1967 - The Monterey Pop Festival began in Monterey, CA. Within three days, 50,000 people saw the first major appearances of Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Otis Redding and Janis Joplin. Additional performers included The Byrds, The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane and Buffalo Springfield.
John Phillips, of The Mamas & the Papas wrote, 'San Francisco, (Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair)' to promote the festival, which later became a hit for Scott McKenzie.
1967 - Pink Floyd released their second single 'See Emily Play' which was written by original frontman Syd Barrett. The slide guitar work on the song was done by Barrett using a plastic ruler...some sources say a zippo lighter.
1969 - Experimental avant-garde/free-jazz artist Don Van Vliet, aka Captain Beefheart, releases Trout Mask Replica, a polyrhythmic, polytonal collection of noise that is either an unlistenable mess or a work of genius. However, its inspiring reimagining of what was possible in a rock context laid the groundwork for countless future experiments in rock surrealism, especially during the punk/new wave era.
1972 - David Bowie released The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars a concept album telling the story of a fictional bisexual alien rock star named Ziggy Stardust. The Ziggy Stardust name came partly from the Legendary Stardust Cowboy, and partly because, as Bowie put it, Ziggy was "one of the few Christian names I could find beginning with the letter 'Z'". (Photo by Jo Hale/Getty Images)
1980 - "The Blues Brothers", starring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, premiered in Chicago. Directed by John Landis, the film follows two ne'er-do-well Chicago-area brothers who are suddenly inspired to perform a philanthropic act, putting their musical talent to good use as the source of their generosity and redemption. The music-infused film features cameo appearances by such artists as Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Cab Calloway, Ray Charles and John Lee Hooker, among others.
1982 - Pretenders guitarist James Honeyman-Scott, 25, died of a heroin overdose in London. Chrissie Hynde subsequently dedicated "Back On The Chain Gang" to him.
Birthdays;
Motown producer and songwriter Lamont Dozier is 80.
O' Jays lead vocalist Eddie Levert is 79.
Grammy-nominated Canadian crooner Gino Vanelli is 69.
Tupac Shakur was born today in 1971.
Ben Kweller is 40.
On This Day In Music History is sourced from This Day in Music, Allmusic, Songfacts, and Wikipedia.