Every day on Radio Nova, just before 11am, we play a couple of songs key to “today in music history” Have a listen! But for now – here’s some light reading and watching. March 22nd in Music History looks like this.
1965 Bob Dylan released his fifth studio album Bringing It All Back Home. The lead-off track was Subterranean Homesick Blues. The brilliant video was made in a lane behind the Savoy Hotel in London.
1978 The Police signed to A&M Records
1980 The Jam had their first UK No.1 with their tenth release, ‘Going Underground, it is was the first single of the 80s to debut at No.1.
1984 Queen filmed the video for ‘I Want To Break Free’ at Limehouse Studio in London. Brian May later said the video ruined the band in America, and was initially banned by MTV in the US.
1994, American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer Dan Hartman died aged 43 of a brain tumor. He was a member of the Edgar Winter Group and wrote the band’s hit ‘Free Ride.’ Mixing things up, he also wrote ‘Relight My Fire’ for Take That and Lulu and co-wrote The James Brown song “Living in America”
2016 Dave Grohl stood for the defence of a teenage rockband band from Cornwall, after their local council said they were too loud. The Black Leaves of Envy were told they would have to stop practising in a family garage after noise complaints from neighbours. Foo Fighters frontman Grohl penned an open letter to the authority after the band contacted him asking Cornwall Council to “reconsider the restrictions”.
Would have been Keith Relf’s birthday today. The Yardbirds who had the 1965 ‘For Your Love’. He also sang an early version of ‘Dazed and Confused’ in live Yardbirds concerts, a song later recorded by the band’s successor group Led Zeppelin. Relf died aged 33 in 1976 when he was electrocuted in the basement of his home, while playing his improperly earthed guitar.
And happy birthday Australian musician, songwriter and record producer Harry Vanda, one part of The Easybeats who had the 1966 UK No.6 single ‘Friday On My Mind’. After The Easybeats, Vanda and fellow member George Young (big brother to Angus and Malcolm and founder of Flash and The Pan) became two of Australia’s best-known songwriters.
Check out the weekly Podcast. Marty Miller’s This Week in Music History.
