1966 - Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker and Eric Clapton formed Cream. Although only together for a little more than two years, their influence was immense, both during their late-'60s peak and in the years following their breakup. Cream were the first top group to truly exploit the power trio format, in the process laying the foundation for much blues-rock and hard rock of the 1960s and 1970s. (Photo by Scott Gries/Getty Images)
1973 - Bob Dylan's soundtrack album to Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid was released. Neglected at the time, in retrospect, the resulting album was a beautifully simple, sometimes rough-at-the-edges and sometimes gently refined piece of country- and folk-influenced rock, devised to underscore a very serious historical film by one of the movies' great directorial stylists. Contained 'Knockin' On Heaven's Door,' Dylan's most covered song.
1981 - Singer-songwriter Harry Chapin, who had success in the 70s with 'Taxi’, ‘W-O-L-D’ and a No. 1 ‘Cat’s In The Cradle’, was killed aged 38 suffering a cardiac arrest while driving on a New York expressway. His car was hit from behind by a tractor-trailer, causing the gas tank to explode.
2007 - The White Stripes played their shortest live show ever at George Street, St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada. Jack White played a single C-sharp note accompanied by a bass drum and crash cymbal hit from Meg. At the end of the show, Jack announced, "We have now officially played in every province and territory in Canada." The concert is captured in the documentary, Under Great White Northern Lights, which tracks the White Stripes' entire 2007 tour across Canada.
2002 - After unfinished tracks from their shelved project The Lillywhite Sessions ( the semi-legendary soul-searching album recorded in 2000 but abandoned in favor of Everyday) are leaked on the internet, the Dave Matthews Band reworks the songs and release them as Busted Stuff. They picked nine of the best songs from the sessions, reworked some of them a bit, tinkered with the lyrics, added two new songs, and came up with Busted Stuff.
2014 - Blues guitarist Johnny Winter died at the age of 70 in Zurich, just days after playing at the Lovely Days Festival in Austria. Winter, who was instantly recognizable by his long white hair, worked with some of the greatest bluesmen, producing several albums for his childhood hero Muddy Waters - with whom he won a number of Grammys.
2016 - American vocalist, punk icon and visual artist Alan Vega died aged 78. Primarily known for his work with the electronic duo Suicide. Although they barely received credit, Suicide (including keyboardist Martin Rev) were the source point for virtually every synth pop duo that glutted the pop marketplace (especially in England) in the early '80s. The duo released their influential self-titled debut in 1977, one of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Essential song: "Frankie Teardrop"
Birthdays:
Desmond Adolphus Dacres, better-known as Desmond Dekker, was born today in 1941. He passed away in 2006. Essential song: The Israelites.
Police drummer Stewart Copeland is 69.
Will Ferrell actor, comedian, and sometimes drummer is 54.
On This Day In Music History is sourced from This Day in Music, Song Facts, Allmusic, and Wikipedia.