History Highlight:

Today in 2019, the Minnesota State Fair Grandstand hosted The Current’s Music On-A-Stick featuring Brandi Carlile with special guests Mavis Staples and Savannah Conley. Performing to a sold-out crowd approaching 14,000, Nashville singer-songwriter Savannah Conley opened the evening before Mavis Staples and her band performed a 12-song set that included Staple Singers classics “If You’re Ready (Come Go With Me),” “March Up Freedom’s Highway” and “Touch a Hand, Make a Friend,” as well as several selections from her recent albums to that date: Livin’ on a High Note (2016), If All I Was Was Black (2017) and We Get By (2019). When Carlile and her band took the stage, they kicked things into high gear by opening the set with the anthemic “Hold Out Your Hand,” immediately inspiring the capacity audience to sing along. Other songs in the set included “The Mother,” “The Eye,” “Wherever Is Your Heart,” “The Joke,” and Carlile’s magnum-opus ballad, “The Story.” Mavis Staples returned to the stage for a duet performance of J. Blackfoot’s song, “Friendship,” and during an encore that didn’t relent when the fireworks began exploding overhead, Conley joined Carlile and her band for a rousing cover of Elton John’s “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting.” (Read a first-person account of this concert from 2019 written by local singer-songwriter Lydia Liza.)

Also, Today In:

1957 - Elvis Presley appeared at the Empire Stadium in Vancouver, B.C., Canada. Following gigs in Toronto and Ottawa, the Vancouver show marked the third and final time Elvis ever performed outside of the U.S.

1963 - The trio Angels started a three-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "My Boyfriend's Back." It was written by Bob Feldman, Jerry Goldstein and Richard Gottehrer (a.k.a. FGG Productions who later formed the group the Strangeloves) and was originally intended as a demo for the Shirelles. The single spent three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and reached No. 2 on the R&B Billboard.

1969 - Decca Records released what has been called the Rolling Stones' most political song, "Street Fighting Man," written after Mick Jagger attended a March 1968 anti-war rally at London's U.S. embassy, during which mounted police attempted to control a crowd of 25,000. The single was kept out of the U.S. Top 40 (reaching No. 48) because many radio stations refused to play it based on what were perceived as subversive lyrics.

1973 - The Rolling Stones released Goat's Head Soup. The eleventh studio album is known for the range of musical styles represented, including blues, rock and funk. Though it received mixed reviews upon release, the album ultimately showcased the band’s willingness to evolve sonically and features tracks like the “Star Star” and “Angie,” which became one of the band’s most iconic ballads.

1976 - George Harrison was found guilty of "subconscious plagiarism" of the Ronnie Mack song "He's So Fine" when writing "My Sweet Lord." Earnings from the song were awarded to Mack's estate; The Chiffons then recorded their own version of "My Sweet Lord.”

1981 - The Gun Club released their debut album, Fire of Love.

1984 - Prince fans across the U.K. rushed to cinemas to see Purple Rain, which was causing plenty of buzz since its release a month earlier in the U.S. Buoyed by a hit soundtrack —which featured the enduring singles “When Doves Cry,” “Let’s Go Crazy,” and the title track —the blockbuster film grossed over $72 million worldwide.

1985 - Brothers In Arms by Dire Straits started a nine-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. album charts. The album also topped the charts in 25 other countries and went on to sell more than 20 million copies worldwide.

1987 - The Jesus and Mary Chain released their second studio album, Darklands. It features “April Skies,” “Happy When It Rains,” and “Darklands.”

1987 - MTV debuted Club MTV, the cable channel’s updated version of the long-running TV series American Bandstand.

1987 - The largest pre-order of albums in the history of CBS Records occurred as 2.25 million copies of Michael Jackson's Bad album were shipped to record stores across the U.S. The LP followed Jackson's 1982 album, Thriller, his biggest seller of all time (more than 35 million copies sold). Bad would go on to sell more than 13 million copies.

1991 - Metallica started a four-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with Metallica. The album — which featured the tracks "Enter Sandman," "Sad But True," "The Unforgiven" and "Nothing Else Matters" — went on to sell more than 10 million copies in the U.S. alone.

1992 - Prince extended his contract with Warner Bros. in a deal reported as being worth $100 million, but worth far less in reality.

1993 - Garth Brooks released his fifth studio album, In Pieces. It features "Ain't Going Down ('Til the Sun Comes Up)," "American Honky-Tonk Bar Association," and “Standing Outside the Fire.”

