1969 - As a protest against Britain's military involvement in foreign conflicts, John Lennon returns his MBE (Member of the British Empire) medal, with an attached letter that reads, puckishly, "Your Majesty, I am returning this MBE in protest against Britain's involvement in the Nigeria-Biafra thing, against our support of America in Vietnam, and against 'Cold Turkey' slipping down the charts. With love, John Lennon of Bag." (Photo by Junko Kimura/Getty Images)
1974 - Nick Drake died in his sleep due to overdose at age 26. Drake signed to Island Records when he was twenty years old and recorded the classic album Pink Moon in 1972. In 2000, Volkswagen featured the title track from Pink Moon in a T.V. ad, and within a month Drake had sold more records than he had in the previous thirty years.
1976 - The Band made their final performance, "The Last Waltz", at Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. The show, held on Thanksgiving Day, also featured Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Van Morrison, Neil Diamond and Eric Clapton. Martin Scorsese filmed the event and made it into a documentary two years later.
1992 - The Bodyguard opened nation-wide featuring Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner. The film which was Houston's acting debut was written by Lawrence Kasdan in the 1970s, originally as a vehicle for Steve McQueen and Diana Ross. The soundtrack featuring Houston's "I Will Always Love You", written by Dolly Parton, is one of the best-selling soundtracks of all time, selling more than 42 million copies worldwide.
Birthdays:
Soul singer Percy Sledge, singer of No. 1 single "When A Man Loves A Woman", was born today in 1940.
Singer Bob Lind, known for his transatlantic hit record, "Elusive Butterfly", was born today in 1944.
Singer Jocelyn Brown was born today in 1950. In 1990, the line "I've got the power" was sampled from her 1985 dance hit, "Love's Gonna Get You" by electronica group Snap! for their worldwide hit, "The Power".
Amy Grant is 60.
Mark Lanegan of Screaming Trees and Queens of the Stone Age is 56.
On This Day In Music History is sourced from This Day in Music, Paul Shaffer's Day in Rock, Song Facts and Wikipedia.