this day in music

53 years ago today, the cast of Oliver! performed on The Ed Sullivan Show, giving a young up-and-comer named Davy Jones his first opportunity to shine on American TV. Oh, right, and the Beatles played, too. “I watched the Beatles...

57 years ago today, the man often referred to as “The Chairman of the Board” actually became a chairman of the board when he founded his own label: Reprise Records. By 1960, Frank Sinatra had done his time working for...

61 years ago today, The Coasters took their first big step toward the big time by signing a deal with Atlantic Records. To tell the origin story of The Coasters, one must first be aware of the band that begat...

When you’re the guitarist for one of the biggest bands in the world, you’d think you’d quickly get used to having people tell you that you rock. Not Kirk Hammett of Metallica. He was completely blindsided when he learned on...

31 years ago today, the man who gave us “Hit the Road, Jack” and “What’d I Say” was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Trying to nail Ray Charles down to a single musical genre is a...

29 years ago today, The Drifters were officially inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. When it comes to the Hall of Fame inducting a group, there are certain rules that must be followed in terms of which...

24 years ago today, the members of Fleetwood Mac’s classic ‘70s / ‘80s lineup put aside the differences that had led them to split in the wake of 1987’s TANGO IN THE NIGHT and reunited to perform at President William...

On this day in 1981, the White House issued a memo about an upcoming reception which – in longstanding political tradition – completely buried its most important fact. The announcement in question was that they would be holding a reception...

35 years ago today, the original lineup of The Dream Syndicate had their very first jam session together. This is not to say that the band played their first proper show on this date, mind you. That wouldn’t happen until...