its list of the 500 best albums of all time.
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Quadrophenia - The Who
Quadrophenia is a famous concept album about a young man named Jimmy and his journey in search of self-esteem and self-worth. In 1979, a film of the same name was made from this album, the executive producers of which were The Who.
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Tubular Bells - Mike Oldfield
Tubular Bells is the debut album by British musician Mike Oldfield. A part of the opening theme and another excerpt from the first part of the album were used by director William Friedkin in the famous film The Exorcist: this event gave the album considerable publicity, eventually propelling it to number one in the UK sales charts.
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Let's Get it On - Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye's 16th studio album, Let's Get it On is a peculiar album, with numerous explicit references, steeped in spirituality. This record is considered to be one of the most influential for artists who experimented with R&B music in later years.
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Selling England By The Pound - Genesis
Of the albums made by Genesis with Peter Gabriel in the five-year period 1969-1974, this was the best-selling, reaching number three in the UK charts. The album's cover image is a painting by English painter Betty Swanwick, entitled The Dream. Peter Gabriel was inspired by this painting for the lyrics of I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe).
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Aladdin Sane - David Bowie
With 4.6 million copies sold worldwide, this record is one of Bowie's biggest commercial successes, the first to top the UK charts and enter the Top 20 in the US. Aladdin Sane represents the ideal travelogue of a European citizen who landed in the US, a land Bowie had always been fascinated by. The album cover features one of the most famous images of David Bowie's career.
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Catch a Fire - The Wailers
This is the sixth studio album by the band led by Bob Marley, listed at position 126 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 best albums of all time. The underlying theme of Catch a Fire is an optimistic vision of the future, free from the oppression suffered by minorities.
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Piano Man - Billy Joel
Piano Man is the second studio album by singer-songwriter Billy Joel. The album went triple platinum in the United States and contains the eponymous song Piano Man, one of Joel's most famous songs.
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Billion Dollar Babies - Alice Cooper
The album is one of the best known of Alice Cooper's vast discography and contains some of the singer's most famous songs such as Elected, No More Mr Nice Guy and I Love The Dead.
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Band on the Run - Paul McCartney & Wings
This album became Wings' biggest hit and is still considered the best of former Beatles member Paul McCartney's solo career. This was the last McCartney album to be released on the Apple Records label.
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Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - Elton John 
In 1973, Elton John released two albums: the first in January, the second in October, namely Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. This double album is one of the most acclaimed and appreciated in the singer-songwriter's career and remained at the top of the US charts for eight weeks and at the top of the UK charts for a fortnight. In Australia, however, it remains to this day one of the best-selling records of all time. Among the most famous songs from this record is the famous Candle in the Wind, adapted in 1997 by Elton John in honour of Lady Diana.
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