1964 - 'Louie Louie' by The Kingsmen was the No. 1 song in the U.S. For a while, the record was banned by a handful of U.S. radio stations because of its indecipherable lyrics, which were rumored to contain some "naughty words". Even the F.B.I. investigated the song, but finally concluded that they could find nothing wrong.
1967 - The Jimi Hendrix Experience recorded 'Purple Haze' at De Lane Lea studios in London. Hendrix later stated 'The Purple Haze,' was about a dream he had and that he was walking under the sea."
1992 - Paul Simon becomes the first international artist to perform in Johannesburg, South Africa, since the lifting of the UN boycott. Simon had violated the UN ban by traveling to South Africa years earlier to find musicians for his Graceland album.
1992 - Nirvana make their first appearance on Saturday Night Live on the same day 'Nevermind' goes number one. They leave a mark: after performing their hit "Smells Like Teen Spirit," they play "Territorial Pissings" for their second song, then trash their instruments and anything else they can find on stage.
1998 - Nike debuts its "I Can" commercial, introducing the British band The Verve to a wide American audience with the song "Bitter Sweet Symphony." The song becomes the band's only hit in the States, which is bittersweet because they had to sign away royalties to the song to get the publishing rights to the string sample of the Rolling Stones' "The Last Time." After more than 20 years, the Rolling Stones and The Verve have resolved their dispute over the authorship of the song. Ashcroft said in comments reported by the BBC, "Mick Jagger and Keith Richards signed over all their publishing for 'Bitter Sweet Symphony,' which was a truly kind and magnanimous thing for them to do." (Photo by Samir Hussein/Getty Images)
Birthdays:
Slim Harpo, blues musician ("Baby Scratch My Back", "Hip Shake", "King Bee"), was born today in 1924.
Clarence Clemons, aka, The Big Man, saxophonist for the E Street Band, was born today in 1942.
Vicki Peterson of The Bangles is 64.
Tom Dumont of No Doubt is 54.
Tom Rowlands of The Chemical Brothers is 51.
On this Day In Music History is sourced from This Day in Music, Song Facts, NPR.org and Wikipedia.