1963 - Leonard Chess, co-founder of Chess records (home to Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry, Etta James, etc.) tells Billboard magazine, "As it stands today, there's virtually no difference between rock and roll, pop and rhythm and blues. The music has completely overlapped."
1973 - With a boulder on his shoulder, feelin' kinda older, 23-year-old Bruce Springsteen released his debut album, Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ. It found him found him squarely in the tradition of Bob Dylan. But where Dylan had taken a world-weary, cynical tone, Springsteen was exuberant. His street scenes could be haunted and tragic, but they were still imbued with romanticism and a youthful energy. Asbury Park painted a portrait of teenagers cocksure of themselves, yet bowled over by their discovery of the world. (Photo by Buda Mendes/Getty Images)
1979 - Prince made his live debut at the Capri Theatre, Minneapolis. Warner Bros. executives attended the show but decided that Prince and the band needed more time to develop his music.
1980 - "Rapper's Delight" by The Sugarhill Gang became the first rap song to hit the Top 40. "Rapper's Delight" the first rap song to use a sample, which of course was done without permission because no precedent existed for clearing a sample. The beat that plays throughout was taken from "Good Times" by Chic. The "Good Times" groove was easy to loop, creating a breakbeat that was perfect for MCs. The Sugarhill Gang wasn't the first to borrow it - the bassline in the Queen song "Another One Bites The Dust," was inspired buy it.
1997 - Johnny Cash plays Coyote, Homer Simpson's imaginary guru, on The Simpsons. Coyote tells Homer to buy more material possessions...and find a soul mate. Simpsons creator Matt Groening called Cash's appearance "one of the greatest coups the show has ever had."
Birthdays:
Grady Thomas of Funkadelic is 81.
Chris Stein of Blondie is 72.
Grant Young of Soul Asylum is 58.
Kate Schellenbach of Luscious Jackson is 56.
Troy Van Leeuwen of Queens of the Stone Age and A Perfect Circle is 52.
On this Day In Music History is sourced from Allmusic, This Day in Music, Song Facts and Wikipedia.