1973 - In one of Sesame Street’s most memorable moments, Stevie Wonder played a funky, seven-minute live version of "Superstition" on the show. Watch it below. It will make you day.
1975 - David Bowie announced his second career retirement, saying, "I've rocked my roll. It's a boring dead end, there will be no more rock 'n' roll records from me. The last thing I want to be is some useless f—ing rock singer.'
1983 - R.E.M. release their debut album, Murmur. Even though it is firmly in the tradition of American folk-rock, post-punk, and garage rock, Murmur sounds as if it appeared out of nowhere, without any ties to the past, present, or future. R.E.M. may have made albums as good as Murmur in the years following its release, but they never again made anything that sounded quite like it.
2008 - Lou Reed married his third wife, the conceptual artist Laurie Anderson. The couple, who had been together since the early '90s, had decided to get married the previous day, so they met at a friend's house in Boulder, Colorado and held the ceremony in the backyard. Nick Forrester from E-town presided over the nuptials. (Photo by Lawrence Lucier/Getty Images)
Birthdays:
Tiny Tim was born today in 1932.
Herbie Hancock is 82.
Steppenwolf frontman John Kay is 78.
Alex Briley, the "G.I." from the Village People, is 71.
David Cassidy of the Partridge Family was born today in 1950.
Vince Gill is 65.
Will Sergeant of Echo & The Bunnymen is 64.
Art Alexakis of Everclear is 60.
Amy ray, Indigo Girls, is 58.
On this Day In Music History is sourced from Allmusic. This Day in Music, and Wikipedia.