1968 - Johnny Cash marries June Carter of the gospel stars The Carter Family.
Johnny proposed to June Carter during one of his concerts.
In an interview, Johnny explained how it all went down:
“We had just sung a song called ‘Jackson’ and I stopped the show and I said ‘will you marry me’ on the microphone and she said ‘sing another, sing another, sing another,’ and I said ‘I’m not gonna sing until you answer me. Will you marry me?’
She said ‘sing a song, sing a song,’ she turned her back trying to get someone in the band to play some music or something. I kept on until she finally said, ‘yes.’
I said, ‘ok, next song.” Smooth.
1973 - Today is the 50th anniversary of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. Roger Waters wrote a series of songs about mundane, everyday details which aren't that impressive by themselves, but when given the sonic backdrop of Floyd's slow, atmospheric soundscapes and carefully placed sound effects, they achieve an emotional resonance. But what gives the album true power is the subtly textured music, which evolves from ponderous, neo-psychedelic art rock to jazz fusion and blues-rock before turning back to psychedelia. In 2012, it was selected for preservation in the US National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". (Photo credit should read PAUL BARKER/AFP via Getty Images)
1973 - Tom Waits releases his debut album, Closing Time to lukewarm sales but warm critical reception. The frameworks of most of the songs come from the songwriter's literary obsessions with Charles Bukowski and Jack Kerouac. Closing Time quietly announces the arrival of a talented songwriter whose self-consciousness, wry barroom humor, and solitary melancholy made him a standout from virtually all of his peers, and difficult to pigeonhole.
1985 - Ford licenses The Beatles "Help!" for a commercial, marking the first time one of their songs is used in a TV ad.
1993 - The Cranberries release their debut studio album, Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We? Title aside, what the Cranberries were doing wasn't that common at the time, at least in mainstream pop terms; grunge and G-funk had done their respective big splashes via Nirvana and Dr. Dre when Everybody came out. Featured the hits Dreams and Linger.
1994 - Beck releases Mellow Gold. Critics noted the album's hybrid of various styles including rock, hip hop, folk, blues, psychedelia, and country, as well as ironic, witty lyrics. Its decidedly anti-commercial attitude led to it becoming an unexpected commercial success. By blending boundaries so thoroughly and intoxicatingly, Mellow Gold established a new vein of alternative rock, one that was fueled by ideas instead of attitude. Featured the hit, Loser.
Birthdays:
Musician, arranger, composer, and bandleader Glenn Miller was born on this day in 1904. Miller's recordings include 'In the Mood', 'Moonlight Serenade', 'Pennsylvania 6-5000', and 'Chattanooga Choo Choo'. Glenn is in the Colorado Music Hall Of Fame.
Harry Belafonte is 96. An actor, humanitarian, and the acknowledged "King of Calypso," Harry Belafonte ranked among the most seminal performers of the postwar era. His album, 1962's The Midnight Special, featured the first-ever recorded appearance by a young harmonica player named Bob Dylan.
Roger Daltrey of The Who is 79. Daltrey grew up in the same Shepherd's Bush neighborhood as future Who bandmates Pete Townshend and John Entwistle, performing with them as the Detours as early as his late teen years. Over time, Daltrey developed into one of rock's most powerful lead vocalists, a position to which he staked his claim on the Who's 1971 masterpiece Who's Next; his on-stage persona was one of macho swagger, accompanied by twirling his microphone like a lasso. Nobody does it better.
On This Day In Music History was sourced from This Day in Music, Whiskey Riff, Allmusic, Song Facts and Wikipedia.