Keefer

Keefer

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ON THIS DAY IN MUSIC HISTORY: 3.5

1951 - One of the first examples of rock guitar distortion is recorded when Willie Kizart plays "Rocket 88" ( some consider it the first rock and roll song) using an amp that was damaged when it fell out of the van transporting him and the other members of Ike Turner's band to their recording session in Memphis.

1953 - America learns of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin's death when Air Force Staff Sergeant Johnny Cash intercepted a coded message from Russia. Cash enlisted in 1950 after he turned 18 and was assigned to the 12th Radio Squadron Mobile of the US Air Force Security Service at Landsberg, West Germany, where he proved his skill as a Morse Code operator.

1965 - The Yardbirds released "For Your Love". This is one of the most famous rock songs to feature a harpsichord. Written by Graham Gouldman, later of 10cc, he said this: "The harpsichord was an absolute stroke of genius. The record just had a weird, mysterious atmosphere about it."

This song prompted Eric Clapton to leave The Yardbirds, since he felt their music was becoming too commercial. He was replaced by Jeff Beck, who was later replaced by Jimmy Page.

1969 - The rock magazine Creem is published for the first time. It was launched in Detroit as a raw, unfiltered, unapologetic rock ‘n’ roll magazine, and ushered in a new era of raucous, participatory journalism.

Leading the charge was Lester Bangs, whose hilarious and insightful writing, wise-guy attitude and passion for the unvarnished sounds of the Stooges, Lou Reed, garage rock and Captain Beefheart defined CREEM. The magazine also embraced punk and new wave.

It suspended production in 1989 but attained a short-lived renaissance in the early 1990s as a tabloid. In June 2022, Creem was relaunched as a digital archive, website, weekly newsletter, and quarterly print edition.

1970 - Nick Drake releases his second album, Bryter Layter. It indulges in a more playful sound than his debut Five Leaves Left, showing that Drake was far from being a constant king of depression. While his performances remain generally low-key and his voice quietly passionate, the arrangements and surrounding musicians (including Richard Thompson and John Cale) add a considerable amount of pep. As his performances on keyboards and celeste help set the atmosphere, Drake reaches for a perfectly artful reflection on loss and loneliness and succeeds wonderfully. Highlights: Hazy Jane II and One Of These Things First.

1986 - Steve Earle releases his debut, Guitar Town. On Steve Earle's first major American tour following the release of his debut album, Guitar Town, Earle found himself sharing a bill with Dwight Yoakam one night and the Replacements another, and one listen to the album explains why -- while the music was country through and through, Earle showed off enough swagger and attitude to intimidate anyone short of Keith Richards. The songs displayed a literate anger and street-smart snarl that set him apart from the typical Music Row hack.

Highlights include the title song, a hilarious and harrowing tale of life on the road and the bitterly unsentimental account of small-town life "Someday" ("You go to school, where you learn to read and write/So you can walk into the county bank and sign away your life"), which may be the best Bruce Springsteen song the Boss didn't write. (Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images for City Winery)

Birthdays:

Eddy Grant is 76. With The Equals (one of the United Kingdom's first racially mixed pop groups), they sang the original version of "Police On My Back", covered by the Clash on Sandinista!. But Eddy is probably best known for the 1983 hit, "Electric Avenue".

Mark E. Smith, lead singer of The Fall, was born today in 1957. Smith formed the Fall in 1976 and was the only constant member of the band. He was known for his tempestuous relationship with his bandmates, and frequently fired them – there have been 66 different members over the years.

Craig and Charlie Reid (twins) of The Proclaimers are 62. They rose to global success in the late '80s, playing a charismatic amalgam of rock, folk, soul, and country sung in close brotherly harmony and proudly bearing their thick Scottish accents. Best known for "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles).

John Frusciante, guitarist with Red Hot Chili Peppers is 54. Achieved widespread fame, mainly through his tenures as the guitarist for Red Hot Chili Peppers, as well as a fervent cult audience for his more challenging, experimental solo works. Amalgamating a wide range of influences, from Hendrix and prog rock to punk and new wave, and eventually incorporating R&B, hip-hop, and electronic music, he's developed a distinctive, ever-evolving style which is more melodic than technique-driven, yet still elaborate and masterful.

Amanda Shires is 42. Shires joined the Texas Playboys at age 15, and stepped out as a solo performer in the early 2000s. She has released seven solo albums, and has collaborated extensively with Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit. She was married to Isbell for 11 years. Isbell recently filed for divorce. She is a member of the country supergroup the Highwomen with Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby, and Maren Morris.

R.I.P.:

1963 - Patsy Cline (along with singers Cowboy Copas and Hawkshaw Hawkins) was killed in a private-plane crash near Camden, Tenn. Cline was 30 and at the height of her career. One of the most influential, successful and acclaimed female vocalists of the 20th century, Cline was part of the early 1960s' Nashville Sound, and later successfully crossed over to pop music. Ten years after her death, in 1973, she became the first female solo artist inducted to the Country Music Hall of Fame.

1982 - Actor/comedian and Blues Brother John Belushi died of an overdose in Los Angeles. Best known as a TV and movie actor, he enjoyed quite a bit of success late in his career as one half of the blues revival act the Blues Brothers.

His career started in Chicago's famed Second City, before moving to National Lampoon's Lemmings and the syndicated Comedy Hour.

One of Belushi's last movie projects was going to be punk rock-based (he was supposed to play a journalist covering the punk scene).

On This Day In Music History was sourced, copied, pasted, edited and occasionally woven together with from This Day in Music, Music This Day, Allmusic, The Tennessean, Song Facts and Wikipedia.

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