1993 - Mariah Carey released her third studio album, Music Box. It features “Dreamlover” and “Hero.”

1999 - Led by the hit single "Ready To Run," the Dixie Chicks released their second major-label album, Fly. The album also features “Cowboy Take Me Away,” “Without You,” “Goodbye Earl,” "Cold Day in July," "If I Fall You're Going Down with Me," and "Some Days You Gotta Dance."

2002 - NASA announced that Lance Bass, singer with *NSYNC, was to become the first celebrity astronaut. His place on a Russian Soyuz module would make him, at age 23, the youngest person to go into orbit. Bass ended up not taking part in the flight after failing to pay for his $20 million ticket on the craft.

2003 - Camera Obscura released their second studio album, Underachievers Please Try Harder.

2004 - The posthumous album from Ray Charles, Genius Loves Company, was released. It features guest musicians such as Natalie Cole, Elton John, James Taylor, Norah Jones, B.B. King, Gladys Knight, Diana Krall, Van Morrison, Willie Nelson, and Bonnie Raitt.

2004 - Green Day released the title track of their new album American Idiot as a single three weeks before the album is issued. Both the song and the album are wildly successful and highly acclaimed, with each nominated for multiple Grammy Awards (winning for Best Rock Album).

2006 - Beyoncé released her second studio album, B’Day. It features "Déjà Vu," "Ring the Alarm," and "Irreplaceable."

2007 - Hilly Kristal, founder of the New York punk club CBGB died from complications arising from lung cancer at the age of 75. Kristal was credited with discovering Patti Smith and the Ramones and his club became a breeding ground for punk rock. The New York City venue, whose full title CBGB OMFUG stood for “country, bluegrass, blues and other music for uplifting gourmandisers,” was originally launched to showcase country music.

2012 - Two Door Cinema Club released their second studio album, Beacon. It features “Sleep Alone.”

2012 - The Minnesota State Fair Grandstand hosted Minnesota Music On-A-Stick with Semisonic, The Jayhawks, Dessa, Jeremy Messersmith, and Lucy Michelle and the Velvet Lapelles.

2013 - The Minnesota State Fair Grandstand hosted Macklemore & Ryan Lewis with special guests Talib Kweli and Chance The Rapper.

2014 - Jimi Jamison, the lead singer for Survivor, who sang and co-wrote “I'm Always Here,” the theme tune for hit TV series Baywatch, died at age 63. Survivor are best-known for their 1982 hit “Eye of the Tiger,” which predated Jamison joining the group.

2015 - On his 70th birthday, Van Morrison played two shows on Cyprus Avenue in Belfast, the inspiration for his song "Cyprus Avenue."

2018 - Idles released their second studio album, Joy as an Act of Resistance.

2018 - Troye Sivan released his second studio album, Bloom.

2023 - Duran Duran performed at the Minnesota State Fair Grandstand.

Birthdays:

Buddy Hackett was born today in 1924.

Pianist Big Tiny Little was born today in 1930.

R&B singer and guitarist Bobby Parker, known for his 1961 hit, “Watch Your Step,” was born today in 1937.

Jerry Allison — drummer for Buddy Holly and the Crickets and solo artist (his 1958 hit, “Real Wild Child,” was later covered by Iggy Pop) — was born today in 1939.

Wilton Felder — a member of the Jazz Crusaders who played bass on the Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back” and “ABC” — was born today in 1940.

Van Morrison is 81.

Itzhak Perlman is 81.

Bob Welch, member of Fleetwood Mac and solo artist, was born today in 1945.

Rudolf Schenker, guitarist of Scorpions, is 78.

Rick Roberts of the Flying Burrito Brothers is 77.

Anthony Thistlethwaite of the Waterboys is 71.

Gina Schock, drummer for the Go-Go's, is 69.

Glenn Tilbrook, lead singer of Squeeze, is 69.

Chris Whitley was born today in 1960.

Reb Beach of Winger and Whitesnake is 63.

Larry Waddell of Mint Condition is 63.

Gerard Love of Teenage Fanclub is 59.

Jeff Russo of Tonic is 57.

Debbie Gibson is 55.

Craig Nicholls of the Vines is 49.

Simon Neil, lead singer of Biffy Clyro, is 46.

Joe Budden is 46.

Highlights for Today in Music History are gathered from This Day in Music, Song Facts, Setlist.fm (Mavis Staples, Brandi Carlile), St. Paul Pioneer Press, and Wikipedia.