1967 - At Abbey Road studios in London, The Beatles started work on Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. With it, the Beatles would consciously synthesized such disparate influences as psychedelia, art-song, classical music, rock & roll, and music hall, often in the course of one song. After Sgt. Pepper, there were no rules to follow.
1972 - Neil Young releases the album Harvest. After injuring his back trying to move some timber, Young started making the album in February 1971 when he wrangled a Nashville studio and some local musicians for a weekend and recorded the songs "Old Man" and "Heart of Gold" with some local musicians. The mellow mood is informed by his injury; he had to play an acoustic guitar because he could barely hold an electric.
Much of it is country-tinged, with Young backed by a new group dubbed the Stray Gators who prominently feature steel guitarist Ben Keith, though there is also an acoustic track, a couple of electric guitar-drenched rock performances, and two songs on which Young is accompanied by the London Symphony Orchestra.
The album is wildly successful, topping the charts in the UK and US. But Neil had other ideas. In the liner notes to his 1977 Decade compilation, he writes, "'Heart Of Gold' put me in the middle of the road. Traveling there soon became a bore, so I headed for the ditch. A rougher ride, but I saw more interesting people there."
1979 - Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious was released on bail after attacking Todd Smith, singer Patti Smith's brother, at a Skafish concert. John Lydon has since stated that Mick Jagger stepped in and paid for the lawyers for Vicious.
1980 - Blondie released "Call Me", the main theme song of the 1980 film "American Gigolo". European disco producer Giorgio Moroder wrote this with Blondie lead singer Debbie Harry and originally wanted Stevie Nicks to provide vocals on the track but the Fleetwood Mac vocalist declined the offer.
1985 - The Eagles' Glenn Frey makes his acting debut in an episode of NBC's Miami Vice that is based on his song "Smuggler's Blues."
1994 - Green Day release their third album (their first on a major label), Dookie. Green Day were straight-ahead punk revivalists through and through and on their first couple records, they showed promise. But with Dookie, they delivered a record that found Billie Joe Armstrong bursting into full flower as a songwriter, spitting out melodic ravers, recalling early singles by The Jam, The Clash, and Buzzcocks. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for iHeart)
2004 - Justin Timberlake punctuates the Super Bowl halftime show by tearing away part of Janet Jackson's costume, revealing her right breast to a massive audience. "Wardrobe Malfunction" becomes part of the American lexicon.
2008 - NASA announced that "Across the Universe" by The Beatles was to become the first song ever to be beamed directly into space.
2012 - Don Cornelius, the host of "Soul Train" from 1971 until 1993, who helped break down racial barriers and broaden the reach of Black culture, died. He was 75.
Birthdays:
Don Everly, guitarist/singer with The Everly Brothers, was born on this day in 1937.
Rick James was born today in 1948.
Mike Campbell, guitarist with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, is 72.
Lisa Marie Presley is 54.
Patrick Wilson, drummer for Weezer, is 53.
Harry Styles is 28.
On this Day In Music History is sourced from Allmusic, This Day in Music, Song Facts and Wikipedia.