1967 - David Bowie releases his self-titled debut album. The album's failure cost Bowie his record contract. David Bowie still remains a remarkable piece of work. And it sounds less like anything else he's ever done than any subsequent record in his catalog.
1968 - Simon and Garfunkel went to No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Mrs. Robinson", which was featured in the film The Graduate. The song, which contains a nod to the Beatles' "I Am the Walrus" ("coo-coo-ca-choo") and a mention of baseball great Joe DiMaggio, went on to win two Grammy Awards in 1969. It became the first rock song to win Record of the Year, and it also was awarded the Grammy for Best Contemporary-Pop Performance - Vocal Duo or Group. Simon began writing this as "Mrs. Roosevelt," and had just the line, "Here's to you, Mrs. Roosevelt" when he changed it to "Mrs. Robinson" for The Graduate.
1969 - The Plastic Ono Band recorded "Give Peace a Chance" during a 'bed-in' at the Hotel La Reine in Montreal. Producer Phil Spector, poet Allan Ginsberg and writer Timothy Leary all sang on the song.
1972 - The Eagles released their debut studio album. The album was recorded in England in February 1972 with producer Glyn Johns. Johns was impressed by the harmony singing of the band and he has been credited with shaping the band into "the country-rock band with those high-flyin' harmonies". Next time you pull it out, keep this in mind: All 4 Eagles were tripping on peyote for the album cover shoot, out in the Joshua Tree Desert.
1978 - Bruce Springsteen releases Darkness On The Edge Of Town. It's his first album in almost three years due to a legal dispute with his ex-manager Mike Appel. On this album, Springsteen began to see his colorful cast of characters, not as "losers", but working class, who had little and were in danger of losing even that. Springsteen's stories were becoming less heroic, but his musical style remained grand.
1975 - The Rolling Stones kicked off their biggest ever U.S. tour at Louisiana State University. The tour would take in 45 shows in 26 cities. Guitarist Ron Wood joined the Stones on tour for the first time, replacing Mick Taylor.
1976 - The Runaways released their self-titled debut album. Women had no problem becoming folk-rockers, singer/songwriters or Top 40 icons, but female artists who had more in common with Led Zeppelin and Aerosmith than Joni Mitchell were hardly the norm. With this album, the Runaways made it crystal clear that women (or specifically, adolescent girls) were more than capable of playing intense, forceful hard rock that went directly for the jugular.
1993 - 10,000 Maniacs become the first act to appear twice on MTV Unplugged. The network has a policy against return engagements, but when they learn that Natalie Merchant will be leaving the band, they book them.
2005 - White Stripes singer Jack White married his girlfriend, British model Karen Elson, in a canoe on the Amazon in Brazil. The ceremony was officiated by a shaman. The couple had two kids together but divorced in 2013.
Birthdays:
Nelson Riddle was born today in 1921.
Pat Boone is 87.
Ronnie Wood of The Rolling Stones, The Faces and the Jeff Beck Group is 74.
Depeche Mode keyboardist Alan Wilder is 62.
Simon Gallup of the Cure is 61.
Mike Joyce of the Smiths is 58.
Alanis Morissette is 47.
Brandi Carlile is 40. (Photo by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images)
On This Day In Music History is sourced from This Day in Music, Allmusic, Song Facts and Wikipedia.