1977 - New York's legendary disco and party central, Studio 54, opened up for business. Studio 54 is remembered as the first non-judgmental, queer-friendly mainstream nightclub, which was not unlike an adult amusement park. It was a mix of gay, straight, rich and poor. Though the club is remembered as a celebrity hotspot – Mick Jagger, Elizabeth Taylor and David Bowie were guests – it came to a swift end when the co-founders were jailed for tax evasion in 1980.
1978 - The Last Waltz, director Martin Scorsese's acclaimed documentary of the Band's star-studded last concert, opened in theaters. The film featured performances by Neil Young, Eric Clapton, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Neil Diamond, The Staple Singers and Dr. John. Some poets doing spoken-word pieces don't make the cut, and also deleted from the film is a smudge of cocaine under Neil Young's nose.
The film receives lavish critical praise, instantly touted as one of the great concert films ever made, with only a couple prominent detractors issuing negative reviews. One of those detractors, however, is the Band's Levon Helm, who feels the movie is made to look as if Robbie Robertson was the only member who really mattered. He calls it "The biggest f--kin' rip off that ever happened to The Band."
Watch The Band and The Staple sing "The Weight" below.
1994 - Live release their third album, Throwing Copper. On Throwing Copper, Live tightened their sound, added crashing crescendos for dramatic effect, and injected some anger into their sound and songwriting. The rebirth-themed "Lightning Crashes," the album's biggest hit, was written in memory of Barbara Lewis, a classmate who was killed by a drunk driver in 1993.
2005 - Bruce Springsteen releases Devils & Dust. Every decade or so, Bruce Springsteen releases a somber album of narrative songs, character sketches, and folk tunes -- records that play not like rock & roll, but rather as a collection of short stories, this was one of those. Here, the songs and stories are loosely connected. Several are set in the West, some are despairing, some have signs of hope, a couple are even sweet and light. It results in a record that's far removed in feel from the stark, haunting Nebraska, but on a song-for-song level, it's nearly as strong
2013 - U.S. country singer George Jones who had a string of number-one songs between the 1950s and 1990s, died at age 81. Jones’s signature song was "He Stopped Loving Her Today," a track about love and death. He was married to Tammy Wynette between 1969 and 1975, and the pair recorded several songs together in the 1970s.
2013 - X marks the spot for the Ohio-born Twenty One Pilots, who pledge their devotion to their hometown fans by getting "X" tattoos midway through a performance at the Lifestyles Community Pavilion in Columbus. Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Birthdays:
Duane Eddy is 84.
Giorgio Moroder, Italian composer, songwriter and record producer known as the “Father of Disco,” is 82.
Gary Wright, best known for his hits "Dream Weaver" and "My Love Is Alive," is 79.
Roger Taylor, drummer with Duran Duran, is 62.
Chris Marrs, former Replacements drummer, is 61
On This Day In Music Music History is sourced from This Day in Music, Allmusic, Song Facts and Wikipedia.