1958 - Gibson guitars launched its "Flying V" electric guitar. Guitarists who played a Flying V include Albert King, Jimi Hendrix, Marc Bolan (T-Rex), Lenny Kravitz and Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top. It was designed by Seth Lover. Gibson boss Ted McCarty said: “When Seth saw the first one, he laughed and said, well, that looks like a flying vee. So we named it the Flying V.” (Photo by Stuart Wilson/Getty Images)
1968 - Magical Mystery Tour became The Beatles' 11th U.S. album chart-topper when it started an eight-week reign at No. 1. The double EP was a critical and commercial success and was nominated for a Grammy, despite the widespread media criticism of the Magical Mystery Tour film. The psychedelic sound is very much in the vein of Sgt. Pepper's, and even spacier in parts (especially the sound collages of "I Am the Walrus").
1973 - Carly Simon's "You're So Vain" started a three-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart. In 2015, after keeping quiet for more than 40 years, Carly Simon admitted that the song (with Mick Jagger on backing vocals) was about Warren Beatty, but only one verse of it. Simon said the other verses were about two other men.
1976 - Peter Frampton's live double album, Frampton Comes Alive!, is released. Powered by his trusty talkbox sound, it becomes one of the best-selling live albums in history. The talkbox uses a device held in the mouth and modulates and filters the sound of the guitar in a similar way to a wah-wah pedal. Frampton gets his quasi-robotic sound by mouthing words into a tube which are then used to modulate the guitar's tone, making the sound resemble a human voice.
1975 - Pink Floyd started sessions at Abbey Road Studios in London for their album Wish You Were Here. Before they settled in with that one, they had something else in mind. The proposed LP was to feature the band leaving their traditional instruments behind and perform only on a variety of household items and appliances – including hand mixers, wine glasses, aerosol spray cans and rubber bands.
"A lot of the time it would just be like plonky noises," David Gilmour later admitted. "We would be searching for something and it didn't work and ultimately to me personally it became rather unsatisfying." Hey, it was the 70s.
2007 - Country-rock steel guitar player 'Sneaky' Pete Kleinow, died at age 72. He was one of the original members of the Flying Burrito Brothers with the Byrds' Chris Hillman and Gram Parsons, and he also worked with John Lennon and Joni Mitchell.
2009 - Ron Asheton passes away at the age 60. As a founding member of the legendary Stooges, his guitar playing forever changed the face of rock & roll, his raw, primordial riffs presaging the rise of punk by a decade.
Birthdays:
Bluegrass legend Earl Scruggs (The Bluegrass Boys, The Foggy Mountain Boys) was born on this day in 1924.
Syd Barrett, the original lead singer of Pink Floyd, was born today in 1946. He released 2 solo albums before going into self-imposed seclusion for more than 30 years, enjoying life as an artist and a keen gardener.
Sandy Denny, UK folk singer and member of Fairport Convention was born on this day in 1947. She is featured on the Led Zeppelin track 'Battle Of Evermore' on the bands fourth album. She's the only guest vocalist to appear on a Led Zeppelin song
Malcolm Young of AC/DC was born today in 1953.
Kathy Sledge of Sister Sledge is 63.
Mark O'Toole of Frankie Goes To Hollywood is 58.
On this Day In Music History is sourced from Ultimate Classic Rock, Allmusic, Guitar.com, This Day in Music, Song Facts and Wikipedia.