this day in music

52 years ago today, the seventh Newport Folk Festival took place, bringing together a collection of folk, country, and blues artists to sing and play their hearts out. If you’re wondering why we didn’t refer to it as the seventh...

40 years ago today, Fleetwood Mac teamed up with the USC Marching Band and recorded the bit for the title track of their 1979 album TUSK that everyone remembers. The idea for bringing a marching band onto the song was...

15 years ago today, Morrissey celebrated his 45th birthday by performing a concert in the city where he took his first breath on this unhappy planet, with all the carnivores and the destructors of it. The set list for Mozzer’s...

Time flies: as of today, it’s officially been four years since Black Sabbath were presented with the prestigious lifetime achievement prize at the Ivor Novello songwriting awards ceremony. The award, which was presented to the band by Queen guitarist Brian...

37 years ago today, one of the most famous music venues in the history of the UK – nay, the world! – opened its doors in Manchester, England, and to commemorate the occasion, we thought we’d spotlight an appearance that...

31 years ago today, Atlantic Records celebrated their 40 th anniversary with a concert extravaganza which – although it didn’t play host to every act that called the label home over the course of those four decades – did an...

62 years ago today, The Coasters got a write-up in Billboard for their latest single that any group would happily hold up to anyone in their proximity and shout, “Look-a there!” (If you don’t know the song, just trust us:...

48 years ago today, Led Zeppelin played a song from LED ZEPPELIN IV, and while that would normally not be all that big a deal, it becomes one when history subsequently reveals that they never played it again. Written by...

20 years ago today, Tom Petty started letting people walk all over him. Not because he’d suddenly become a soft touch, but because he and the Heartbreakers were given their very own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. On...