1966 - Working at Abbey Road studios, London, Paul McCartney began work on his new song 'Penny Lane', recording six takes of keyboard tracks and various percussion effects. The song's title is derived from the name of a street near John Lennon's house, in the band's hometown, Liverpool. McCartney and Lennon would meet at Penny Lane junction in the Mossley Hill area to catch a bus into the center of the city.
1975 - Time magazine introduces the phrase "Sex Rock" in an article taking aim at Donna Summer's "Love To Love You Baby." Time claims that 15 percent of air time on AM radio is taken up by sex rock songs like "Do It Any Way You Wanna" by People's Choice, "That's The Way (I Like It)" by KC & The Sunshine Band, "I Want'a Do Something Freaky To You" by Leon Haywood and "Let's Do It Again" by the Staple Singers. The most egregious offender though is "Love To Love You Baby," a song they say contains 22 orgasms.
1982 - Sets of commemorative stamps in memory of Bob Marley were issued in Jamaica. He is considered one of the most influential musicians of all time and credited with popularizing reggae music around the world, as well as serving as a symbol of Jamaican culture and identity.
1982 - Unexpectedly (and some say inexplicably) delving into electronic music, Neil Young releases his 12th studio album, Trans. This album, along with the one that follows it (Everybody's Rockin', a record of rockabilly), causes Geffen Records to sue Young for intentionally creating music that won't sell.
Some context on Trans: From late 1980 to mid-1982, Young spent much of his waking hours carrying out a therapy program for his young son, Ben, who was born with cerebral palsy and unable to speak. Young's direction was influenced by the electronic experiments of the German band Kraftwerk, but more importantly he felt that distorting his voice reflected his attempts to communicate with his son. "At that time he was simply trying to find a way to talk, to communicate with other people. That's what Trans is all about. And that's why, on that record, you know I'm saying something but you can't understand what it is. Well, that's exactly the same feeling I was getting from my son. (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images)
2011 - "Alaska: The Last Frontier" debuted on the Discovery Channel. The reality-TV series centered on the Kilcher family living in the Alaskan wilderness, including Atz Kilcher, father of folk/country singer Jewel.
Birthdays:
Ray Thomas of The Moody Blues was born on this day in 1941.
Rick Danko of The Band was born today in 1943.
On This Day In Music History are gathered from This Day in Music, Paul Shaffer's Day in Rock, Song Facts and Wikipedia.