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ON THIS DAY IN MUSIC HISTORY: 6.10

1971 - Marvin Gaye releases Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology). Many years before global warming became a hot topic, Marvin Gaye wrote this song about the environment and how we have an obligation to care for the Earth. For his What's Going On album (1971), Gaye got away from love ballads and explored deeper social themes (war, poverty, social injustice), which at first didn't sit well with Motown boss Berry Gordy, who thought these songs wouldn't be marketable. Thankfully he was wrong.

1971 - Police fire tear gas into the rowdy crowd at the Jethro Tull concert at Red Rocks, but the band continues playing even though some of them have trouble seeing their instruments.

So what exactly happened that night in June 1971? From 1,000 to 2,000 fans showed up without tickets to the sold-out concert, and they were directed by Denver police to a side of the mountain where they could watch the show. Some stayed there. Others climbed a wall into the venue. Others charged the gates en masse.

Back-up officers were called, and police chief George Seaton came out in the helicopter and dropped tear gas on the unruly masses himself. But the gas spread into the amphitheater, where Livingston Taylor was opening the concert, and suddenly a bad situation got worse.

“Backstage looked like an aid station, with doctors and patients sprawled out everywhere,” remembered retired promoter Barry Fey. “Boy, did I (mess) up. I didn’t realize how big they were. We should have done two shows.”

Amid all of this, Tull was devising a way to enter the amphitheater, which had been blockaded by the police. Anderson remembers charging through the police barricade and knowing that he was the only person who could calm the capacity crowd — which was swimming in tear gas at the moment.

It was a mess of an evening. But like Woodstock and Altamont before it, the concert was also a snapshot of America as it formed its relationship with rock ‘n’ roll.

Police chief Seaton recommended a ban on rock concerts at Red Rocks. Mayor William McNichols said there wouldn’t be rock shows there as long as he was mayor.

Of course, that didn’t last long.

Fey sued the city in 1975, and a U.S. Circuit Court judge ruled in his favor. As Fey remembers it, the judge put this question to Denver leaders: “Who do you think you are, czars? You’re going to tell the people what they should listen to?”

Rock returned to the Rocks in ’75, and Fey’s popular “Summer of Stars” found its start in ’76.

“Back in the early ’70s, they didn’t know how to cope with rock concerts and rock people,” Anderson said. “The big production and how the audience behaved. . . . People now have more understanding, and civil and social savvy. They have an awareness about what it all is.” (Photo credit should read PABLO PORCIUNCULA/AFP via Getty Images)

1975 - The Eagles released their fourth studio album, One of These Nights. In an interview with Cameron Crowe, Don Henley joked that it was their "satanic country-rock period" because "it was a dark time, both politically and musically" in America, referring to the turmoil in Washington and disco music starting to take off. He added: "We thought, "Well, how can we write something with that flavor, with that kind of beat, and still have the dangerous guitars?” We wanted to capture the spirit of the times."

While Randy Meisner and Bernie Leadon got a pair of showcases, it was the team of Henley and Glenn Frey that stood out, starting with the title track, a number one single, which had more of an R&B -- even a disco -- sound than anything the band had attempted previously, and continuing through the ersatz Western swing of "Hollywood Waltz" to "Lyin' Eyes," one of Frey's patented folk-rock shuffles, which became another major hit. One of These Nights was the culmination of the blend of rock, country, and folk styles the Eagles had been making since their start; there wasn't much that was new, just the same sorts of things done better than they had been before.

1978 - Elvis Costello and the Attractions release Pump It Up. The song was intended as a commentary on the Stiffs Live Tour, in which Costello had participated in. The tour had been notable for its debauchery; Ian Dury's "S*x & Drugs & Rock & Roll" served as the setlist's official closing song. Costello later said of the lyrics, "It was a satire. If you listen to the lyrics, it kind of goes against the grain of hedonism". He later said, "Well, just how much can you f**k? How many drugs can you do before you get so numb you can't really feel anything?"

Musically, the song was inspired by Bob Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues"...

1980 - Bob Marley and the Wailers release Uprising. The last released in his lifetime. Recorded as he came to terms with his terminal cancer, Uprising is a definitive musical expression of his Rastafarian beliefs and political agitation. Even though his strength is audibly waning, his voice is still full of life, from the righteous rebellion in “Coming in From the Cold” to the sadness concealed in the upbeat motion of “Real Situation,” a deceptively cheerful song about mutually assured destruction. The Wailers’ taut rhythms and billowing melodies sound lock-tight but beatific (as if they were cognizant that this would be their final outing), the sound of relaxation as a meditative respite from long, toiling work. The final track on the original pressing of Uprising is "Redemption Song." Never has an artist unknowingly written such a beautiful and apropos living epitaph. Uprising is a stunning final word.

