1965 - The Ford Motor Company became the first automaker to offer an 8-track tape player as an option for its entire line of new vehicles. Tapes were initially only available in auto-parts stores, as home 8-track equipment was still a year away.
1965 - Otis Redding released his third studio album Otis Blue. The album mainly consists of cover songs by popular R&B and soul artists. Also featured are Redding's spellbinding renditions of "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" (a song epitomizing the fully formed Stax/Volt sound and which Mick Jagger and Keith Richards originally wrote in tribute to and imitation of Redding's style), "My Girl," and "You Don't Miss Your Water." "Respect" and "I've Been Loving You Too Long," two originals that were to loom large in his career, are here as well; the former became vastly popular in the hands of Aretha Franklin and the latter was an instant soul classic. Redding's powerful, remarkable singing throughout makes Otis Blue gritty, rich, and achingly alive, and an essential listening experience.
1970 - Vice President Spiro Agnew said in a speech that the youth of America were being "brainwashed into a drug culture" by rock music, movies, books and underground newspapers.
1980 - David Bowie debuts on Broadway in The Elephant Man. It's a role that he first took on in Denver. He practiced for two weeks in The Jones Theater on the DCPA campus until the show debuted on July 29, 1980, at the old Auditorium Theater. The Denver show ran for a week.
1993 - Steamboat Springs, Colorado, names their "James Brown Soul Center of the Universe Bridge" after the singer. While many thought it was humorous, there was some controversy because he didn't have any connection to the town and in the early 90's, Brown was mainly making headlines for run ins with the police.
The town put the name to a vote. The other options were: The New Stockbridge, Twentymile Bridge, Ute Bridge, Bear River Bridge, and Yahmonite Bridge. The James Brown Soul Center of the Universe won by a narrow margin and James Brown came to Steamboat Springs for the dedication on Sept. 15. (Photo by Frank Micelotta/Getty Images)
2004 - Ramones guitarist Johnny Ramone (John Cummings) died in Los Angeles. Known for his fast, high-energy guitar playing, Johnny's style consisted of rapid downstrokes and barre chord shapes. This unique playing style, combined with heavy gain from his amplifier, created the bright, buzzsaw-like sound Johnny's guitar parts were known for. In 2003, Johnny was number 16 on Rolling Stone's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time."
2008 - Pink Floyd keyboard player and founding member Richard Wright died at age 65. His spacious, somber, enveloping keyboards, backing vocals and eerie effects were an essential part of its musical identity.
David Gilmour, Pink Floyd’s guitarist and singer, said in a statement : “In the welter of arguments about who or what was Pink Floyd, Rick’s enormous input was frequently forgotten. He was gentle, unassuming and private but his soulful voice and playing were vital, magical components of our most recognized Pink Floyd sound.”
2019 - The Cars frontman Ric Ocasek dies at 75. The Cars formed in Boston in the mid-1970s by Ocasek and band-mate Benjamin Orr after they met at high school. After the band broke up in the late 1980s, Ocasek embarked on a solo career as well as working as a producer for artists including Weezer, Bad Religion and No Doubt.
Birthdays:
Signe Toly Anderson founding member of Jefferson Airplane, was born today in 1941. She passed in 2016.
Judah Akers of Judah and the Lion is 32.
On this Day In Music History was sourced from This Day in Music, Song Facts Allmusic, New York Times, and Wikipedia.