History Highlight:

On this day in 1971, Neil Diamond performed at the Minnesota State Fair Grandstand. Diamond’s 12-song setlist was loaded with hits, including “Sweet Caroline,” “Solitary Man,” “I’m a Believer,” “Cracklin’ Rosie” and “I Am … I Said.” He returned to stage for a three-song encore, which included a Randy Newman cover bookended by “Kentucky Woman” and “Brother Love’s Traveling Salvation Show.” Folk and blues artist Odetta, who was also a pillar of the Civil Rights Movement, opened the show.

Also, Today In:

1927 - John Philip Sousa led his band in a concert at the Minnesota State Fair.

1954 - Elvis Presley, along with Bill Black and Scotty Moore, made his first appearance at The Grand Ole Opry. The audience reaction was so poor that the Opry's manager, Jim Denny, told Elvis that he should go back to driving a truck.

1965 - Roger Miller performed at the Minnesota State Fair Grandstand. The Ray Charles Singers, absent their namesake bandleader, were the opening act.

1965 - The Beatles started a three-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Help," the title of their second film and the group's ninth U.S. No. 1.

1968 - "Street Fighting Man" by The Rolling Stones was banned in Chicago and some other cities after local officials feared it will incite riots.

1969 - The classic late-1960s counter-culture movie Easy Rider opened, starring Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper and Jack Nicholson. Songs on the film's popular soundtrack included "Born To Be Wild" by Steppenwolf, "Wasn't Born To Follow" and "The Ballad Of Easy Rider" by The Byrds, and "Don't Bogart That Joint" by the Fraternity Of Man.

1971 - Paul and Linda McCartney went to No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with the U.S.- only release, "Uncle Albert / Admiral Halsey," marking McCartney's first U.S. solo No. 1. McCartney later said "Uncle Albert" was based on his real-life uncle. "He's someone I recall fondly,” McCartney explained, “and when the song was coming, it was like a nostalgia thing … As for Admiral Halsey, he's one of yours, an American admiral,” referring to U.S. Navy Admiral William "Bull" Halsey, who commanded fleets in the South Pacific during World War II.

1972 - Blues artists Muddy Waters performed at the Minnesota State Fair Grandstand.

1976 - The Bee Gees went to No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "You Should Be Dancing," the group's third chart-topping single.

1976 - The Sex Pistols appeared on British TV for the first time when they featured on the Manchester-based Granada TV program, So It Goes.

1982 - Greg Kihn Band with opener Rick Springfield performed at the Minnesota State Fair Grandstand. Springfield was in the midst of a big year, having won a Grammy in February for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance for his 1981 hit, “Jessie’s Girl,” followed by the March 23, 1982, release of his album Success Hasn’t Spoiled Me Yet, which includes the hit song “Don’t Talk to Strangers” that peaked at No. 2 for four weeks in the Billboard Hot 100.

1987 - Drummer Mike Joyce quit The Smiths.

1988 - Reba McIntyre performed at the Minnesota State Fair Grandstand.

1990 - Soul Asylum released their fifth studio album, And the Horse They Rode In On.

1990 - Queensrÿche released their fourth studio album, Empire. It features “Silent Lucidity.”

1992 - Sugar released their debut studio album, Copper Blue. It features “Changes,” “A Good Idea,” “Helpless,” and “If I Can’t Change Your Mind.”

1994 - Little Feat performed at the Minnesota State Fair.

1995 - Blonde Redhead released their second studio album, La Mia Vita Violenta.

2000 - Bassist David Brown died due to liver and kidney failure. He was the primary bass player with Santana from 1966 until 1971 and played in Santana at Woodstock and at Altamont in 1969 and on the band's first three studio albums.

2001 - System of a Down released their second studio album, Toxicity. It features “Chop Suey!” “Toxicity” and “Aerials.”

2004 - Martin Zellar and the Hardways performed at the Leinie Lodge Bandshell at the Minnesota State Fair.

2007 - The Bob Dylan "biographical" movie, I'm Not There: Suppositions On A Film Concerning Dylan, premiered at the Venice (Italy) Film Festival.

2010 - KISS performed at the Minnesota State Fair Grandstand.

2012 - Animal Collective released their ninth studio album, Centipede Hz.

2015 - Travis Scott released his debut studio album, Rodeo. It features "3500" and "Antidote."

2015 - The Arcs released their debut studio album, Yours, Dreamily. A supergroup of sorts, The Arcs began as a solo project The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach, who soon recruited his recording buddies — Nick Movshon, Leon Michaels, Homer Steinweiss and the late Richard Swift — to join the group. Their album was assembled whenever the busy foursome could tuck in studio time among their other projects and tours; as a result, the tracks were recorded across four different studios: two in New York, and one each in Los Angeles and Nashville. Yours, Dreamily includes the songs, “Stay in My Corner,” “Put a Flower in Your Pocket,” and “Outta My Mind.” The Arcs performed together live at Coachella in 2016.

2015 - Cuban-born Jamaican ska and reggae trombonist Rico Rodriguez died aged 80. He recorded with many artists including Karl Pitterson, Prince Buster, and Lloyd "Matador" Daley. He was known as one of the first and most distinguished ska artists, and from the early 1960s performed and recorded in Britain, with the Specials, Jools Holland, Paul Young, and others.

2016 - Sonny Knight and the Lakers performed at the Schell’s Stage at Schilling Amphitheater in the West End Market at the Minnesota State Fair. They had visited the MPR booth for an interview and performance earlier that day.

2020 - Declan McKenna released his second studio album, Zeros.

2023 - Steve Harwell, frontman for Smash Mouth, died at the age of 56 in Boise, Idaho.

Birthdays:

Bubba Knight, singer with The Pips, is 84.

Gene Parsons of The Byrds, The Flying Burrito Brothers, and Parsons Green is 82.

Ronald LePread, bassist from funk/soul band The Commodores, is 72.

Pretenders drummer Martin Chambers is 75.

Blackie Lawless of W.A.S.P. is 70.

Kim Thayil of Soundgarden is 66.

Sami Yaffa — bassist for New York Dolls and Joan Jett & the Blackhearts — is 63.

Welsh DJ Sasha is 57.

Igor Cavalera of Sepultura is 56.

Carmit Bachar of the Pussycat Dolls is 52.

DJ and music producer Mark Ronson is 51.

Beyoncé is 45. With Destiny's Child she had the 2000 U.S. No. 1 single with "Say My Name" and the 2001 U.S. and U.K. No. 1 single and album "Survivor". Beyonce scored the 2003 U.S. and U.K. No. 1 single "Crazy In Love" from the world-wide No. 1 album Dangerously In Love. Beyoncé is one of the world's best-selling music artists, having sold over 100 million records worldwide. She is the most nominated woman in the Grammy Awards history and has the second most wins for a woman with a total of 24. Beyoncé’s 2024 album, Cowboy Carter, was her eighth consecutive No. 1 album on the Billboard 200, and the first album by a Black woman to top the Top Country Albums chart. Lead single "Texas Hold 'Em" was Beyoncé's ninth No. 1 single in the United States and the first country song by a Black woman to top the Billboard Hot 100 and the Hot Country Songs charts.

Lacey Sturm of Flyleaf is 45.

James Bay is 36.

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