1963 - James Carroll at WWDC in Washington, D.C., became the first disc jockey to broadcast a Beatles record on American radio. Carroll played "I Want To Hold Your Hand", which he had obtained from his stewardess girlfriend, who brought the single back from the U.K.. Due to listener demand, the song was played daily, every hour. Since it hadn't been released yet in the States, Capitol Records initially considered court action, but instead released the single earlier than planned.
1971 - 50 years ago, David Bowie released his fourth album Hunky Dory, which opens with the anthemic "Changes." Regarded as one of Bowie's best works, it also features singles "Oh! You Pretty Things", "Life on Mars?" and "Queen Bitch". Bowie considered the album to be one of the most important of his career. In a 1999 Uncut interview, he said, "Hunky Dory gave me a fabulous groundswell. I guess it provided me, for the first time in my life, with an actual audience - I mean, people actually coming up to me and saying, 'Good album, good songs.' That hadn't happened to me before. It was like, 'Ah, I'm getting it, I'm finding my feet. I'm starting to communicate what I want to do."
1977 - At the last minute, Elvis Costello And The Attractions were scheduled to appear on Saturday Night Live in place of the Sex Pistols, who were unable to gain a visa to enter the country. SNL Producer Lorne Michaels asked Costello to not play "Radio, Radio" (because of the song's critique of '70s corporate rock radio). Costello launched into a few seconds of "Less Than Zero," then abruptly broke into a full version of "Radio, Radio". Michaels was not amused and banned Costello from SNL for years. (Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images for Songwriters Hall Of Fame)
1989 - The Simpsons debuted on Fox with the episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire." The show quickly attracted big-name guest stars, including many musicians. In Season 3, Michael Jackson, Sting and Aerosmith appeared. Following years featured Tom Petty, Mick & Keith, George, Paul, & Ringo, Johnny Cash, Smashing Pumpkins, R.E.M., The Ramones and many more.
2010 - Captain Beefheart died aged 69. The singer-songwriter, artist and poet born Don Glen Vliet in Glendale, California and was a childhood friend of Frank Zappa's. He was one of modern music's true innovators. The owner of a remarkable four-and-a-half-octave vocal range, he employed idiosyncratic rhythms, absurdist lyrics, and an unholy alliance of free jazz, Delta blues, latter-day classical music, and rock & roll to create a singular body of work virtually unrivaled in its daring and fluid creativity. While he never came even remotely close to mainstream success, Beefheart's impact was incalculable, and his fingerprints were all over punk, new wave, and post-rock.
Birthdays:
Paul Rogers, Free, Bad Company, and The Firm, is 72.
Mike Mills, R.E.M bassist, is 63.
Bob Stinson, The Replacements' guitarist, was born today in 1959.
Mick Quinn, Supergrass singer, is 52.
On this Day In Music History are gathered from Billboard, Allmusic, This Day in Music, Song Facts and Wikipedia.