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Today In Music History

June 7 in Music History: Remembering Prince

Prince performs at Super Bowl XLI on February 4, 2007 at Dolphin Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
Prince performs at Super Bowl XLI on February 4, 2007 at Dolphin Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.Donald Miralle/Getty Images

June 07, 2022

History Highlight:

Prince was born today in 1958. Though he was a Jehovah's Witness and didn't celebrate holidays, it's hard not to think about Prince today. June 7 marks a couple of other milestones for Prince besides the day he was born: On his 35th birthday on this day in 1993, Prince changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol, and became known as The Artist Formerly Known As Prince; 11 years later on this day, his Musicology album entered the top 10.  

Also, Today In: 

1963 - Decca Records in the U.K. released "Come On," the first record by The Rolling Stones.   

1969 - The Who's rock opera Tommy entered the Billboard charts at No. 96; it would peak at No. 4.  

1972 - The musical Grease opened on Broadway. The show introduced rock-and-roll-inspired tunes like "Summer Nights," "Greased Lightnin'," "Look At Me, I'm Sandra Dee," and "Beauty School Dropout." (The film version came out in 1978, starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John.)  

1975 - Elton John's Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy, with the hit "Someone Saved My Life Tonight," became the first album to debut at No. 1 in the US. It held the top spot for seven (non-consecutive) weeks.  

1977 - The Sex Pistols made a mockery of Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee by playing punk rock from a boat on the Thames River, including their subversive hit, "Anarchy in the U.K."  

1978 - Tom Petty met Bob Dylan for the first time backstage after Dylan's show at the Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles.   

1994 - Stone Temple Pilots released their second album Purple, which went to No. 1 in America and sold over 6 million copies on the strength of the tracks "Big Empty," "Vasoline" and "Interstate Love Song."  

1993 - Ground is broken for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland.   

1995 - Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood was admitted to a hospital after his ear was leaking blood. The problem was diagnosed as being the result of continuous guitar playing.  

2004 - AC/DC's Back in Black album went Double Diamond, becoming just the sixth album with RIAA-certified sales of over 20 million in America. In November, the Shania Twain album Come On Over became the seventh. Both albums were produced by Mutt Lange. 

2007 - The funeral of guitarist, singer Bo Diddley took place in Gainesville, Florida.  

2009 - After performing the Poison hit "Nothin' but a Good Time" at the Tony Awards, Bret Michaels had a run-in with the set, and the set won. He cut his lip and fractured his nose in the incident. 

2012 - Bob Welch, an early member of Fleetwood Mac who enjoyed a successful solo career with hits such as "Ebony Eyes", was found dead at home in Nashville. He was 66. 

Birthdays: 

Dean Martin was born today in 1917. 

Tom Jones is 83. 

Eric Kretz, Stone Temple Pilots drummer, is 57. 

Guitarist Dave Navarro (Jane's Addiction, Red Hot Chili Peppers) is 56. 

Iggy Azalea is 33. 

Rapper Fetty Wap is 32. 

George Ezra is 30. 

Highlights for Today in Music History are gathered from This Day in Music, Paul Shaffer's Day in Rock, Song Facts and Wikipedia.