This Day in Music
On this day in music, June 16, 1972, David Bowie released his highly-influential glam-rock masterpiece, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. The artist’s fifth LP was a concept album that told the tale of an androgynous alien rock star that is sent to Earth ahead of the apocalypse. Featuring such enduring tracks as “Suffragette City,” “Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide,” and lead single “Starman,” Ziggy Stardust became Bowie’s breakthrough album, peaking at No.5 on the UK chart. Today, the LP is considered to be one of the most important rock albums of all time and remains the late’s artist’s second-best-selling album, worldwide.
In 1967, the “Summer of Love” kicked off with California’s Monterey International Pop Festival. The three-day event, which set the standard for a variety of future festivals, including Woodstock, was the brainchild of John Phillips (of the Mamas & the Papas) and producer Lou Adler, among others, and boasted an array of memorable performances, including those by Jefferson Airplane, Otis Redding, Jimi Hendrix, Ravi Shankar, and Janis Joplin with Big Brother and the Holding Company.
In 1965, Bob Dylan recorded his generation-defining song “Like a Rolling Stone” at New York’s Columbia Recording Studios. Released a month later, the song featured instrumentation by a young Al Kooper (on the Hammond B2) and Chicago blues star Mike Bloomfield (electric guitar).
In 1996, the inaugural Tibetan Freedom Concert took place in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, becoming the largest US benefit concert since 1985’s Live Aid. The sold-out event, which drew attention to the Tibetan independence movement and raised funds for a variety of related causes, drew an audience of over 100,000. Organized by the Beastie Boys, the concert featured a who’s who of 90s stars, including Red Hot Chili Peppers, De La Soul, Smashing Pumpkins, Rage Against the Machine, A Tribe Called Quest, and Björk.
In 2002, a remix of Elvis’ 1968 song, “A Little Less Conversation,” by Dutch producer Junkie XL put The King back on the UK charts and helped the late rock’n’roll icon earn a new record – of having more UK No.1 hits than any other artist in chart history. He also set a record for the longest span of No.1 hits (nearly 45 years). The high-energy remix remained at the top spot for four weeks, while also hitting No.1 in Canada, Australia, and across Europe.
In 1969, Johnny Cash released At San Quentin – a follow-up to his acclaimed live album, At Folsom Prison, and the second in a series of concerts recorded in front of an audience of incarcerated men. The performance, which took place in February of that same year, was also filmed for a TV special on the UK’s Granada Television.
In 2013, with the release of 13, Black Sabbath set a new precedent on the UK charts by accruing the longest amount of time between No.1 albums. The metal legends’ 19th studio album debuted at the top spot nearly 43 years after their second LP, 1970’s Paranoid, held the No.1 position.
BORN ON JUNE 16
1941: Lamont Dozier (Songwriter)
1942: Edward Levert (The O’Jays)
1950: James Smith (The Stylistics)
1958: Partick Waite (Musical Youth)
1971: Tupac “2Pac” Shakur
1990: John Newman
