1957 - Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel appeared as Tom and Jerry on American Bandstand.
1963 - The Beatles release With The Beatles. With the Beatles is a sequel of the highest order -- one that betters the original by developing its own tone and adding depth. While it may share several similarities with its predecessor -- there is an equal ratio of covers-to-originals, a familiar blend of girl group, Motown, R&B, pop, and rock. Even at this early stage, the Beatles were rapidly maturing and changing, turning into expert craftsmen and musical innovators. (Photo by Getty Images)
1968 - The Beatles released The White Album. Each song on the sprawling double album The Beatles is an entity to itself, as the band touches on anything and everything it can. This makes for a frustratingly scattershot record or a singularly gripping musical experience, depending on your view, but what makes the so-called White Album interesting is its mess. Never before had a rock record been so self-reflective, or so ironic; the Beach Boys send-up "Back in the U.S.S.R." and the British blooze parody "Yer Blues" are delivered straight-faced, so it's never clear if these are affectionate tributes or wicked satires. None of it sounds like it was meant to share album space together, but somehow The White Album creates its own style and sound through its mess.
1990 - Bill Wyman announced that his 17-month marriage to model Mandy Smith was over. With the consent of her mother, Smith had started dating the 47-year-old Rolling Stones bassist when she was aged 13. Gross.
1994 - Pearl Jam released their third studio album Vitalogy. Thanks to its stripped-down, lean production, Vitalogy stands as Pearl Jam's most original and uncompromising album. While it isn't a concept album, Vitalogy sounds like one. Death and despair shroud the album. But that black cloud works to Pearl Jam's advantage, injecting a nervous tension to brittle rockers and especially introspective ballads. Pearl Jam are at their best when they're fighting, whether it's Ticketmaster, fame, or their own personal demons. Interesting fact: Vitalogy was first released on vinyl and became the first vinyl album to appear on the U.S. chart, since the domination of the compact disc format. They followed the release in other formats two weeks later, whereupon it became the second-fastest-selling CD in history, behind only the band's previous release Vs.
1997 - Michael Hutchence of INXS died in Sydney. The frontman was just 37, the victim of an apparent hanging.
2011 - At her concert in Madison Square Garden, Taylor Swift brought out James Taylor - whom she's named after - to perform "Fire And Rain" and "Fifteen."
Birthdays:
Jesse Colin Young of the Youngbloods is 80.
Aston "Family Man" Barrett, bassist in Bob Marley's Wailers, is 75.
Tina Weymouth of Talking Heads is 71.
Little Steven Van Zandt (guitarist for Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band) is 71.
On This Day In Music History is sourced from Allmusic, This Day in Music, Song Facts and Wikipedia.