1969 - After finishing ‘I Want You, (She’s So Heavy)', The Beatles worked on the running order for the Abbey Road album. A preliminary master tape was compiled, the medley was originally slated for side one of the album, and the placement of ‘Octopus's Garden’ and ‘Oh! Darling’ were reversed from the final version. The album was to end with the slashed guitar chord that finishes ‘I Want You (She's So Heavy)’. This was the last time all four Beatles were together in Abbey Road studios.
1977 - The Voyager 2 space probe is launched, carrying with it a "Golden Record" of sounds and images representing Earth. Music selections included Bach, Stravinsky, Blind Willie Johnson, and Chuck Berry. The inclusion of Berry's "Johnny B. Goode" was controversial, with some claiming that rock music was "adolescent", to which Sagan replied, "There are a lot of adolescents on the planet."
1979 - Bob Dylan released 'Slow Train Coming', an album of religious songs, including the Grammy Award winning single, 'Gotta Serve Somebody'. The album alienated many of his long time fans.
The unexpected side effect of his conversion is that it gave Dylan a focus he hadn't had since Blood on the Tracks, and his concentration carries over to the music, which is lean and direct. Focus isn't necessarily the same thing as consistency, and this does suffer from being a bit too dogmatic, not just in its religion, but in its musical approach. Still, it's hard to deny Dylan's revitalized sound here, and the result is a modest success that at least works on its own terms.
1983 - Taco's cover of the Irving Berlin song "Puttin' On the Ritz" reaches #9 on the Hot 100, making the 95-year-old Berlin the oldest living songwriter ever to land a Top 10 on that tally.
Birthdays:
Country singer Jim Reeves was born today in 1923. He passed away in 1964.
'Sneaky' Pete Kleinow of the Flying Burrito Brothers was born today in 1934. He passed away in 2007.
Ralf Hutter of Kraftwerk is 75.
James Pankow of Chicago is 74.
Robert Plant is 73 today. Plant's career spans more than 40 years, including his time with Led Zeppelin and his work as a solo artist. Possessing a powerful and wide vocal range (including his trademark screams), Plant is regarded as one of the greatest singers in the history of popular music. Plant may have embraced rock stardom during Zeppelin's zenith in the mid-'70s, but the singer has spent the decades following the band's 1980 dissolution exploring the road less-traveled. (Photo by Mauricio Santana/Getty Images)
Doug Fieger of The Knack was born today in 1952. He passed away in 2010.
Isaac Hayes was born today in 1942. He passed away in 2008.
Phil Lynott, lead singer of Thin Lizzy, was born today in 1949. He passed away in 1986.
Dimebag Darrell of Pantera was born today in 1966. He passed away in 2004.
John Hiatt is 68. His songs have been covered by a variety of artists including Bob Dylan, The Searchers, Ry Cooder, Linda Ronstadt, Bonnie Raitt, Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Willie Nelson, Three Dog Night, Joan Baez, and Iggy Pop.
Keefer, KBCO, is 62. Self professed "Road Man For The Lords Of Karma", vinyl junkie, dog lover, beer drinker, ganja enthusiast, and semi avid fisherman.
Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit is 51.
Queens of the Stone Age bassist Michael Schuman is 36.
Demi Lovato is 29.
On This Day In Music History is sourced from This Day in Music, Song Facts, Allmusic, my mom, and Wikipedia.