1972 - David Bowie released "Starman" from his acclaimed conceptual The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars. The lyrics describe Ziggy Stardust bringing a message of hope to Earth's youth through the radio, salvation by an alien 'Starman'.
1975 -
'I always knew, even when I was in the Birds (one of his early bands), that I was going to be in the Rolling Stones.'
Following many rumors and much speculation that Jimmy Page, Chris Spedding, Jeff Beck or even Eric Clapton would replace Mick Taylor in the Rolling Stones, it was announced that Faces guitarist Ron Wood would fill his shoes. He joins in time to be a part of their '75 tour.
Mick Jagger: "I wanted someone that was easy to get on with, you know, that wasn't too difficult and that was a good player and was used to playing onstage". "It's quite a lot to ask of someone to come and do a big American tour with a band like the Stones, you know? I mean, not that I think the Stones are any really big deal, but it tends to be a bit of a paralyzing experience for people. You know what I mean?
1989 -Cameron Crowe's teen drama Say Anything…, starring John Cusack and Ione Skye, opens in theaters. The movie is famous for an iconic scene featuring Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes."
Crowe originally filmed the scene to Billy Idol's "To Be A Lover." Then he switched to "In Your Eyes," after listening to a mixtape he made for his wedding day.
Gabriel initially turned down Crowe because he confused the film with another film in production at the time, a John Belushi biography called Wired.
"I've talked to John Cusack about that," Gabriel tells Rolling Stone in 2012. "We're sort of trapped together in a minuscule moment of contemporary culture." (Photo by Adam Berry/Getty Images)
1994 - Kurt Cobain was cremated at the Bleitz Funeral Home, Seattle. The death certificate listed Cobain's occupation as Poet/Musician and his type of business as Punk Rock.
1995 - Radiohead released The Bends. The album displays its influences, whether it's U2, Pink Floyd, R.E.M., or the Pixies, but Radiohead turn clichés inside out, making each song sound bracingly fresh. It's cerebral anthemic rock.
2016 - At the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Prince plays his last concert, as he dies a week later. His last song is "Purple Rain."
2021 - Poco frontman Rusty Young died of a heart attack at the age of 75. Young is best known for writing the Poco songs "Rose of Cimarron" and "Crazy Love". A virtuoso on pedal steel guitar, he was celebrated for the ability to get a Hammond B3 organ sound out of the instrument by playing it through a Leslie speaker cabinet.
Rusty went to Jefferson High and Poco is in the Colorado Music Hall Of Fame.
Birthdays:
Country legend Loretta Lynn is 90.
Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple is 77.
JD McPherson is 45.
Win Butler of Arcade Fire is 42.
On This Day In Music History is sourced from Ultimate Classic Rock, Genesis Publication, Entertainment Weekly, This Day in Music, Song Facts and Wikipedia.