1964 - After a long day of filming their first movie, Ringo Starr tells the other Beatles it's been "a hard day's night." John Lennon turns the phrase into a song, and the movie title is changed from Beatlemania! to A Hard Day's Night.
1966 - The Rolling Stones release the album Aftermath, finally delivering a set of all-original material with this LP, which also did much to define the group as the bad boys of rock & roll with their sneering attitude toward the world in general and the female sex in particular. The group began incorporating the influences of psychedelia and Dylan into their material with classics like "Paint It Black," graced by some of the best use of sitar (played by Brian Jones) on a rock record. Also includes "Mother's Little Helper" and "Under My Thumb."
1967 - Nancy Sinatra and Frank Sinatra started a four-week run at No. 1 with "Somethin' Stupid." The song was originally recorded by Parks and his wife Gaile Foote as Carson and Gaile in 1966. Frank and Nancy Sinatra's hit is the best-known version of the song. They became the only father and daughter act ever to score a No.1 single. … but when you think about it, there's somethin' creepy about a father and daughter singing this song together. Listen to it below.
1968 - Eleven days after the assassination of her friend Martin Luther King Jr., Aretha Franklin records "Think." Franklin's family was close to King, and Aretha attended his funeral. The song's insistent refrain of "freedom" evoked one of King's famous quotes: "Free at last, free at last, thank God almighty we are free at last."
1971 - The Beatles won their only Oscar, taking home Best Original Song Score for their movie Let It Be.
1996 - The remainder of Grateful Dead leader Jerry Garcia's ashes are scattered near the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco; a week earlier, a portion had been scattered into India's Ganges river.
2001- Joey Ramone, lead vocalist of punk-rockers the Ramones, died at age 49. Joey Ramone's signature bleat was the voice of punk rock in America. Sporting a leather jacket and torn jeans (like his bandmates) and hiding his face behind a pair of sunglasses and a thick shock of dark hair, the lanky Ramone helped define punk's early image as well, and his two-plus-decade tenure as frontman of the Ramones made him a countercultural icon.
The name "Ramone" was inspired by Paul McCartney, who briefly used the name "Paul Ramon" during 1960 and 1961, when the Beatles, still unknowns, did a tour of Ireland and used pseudonyms.
The Ramones are often cited among the first to define the punk-rock sound, and although they enjoyed only limited commercial success, they heavily influenced the 1970s punk movement in both the United States and United Kingdom. (Photo credit should read TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images)
Birthdays:
1894 - Blues singer Bessie Smith is born in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Country musician Roy Clark was born today in 1933.
Dave Edmunds, singer, guitarist, Love Sculpture, Rockpile, and solo artist, is 78.
Legendary Australian hit-maker and producer Mike Chapman is 75. Chapman co-wrote Tony Basil's 'Mickey' and produced dozens of hits for Suzy Quatro, Blondie, The Knack and more.
Linda Perry, songwriter, producer, singer, 4 Non Blondes, is 57.
Ed O'Brien (E.O.B.) of Radiohead is 54.
Chris Stapleton is 44.
Patrick Carney of the Black Keys is 42.
On This Day In Music History is sourced from This Day in Music, Allmusic, Song Facts and Wikipedia.