1969 - George Harrison's song "Something" was released as the A-side of a Beatles' 45, a first for Harrison. Harrison wrote this during a break while The Beatles were working on The White Album. It was not recorded in time for the album, so Harrison gave the song to Joe Cocker. Frank Sinatra called this "The greatest love song ever written."
1972 - During sessions at RCA Studios, New York City, David Bowie recorded "The Jean Genie", which became the lead single from his 1973 album Aladdin Sane. The line "He's so simple minded, he can't drive his module" would later give the band Simple Minds their name.
2011 - Starship's "We Built This City" was named "the worst song of the 1980s" in a poll by Rolling Stone magazine. "The Final Countdown" by the Swedish band Europe came in second and "Lady in Red" by Chris de Burgh was third. Also, making the top (?) five were Wham!'s "Wake Me Up (Before You Go Go)" and "The Safety Dance" by Men Without Hats.
2019 - Cream founder and drummer Ginger Baker passed away on this day in 2019 at the age of 80. Ginger Baker was rock's first superstar drummer and the most influential percussionist of the 1960s. Baker made his name entirely on his playing, initially as showcased in Cream, but far transcending even that trio's relatively brief existence. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Baker lived in Elbert County, near Parker for a number of years and founded the Mile High Polo Club, an organization whose board of directors included avid polo fan/gonzo laureate Hunter Thompson and Denver trumpeter Ron Miles.
2020- Eddie Van Halen, the revered guitarist and co-founder of the rock band Van Halen died at the age of 65, he had been receiving treatment for throat cancer. Eddie Van Halen belongs in a rarefied group of musicians who changed the very notion of the possibilities of their chosen instrument. In Van Halen's case, he was a guitarist of superlative imagination and skill, innovating and introducing a number of techniques that would soon become part of the arsenal of many guitarists, including finger-tapping, hammer-ons, and dive bombs on a whammy bar.
2020 - American singer-songwriter Johnny Nash died of natural causes age 80. Although he initially built his career in the R&B world, singer Johnny Nash proved a pivotal force behind the mainstream acceptance of reggae with the international success of his 1972 chart-topper "I Can See Clearly Now."
Birthdays:
Tommy Stinson of The Replacements is 56.
Los Lobos frontman David Hidalgo is 68.
Matthew Sweet is 58.
William Butler, former member of Arcade Fire is 40.
On this Day In Music History was sourced from This Day in Music, Song Facts Westword, and Wikipedia.