1967 - The Jimi Hendrix Experience released their second studio album Axis: Bold as Love. Hendrix stretched further musically than the first album, but even more so as a songwriter. He was still quite capable of coming up with spacy rockers like "You Got Me Floating." But the beautiful, wistful ballads "Little Wing," & "Castles Made of Sand," show remarkable growth and depth as a tunesmith.
1971 - John Lennon releases "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" in the US. John Lennon and Yoko Ono wrote this in their New York City hotel room. The song didn't make much of an impact when it was first released, but eventually, it became a Christmas classic. Photo credit should read FILES/AFP via Getty Images)
1976 - The Sex Pistols appear on the Today program on London regional TV as a last-minute substitute for Queen (Freddy Mercury had a dentist appointment). After being goaded by host Bill Grundy, they swear repeatedly, including the dreaded "F" word, shocking viewers. It establishes the Sex Pistols as authentic punk rock reprobates. In the resulting uproar, The Sex Pistols are banned from appearing in all but five cities that were booked for their first UK tour. By next month, no club or concert hall in Great Britain will book the group. Their label, EMI, decides it's seen enough and they drop the group in January.
1983 - Neil Young was sued by Geffen Records because his new music for the label was "not commercial in nature and musically uncharacteristic of his previous albums." His first album for Geffen was the Kraftwerk inspired album Trans, with Neil singing through a vocoder and his latest album, Everybody's Rockin' featuring a selection of rockabilly songs (both covers and original material) which ran for just 25 minutes, Young's shortest album. After a messy war of words, the suit eventually settled, with Geffen apologizing to Young.
1987 - A Kentucky teacher lost her appeal in the U.S. Supreme Court over getting fired for showing Pink Floyd's film "The Wall" to her class. The court decided that the film was not suitable for minors with its bad language and sexual content.
2012 - San Diego mayor Jerry Sanders declares "Peaceful Easy Feeling Day" in honor of Jack Tempchin, who wrote the Eagles hit in the city. The ceremony takes place at a hot dog joint called the Wienerschnitzel, where he wrote the last verse while waiting for his order. Tempchin is presented with a golden wiener at the event.
Birthdays:
Eric Bloom of Blue Oyster Cult is 78. More cowbell...
John Densmore, drummer from The Doors, is 78. Interesting note:
Densmore allowed 'Riders on the Storm' to be used to sell Pirelli Tyres, in the UK only and later stated that he "heard Jim's voice" in his ears and ended up donating the money earned to charity. In 2002, Densmore vetoed an offer by Cadillac for $15 million for 'Break on Through (To the Other Side)' because of Morrison's vehement opposition to licensing the Doors' music for commercial use.
Singer/actress Bette Midler is 77. Starred in the film 'The Rose' based on the life of Janis Joplin.
Jaco Pastorius, bass player, member of Weather Report, also in demand session player, was born on this day in 1951.
Tyler Joseph of Twenty One Pilots is 34.
On This Day In Music History was sourced from Ultimate Classic Rock, Allmusic, This Day in Music, Song Facts and Wikipedia.