1970 - Elton John made his US live debut when he kicked off a 17-date tour at the Troubadour in Los Angeles. In the audience that night were Don Henley, Quincy Jones, Randy Newman, Linda Ronstadt, and Leon Russell. Elton's latest single 'Border Song' had just debuted at number 92 on the US chart.
The Los Angeles Times’ music critic, Robert Hilburn wrote after attending that concert, predicting John would become “one of rock’s biggest and most important stars.”
Tickets were $5.
1975 - Bruce Springsteen released his third studio album Born to Run. Bruce Springsteen's make-or-break third album represented a sonic leap from his first two. The result was a full, highly produced sound that contained elements of Phil Spector's melodramatic work of the 1960s. Layers of guitar, layers of echo on the vocals, lots of keyboards, thunderous drums -- Born to Run had a big sound, and Springsteen wrote big songs to match it. (Photo by Sean Garnsworthy/Getty Images)
2009 - Bob Dylan revealed that he was speaking to a number of car companies about becoming the voice of their satellite navigation systems. He thought it be would be good for drivers to hear him saying things such as: "Take a left at the next street. No, a right. You know what, just go straight".
Birthdays:
Jeff Tweedy is 56. Of the artists who rose to prominence as part of the alt-country scene of the '80s and '90s, none would have a higher profile or create a more eclectic body of work than Jeff Tweedy. As bassist with the iconic band Uncle Tupelo, Tweedy helped kickstart the fusion of punk, alternative, country, and folk sounds known as alt-country that would help spawn the rise of Americana. The abrupt breakup of Uncle Tupelo led to Tweedy forming Wilco in 1994, and while their debut, 1995's A.M., was firmly in the tradition of his previous band, their following efforts became more daring, eclectic, and accomplished that gave them a new standing as one of America's most-respected indie rock bands,
Elvis Costello is 69. He arrived as a sneering spitfire, the smartest and meanest singer/songwriter in the first wave of 1970s British punk backed by the Attractions, a band who could match his ferocity. Soon, Costello galloped away from the loud, fast rules of punk, demonstrating his musical and verbal facility. Such rapid musical evolution and switches in style became the rule in Costello's career, as he amassed a catalog that seemed to touch upon every conceivable genre of popular music.
Leonard Bernstein was born on this day in 1918. No figure in 20th century American classical music had as prominent or controversial a career -- or did more to sell classical music to the general public as something genuinely exciting, and worth getting into a sweat over -- than Leonard Bernstein. His best-known work is the Broadway musical West Side Story, and he conducted the New York Philharmonic aged 25.
Bradley Cooper is directing and starring in the upcoming Netflix film, ‘Maestro’ – a biopic of Leonard Bernstein’s life.
R.I.P.:
2000 - Academy Award-winning film score composer and record producer Jack Nitzsche died of a heart attack. He produced The Rolling Stones, Neil Young, Buffalo Springfield and The Walker Brothers. Musical scores including The Exorcist, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, co-wrote 'Up Where We Belong' with Buffy Sainte-Marie from 1982 film An Officer and a Gentleman.
On This Day In Music History was sourced from This Day in Music, Song Facts, Allmusic, Best Classic Bands, Los Angeles Times, and Wikipedia.
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