1928 - One of Country Music's most influential characters William Orwell 'Lefty' Frizzell was born. Among the artists he influenced were George Jones, Willie Nelson, Roy Orbison, The Everly Brothers, Merle Haggard, and John Fogerty. Frizzell died of a massive stroke July 19, 1975. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall Of Fame in 1982. My mom took me to see him in the late 60's. Thanks mom.
1949 - RCA Victor introduced the 45rpm single record, which had been in development since 1940. The 7-inch disc was designed to compete with the Long Playing record introduced by Columbia a year earlier. Both formats offered better fidelity and longer playing time than the 78rpm record that was currently in use.
1958 - "That little country boy could play." Chuck Berry's rock 'n' roll classic "Johnny B. Goode" single was released. This song is based on Berry's life. It tells the tale of a boy with humble beginnings with a talent for guitar. Some details were changed: Berry was from St. Louis, not Louisiana, and he knew how to read and write very well. He graduated from beauty school with a degree in hairdressing and cosmetology.
Berry got the name "Johnny" from Johnnie Johnson, a piano player who collaborated with Berry on many songs. The word "Goode" from the street in St. Louis where he grew up.
In 2000, Johnnie Johnson sued Berry, claiming that he never got credit for helping write many of Berry's hits, including this. The case was dismissed in 2002, with the judge ruling that too much time passed between the writing of the songs and the lawsuit.
1974 - Tom Petty marries his first wife, Jane Benyo. The couple met when they were both 17, which provides the title for the Stevie Nicks song "Edge Of Seventeen." When Stevie asks her when they met, she replied, "At the age of seventeen." Her southern accent was so strong, Nicks thought she said "edge of 17."
1976 - Led Zeppelin released Presence. Prior to the sessions, Robert Plant had sustained serious injuries from a car accident on the Greek island of Rhodes, forcing him to sing his vocals in a wheelchair. The album was recorded and mixed in just eighteen days. The rushed recording sessions were in part a result of Zeppelin having booked the studio immediately prior to the Rolling Stones, who were shortly to record songs for their album Black and Blue. The album was completed on the day before Thanksgiving. Plant suggested to the record company the album should be called Thanksgiving. This idea was quickly dropped, in favor of a title that was thought would represent the powerful force and presence that the band members felt surrounded the group.
2000 - The movie High Fidelity, starring John Cusack and Jack Black as record store clerks, and featuring a cameo by Bruce Springsteen, opens in theaters. Springsteen, making his first appearance in a feature film, shows up in a dream sequence, acting as Cusack's subconscious guide. Springsteen wasn't the first choice for this role: Bob Dylan got first crack at it, but he turned it down. The movie, which was adapted from a 1995 novel by Nick Hornby, is also notable for a scene where Jack Black's character berates a customer for asking for the song "I Just Called To Say I Love You" for his daughter. "Do you even know your daughter?" he scolds. "There's no way she likes that song." (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Birthdays:
Shirley Jones, known for her roles in Oklahoma! as well as on The Partridge Family, is 87.
Herb Alpert is 86.
Guitarist Mick Ralphs, founding member of Mott The Hoople and Bad Company, is 77.
AC/DC guitarist Angus Young is 66.
Paul Ferguson of Killing Joke is 63.
Jack Antonoff of Fun. and Bleachers is 37. Listen to Jack on a recent episode of the Bret Saunders Podcast: https://kbco.iheart.com/.../2021-02-17-the-bret-saunders.../
On This Day In Music History is sourced from This Day in Music, Paul Shaffer's Day in Rock, Song Facts and Wikipedia.