History Highlight:

On this day in 1965, Bob Dylan performed at the Newport Folk Festival. It was the third consecutive year Dylan had performed at Newport, where he had been well received by the audience. In 1965, however, Dylan included a selection of full-band, amplified songs in the middle of his set, including “Maggie’s Farm” and “Like a Rolling Stone.” Joe Boyd, who was production manager at Newport, estimated that one-third to half of the audience booed Dylan's electric set. "They certainly booed, I’ll tell you that," Dylan himself recalled at a press conference later that year. "You could hear it all over the place.” Despite the audience reaction, the 1965 Newport performance marked an important transition in Dylan's career as he charted his own path as an artist. Director James Mangold re-created the event — taking creative license with some of the historical details for dramatic effect — in the climactic scene of his 2024 Dylan biopic, A Complete Unknown, starring Timothée Chalamet.

Also, Today In: 

1925 - The first 50,000-watt radio station, WGY from Schenectady, New York, began transmission. 

1959 - Introduced by Johnny Cash, 13-year-old Dolly Parton made her Grand Ole Opry debut singing George Jones' "You Gotta Be My Baby." She received three encores. 

1960 - Roy Orbison reached No. 2 on the U.S. singles chart with “Only the Lonely,” his first hit. The song was turned down by The Everly Brothers and Elvis Presley, so Orbison decided to record the song himself. 

1966 - The Supremes released "You Can't Hurry Love." 

1968 - The Beatles recorded their first take of George Harrison's "While My Guitar Gently Weeps." Harrison had been reading the Chinese philosophical text the I Ching, which stipulates that there are no coincidences in the universe (i.e. that everything is connected and thus meant to be), and decided to use the book as inspiration to write a song. So, he opened another book and told himself he would compose a song based on the very first words his eyes landed on. The words turned out to be "gently weeps." 

1969 - Neil Young appeared with Crosby, Stills and Nash for the first time at The Fillmore East in New York. Young was initially asked to help out with live material only, but ended up joining the group on and off for the next 30 years. 

1969 - Yes released their self-titled debut album, one of the first in the progressive rock genre. 

1969 - The Seattle Pop Festival took place at the Gold Creek Park, Woodinville, Washington. Acts who appeared over three days included, Chuck Berry, Tim Buckley, The Byrds, Chicago Transit Authority, Albert Collins, Bo Diddley, The Doors, The Flock, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Guess Who, It's A Beautiful Day, Led Zeppelin, Santana, Spirit, Ten Years After, Ike & Tina Turner, Vanilla Fudge, Alice Cooper and The Youngbloods. 

1970 - The Carpenters started a four-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with “(They Long To Be) Close To You.”

1977 - AC/DC released their fourth studio album, Let There Be Rock. It features the singles "Dog Eat Dog," "Let There Be Rock," and "Whole Lotta Rosie." (It was released in Australia on March 21.)

1980 - AC/DC released Back In Black, their first album without lead singer Bon Scott, who died five months earlier. 

1980 - Teddy Pendergrass released his fourth album, TP. It features “Love T.K.O.”

1983 - Metallica released their debut album, Kill 'Em All, three months after parting ways with guitarist Dave Mustaine. It features “Whiplash” and “Jump in the Fire.”

1984 - Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton died at the age of 58 died in Los Angeles of heart and liver complications. She had a No. 1 R&B hit in 1953 with “Hound Dog” (later covered by Elvis Presley). She also wrote and recorded “Ball 'n' Chain,” which Janis Joplin recorded.

1986 - Billy Joel released his 10th studio album, The Bridge. It features “A Matter of Trust,” “Modern Woman,” and “This Is the Time.”

1989 - After leaving Def Jam, Beastie Boys released their second album, Paul's Boutique, on Capitol Records. The album, containing singles "Hey Ladies" and "Shadrach," did not match the sales of the Beastie Boys' previous record, Licensed to Ill, and Capitol eventually stopped promoting it. However, its popularity grew and it has since been recognized as a breakthrough achievement. In 2003, the album was ranked number 156 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. 

1989 - Steve Rubell, one of the owners of Studio 54, died of AIDS-related causes at age 45. 

