1966 - The Beatles win their first Grammy Awards, taking Best New Artist and Best Performance by a Vocal Group for "A Hard Day's Night".
1971 - The Rolling Stones released Brown Sugar, the first record on their own label, Rolling Stones Records, which introduced the iconic licking-tongue-and-lips logo. Mick Jagger: "God knows what I'm on about on that song. It's such a mishmash. All the nasty subjects in one go... I never would write that song now."
1973 - Bob Marley and the Wailers released Catch a Fire their first album on Island Records and which is now regarded as one of the greatest reggae albums of all time. The album's title phrase, Catch A Fire, actually means "burn in Hell", to those who oppress us. This marks the emergence of Bob Marley and the international debut of reggae music. Marley would continue to achieve great critical and commercial success during the 1970s, but Catch a Fire is one of the finest reggae albums ever. This album is essential for any music collection. The memorable original album cover is designed to look like a giant Zippo lighter. Opening the cover reveals the inner workings of the lighter, complete with blazing wick. This cover is scrapped after the first 20,000 printings due to cost concerns and is replaced by something less subtle: a photo of Marley puffing away on a joint.
1973 - David Bowie released his sixth studio album Aladdin Sane, the name of the album is a pun on 'A Lad Insane." A lighter affair than Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane is actually a stranger album than its predecessor, buoyed by bizarre lounge-jazz flourishes and a handful of winding, vaguely experimental songs. Bowie abandons his futuristic obsessions to concentrate on the detached cool of New York and London hipsters. (Photo by Angela Weiss/Getty Images)
1974 - Elton John went to No.1 with 'Bennie And The Jets', his second US No.1. John was set against releasing it as a single, believing it would fail. "Bennie" is a female character who Elton has described as a "sci-fi rock goddess." Bernie Taupin, who wrote the lyrics, told Esquire, "'Bennie And The Jets' was almost Orwellian - it was supposed to be futuristic. They were supposed to be a prototypical female rock 'n' roll band out of science fiction. Automatons."
2005 - Blues pianist Johnnie Johnson, known for his work with Chuck Berry, dies in St. Louis, Missouri, at age 80. Berry got the name "Johnny" from Johnnie Johnson.
2012 - Five of Tom Petty's guitars were stolen from a soundstage in Culver City, Calif., where Petty and his band, the Heartbreakers, were rehearsing for an upcoming tour. Petty was offering a "no questions asked" reward bounty of $7,500 to anyone with information leading to the guitars' recovery. The instruments were recovered four days later, and a private security guard was arrested in connection with the theft.
Birthdays:
Al Green is 75. He is born "Al Greene," but drops the trailing "e" in 1968. Al Green was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995, where he is described as "one of the most gifted purveyors of soul music."
1945 - Lowell George of Little Feat is born in Hollywood, California.
Max Weinberg, the drummer for Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, is 70.
Blondie keyboardist and songwriter Jimmy Destri is 67.
Original Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Hillel Slovak was born today in 1962.
Marc Ford of The Black Crowes is 55.
Lou Bega is 46.
On This Day In Music History are gathered from This Day in Music, Paul Shaffer's Day in Rock, Song Facts, Allmusic and Wikipedia.