1955 - The film Blackboard Jungle opened, with "Rock Around the Clock" under the opening credits. The song's inclusion in the film helped usher in the rock and roll era.
1962 - Bob Dylan's self-titled debut album was released. At the time of Bob Dylan's release, the folk revival was rolling, and interpretation was considered more important than original composition by most of that audience. A significant portion of the record is possessed by the style and spirit of Woody Guthrie, as well as the two originals here, the savagely witty "Talkin' New York" and the poignant "Song to Woody". In that regard, the two original songs here serve as the bridge between Dylan's stylistic roots, as delineated on this album, and the more powerful and daringly original work that followed.
1970 - David Bowie marries his first wife, Angela, who contrary to rumor, was not the subject of The Rolling Stones' song "Angie."
1970 - Neil Young releases Southern Man. Young claimed the song was more about the civil rights movement than the South in particular (racism, the Klan, etc.), but many Southern men (and women) didn't appreciate the generalization.
Lynyrd Skynyrd (who were fans of Neil's ) wrote "Sweet Home Alabama" as a response to this song. Young is mentioned in the line, "I hope Neil Young will remember, a Southern man don't need him around anyhow."
Young was quite happy with "Sweet Home Alabama." He said, "They play like they mean it, I'm proud to have my name in a song like theirs."
1975 - The movie version of The Who's rock opera Tommy premieres in America. Tommy tells the story of a "deaf, dumb and blind kid" who discovers a talent for playing pinball. The story covers several decades of his life: from the moment Tommy is afflicted after seeing his father kill his mother's lover; to his rise as a pinball superstar; his rebirth as a cult leader; right through to his eventual downfall.
The movie is a commercial and critical success: Star Ann-Margret and Who guitarist Pete Townshend are both nominated for Academy Awards. Appearing in the film: Oliver Reed, Jack Nicholson, and musicians Tina Turner, Eric Clapton and Elton John - who only agreed to appear if he could keep his character's giant platform boots.
1990 - Depeche Mode releases Violator. It continued in the general vein of the previous two studio efforts, but the opening two singles from the album, however, signaled something else was up. First was "Personal Jesus," at once perversely simplistic, with a stiff, arcane funk/hip-hop beat and basic blues guitar chords and David Gahan's echoed, snaky vocals. Then "Enjoy the Silence," a nothing-else-remains-but-us ballad pumped up into a huge, dramatic romance/dance number, commanding in its mock orchestral/choir scope. Goth without ever being stupidly hammy, synth without sounding like the clinical stereotype of synth music, rock without ever sounding like a "rock" band, Depeche here reach astounding heights indeed. (Photo by Karl Walter/Getty Images)
1996 - Volume Two of The Beatles' Anthology series was released. It features rarities, outtakes and live performances from the 1965 sessions for Help! to the sessions just prior to their trip to India in February 1968, along with the song "Real Love," an old John Lennon demo track that the surviving members of the Fab Four had embellished.
The song was first recorded by Lennon in 1977 with a handheld tape recorder on his piano at home. It originated as part of an unfinished stage play that Lennon was working on at the time entitled 'The Ballad of John and Yoko.'
Birthdays:
Ricky Wilson, guitarist with The B-52's, was born today in 1953. Wilson’s oft-minor key surf guitar licks were central to the band’s other-worldly sound.
He played a Mosrite guitar and favored distinctive open tunings, sometimes playing with just four or five strings, reportedly saying “I just tune the strings ‘til I hear something I like, and then something comes out. I don’t write anything down. I have no idea how the tunings go.”
Terry Hall, lead singer of The Specials, was born today in 1959. The Specials were the fulcrum of the ska revival of the late '70s, kick-starting the 2-Tone movement that spurred a ska-punk revolution lasting for decades.
Terry also formed the band Fun Boy Three. Best known for "Our Lips Are Sealed," a song Hall wrote with Jane Wiedlin, who had already made it into a hit the previous year with her group, the Go-Go's.
R.I.P.:
1976 - Paul Kossof guitarist with Free and Back Street Crawler died aged 25. Once auditioned for the Rolling Stones. Played the iconic riff on the Free classic, "All Right Now".
1990 - Andrew Wood, lead singer of the bands Malfunkshun and Mother Love Bone, died at the age of 24. Though Malfunkshun, formed in 1980, only had two songs released ("With Yo' Heart (Not Yo' Hands)" and "Stars-n-You"), they are often cited as being among the founding fathers of the Seattle grunge movement. Mother Love Bone formed in 1988, members of which would go on to form Pearl Jam.
On This Day In Music History was sourced, copied, pasted, curated, edited, and occasionally woven together with my own crude prose from This Day in Music, Rock and Roll Globe, Music This Day, Allmusic, Song Facts and Wikipedia.