1957 - John Lennon and Paul McCartney met for the first time in Woolton, Liverpool, at the St. Peter's Church Parish festival where 16-year-old Lennon's skiffle band, The Quarrymen, were appearing. McCartney impressed Lennon by playing "Twenty Flight Rock" by Eddie Cochran and "Be-Bop-A-Lula" by Gene Vincent. Lennon was even more impressed when McCartney showed Lennon and Eric Griffiths how to tune their guitars, something they'd been paying someone else to do for them.
1979 - The B-52s release their self-titled debut album, featuring one of their signature songs in "Rock Lobster." Even in the weird, quirky world of new wave and post-punk in the late '70s, the B-52's' eponymous debut stood out as an original. Unabashed kitsch mavens, the Athens quintet celebrated all the silliest aspects of pre-Beatles pop culture -- bad hairdos, sci-fi nightmares, dance crazes, pastels, and anything else that sprung into their minds -- to a skewed fusion of pop, surf, avant-garde, amateurish punk, and white funk.
1968 - The Rolling Stones scored their fifth U.S. No. 1 single when "Jumpin Jack Flash" reached the top of the charts. Keith Richards has recalled that he and Mick Jagger wrote the lyrics while staying at Richards' country house, where they were awoken one morning by the sound of gardener Jack Dyer walking past the window. When Jagger asked what the noise was, Richards responded: "Oh, that's Jack, that's jumpin' Jack."
1971- The Allman Brothers release, Live At Fillmore East. Whereas most great live rock albums are about energy, At Fillmore East is like a great live jazz session, where the pleasure comes from the musicians' interaction and playing. At Fillmore East was the band's artistic and commercial breakthrough, rapidly escalating the band's exposure and gaining them a new legion of loyal fans. Many people consider At Fillmore East to be one of the best live albums of all time, and consider the album to be the start of the band's association with the jam band school of music (although members of the band have repudiated the label, stating instead they are just "a band that jams") .
1971 - American jazz trumpeter, singer and bandleader, Louis Armstrong died. A jazz pioneer, he was the first important soloist to emerge in jazz, and he became the most influential musician in the music's history. But Armstrong also became an enduring figure in popular music due to his distinctively phrased baritone singing and engaging personality, which were on display in a series of vocal recordings and film roles.
1977 - Performing at Olympic Stadium in Montreal on the final stop of Pink Floyd's first stadium tour, Roger Waters spit on an unruly fan and criticized the crowd for setting off fireworks. The experience inspired their next album, The Wall.
1988 - MTV refuses to play Neil Young's video for "This Note's For You," citing a policy against videos that mention products. The video is a parody of various ad campaigns, with lyrics mentioning Coke, Pepsi, Miller and Bud. When MTV snubs him, Young writes them an open letter:
MTV, you spineless twerps.
You refuse to play "This Note's For You" because you're afraid to offend your sponsors.
What does the "M" in MTV stand for: music or money?
Long live rock and roll.
Neil Young
1994 - Forrest Gump hit theaters. Aside from becoming the top-grossing film of the year in North America and winning multiple Academy Awards, the movie spawns a hit soundtrack with songs from Elvis Presley, Three Dog Night, The Doors, The Byrds, The Mamas & the Papas, Buffalo Springfield, and more.
2009 - Alanis Morissette begins an eight-episode stint on the Showtime drama Weeds, playing obstetrician Audra Kitson.
Birthdays:
Bill Haley, considered "the first rock 'n' roll star," was born today in 1925. He passed away in 1981.
Nanci Griffith is 68.
Curtis James Jackson III, better known as 50 Cent, is 46.
On This Day In Music History is sourced from This Day in Music, Song Facts, Allmusic, and Wikipedia.