1957 - The government of Iran officially banned rock and roll after declaring rock dancing "as harmful to health". The ban stayed in place until the 1990s.
1969 - The Jimi Hendrix Experience played at Mile High Stadium in what was to be their final gig together. The occasion was the Denver Pop Festival. Unlike the free-form happening in Woodstock, the Denver festival had the full support and local resources of a major city, taking place in Mile High Stadium. There were high expectations for the Festival; it was commonly called the "First Annual" Denver Pop Festival. The peak attendance was estimated at 50,000, though on Sunday when it was declared a free festival, that number may have been higher. Ticket prices were $6 per day, or $15 for all three days.
An inspired set by the Experience was marred by a riot following the group’s performance. Police officers began firing tear gas at the audience while Eric Barrett, a roadie for the Experience, rushed the band off stage and into the back of their rented equipment truck. Fans climbed all over the vehicle, nearly buckling the roof before the Barrett and the road crew could whisk the group away.
Other acts during the 3 days were: Johnny Winter, Joe Cocker, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Poco, Frank Zappa & The Mothers Of Invention, Iron Butterfly, Tim Buckley, and Big Mama Thornton.
1969 - Crosby, Stills & Nash release their self-titled debut album, a sparkling set immortalizing the group's amazingly close, high harmonies. It marks the point where rock music transitions from the heady explorations of the 1960s into the burnished self-reflections of the '70s. Perfectly in tune with the times, it's a definitive document of its era. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
1979 - Lowell George, frontman for Little Feat, died of a heart attack at age 34. George joined Zappa's Mothers of Invention as rhythm guitarist in 1968, played guitar on John Cale's 1973 album Paris 1919, Harry Nilsson's Son of Schmilsson album and Jackson Browne's The Pretender.
1985 - David Bowie and Mick Jagger recorded a version of the Martha Reeves and the Vandellas 1964 hit 'Dancing In The Street' for the forthcoming Live Aid fundraising event. The original plan was to perform a track together live, with Bowie performing at Wembley Stadium and Jagger at John F. Kennedy Stadium, until it was realized that the satellite link-up would cause a half-second delay that would make this impossible unless either Bowie or Jagger mimed their contribution, something neither artist was willing to do.
1993 - George Harrison announced that he would be undergoing chemotherapy for throat cancer, with assurances that, "I'm not going to die on you folks just yet." He succumbed to the disease three years later.
Birthdays:
Celebrated American singer and actor Nelson Eddy was born today in 1901. He passed away in 1967.
Deep Purple drummer Ian Paice is 73.
Little Eva, known for the hit "The Loco-motion", was born today in 1943. She passed away in 2003.
Colin Hay, singer-songwriter and former Men at Work frontman, is 68.
On This Day In Music History is sourced from This Day in Music, Song Facts, Allmusic, Jimi Hendrix.com, and Wikipedia.