Today in Music History: Saluting The Smiths' Bassist
January 17, 2013
Birthday Highlight:
Andy Rourke, bass player for The Smiths, is 49 today. While Johnny Marr's guitar work with The Smiths is often hailed as being key to the group's sound, Rourke's bass playing doesn't often receive quite the credit it's due; we rectified that this morning with a great example of his playing, "This Charming Man."
Also, Today In:
1964 - The Rolling Stones released their debut self-titled EP.
1967 - The Jimi Hendrix Experience recorded a session for Radio Luxembourg's Ready Steady Radio. The band ran up a bar bill of $6.21, which they were unable to pay.
1970 - Billy Stewart and three of his band were killed when the car they're traveling in crashed off a bridge. Stewart's most popular song was the 1966 hit "Summertime".
1974, Dean Martin's son Dino Martin was arrested after attempting to sell two AK-47 machine guns to an undercover agent.
2003 - A long-lost recording featuring John Lennon and Mick Jagger was set to spark a biding war at a London auction. The acetate record was recorded in 1974 with Jagger singing the blues song "Too Many Cooks" and Lennon playing guitar. The track had never been released because the two artists were both signed to different record companies.
2003 - Singer Lou Rawls was arrested at Albuquerque Airport, New Mexico after an incident with his companion, Nina Inman.
Birthdays:
Stephin Merritt, The Magnetic Fields, is 47.
Steve Earle is 58 today.
The Rolling Stones guitarist Mick Taylor is 64 today.