1975 - David Bowie's "Fame" was released. John Lennon had been in on the recording session, lending guitar and vocals, and Bowie felt Lennon's contributions during the recording was significant enough that he gave him co-songwriting credit. Bowie met Lennon less than a year earlier at a party thrown by Elizabeth Taylor. Lennon was one of Bowie's idols, and they became good friends. The main riff of the song was based on an improv devised by Bowie's guitarist Carlos Alomar. Alomar was jamming the riff that became 'Fame' and Bowie walked in and said, 'Oi, I want that,' and that started the process."
"Fame itself, of course, doesn't really afford you anything more than a good seat in a restaurant. "Fame can take interesting men and thrust mediocrity upon them."- David Bowie (Photo credit should read PHILIPPE WOJAZER/AFP via Getty Images)
1997 - The classic Pink Floyd album Dark Side of the Moon spent its 1056th week on US album charts.
2010 - Jake Holmes finally gets around to suing Led Zeppelin for plagiarizing his 1967 song "Dazed And Confused." Led Zeppelin released a very similar song with the same title on their 1969 debut album, but Holmes waited decades to take legal action. The case is eventually settled, with the writing credit on the song changed to "Jimmy Page, Inspired By Jake Holmes."
2012 - The Flaming Lips break the Guinness World Record for the most live shows performed in multiple cities within 24 hours. The feat is part of MTV's O Music Awards which honors achievements in the digital music realm. Starting in Memphis, Tennessee, a day earlier, the band plays a series of eight mini-concerts (at a minimum of 15 minutes each in accordance with Guinness guidelines), which are livestreamed online. The feat ends at the House of Blues in New Orleans, where The Lips take the title with just 20 minutes to spare.
2016 - Scotty Moore, Elvis Presley's longtime guitarist, died at his home in Nashville at the age of 84. He was one of the great pioneers of rock guitar, taking the stinging licks common to both country music and blues, and not only combined elements of country & western and R&B, but added a rich tone through heavier amplification.
On this Day In Music History was sourced from This Day in Music, Allmusic, Song Facts and Wikipedia.