Aug 8 in Music History: Another Side of Bob Dylan is released, Janis Joplin writes “Mercedes Benz”

1923 – A fourteen-year-old clarinet player named Benny Goodman lands his first professional gig, playing for a cruise ship operating on Lake Michigan near Chicago.

1964 – Another Side of Bob Dylan is released.

1964 – The Animals release “The House Of The Rising Sun” ahead of their self-titled, debut album, which hits stores the following month.

1969 – The photo session for the cover of The Beatles’ Abbey Road album takes place on the crossing outside Abbey Road studios. Photographer Iain McMillan balances on a stepladder in the middle of the road and takes six shots of John, Ringo, Paul, and George crossing the road while a policeman held up traffic. Afterward, the band returns to the studio and records overdubs on “The End,” “I Want You (She’s So Heavy),” and “Oh! Darling.”

1970 – Janis Joplin writes “Mercedes Benz” at Vahsen’s, a Port Chester, New York bar, during an impromptu poetry jam with Bob Neuwirth. The lyrics are inspired by the first line of a song written by San Francisco beat poet Michael McClure: “Come on, God, and buy me a Mercedes Benz.” She sings the new version for the first time that night at her concert at the Capitol Theatre.

1981 – MTV broadcasts its first stereo concert with REO Speedwagon live from Denver, Colorado.

1983 – Metallica releases their debut single, “Whiplash.”

1987 – U2 scores their second US #1 single with “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.”

1995 – Ben Folds Five releases their self-titled, debut album.

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