1963 - The up and coming 17 year old Eric Clapton makes his first appearance with The Yardbirds. He replaced Anthony "Top" Topham.
1986 - One of the original super groups, Cream, a trio consisting of Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce, set out on their farewell tour. Their hit single "White Room" was still climbing the charts following the success of "Sunshine Of Your Love" earlier in the year.
1970 - Janis Joplin died of a heroin overdose in her room at the Landmark Hotel in Hollywood, California. The singer had battled heroin addiction and seemed to have it beat, but while recording her Pearl album, she started taking it again in small doses to get her through the sessions. The album was released posthumously on January 11th, 1971 and included her cover of Kris Kristofferson's "Me And Bobby McGee".
It's an all-too-common tragedy; Jimi Hendrix died of an overdose just 16 days earlier; in July 1971, Jim Morrison meets a similar fate. All three are 27 when they die. (Photo credit should read FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)
1980 - Queen started a three-week run at No. 1 on the charts with "Another One Bites The Dust." It was the waning months of the disco era, yet the group's first stab at a disco single was a massive success. Influenced by Chic's "Good Times".
During production of the movie Rocky III, this was used in a key scene where Rocky is training for a fight. Producers could not get permission to use the song, so Sylvester Stallone hired Survivor to write an original song instead, which turned out to be "Eye Of The Tiger."
1986 - CBS-TV newsman Dan Rather was caught off guard and roughed up in NYC by one man, as another yelled the enigmatic, "Kenneth, what is the frequency?" R.E.M. was inspired to later write a song about the incident, and it was their first single off of their 1994 album Monster.
1999 - Jimi Hendrix's half-sister Janie announced her plans to exhume the body of her famous brother and move it to a mausoleum where curious onlookers can view it for a price. The public outcry forced her to shelve the idea.
Birthdays
Chris Lowe of the Pet Shop Boys is 63.
Richard Reed Parry of Arcade Fire is 45.
Jody Stephens of Big Star is 70. The quintessential American power pop band, Big Star remains one of the most mythic and influential cult acts in all of rock & roll. R.E.M., The Replacements, Wilco, and others have cited them as major influences.
On this Day In Music History was sourced from This Day in Music, Song Facts, Allmusic, and Wikipedia.