1956 - The Godfather of Soul and the hardest-working man in show business, James Brown, had his first chart entry on the R&B chart with "Please, Please, Please." he song has no discernible storyline or hook, just Brown screaming "please" over and over, interspersed with some lines about a girl doing him wrong. It's all feeling, which was Brown's forte. Only Soul Brother #1 could pull it off.
1961 - Bob Dylan made his New York City stage debut at Gerde's Folk City, a small Greenwich Village club, opening for John Lee Hooker. During the set, he debuted a tune that would come to be one of his trademark songs: "Blowin' In The Wind."
Dylan claims that he wrote this song in about 10 minutes that afternoon. Before playing it, he announced, "This here ain't no protest song or anything like that, 'cause I don't write no protest songs." During this first performance, Dylan couldn't read some of his own handwriting and made up some of the lyrics as he went along.
1966 - Buffalo Springfield made their live debut at The Troubadour in Hollywood, California. Renowned both for their music and as a springboard for the careers of Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Richie Furay and Jim Messina. Stephen and Richie are in the Colorado Music Hall Of Fame. (Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images for Americana Music Festival)
1970 - Fleetwood Mac founding member Peter Green announces he is leaving the group to devote himself to "what God would have me do." Green had been experimenting with acid and his behavior became increasingly irrational, especially after he disappeared for three days of rampant drug use in Munich. He became very religious, appearing on-stage wearing crucifixes and flowing robes.
Green's chaotic odyssey of almost a decade afterwards included rumors that he was a grave digger, a bartender in Cornwall, a hospital orderly, and a member of an Israeli commune. When an accountant sent him an unwanted royalty check, Green confronted his tormentor with a gun, although it was unloaded. He went to jail briefly before being transferred to an asylum.
After a few member changes, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks join the band for their most successful lineup in 1974.
2014 - Nirvana was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. REM's Michael Stipe inducted the group, saying, "Nirvana tapped into a voice that was yearning to be heard. Nirvana were kicking against the mainstream. They spoke truth and a lot of people listened."
Birthdays:
Stuart Adamson, the late co-founder, lead singer, and guitarist of Big Country, was born today in 1958.
Neville Staples, the Specials, Fun boy Three, is 67.
Joss Stone is 35.
On this Day In Music History is sourced from This Day in Music, Allmusic, Song Facts and Wikipedia.