This Day in Music
On this day in music, February 20, 1959, 16-year-old Jimi Hendrix made his stage debut with an unnamed band at a room in Seattle’s Temple De Hirsch Sinai synagogue. Inspired by blues artists like Muddy Waters and B.B. King, Hendrix purchased a guitar for $5 and began teaching himself the instrument as a teenager. While he would be fired from his first gig “for showing off,” Hendrix’s innovative techniques (including tone-altering effects, such as fuzz distortion and wah-wah) would soon find him droves of fans and inspire musicians around the world to follow suit.
In 2003, a pyrotechnic accident at a Great White show in Rhode Island resulted in the deaths of 100 people, including the band’s guitarist, Ty Longley. After the tragic incident, the band’s surviving members embarked on a benefit tour, to raise funds for the victims of the fire and their loved ones.
In 1970, The Plastic Ono Band released their single “Instant Karma!” in the US. Recorded weeks earlier, on January 27, 1970, the John Lennon-penned track quickly became one of the fastest-released songs in pop music history – having been written, recorded, and released in the UK in 10 days. While release across the Atlantic took slightly longer, it was still a remarkable feat – and a Top Ten hit on the Billboard Hot 100.
In 1988, Kylie Minogue topped the UK singles chart with “I Should Be Lucky.” While the Australian singer and actress recorded the song in less than an hour, it spent a whopping 17 weeks on the chart, including five weeks at No.1.
In 1958, the six-date “Big Gold Record Stars” tour kicked in Daytona Beach, FL. The lineup consisted of Bill Haley & His Comets, The Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly & The Crickets, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Jimmie Rodgers.
BORN ON FEBRUARY 20th
1941: Buffy Sainte-Marie
1956: J Geils
1950: Walter Becker (Steely Dan)
1953: Poison Ivy (The Cramps)
1954: Jon Brant (Cheap Trick)
1963: Ian Brown (Stone Roses)
1967: Kurt Cobain (Nirvana)
1975: Brian Littrell (Backstreet Boys)
1988: Rihanna
2003: Olivia Rodrigo
