1965 - The Who record "My Generation", a song that expresses the anger and frustration of teenagers of the day. Roger Daltrey would later say that he stuttered the lyrics to try to fit them to the music. The BBC initially refused to play the song because it did not want to offend people who stammer, but later reversed its decision.
1974 - Renowned television host Ed Sullivan dies at age 73. One of the biggest events in music history unfolded on his program, The Ed Sullivan Show, when a new group from Liverpool called The Beatles made their live U.S. debut. The broadcast drew an estimated 73 million viewers.
1986 - Neil Young headlines the first Bridge School benefit concert in support of the non-profit institution that provides education for children with verbal and physical disabilities. Young and his wife Pegi co-founded the school when their son, Ben, was born with cerebral palsy. The all-acoustic concert - featuring performances by Bruce Springsteen, Don Henley, Tom Petty, and a reunited Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - turns into an annual event that adds many more big-name acts to the roster, including regular guests Pearl Jam.
1987 - Sting releases his second solo effort, Nothing Like The Sun. Written and recorded following Sting’s involvement with Amnesty International’s Conspiracy of Hope Tour, it was clear that being exposed to some of the unjust heartache during tour stops through Latin America not only opened Sting’s eyes to the issues of government oppression and the ravages of civil war, but also the music of the region. Coupled with this was Sting’s personal struggle dealing with the illness and ultimate loss of his mother that transpired in the lead up to and recording of the album.
2016 - Bob Dylan was awarded the 2016 Nobel Prize for Literature, becoming the first songwriter to win the prestigious award. The 75-year-old rock legend received the prize "for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition".
2017 - Beck releases Colors. Time was ripe in 2017 for Beck to deliver a "fun" album, the kind of elastic, eclectic pop that was his calling card back in the '90s. Given the album's unusually long gestation period -- the recording began in 2013, with the first single "Dreams" arriving in 2015 and the album coming two years later -- perhaps it's a surprise that Colors isn't especially deep but, if that's so, it's also a surprise that the album doesn't seem particularly labored either. This isn't to say Colors doesn't serve up hooks or melodies: in fact, that's all that it does, circling through exuberant dance-rock, new wave ballads, mock hip-hop, and candied pop.
Birthdays:
Paul Simon is 81. One of the most successful and respected songwriters of the rock era. Being half of the legendary pop duo Simon & Garfunkel would be enough for most people, but Simon reaped just as much acclaim as a solo artist. In the 1970s, he was at the vanguard of the singer/songwriter movement, marrying smart, reflective lyrics with sophisticated pop music. In the '80s, he was one of the first pop artists to successfully combine world music into his sound, resulting in the South African flavor of the landmark Graceland, an Album of the Year Grammy winner. (Photo credit should read LUKE FRAZZA/AFP via Getty Images)
Robert Lamm of Chicago is 78.
Sammy Hagar is 75.
Marie Osmond is 63.
On This Day In Music History are gathered from Albumism, Allmusic, This Day in Music, Song Facts and Wikipedia.