The week in music history brought to you by MusicGoldmine.com
FEB 17: On this day in 2005, a 1965 Fender Stratocaster guitar once owned by Jimi Hendrix sold for over $125,000 at a London auction! Also in the auction, a poem Hendrix had written a couple weeks after he appeared at the Monterey Pop Festival ($12,000) and the first Jimi Hendrix Experience single "Hey Joe" signed by all the band members ($2500).
FEB 18: On this day in 1966, Beach Boy Brian Wilson was in the process of recording "Good Vibrations". The song would be released in October and would go to #1. The making of this song was unprecedented. There would be over 90 hours of tape and the production costs were estimated to be in the tens of thousands of dollars.
FEB 19: On this day in 1977, Manfred Mann’s Earth Band were at #1 with “Blinded By The Light.” The song was written by and recorded by Bruce Springsteen in 1973. Manfred changed up the chorus a bit and the song became one those songs that everyone sings wrong!
FEB 19: Happy Birthday to Smokey Robinson born today in 1940! 🎤🎂 He was the founder and frontman for the legendary group The Miracles. Robinson was with the group from 1955 to 1972. He left to concentrate on his role as VP of Motown. During this time, he also pursued a solo career. Robinson was given his nickname of “Smokey” by his favorite uncle. The nickname was originally “Smokey Joe” and it was from all the cowboy movies they would watch.
FEB 20: Today in 1959, a sixteen year old Jimi Hendrix made his stage debut! He played Temple De Hirsch Sinai synagogue in Seattle.🔥🎸
FEB 21: Sadly, Peter Tork of The Monkees has passed away today. He was diagnosed with a rare form of tongue cancer in 2009, however the cause of death has not been reported. Tork was keyboardist and bassist for the group. He left the group in 1968, but joined them again in 1986 for a reunion tour.😢
FEB 22: Today in 1967, Pink Floyd and The Beatles were working on albums at the Abbey Road Studios in London. Pink Floyd was working on their debut album The Piper At The Gates of Dawn, which would be their only album under the leadership of Syd Barrett. The Beatles were recording the giant piano chord for the end of "A Day In The Life" from the Sgt. Pepper album.
FEB 23: On this day in 1940, Woody Guthrie was writing "This Land Is Your Land." He did not record it until 1944. It is one of the most famous folk songs and has been covered by many different artists over the years. In 2002, the song was chosen by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry.
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