1942 - "Chattanooga Choo Choo" by Glenn Miller and his Orchestra became the first recording to be awarded a Gold Record. It was actually just a master copy of the disc sprayed with gold lacquer by RCA as a publicity stunt. The actual award recognized today as a Gold Record would not be initiated for another sixteen years when the Recording Industry Association of America borrowed the idea and trademarked the Gold Record. The RIAA awards gold records to singles and albums that earn over $1 million. Glenn is a member of the Colorado Music Hall Of Fame.
1968 - Rolling Stone magazine offers free roach clips to new subscribers.
In their fifth issue, Rolling Stone offers a new incentive to build their subscriber base: a free roach clip with every paid subscription. They don't call it a "roach clip" though, instead showing a picture and labelling it a "Handy Little Device" and suggesting it has many uses around the home, including hanging jewelry.
1971 - Carole King released her second studio album Tapestry. It is one of the best-selling albums of all time. King wrote or co-wrote all of the songs on the album, several of which had already been hits for other artists such as Aretha Franklin's "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" and The Shirelles' "Will You Love Me Tomorrow", and James Taylor, who encouraged King to sing her own songs and who also played on Tapestry, would later have a No. 1 hit with "You've Got a Friend".
With its reliance on pianos and gentle drumming, Tapestry is a light and airy work on its surface, occasionally skirting the boundaries of jazz, but it's also an intensely emotional record, the songs confessional and direct; in its time it connected with listeners like few records before it, and it remains an illuminating experience decades later.
1979 - Dire Straits release "Sultans Of Swing." Mark Knopfler got the idea for song this from watching a lousy club band perform. As the story goes, Knopfler was in Ipswich on a rainy night. He ducked into a bar where a mediocre band was closing out the night to an audience that was maybe four or five drunks unaware of their surroundings.
2010 - John Mayer describes his ex-girlfriend Jessica Simpson as "sexual napalm" in a Playboy interview. The crux of the interview is Mayer's struggle with fame and what motivates him now that his basic needs are met, but soon Simpson's name comes up. "That girl is like crack cocaine to me," he said along with a few other comments he would probably like to take back. Mayer takes a drubbing in the media (social and otherwise), and backs away from the public eye. He stops doing interviews for almost two years and shuts down his Twitter account in September. Lesson learned: Some thoughts should stay in your head where they belong. (Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images)
Birthdays:
Jerry Goldsmith, creator of the scores of "Star Trek", "Planet of the Apes", "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." and "Dr. Kildare", among others, was born today in 1929.
Don Wilson, guitarist with The Ventures, was born on this day in 1933.
Chris Ethridge, member of the International Submarine Band and The Flying Burrito Brothers, was born on this day in 1947.
Nigel Olsson, drummer for Elton John, is 73.
Cliff Burton, bass player with Metallica, was born today in 1962.
On This Day In Music History is sourced from Allmusic, This Day in Music, Song Facts and Wikipedia.