Keefer

Keefer

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ON THIS DAY IN MUSIC HISTORY: 10.3

1965 - Johnny Cash is stopped by US Customs officials at the Mexican border on suspicion of heroin smuggling and found to be holding over 1,000 prescription narcotics and amphetamines. He receives a suspended sentence.

1967 - Singer/songwriter Woody Guthrie died. Guthrie was a major influence on Bob Dylan and American folk music. His best-known song is 'This Land Is Your Land'.

1980 - The Police's third album release, Zenyatta Mondatta, continues their theme of giving their records French-sounding titles. Arguably the best Police album, Zenyatta contains perhaps the quintessential new wave anthem, the haunting "Don't Stand So Close to Me," and Sting includes his first set of politically charged lyrics in "Driven to Tears," "When the World Is Running Down, You Make the Best of What's Still Around," and "Bombs Away," which all observe the declining state of the world.

1992 - Sinead O'Connor tore up a photograph of the Pope in front of a Saturday Night Live audience in protest of the Vatican. She ripped the photo and threw the pieces towards the camera. Executive producer Lorne Michaels recalled that "the air went out the studio" after that moment, and after seeing the act, Michaels ordered that the applause sign not be used. The act aired on the East and West coast broadcasts, but reruns air footage from the singer's dress rehearsal. NBC was fined $2.5 million dollars by the Federal Communications Commission.

2000 - The Cars' singer and bass player Benjamin Orr died. Sang lead vocals on the bands hits ‘Just What I Needed’, ‘Let's Go’ and ‘Drive’.

2003 - "School of Rock" opened in theaters, starring Jack Black as a musician who poses as a substitute teacher and forms a band with the students. Classic rock abounds in the film, with teachable moments soundtracked to "Highway to Hell," "Smoke on the Water" and even "Immigrant Song" - a track secured after Black made a video begging Led Zeppelin to let them use it.

Birthdays:

Eddie Cochran ("Twenty Flight Rock", "Summertime Blues", "C'mon Everybody", and "Somethin' Else") was born today in 1938.

Stevie Ray Vaughan was born today in 1954. With his astonishingly accomplished guitar playing, Stevie Ray Vaughan emerged as one of the leading modern electric blues artists of his generation, helping to reignite interest in the genre from the '80s onward. Vaughan drew equally from bluesmen like Albert King, Otis Rush, and Muddy Waters and rock & roll players like Jimi Hendrix and Lonnie Mack, as well as the stray jazz guitarist like Kenny Burrell, developing a uniquely eclectic and fiery style that sounded like no other guitarist, regardless of genre. Vaughan bridged the gap between blues and rock like no other artist had since the late '60s. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images)

Lindsey Buckingham is 73. One of the chief creative forces of Fleetwood Mac during their popular peak in the 1970s and '80s, Lindsey Buckingham is a distinctive guitarist and singer/songwriter who developed an idiosyncratic blend of pop, folk, and rock. His sonic signatures of fleet finger-picked guitar, candied harmonies, and intricate productions propelled Fleetwood Mac, Rumours, and Tusk to the top of the charts and they also flourished on the music he made outside of the band.

Gwen Stefani is 53. Parlayed her breakout stardom as the lead singer of the SoCal ska-punk outfit No Doubt into an enduring career as a pop star. She is a judge on The Voice.

G. Love is 50. Credits Bob Dylan and John Hammond Jr., as well as the then-contemporary "old school" hip-hop sounds of Run-DMC, and the Beastie Boys, as influences. G. Love featured Jack Johnson on his 1999 album Philadelphonic playing an early version of Jack Johnson's "Rodeo Clowns" when Jack was an unknown artist.

On this Day In Music History are gathered from This Day in Music, Allmusic, Song Facts and Wikipedia.


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