this day in music

20 years ago today, the annual Nobel Peace Prize Concert took place in Oslo, Norway, and Jewel, Sinead O’Connor, and Emmylou Harris were all there to commemorate the occasion. The Nobel Peace Prize Concert became an annual tradition in 1994,...

29 years ago today, Metallica filmed their first music video: the epic anti-war anthem “One.” Written by James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich, “One” revolves around a severely-wounded soldier whose experiences in World War I have left him with no arms,...

Just over two weeks ago, we celebrated the 35th anniversary of the release of Led Zeppelin’s final album, CODA. Today, we recall the unfortunate reason that it ended up being their final album. For all practical purposes, Led Zeppelin ended...

44 years ago today, the ABC TV program The Midnight Special aired a very special episode, one which – unlike the majority of the series’ installments – centered around a longform performance by a single artist: David Bowie. The episode,...

22 years ago today, Cliff Richard added a “sir” to his name when he was officially invested as a Knight Bachelor of the British Empire. Richard, who sits behind only The Beatles and Elvis Presley when it comes to the...

19 years ago today, Metallica launched into a nine-song set at the home of the late Hugh Hefner, a.k.a. the architectural wonder otherwise known as The Playboy Mansion. Well, actually, it’s not the architecture of the mansion that’s a wonder...

30 years ago today, New Musical Express ran an article bearing the headline “GOODBYE, SMITHS” which effectively served as the kick-off of Morrissey’s career as a solo artist. “The Smiths are dead,” began the article, just in case the headline...

30 years ago today, Paisley Park Studios opened in Minneapolis, Minnesota, giving Prince a place to lay down whatever tracks he wanted, whether he had any intention of actually releasing them or not. Prince wasn’t the only one who recorded...

31 years ago today, Dire Straits’ blend of computer-animated shenanigans and concert footage walked away with the award for Video of the Year at the 3 rd Annual MTV Video Music Awards. When the awards ceremony kicked off at the...