1942 - "Chattanooga Choo Choo" by Colorado Music Hall Of Fame member Glenn Miller and his Orchestra became the first recording to be awarded a Gold Record. It was actually just a master copy of the disc sprayed with gold lacquer by RCA as a publicity stunt. The label was celebrating sales of over one million and soon became a common practice in the industry.
1968 - Rolling Stone magazine offers free roach clips to new subscribers.
1971- Carole King released her second studio album Tapestry. It is one of the best-selling albums of all time. King wrote or co-wrote all of the songs on the album, several of which had already been hits for other artists such as Aretha Franklin's "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" and The Shirelles' "Will You Love Me Tomorrow", and James Taylor, who encouraged King to sing her own songs and who also played on Tapestry, would later have a No. 1 hit with "You've Got a Friend". The album remained on the Billboard charts for 313 weeks (second only to Pink Floyd's 724 weeks with The Dark Side of the Moon).
1977 - The Clash began recording sessions in London for their first album, The Clash. The band was part of the original wave of British punk and they incorporated elements of reggae, dub, funk, and rockabilly into their sound. After forming in 1976, the band was quickly picked up by CBS Records after just 30 shows. Their debut album was a commercial and critical success and opened the door for wider acceptance of the punk music scene. The album was recorded over three weekend sessions.
1979 - Dire Straits release "Sultans Of Swing." Mark Knopfler had written it in 1977, after ducking into a deserted pub one rainy night and witnessing a lousy jazz band. Undeterred by the lack of both talent and punters, their lead singer finished the set with a mildly enthusiastic, “Goodnight and thank you. We are the Sultans Of Swing.”
2008 - Amy Winehouse won five prizes at the Grammy Awards, including Song of the Year and Record of the Year (both for her single "Rehab"), and Best New Artist. She was not in attendance that night, but she did perform via satellite from London. In her acceptance speech for record of the year, she thanked her record label, her parents and "my Blake, my Blake incarcerated," referring to her husband. Winehouse died of alcohol poisoning in 2011 at age 27. Back to Black posthumously became, for a time, the U.K.'s best-selling album of the 21st century. (Photo by Simone Joyner/Getty Images)
Birthdays:
Jerry Goldsmith, creator of the scores of "Star Trek", "Planet of the Apes", "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." and "Dr. Kildare", among others, was born today in 1929.
Don Wilson, guitarist with The Ventures, is 88.
Chris Ethridge, member of the International Submarine Band and The Flying Burrito Brothers, was born on this day in 1947.
Roberta Flack is 84.
Nigel Olsson, drummer for Elton John, is 72.
Cliff Burton, bass player with Metallica, was born today in 1962.
On This Day In Music History is sourced from This Day in Music, Paul Shaffer's Day in Rock, Song Facts, Loudersound, and Wikipedia.