1964 - 'Louie Louie' by The Kingsmen was the No. 1 song on the U.S. Cash Box music chart. For a while, the record was banned by a handful of U.S. radio stations because of its indecipherable lyrics, which were rumored to contain some "naughty words." Even the F.B.I. investigated the song, but finally concluded that they could find nothing wrong.
1971 - Pearl, the second and final solo album by Janis Joplin, is released - three months after her death.
Janis Joplin's second masterpiece (after Cheap Thrills), Pearl was designed as a showcase for her powerhouse vocals, stripping down the arrangements that had often previously cluttered her music or threatened to drown her out. Thanks also to a more consistent set of songs, the results are magnificent -- given room to breathe, Joplin's trademark rasp conveys an aching, desperate passion on funked-up, bluesy rockers, ballads both dramatic and tender, and her signature song, the posthumous number one hit "Me and Bobby McGee." Pearl's power leaves the listener to wonder what else Joplin could have accomplished, but few artists could ask for a better final statement.
1992 - Nirvana appeared on NBC-TV's Saturday Night Live performing two songs, 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' and 'Territorial Pissings'.
'Teen Spirit' was excellently played, but also mechanic and served as something of an omen, foreshadowing Cobain’s eventual disdain for the track that made Nirvana famous.
‘Territorial Pissings’ was an unrestrained swirl of feedback, slapstick stage antics, and furious strumming. As the track began to crumble beneath the weight of its own glorious fuzz, Nirvana went about destroying their instruments; smashing their guitars into their amps and dumping drums from the lip of the stage’s upper tier.
The next time Nirvana appeared on SNL in 1993, the tech crew made sure not to let lightning strike twice and fitted the stage with the cheapest amps they could find.
Also on this day the group's Nevermind went to No.1 on the US album chart.
2009 - Bruce Springsteen wins Best Song from a Motion Picture for "The Wrestler" at the Golden Globe Awards. Mickey Rourke wins for Best Actor in a Drama for his work on the film.
Birthdays:
Laurens Hammond, inventor of the Hammond organ, was born today in 1895. In 1933, Hammond bought a used piano, and discarded everything apart from the keyboard action. Using the keyboard as a controller, he experimented with different sound-generating methods, finally settling on one, the tonewheel generator.
Slim Harpo, blues musician ("Baby Scratch My Back"), was born today in 1924. A people-pleasing club entertainer, he certainly wasn't above working rock & roll rhythms into his music, along with hard-stressed, country & western vocal inflections. Several of his best tunes were co-written with his wife Lovelle and show a fine hand for song construction, appearing to have arrived at the studio already well-formed. his songs were covered by the Rolling Stones, Yardbirds, Kinks, and Van Morrison with Them.
"When the change was made uptown and the Big Man joined the band"
Clarence Clemons, saxophonist for the E Street Band, was born today in 1942. Clemons' soulful R&B stylings became a key element of the band's sound, notably on Bruce Springsteen's breakthrough hit "Born to Run" along with other singles and album tracks. Given his fiery soloing, audience rapport, and obvious camaraderie with Springsteen and the other E Street Band members, he was also a fan favorite during the group's marathon live sets.
Springsteen delivered the eulogy at Clemons' funeral in 2011, telling attendees, "He loved the saxophone, loved our fans, and gave everything he had every night he stepped on-stage."
New Music Express listed these as the top Clarence Clemons' sax solos:
1. Jungleland
2. Secret Garden
3. Born To Run
4. Bobby Jean
5. Prove It All Night
(Photo by Vince Bucci/Getty Images)
R.I.P.:
2017 - Rockabilly guitarist Tommy Allsup, who narrowly avoided boarding the plane that killed Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper, died at age 85. The musician famously lost a coin toss for a seat on the plane and his place was taken by teen star Ritchie Valens, who also died when the plane crashed. Allsup went on to become a Grammy-winning musician, who played with Merle Haggard, Roy Orbison and Willie Nelson.
On This Day In Music History was sourced, copied, pasted, edited, and occasionally woven together with my own crude prose, from This Day in Music, Song Facts, Far Out Magazine, New Music Express, Allmusic, and Wikipedia.
KBCO