1923 - Blues guitar legend Albert King was born. King made his first guitar out of a cigar box, a branch from a shrub, and a strand of broom wire; he later bought a real guitar for $1.25. He learned to play it himself, left-handed with the strings upside down. Would become known as one of the "Three Kings of the Blues Guitar" (along with B.B. King and Freddie King). Best known for his 1967 single, "Born Under a Bad Sign."
1979 - Rock & Roll High School, a film featuring the Ramones, made its debut. The film is set in 1980. Vince Lombardi High School keeps losing principals to nervous breakdowns because of the students' love of rock 'n' roll and their disregard for education. The soundtrack featured not only the Ramones, but Brian eno, Brownsville Station, and Alice Cooper.
1994 - The Eagles played the first of two shows where they recorded their 'Hell Freezes Over' album. The name of the album was taken from an earlier quote by Glen Frey, who responded to the question "When will the Eagles get back together?" (Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images)
2014 - Spotify removed an album of silence by American funk band Vulfpeck from its streaming site. The band's fourth record, Sleepify, was made up of 10 tracks of silence which they encouraged fans to stream on repeat overnight. The idea was aimed at generating money so that the band could go on tour and not charge admission fees.
Birthdays:
Ella Fitzgerald was born on this day in 1918. Recognized worldwide as "The First Lady of Song," Ella Fitzgerald is arguably the finest female jazz vocalist of all time. Blessed with a highly resonant voice, wide range, and near-perfect elocution, Fitzgerald also possessed a deft sense of swing, and with her brilliant scat technique, could hold her own against any of her instrumental contemporaries.
Bjorn Ulvaeus of ABBA is 78. Guitarist/songwriter Björn Ulvaeus was half of the production duo that included fellow Swede Benny Andersson and produced the huge hits by '70s supergroup ABBA, best known for the number one pop single "Dancing Queen.
Stu Cook, bassist with Creedence Clearwater Revival, is 78.
Steve Ferrone, former drummer with the Average White Band, is 73.
Ferrone was also the drummer for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers for the last 25 years, replacing original drummer Stan Lynch in 1994.
Andy Bell, lead singer of Erasure, is 59.
On This Day In Music History was sourced from This Day in Music, Allmusic, Song Facts and Wikipedia.