1992 - Mary J. Blige's first single, "You Remind Me," hit No. 1 on the R&B chart, establishing her unique blend of "hip-hop soul." Her next single, "Real Love," topped the chart in October. 

1995 - Bone Thugs-N-Harmony released their breakthrough album E. 1999 Eternal, which sells more than four million copies. The big hit from the set was "Tha Crossroads," which won a Grammy for Best Rap Performance By a Duo or Group. 

1999 - Woodstock '99 ended in chaos with riots, fires, looting, and violent crimes, including three accidental deaths. In addition, several fans were hospitalized from drinking polluted water. 

2001 - Super Furry Animals released their fifth studio album, Rings Around the World. It features "Juxtapozed with U," "(Drawing) Rings Around the World" and "It's Not the End of the World?"

2001 - Aaliyah gave her final performance, singing "More Than a Woman" on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Exactly one month later, she was flying back from a video shoot in the Bahamas when the overloaded plane crashed and exploded on the runway, killing everyone on board. 

2001 - The Doors' John Densmore, Bonnie Raitt, and others were arrested in Itasca, Illinois, (a northwest suburb of Chicago) for demonstrating against a company which they claim destroys the rainforest. 

2003 - Erik Braunn, Iron Butterfly guitarist, died at age 52 in Los Angeles of a heart attack related to a birth defect.

2005 - Editors released their debut album, The Back Room. It features “Bullets,” “Blood,” and “All Sparks.”

2006 - Silversun Pickups released their debut studio album, Carnavas. It features “Lazy Eye.”

2006 - Tom Petty released his third solo album, Highway Companion. It features “Saving Grace.”

2006 - Midlake released their second studio album, The Trials of Van Occupanther. It features “Roscoe.”

2006 - New York Dolls released their third studio album, One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This. It was the group's first release of original material since their 1974 album Too Much Too Soon.

2006 - Pharrell released his debut studio album, In My Mind.

2009 - World War I veteran Harry Patch, the subject of the Radiohead song "Harry Patch (In Memory Of)," died at age 111. 

2014 - Weird Al Yankovic became the first comedy act to hit the top spot for more than 50 years. Mandatory Fun, Yankovic's 14th album, and his best-selling since Straight Outta Lynwood, which was released in 1991 went to No. 1 on the U.S. album chart. 

2017 - Michael Johnson (“Bluer Than Blue”) died in Minneapolis at the age of 72.

2019 - PledgeMusic, a platform for fans to fund musicians, goes offline without delivering the money pledged to hundreds of artists. 

2020 - English blues rock singer-songwriter and guitarist Peter Green died in his sleep at age 73. As the founder of Fleetwood Mac, his songs, such as “Albatross,” “Black Magic Woman,” “Oh Well,” “The Green Manalishi (With the Two Prong Crown),” and “Man of the World” became worldwide hits. Green left the band in 1970 as he struggled with his mental health.    

Birthdays: 

William “Benny” Benjamin, primary drummer for Motown house band, The Funk Brothers, was born on this day in 1925. 

Manny Charlton of Nazareth was born today in 1941.

Bruce Woodley of the Seekers is 83.

Jim McCarty, Yardbirds drummer, is 82. 

Rock musician and composer Tom Dawes (lead vocalist of The Cyrkle) was born in Albany, New York in 1944. He is also remembered for writing the music for some of advertising's best-known commercial jingles, including "Plop, Plop, Fizz, Fizz" for Alka-Seltzer and "7Up, the Uncola."

José Areas of Santana is 79.

Rita Marley is 79.

Folk singer-songwriter Steve Goodman (“City of New Orleans,” “Go Cubs Go”) was born today in 1948. 

Verdine White, bassist of Earth, Wind & Fire, is 74.

Randall Bewley of Pylon was born today in 1955.

Thurston Moore is 67. The American guitarist, singer and songwriter is best known as a founding member of the rock band Sonic Youth. Moore has also played with many other groups and released seven solo albums so far. He ranked 34th in Rolling Stone's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.”  

Maureen Herman, of Babes in Toyland, is 59.

Dani Filth, lead singer of Cradle of Filth, is 52.

Mary Ann "Ladybug Mecca" Vieira, of the alt hip-hop group Digable Planets, is 52.

Mac Lethal is 44.

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