HAPPY DOLLY DAY! Today in 1946, Dolly Parton was born. In 1999, she was well-deservedly inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. She has composed thousands of songs, notably "I Will Always Love You" (a two-time U.S. country chart-topper for Parton, as well as an international pop hit for Whitney Houston), "Jolene", "Coat of Many Colors", and "9 to 5". She is also one of the few to have received at least one nomination from the Academy Awards, Grammy Awards, Tony Awards, and Emmy Awards. As an actress, she starred in films such as 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Rhinestone, and Steel Magnolias. And most recently, she donated money to help develop a Coronavirus vaccine.
1971 - The mass murder trial of Charles Manson was underway. Much to the dismay of The Beatles, Helter Skelter was played in the courtroom. Manson had reportedly scrawled "helter skelter" on a mirror at the scene of the crime. . In Manson’s mind, benign songs from the White Album like “Blackbird,” “Piggies” and, most prominently, “Helter Skelter,” foretold a bloody, apocalyptic race war. But when the battle never began, he decided to kick-start it with the murders. Says Paul McCartney, “I was using the symbol of a helter skelter (a playground slide) as a ride from the top to the bottom—the rise and fall of the Roman Empire.”
1980 - The Pretenders scored their first UK No.1 hit with their third single 'Brass In Pocket'. Singer Chrissie Hynde got the idea for the song's title when, during an after-show dinner, she overheard someone enquiring if anyone had, "Picked up dry cleaning? Any brass in pocket?" Brass is a slang term for money
1993 - Fleetwood Mac reunited to play "Don't Stop" and other hits at the first inauguration celebration for President Bill Clinton. The song was used as the theme for his campaign. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
1994 - Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on this day were The Animals, The Band, Duane Eddy, The Grateful Dead, Elton John, John Lennon (as a solo artist), Bob Marley and Rod Stewart.
1998 - Carl Perkins died aged 65 from throat cancer. He wrote the classic rock & roll song 'Blue Suede Shoes', the first record on the Sun label to sell a million copies. His songs were recorded by Elvis Presley, The Beatles Jimi Hendrix and Johnny Cash. Paul McCartney claimed that "if there were no Carl Perkins, there would be no Beatles."
Birthdays:
Phil Everly of The Everly Brothers was born today in 1939.
Janis Joplin was born today in 1943.
Rod Evans, original singer for Deep Purple, is 74.
Robert Palmer was born today in 1949.
On This Day In Music History are gathered from This Day in Music, Paul Shaffer's Day in Rock, Song Facts, History.com, Rolling Stone, and Wikipedia.