1977 - New York's legendary disco and party central, Studio 54, opened up for business. Its popularity grew rapidly, especially after the publication of a widely-circulated picture that showed Bianca Jagger at the club, riding a white horse.
The club generally opened at 10 p.m., with crowds peaking at midnight; the bar closed at 4 a.m., and the rest of the club stayed open until 6 a.m.
1978 - The Last Waltz, director Martin Scorsese's acclaimed documentary of the Band's star-studded last concert, opened in theaters. The film featured performances by Neil Young, Eric Clapton, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Neil Diamond, The Staple Singers and Dr. John. Photo by Scott Gries/ImageDirect
1983 - “Weird Al" Yankovic released his self-titled debut album. Fueled by the underground success of the singles "My Bologna" and "Another One Rides the Bus", the earliest of his arena rock parodies, recorded in 1980 during an on-air appearance on the Dr. Demento show and a classic piece of musical humor. Already he had developed his knack of knocking the wind out of any pretentious, overblown rock anthem by slightly adjusting the lyrical content.
1994 - Live release their third album, Throwing Copper. Live tightened their sound, and injected some anger into their sound and songwriting. The result is a more cohesive, memorable record
The rebirth-themed "Lightning Crashes," the album's biggest hit, was written in memory of Barbara Lewis, a classmate who was killed by a drunk driver in 1993.
2013 - Country singer George Jones who had a string of number-one songs between the 1950s and 1990s, died at age 81. By most accounts, George Jones was the finest vocalist in the recorded history of country music. Initially, he was a hardcore honky tonker in the tradition of Hank Williams, but over the course of his career he developed an affecting, nuanced ballad style. In the course of his career, he never left the top of the country charts.
2005 - Bruce Springsteen releases Devils & Dust. Here, the songs and stories are loosely connected. Several are set in the West, some are despairing, some have signs of hope, a couple are even sweet and light. It results in a record that's far removed in feel from the stark, haunting Nebraska, but on a song-for-song level, it's nearly as strong, since its stories linger in the imagination as long as the ones from that 1982 masterpiece.
Starbucks declined to carry the album citing the song "Reno". If you know the song, you know...
Birthdays:
Duane Eddy is 85.
Giorgio Moroder, Italian composer, songwriter and record producer known as the “Father of Disco,” is 83. He produced all of Donna Summer's world- wide 1976 hits including 'Love To Love You Baby'. He also created a score of songs for performers including David Bowie, Kylie Minogue, Irene Cara and Janet Jackson.
Gary Wright, best known for his hits "Dream Weaver" and "My Love Is Alive," is 80. "Dream Weaver" was inspired by Autobiography of a Yogi, which was given to him by George Harrison. Wright also played on Harrison's 1970 All Things Must Pass triple album.
Chris Mars, former drummer of the Replacements is 62.
On this Day In Music History is sourced from This Day in Music, Allmusic, Song Facts and Wikipedia.