1954 - Muddy Waters records "Hoochie Coochie Man." This is one of the blues songs that shaped rock and roll when the genre was in its infancy. The author/musician Roger Reale explained: "The stark realism, the drama, and especially the vocal delivery are what do it for me on 'Hoochie Coochie Man.' It's half conversational; Muddy gets your attention without overdoing it. And those lyrics about 'a gypsy woman' always felt kind of fascinating."
1967 - Charley Pride becomes the first African American solo singer to perform at the Grand Old Opry in Nashville. He is invited to perform at the venerable country music mecca after the success of his hit "Just Between You and Me," which makes it to #9 on the Country music chart.
1970 - Max Yasgur, whose farm in upstate New York hosted the original Woodstock Festival, is sued for $35,000 in property damages by neighboring farmers.
1971 - Black Sabbath released Paranoid, their second studio album in the U.S. The album features the band's best-known signature songs, including the title track, "Iron Man" and "War Pigs". Sabbath planned to call the album War Pigs but their label allegedly feared backlash from Vietnam War supporters. They also thought “Paranoid” would be a better single than “War Pigs.” The title track was actually done after the band thought they completed the album. They didn’t have enough songs so Tony Iommi played the lick for “Paranoid” and 25 minutes later they had the track.
1980 - Pink Floyd released 'Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2)' in the US. giving Pink Floyd their first and only No.1 hit single. The children's chorus that sang on this track came from a school in Islington, England, and was chosen because it was close to the studio. It was made up of 23 kids between the ages of 13 and 15. They were overdubbed 12 times, making it sound like there were many more kids. There was some controversy when it was revealed that the chorus was not paid. It also didn't sit well with teachers that kids were singing an anti-school song. The chorus was given recording time in the studio in exchange for their contribution; the school received £1000 and a Platinum record.(Photo by Jo Hale/Getty Images)
1997 - David Bowie's 50th birthday bash takes place at New York City's Madison Square Garden in the form of a charity concert benefiting Save the Children. Sonic Youth, Lou Reed, Robert Smith, Billy Corgan, and Foo Fighters, among others - pay tribute with renditions of the singer's tunes. Bowie closes out the event with his 1969 hit "Space Oddity."
2020 - Neil Peart, drummer and lyricist for Rush, died from brain cancer at age 67. Peart placed at No. 4 in Rolling Stone's list of all-time greatest drummers and was well-known for his technical proficiency and animated live performances. Across his lifetime, Peart wrote a total of seven nonfiction books focused on his travels and personal stories.
Birthdays:
Paul Revere of Paul Revere and the Raiders was born today in 1938.
Mike McGear, singer, brother of Paul McCartney, is 77.
Jann Wenner, co-founder and publisher of Rolling Stone magazine, is 74.
Kenny Loggins is 73.
Kathy Valentine, bass player from The Go- Go's, is 62.
On This Day In Music History is sourced from This Day in Music, Paul Shaffer's Day in Rock, Song Facts and Wikipedia.