1967 - Procol Harum's ’A Whiter Shade Of Pale’ entered the Billboard chart, where it would peak at No 5. The song was written by the band around a melody composed by the group's organist, Matthew Fisher, who was inspired by the chord progression of Johann Sebastian Bach's 'Orchestral Suite in D', composed between 1725 and 1739.
1994 - Weezer released "Undone - The Sweater Song," the first single from their debut album, Weezer (aka The Blue Album). This song is about going insane in public. Rivers Cuomo told Billboard magazine: "When I wrote 'The Sweater Song,' to me it was a very sad song about depression, and people heard it on the radio and thought it was hysterical." (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for CBS Radio Inc.)
1993 - The California band Severe Tire Damage pull off the first webcast in history, live streaming a concert from the Xerox Research Center in Palo Alto to an extremely small audience. The next year, The Rolling Stones become the first major artist to do a webcast.
1995 - Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder left the stage due to illness after only seven songs during an outdoor concert in San Francisco. To the delight of some, but mostly dismay to the younger fans, Neil Young stepped up to finish the show. Stomach ailment was the culprit. Young was on hand to perform only as a surprise guest at show’s end
1999 - Eric Clapton put 100 of his guitars up for auction at Christie's in New York City to raise money for his drug rehab clinic, the Crossroads Centre in Antigua. His 1956 Fender Stratocaster — named Brownie, which was used to record the electric version of "Layla" — sold for a record $497,500. The auction helped raise nearly $5 million for the clinic.
Birthdays:
Arthur Wilton Brown, also known as The God of Hellfire, is 79.
Legendary guitarist Jeff Beck (Yardbirds, Jeff Beck Group) is 77.
Colin Blunstone, lead singer of the Zombies, is 76.
Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac is 74.
John Illsely, bassist, Dire Straits, is 72.
Andy McCluskey of Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark is 62.
Curt Smith, of Tears for Fears, is 60.
Hope Sandoval of Mazzy Star is 55.
On This Day In Music History is sourced from This Day in Music, Variety, Song Facts and Wikipedia.