This Day in Music
On October 16, 1961, Patsy Cline released her cover of the Willie Nelson-penned song, “Crazy.” Nelson wrote the song while living in Houston, working for Pappy Daily’s famed record company, D Records. Eventually, the song made its way to country star Hank Cochran, who passed it along to Cline. Her recording was an instant hit, peaking at No.2 on Billboard’s country chart and No.9 on the pop chart. While the song has been frequently covered over the decades, Cline’s rendition remains the best-known version and has endured as a country standard. More than 30 years after its release, the recording was named the most-played jukebox tune of all time, while in 2003, the Library of Congress added the song to its National Recording Registry.
In 2006, the legendary New York venue CBGBs closed its doors after 33 years. While the club was first intended to be a hub for country, bluegrass, and blues artists, it eventually became synonymous with the underground punk and new wave scene and served as a platform for such seminal artists as Blondie, Television, and The Ramones. The evening before the venue shuttered permanently, Patti Smith performed a memorable show with a variety of special guests, including Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Richard Lloyd of Television.
In 1972, Creedence Clearwater Revival officially disbanded, months after the release of their seventh and final studio album, Mardi Gras, and a year after the departure of founding member, Tom Fogerty.
In 1951, 18-year-old Richard Penniman, who was already using the stage name Little Richard, made his first recordings for RCA Camden at the studios of Atlanta radio station WGST.
In 1976, Stevie Wonder‘s Songs In The Key Of Life went to No.1 on the US album chart. The seminal title, which features such songs as “Isn’t She Lovely,” “I Wish,” and “Sir Duke,” became the artist’s best-selling album and won Album of the Year at the 1977 Grammys. The broadly acclaimed title, which was later inducted into the National Recording Registry, is also considered the final release of Wonder’s “classic period.”
In 1982, Culture Club made a buzzworthy TV appearance on the UK’s Top of the Pops, performing “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me.” After the performance, frontman Boy George became a fixture on magazine covers, while the song quickly rose up the pop charts.
In 1962, a two-month-long Motown Records tour (dubbed the “Motortown Revue”) kicked off in Washington, D.C. On the bill were Marvin Gaye, the Supremes, Mary Wells, the Miracles, and 12-year-old Stevie Wonder.
BORN ON OCTOBER 16
1938: Nico
1947: Bob Weir (Grateful Dead)
1959: Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet)
1960: Bob Mould (Hüsker Du)
1962: Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers)
1969: Wendy Wilson (Wilson Phillips)
1977: John Mayer
