February 28, 1989: Indigo Girls Release Their Self-Titled Debut Album

Emily Saliers (left) and Amy Ray

February 28, 1989: Indigo Girls – officially, no "The" in the name – release their self-titled debut album. They won the Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Recording, but lost Best New Artist -- to Milli Vanilli. Making them, I suppose, the Mike Greenwell of rock and roll.

This was actually their 2nd album. On May 1, 1987, they released Strange Fire in Canada only. It got the attention of Epic Records, who signed them in 1988.

Emily Ann Saliers was born on July 22, 1963 in New Haven, Connecticut. At age 11, her father, Don Saliers, a noted theologian, got a teaching job in Decatur Georgia, where Amy Elizabeth Ray had been born on April 12, 1964. Emily and Amy attended school together. Although they went to different colleges, they stayed in touch, and, by 1985, both had transferred to Emory University in Atlanta, where they formed Indigo Girls.

By this point, Georgia had already developed a major music scene, particularly among gay performers. R.E.M.'s lead singer Michael Stipe was gay, as were 4 of the 5 members of The 52's, and both bands had become stars out of Athens, seat of the University of Georgia.

Both Indigo Girls are gay, although they've never been a couple. (Emily married their former tour manager, Tristin Chapman.) Since 2001, they've each released solo albums, but the group has never broken up, releasing an album together as recently as 2020. They remain icons of Southern rock, folk rock, and the gay rights and feminist movements.

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February 28, 1989 was a Tuesday. Baseball and football were out of season. There were 7 games played in the NBA:

* The Boston Celtics beat the Charlotte Hornets, 112-87 at the Charlotte Coliseum.

* The Dallas Mavericks beat the Miami Heat, 111-110 in overtime at the Miami Arena.

* The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Detroit Pistons, 115-99 at The Coliseum in the Cleveland suburb of Richfield, Ohio.

* The Chicago Bulls beat the San Antonio Spurs, 121-102 at the Chicago Stadium.

* The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 123-105 at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena.

* The Portland Trail Blazers beat the Phoenix Suns, 139-134 at the Portland Memorial Coliseum. Terry Porter led the Blazers with 34 points. Tom Chambers scored 42 in defeat for the Suns.

* And the Indiana Pacers beat the Seattle SuperSonics, 108-106 at the Seattle Center Coliseum. Chuck Person led all scorers on the night with 45 points.

And there were 4 games in the NHL:

* The New York Islanders lost to the Hartford Whalers, 3-1 at the Nassau Coliseum.

* The New Jersey Devils and the Boston Bruins played to a tie, 3-3 at the Brendan Byrne Arena at the Meadowlands.

* The Vancouver Canucks beat the Quebec Nordiques, 3-2 at the Colisée de Québec.

* And the Minnesota North Stars beat the Washington Capitals, 4-3 at the Capital Centre in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland.