This Day in Music History: The Monkees and King Crimson release their debut albums - WXPN | Vinyl At Heart
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1902 – The Gibson Mandolin guitar company is formed. The first successfully commercial electric guitar, the ES-150, is produced in 1936, and in 1946 Gibson introduces the P-90 single coil pickup, which is eventually used on the first Les Paul model made in 1952.

1962 – The BBC bans the song “Monster Mash” by Bobby “Boris” Pickett on the grounds that the song is “too morbid.”

1966 – The self-titled debut album from The Monkees is released.

1968 – The Beatles record “Piggies,” “Glass Onion,” and “Why Don’t We Do It In The Road?”

1969 – King Crimson releases their debut album, In the Court of the Crimson King, which is considered by many as the first Progressive Rock album.

1970 – Neil Diamond gets his first #1 single under his own name with “Cracklin’ Rosie.” Diamond, who had spent his early career as a songwriter in the Brill Building, wrote the 1966 #1 hit “I’m A Believer” for The Monkees.

1975 – The only Deep Purple studio album to feature guitarist Tommy Bolin, Come Taste the Band, is released. The album also features a pre-Whitesnake David Coverdale on vocals.

1977 – An audience member throws an M-80 firecracker on stage at an Aerosmith show at The Spectrum in Philadelphia. The explosion injures lead singer Steven Tyler’s cornea and guitarist Joe Perry’s hand. The next year, Tyler is hit in the face with a bottle when they play the arena.

1979The Rose, starring Bette Midler as a self-destructive 1960s rock star (transparently based on Janis Joplin), premieres in Los Angeles. The film is nominated for four Academy Awards including Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Frederic Forrest), Best Actress in a Leading Role (Bette Midler in her screen debut), Best Film Editing, and Best Sound.

1988 – The U2  releases Rattle and Hum.

1995 – No Doubt releases their breakthrough album, Tragic Kingdom.

1995 – Peter Frampton releases Frampton Comes Alive II, the sequel to his 1975 smash Frampton Comes Alive – the best-selling live album in history.

2006 – Sting releases an album of 16th century lute tunes called Songs From the Labyrinth.

2007 – Radiohead takes an innovative approach with the release of their seventh studio album, In Rainbows, by offering it as a pay-what-you-want download.

2010 – R&B/soul singer Solomon Burke dies on an airplane at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. Though the cause of death was not known, the singer had long struggled with his weight and his health, and his doctor suspected he had a pulmonary embolism.

Information for this post was gathered from This Day in Music, The Music History Calendar, On This Day, and Wikipedia.

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