1982 - The Clash release Should I Stay or Should I Go. The Clash had been listening to H***y Tonk Masquerade, Joe Ely’s 1978 second album, when the singer/songwriter played at the Venue Club in London. They became fast friends and went on to play shows together around Ely’s stomping grounds in Texas.

Ely talked about his involvement in Combat Rock with The Austin Chronicle in 2000: “I ran into them accidentally in New York when they were cutting ‘Should I Stay or Should I Go’ and [lead vocalist Joe] Strummer said, ‘Hey, help me with my Spanish.’ So, me, and Strummer and the Puerto Rican engineer sat down and translated the lyrics into the weirdest Spanish ever. Then we sang it all.

“When you listen to ‘Should I Stay or Should I Go,’ there’s a place in the song where Mick says, ‘Split,’” Ely noted. “Me and Strummer had been yelling out the Spanish background lyrics and we had snuck up behind him as he was recording. We were behind a curtain, jumped out at him in the middle of singing, and scared the s–t out of him. He looks over and gives us the dirtiest look, and says, ‘Split!’ They kept that in the final version. (Photo credit should read STR/AFP via Getty Images)

1985 - Talking Heads released their sixth studio album, Little Creatures. “It’s so much fun to be able to relax and just play without feeling you have to be avant-garde all the time,” bassist Tina Weymouth told The New York Times’ Ken Emerson in May 1985, one month before the album’s release. “We spent so many years trying to be original that we don’t know what original is anymore.”

Little Creatures is a triumphant pop document that celebrates life’s simple joys, the exact thing Talking Heads once weaponized. In a 1985 review, Rolling Stone insisted that Little Creatures was “the sound of David Byrne falling in love with normalcy.” Normalcy existed throughout Talking Heads’ catalog (what could be more normal than “buildings” and “food”?), but Little Creatures is their first album to examine one of normalcy’s most complicated and significant corners: Procreative s*x and parental love. “Stay Up Late” is the album’s most literal song, “Cute. Cute. Little baby/Little p*e p*e. Little toes.” “And She Was” and “The Lady Don’t Mind” seem driven by Byrne’s unique approach to love, affectionate but not possessive. Little Creatures is not Talking Heads’ best album, but it is their case for aging gracefully, and with great fondness for life.

1985 - R.E.M. released their third studio album, Fables of the Reconstruction. A dark, moody rumination on American folk -- not only the music, but its myths -- Fables is creepy, rustic psychedelic folk, filled with eerie sonic textures. Some light breaks through occasionally, such as the ridiculous collegiate blue-eyed soul of "Can't Get There From Here," but the group's trademark ringing guitars and cryptic lyrics have grown sinister, giving even sing-alongs like "Driver 8" an ominous edge. Fables is more inconsistent than its two predecessors, but the group does demonstrate considerable musical growth, particularly in how perfectly it evokes the strange rural legends of the South.

2007 - In the last scene of the HBO series The Sopranos, "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey plays on the jukebox while Tony Soprano sits at a diner. It cuts to black on the line, "Don't Stop." Steve Perry, the singer and co-writer of the song, feared it would be part of a gruesome scene ending with bloody retribution, and insisted on knowing the top-secret ending before granting permission. He was sworn to secrecy.

2020 - During the COVID-19 pandemic, Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne took innovative social-distancing measures on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: The Flaming Lips performed their song 'Race For The Prize' from inside massive plastic bubbles. Each audience member was also enclosed in a bubble to keep the coronavirus at bay.

Birthdays:

Blues musician Chester Burnett, better known as Howlin' Wolf, was born today in 1910. He was at the forefront of transforming acoustic Delta blues into electric Chicago blues, and over a four-decade career, recorded blues, rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and psychedelic rock. He is regarded as one of the most influential blues musicians of all time. He possessed a primal, ferocious blues belter with a roster of classics rivaling anyone else, and a sandpaper growl of a voice that has been widely imitated. Several of his songs, including "Smokestack Lightnin'", "Killing Floor" and "Spoonful", have become blues and blues rock standards.

R.I.P.:

2004 - Ray Charles died at age 73. By the time he landed a recording contract with Atlantic Records in 1952, Ray's baritone was so infused with passion and past heartaches that the blues couldn't contain it. Nor could gospel, jazz, or R&B. This voice had soul, and all the elements had to come together to support it. His first big hit, "I Got A Woman," is considered a prototype of the soul genre that would come full force in "What'd I Say," the 1959 smash that broke him through to mainstream pop. In addition to being an R&B star with Grammy Award-winning songs like "Georgia On My Mind" and "Hit The Road Jack," he let his fingers do the talking on a series of instrumental jazz albums and even ventured into country music. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

On This Day In Music History are gathered from This Day in Music, Denver Post, Music this Day, Song Facts, Allmusic, American Songwriter, Pitchfork, and Wikipedia.

