1969 - The Band released their self-titled album. Though Canadian, the group focused on a series of American archetypes from the union worker in "King Harvest (Has Surely Come)" and the retired sailor in "Rockin' Chair" to, most famously, the Confederate Civil War observer Virgil Cane in "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down." The arrangements were simultaneously loose and assured, giving the songs a timeless appeal, while the lyrics continued to paint portraits of 19th century rural life (especially Southern life, as references to Tennessee and Virginia made clear), its sometimes less savory aspects treated with warmth and humor.
1979 - Joe Walsh announces his bid for the US presidency (he obviously doesn't win). Promises to make "Life's Been Good" the new national anthem if he won, and ran on a platform of "Free Gas For Everyone". (Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images)
1985 - The first Farm Aid benefit concert was held before a crowd of 80,000 people at the Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Ill. Organized by Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp and Neil Young, the event had been spurred on by Bob Dylan's comments at Live Aid earlier in that year that he hoped some of the money would help American farmers. I was working at my first radio gig then, WLRW-FM, broadcasting live on site. It was quite the scene backstage seeing all these country legends rubbing shoulders with the rock and rollers.
The line up included Bob Dylan, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, John Cash, Lou Reed, Merle Haggard, Neil Young, Loretta Lynn, X, Bonnie Raitt, Beach Boys, Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, and many more.
1998 - The Goo Goo Dolls release Dizzy Up The Girl. It's the album that took them from Replacements style rockers into the mainstream. Unlike most college rock bands of the era that sounded awkward as mainstream rockers, the Goo Goo Dolls actually sound better as a mainstream band, partially because they were hardly underground in the first place. The Goos enjoy the mainstreaming of their music and respond with one of their catchiest sets of songs.
Birthdays:
Toni Basil is 79. Had the hit 1982 #1, "Mickey". Acted in the movie Easy Rider (among others) and was David Bowie's choreographer on the Diamond Dogs tour. had the same duties for the Talking heads video, "Once In A Lifetime".
Deep Purple and Whitesnake vocalist David Coverdale is 71.
Debby Boone is 66.
Nick Cave is 65. Frontman of The Birthday Party and the Bad Seeds.
Joan Jett is 64. Founding member of The Runaways and the leader of the Blackhearts. She has played an important role as a feminist icon throughout her career and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Andrea Bocelli is 64.
On This Day In Music History was sourced from Allmusic, This Day in Music, Song Facts and Wikipedia.