ON THIS DAY IN MUSIC HISTORY:
Happy Birthday to our own Hazel Miller! In 1984, Hazel Miller tried to move from her hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, to Los Angeles. Her rental truck broke down in Denver, so she stayed—and became a Colorado institution. She became a regular part of Big Head Todd & the Monsters’ lineup and frequently performed on the eTown radio broadcast. The erstwhile Rocky Mountain News called her ‘a force of nature’ and her recorded voice greets visitors taking the trains to the main terminal at Denver International Airport.
1975 - In one of pop culture's stranger intersections, Cher married Gregg Allman. The marriage lasted for nine days before Cher decided she wanted to end it due to his drug and alcohol use. Allman then won her back in a month, and the two stayed together until 1977, when they separated following the release of their duet album, Allman and Woman.
1978 - The Buzzcocks' release "Love You More". At 1 minute 29 seconds, it was the second-shortest single ever released. Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs' 1960 hit "Stay" was the shortest hit at 1 minute 28 seconds.
1992 - The soundtrack for Cameron Crowe's Singles is released. Even more than the movie itself, it helps bring the Seattle music scene across the entire US. Featuring songs from Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Mudhoney, Mother Love Bone, and many others, it's instrumental in launching the '90s "grunge revolution."
1984 - Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing In The Dark" reaches its chart peak of #2 on the Hot 100. Springsteen never does reach #1, except as a writer: Manfred Mann's Earth Band took "Blinded by the Light" to #1 in 1977.
2000 - During a Pearl Jam concert at Denmark's Roskilde Festival, nine people are crushed to death as the crowd rushes the stage. Several people fall and can't get up, and in addition, crowdsurfers are falling into the open area. Pearl Jam stops the show and asks people to back up, but it is too late.
Investigations conclude that the events were an accident, and many European venues ban crowdsurfing. The Pearl Jam song "Love Boat Captain" refers to the events with the line "Lost nine friends we'll never know... two years ago today."
2020 - John Prine, who grew up near Chicago, is named the first honorary poet laureate of Illinois. Prine died of coronavirus three months earlier.
Birthdays:
Folk singer-songwriter Dave Van Ronk was born today in 1936. He passed away in 2002.
Legendary bass player Stanley Clarke is 70.
On This Day In Music History is sourced from This Day in Music, Song Facts, Vanity Fare, Colorado Music Experience, and Wikipedia.