ON THIS DAY IN MUSIC HISTORY: 6.9

1978 - The Rolling Stones released Some Girls. Why did the Stones call their big comeback album Some Girls? Keith explained, “Because we couldn’t remember their f**king names.” The Stones sounded revitalized using New York, disco, and punk as emotional accelerants.

There was also a serious urgency. Keith Richards was busted in Toronto in February of 1977 and if convicted, could face a serious stint in prison. the future, the very existence of the band hung in the balance.

Even though the Stones make disco their own with "Miss You" (a song that announced the Stones were indeed, back), they never quite take punk on their own ground. Instead, their rockers sound harder and nastier than they have in years. Using "Star Star" as a template, the Stones run through the seedy imagery of "When the Whip Comes Down," the bizarre, borderline-misogynistic vitriol of the title track, Keith's ultimate outlaw anthem, "Before They Make Me Run," and the decadent closer, "Shattered." In between, they deconstruct the Temptations' "(Just My) Imagination," unleash the devastatingly snide country parody "Far Away Eyes," and contribute "Beast of Burden," one of their very best ballads. Some Girls may not have the back-street aggression of their '60s records, or the majestic, drugged-out murk of their early-'70s work, but its brand of glitzy, decadent hard rock still makes it a definitive Stones album.

The album cover was designed by Peter Corriston and featured The Stones in garish drag alongside select female celebrities and lingerie ads. The cover immediately ran into trouble when Lucille Ball, Farrah Fawcett, Liza Minnelli (representing her mother Judy Garland), Raquel Welch, and the estate of Marilyn Monroe threatened legal action. (Photo credit should read JOEL ROBINE/AFP via Getty Images)

1978 - Dire Straits released their self-titled debut album. Dire Straits' minimalist interpretation of pub rock had already crystallized by the time they released their eponymous debut. Driven by Mark Knopfler's spare, tasteful guitar lines and his husky warbling, the album is a set of bluesy rockers. And while the bar band mentality of pub-rock is at the core of Dire Straits -- even the group's breakthrough single, "Sultans of Swing," offered a lament for a neglected pub rock band -- their music is already beyond the simple boogies and shuffles of their forefathers, occasionally dipping into jazz and country. Knopfler also shows an inclination toward Dylanesque imagery, which enhances the smoky, low-key atmosphere of the album. Remarkably accomplished for a debut. (Photo by JONAS EKSTROMER/SCANPIX SWEDEN/AFP via Getty Images)

1979 - Nick Lowe released Labour of Lust. Jesus of Cool was a jukebox, spinning out a series of perfectly crafted -- and decidedly quirky and subversive -- pop singles. In contrast, Nick Lowe's second album, Labour of Lust, is the work of a bar band, in this case Rockpile, playing the hell out of the same type of songs. Naturally, the result is a more coherent sound that may be a little less freewheelingly eclectic, but it is no less brilliant.

Lowe comes up with one of his best sets of songs. Not only is his only hit, the propulsively hook-laden "Cruel to Be Kind," here, but also the terrific "Cracking Up," as well as his definitive version of Mickey Jupp's "Switchboard Susan." It's an exceptional collection of inventive pop songs, delivered with vigor and energy, making it one of the great records of the new wave.

1993 - Tina Turner's life story, including her stormy relationship with her husband Ike, is portrayed in the film What's Love Got To Do With It, starring Angela Bassett as Tina.

While Turner actively provided costumes and gave advice during rehearsals, she found the film's creative liberties—especially how it portrayed her as an ongoing victim—distressing.

Angela Bassett: "Early on she did not see the film. I remember when we went to Italy, she claimed that she did not see the film," the actress said, when asked of Turner's reaction to the movie. "Maybe 20 years ago, we were together and she took me aside and said, 'You played me so well. Thank you.' "

Bassett was recognized with an Academy Award nomination for her starring role as Turner in the movie at the 66th Oscars, though Holly Hunter ultimately won the award for Best Actress for her performance in The Piano. The movie also starred Laurence Fishburne as Ike Turner.

1998 - Jimmy Buffett's memoir A Pirate Looks At Fifty is released. It reaches #1 on the New York Times Best Seller List for Nonfiction. The title is taken from his 1974 song "A Pirate Looks At Forty."

From the book, Jimmy said this:

"Fifty is not "just another birthday." It is a reluctant milepost on the way to wherever it is we are meant to wind up. It can be approached in only two ways. First, it can be a ball of snakes that conjures up immediate thoughts of mortality and accountability. ("What have I done with my life?") Or, it can be a great excuse to reward yourself for just getting there. ("He who dies with the most toys wins.") I instinctively choose door number two."

