Category: Music

The Beatles were busy at work today in 1963:

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We begin with our National Anthem, which officially became our National Anthem today in 1931:

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Today in 1958, a study by Esso (now ExxonMobil) reported that drivers drove faster and therefore waste more gas when listening to rock music.

If a driver wastes (however you define that) gas, the oil companies sell more gasoline. It’s unclear to me why the oil companies would consider that to be a bad thing, particularly in the 1950s when cars got all of 12 or so mpg.

Today in 1968, Sly and the Family Stone failed to appear at a free concert in Chicago.

A riot ensued.

Today in 1977, John Lennon did not get instant karma, but he did get a green card to become a permanent resident, five years after the federal government (that is, Richard Nixon) sought to deport him. So can you imagine who played mind games on whom?

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Today in 1965, the Rolling Stones were to release “Beggar’s Banquet,” except that the record label decided that the original cover …

… was inappropriate, and substituted …

… angering one member of the band on his birthday.

The number one single …

… and album today in 1975:

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If you think life is so strange today that only parodies make sense, then you should be happy. (Or are you tacky?)

Weird Al Yankovic has the number one album in the U.S., “Mandatory Fun.”

I determined I’m a fan of this album merely on two singles, the first which I’ve already written about: “Word Crimes.”

The second you can guess based on the lead of this blog:

Weird Al’s career dates back to the late 1970s, when as a Cal Poly student he played a version of the then-huge hit “My Sharona” …

… with, of course, an accordion:

The Knack’s lead singer, Doug Fieger, suggested to Capitol Records that it release “My Bologna.” But Weird Al probably hit the big time with …

… followed by …

In the early ’90s, Weird Al parodied Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” …

… with …

… which prompted Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain to say that he knew his band had hit it big when Weird Al was parodying them. That’s how most artists (who Yankovic always asks for permission) feel about being parodied, though not all, including Paul McCartney (who didn’t want “Live and Let Die” to become “Chicken Pot Pie”), James Blunt’s record label (even though Blunt gave the OK to have his “You’re Beautiful” become “You’re Pitiful”), Eminem (who didn’t want “Lose Yourself” to become “Couch Potato”) and Prince. (The story goes that Weird Al has asked Prince repeatedly, and been denied repeatedly. When the two were to sit in the same row for an American Music Awards, Prince’s lawyers sent a telegram demanding that Weird Al not look Prince in the eye. Note the Prince — I mean, Ƭ̵̬̊ — reference in “Word Crimes.”)

More recently, Weird Al managed to parody both a ’60s song (usually considered overwrought) and a ’90s movie at the same time:

There apparently is a movement to get Weird Al into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Weird Al isn’t. Nor are Deep Purple, Jethro Tull, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Judas Priest, and numerous others, including, most maddeningly, Chicago.

There also apparently is a movement to have Weird Al perform at halftime at a Super Bowl. (He couldn’t be worse than previous acts.) That prompted him to release …

Today in 1964, the Beatles’ “A Hard Day’s Night” hit number one and stayed there for 14 weeks:

Today in 1965, Bob Dylan took the stage at the Newport Folk Festival and played with the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. The controversy was that Dylan played electric, not acoustic, guitar.

Contrary to myth, Dylan didn’t leave after three songs because he was upset at the crowd’s reaction. Dylan left after three songs because those were the only songs the band knew. He did return to play two acoustic songs at the behest of Peter, Paul and Mary.

Today in 1969, Crosby, Stills and Nash performed at the Fillmore in San Francisco.

The band asked Neil Young to join them at the end of the concert, and liked the result so much they asked him to join the band.

Young joined, then quit, then rejoined, then quit. (I am told by someone more conversant than me with CSNY that Young didn’t like merely being a member of the group.)

The single version of this classic was released today in 1970:

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Today in 1964, a member of the audience at a Rolling Stones concert in the Empress Ballroom in Blackpool, England, spat upon guitarist Brian Jones, sparking a riot that injured 30 fans and two police officers.

The Stones were banned from performing in Blackpool until 2008.

Today in 1965, Bob Dylan released “Like a Rolling Stone,” which is not like said Rolling Stones:

Today in 1967, the Beatles and other celebrities took out a full-page ad in the London Times calling for the legalization of …

… marijuana.

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Today in 1963, high school student Neil Young and his band, the Squires, recorded in a Winnipeg studio a surf instrumental:

Today in 1965, the Beatles asked for  …

The number one single — really — today in 1966:

Today in 1979, Iran’s new ruler, Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini, banned rock and roll, an event that inspired a British band:

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Today in 1965, Rolling Stones Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Bill Wyman were fined £5 each in London after they were found guilty of “insulting behavior” — to wit, urinating on the wall of a gas station after the owner refused to let them use the bathroom.

Four years later, Aretha Franklin was arrested for disorderly conduct in a Detroit parking lot. Franklin posted $50 bail, and expressed her opinion of the police by running over a road sign with her car.

Today in 1972, the Who asked listeners to …

Today in 1987, a New York jury ruled that singer Morris Albert had plagiarized the 1956 song “Pour Toi” for his “Feelings.” Which brings to mind this question: Why?

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