1966 - The Rolling Stones released "19th Nervous Breakdown". The title describes how Mick Jagger felt during a US tour in 1965. He explained in the Rolling Stones Monthly magazine: "We had just done five weeks hectic work in the States and I said, 'Dunno about you blokes, but I feel about ready for my nineteenth nervous breakdown.' We seized on it at once as a likely song title.
1968 - The Beatles recorded "Across the Universe" at Abbey Road Studios in London. During the recording, John Lennon and Paul McCartney decided the song needed falsetto harmonies, so they invited two female fans into the studio to sing on the song. The two were Lizzie Bravo, a 16-year-old Brazilian living near Abbey Road and 17-year-old Londoner Gayleen Pease.
1976 - Fleetwood Mac released the Stevie Nicks penned 'Rhiannon', from their eponymous album released in 1975. Nicks discovered the Rhiannon character through a novel called Triad by Mary Bartlet Leader. The novel is about a woman named Branwen who is possessed by another woman named Rhiannon.
1977 - Fleetwood Mac released Rumours. The dissolving personal relationships going on in the band is now legend. These personal tensions fueled nearly every song on Rumours, which makes listening to the album a nearly voyeuristic experience. You're eavesdropping on the bandmates singing painful truths about each other, spreading nasty lies and rumors and wallowing in their grief, all in the presence of the person who caused the heartache. It's is an exceptionally musical piece of work, each tune, each phrase regains its raw, immediate emotional power -- which is why Rumours touched a nerve upon its 1977 release, and has since transcended its era to be one of the greatest, most compelling pop albums of all time.
1980 - The Ramones released their fifth album End of the Century. The album was produced by Phil Spector and went on to become their highest charting album in the U.S. They didn’t know they were getting two producers: Nice Phil and Evil Phil. Nice Phil wore sports shirts and cracked corny jokes. Evil Phil wore a cape, dark glasses and was abusive and controlling. When an exhausted Dee Dee Ramone said he was going home one night, Spector reached for his revolver. “You’re not going anywhere,” he said.
1983 - Karen Carpenter died of heart failure, a complication of her anorexia nervosa. She was 32. She is best-known for her vocal performances but was also a talented drummer, and started off in The Carpenters singing from behind the drum kit.
2007 - Prince wows at the Super Bowl halftime show, closing with an otherworldly rendition of "Purple Rain" in the rain.
In his 12-minute set, Prince plays parts of "Let's Go Crazy," "Baby I'm a Star," "1999," and the Foo Fighters song "Best Of You" (to the delight of Dave Grohl, who didn't know it was coming).
For the finale, the lights dim and Prince captivates the crowd with "Purple Rain," casting a striking visual as purple light sparkles through the raindrops. When a billowing curtain rises, he is seen in silhouette with his signature guitar, a lasting image in many consider the greatest Super Bowl halftime performance in history. I tried to post the performance but the NFL said ,"NO!"(Photo credit should read JEFF HAYNES/AFP via Getty Images)
2010 - A judge rules that the flute riff of the Men at Work song "Down Under" plagiarizes another Australian classic: the 1932 song "Kookaburra." According to Colin Hay, the award amounts to about $100,000. He says legal fees in the case are about $4.5 million.
Birthdays:
Mike Deasy, guitarist with the Wrecking Crew, is 81.
Barry Beckett, keyboardist and session musician in the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, was born on this day in 1943. He worked with many artists including Paul Simon and Traffic.
Jimmy Johnson, guitarist and session musician also in the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Secion, was born on this day in 1943. He played on many hits and countless sessions including Percy Sledge, Aretha Franklin, Clarence Carter, Arthur Conley, Wilson Pickett, Joe Cocker, Paul Simon, Rod Stewart. He also engineered The Rolling Stones album Sticky Fingers.
Alice Cooper (Vincent Furnier) is 74.
Phil Ehart from Kansas is 71.
Jerry Shirley, drummer with Humble Pie, is 70.
Tim Booth, the singer from the band James, is 62.
Kevin John Wasserman, better known by his stage name Noodles, of The Offspring, is 59.
Natalie Imbruglia is 47.
On This Day In Music History is sourced from Mental Floss, Allmusic This Day in Music, Song Facts and Wikipedia.