"I started out wanting to be a Serious Southern Writer. My mother had made me a reader and stressed the legacy of my family's Mississippi roots. William Faulkner, Walker Percy, Eudora Welty, and Flannery O'Connor were household names--Mississippians who had made people take notice. I have a feeling my mother hoped way back then that she might have had her own serious writer in the making."

"I broke out of the grip of Catholicism and made it through adolescence without killing myself in a car. I flunked out of college. I learned to play the guitar, lived on the beach, lived in the French Quarter, finally got laid, and didn't go to Vietnam. I got back into school, started a band, got a job on Bourbon Street, graduated from college, flunked my draft physical, broke up my band, and went out on the road solo. I signed a record deal, got married, moved to Nashville, had my guitars stolen, bought a Mercedes, worked at Billboard magazine, put out my first album, went broke, met Jerry Jeff Walker, wrecked the Mercedes, got divorced, and moved to Key West. I sang and worked on a fishing boat, went totally crazy, did a lot of dope, met the right girl, made another record, had a hit, bought a boat, and sailed away to the Caribbean."
(Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images for CMT)

2017 - Gene Simmons of Kiss filed a trademark application for the devil horns hand gesture, which he claims he invented in 1974. The description in the application reads: "Hand gesture with the index and small fingers extended upward and the thumb extended perpendicular." According to Simmons, he invented the gesture when he used it at a concert in 1974; he is seen using it on the cover of the 1977 Kiss album Love Gun.

Birthdays:

Cole Porter was born today in 1891. His numerous hit songs include "Night and Day," "Begin the Beguine," "I Get a Kick Out of You," "Well, Did You Evah!" "I've Got You Under My Skin," "My Heart Belongs to Daddy," and "You're the Top."

Blues musician Skip James was born today in 1902. Coupling an oddball guitar tuning set against eerie, falsetto vocals, James' early recordings could make the hair stand up on the back of your neck. Even more surprising was when blues scholars rediscovered him in the '60s and found his singing and playing skills intact. Influencing everyone from a young Robert Johnson (Skip's "Devil Got My Woman" became the basis of Johnson's "Hellhound on My Trail") to Eric Clapton (who recorded James' "I'm So Glad" on the first Cream album), Skip James' music, while from a commonly shared regional tradition, remains infused with his own unique personal spirit.

Les Paul was born today in 1915. He was one of the pioneers of the solid-body electric guitar, and his prototype, called the Log, served as inspiration for the Gibson Les Paul. Paul taught himself how to play guitar, and while he is mainly known for jazz and popular music, he had an early career in country music. In the 1950s, he and his wife, singer and guitarist Mary Ford, recorded numerous records, selling millions of copies.

Paul is credited with many recording innovations. His early experiments with overdubbing (also known as sound on sound), delay effects such as tape delay, phasing, and multitrack recording were among the first to attract widespread attention. His licks, trills, chording sequences, fretting techniques, and timing set him apart from his contemporaries and inspired many guitarists of the present day.

Jackie Wilson was born today in 1934. A tenor with a four-octave vocal range, he was nicknamed "Mr. Excitement", and was important in the transition of rhythm and blues into soul. Gaining fame in his early years as a member of the R&B vocal group Billy Ward and His Dominoes, he went solo in 1957 and recorded over 50 hit singles that spanned R&B, pop, soul, doo-wop and easy listening. Wilson suffered a massive heart attack while playing a Dick Clark show at the Latin Casino in New Jersey on September 29, 1975, falling head-first to the stage while singing "Lonely Teardrops", and remained in a coma until his death 8 years later.

Matthew Bellamy of Muse is 48. Evolving from their late-'90s alt rock origins into a bombastic force that fused progressive rock, electronic, and pop, English trio Muse carves out a niche as a genre-blurring powerhouse that balances intergalactic sci-fi and government-conspiracy-theory themes with yearning anthems of love and heartbreak.

R.I.P.:

2025 - Sly Stone died at his home in Granada Hills, Los Angeles, at the age of 82. Sly & the Family Stone harnessed all the disparate musical and social trends of the late '60s, creating a wild, brilliant fusion of soul, rock, psychedelia, and funk that broke down boundaries without a second thought. Led by Sly Stone, the Family Stone comprised an in*******al mix of men and women, making them one of the first fully integrated band in rock history. Along with James Brown, they brought hard funk into the mainstream and did so with sociopolitical commentary.

On This Day In Music History was sourced, curated from This Day in Music, New York times Archives, Music This Day, Rock, Song Facts, People, Allmusic, Anthony DeCurtis and Wikipedia.

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