September 18

 

We honor country music's greatest voice on Hank Williams' birthday today in 1923, the Alabama songwriter whose lonesome sound and classics like "Your Cheatin' Heart" and "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" defined honky-tonk music before his tragic death at 29…

 

Nashville lost a masterful songwriter on this date in 2024 when JD Souther passed away, ending the life of the Eagles collaborator and solo artist who penned classics like "Best of My Love" and "Heartache Tonight" while epitomizing the California country-rock sound…

 

Music technology took a revolutionary leap today in 1931 when RCA-Victor demonstrated the first long-playing 33⅓ rpm record in New York, laying the groundwork for the LP format that would transform how artists conceived and presented their work…

 

Television censorship collided with rock rebellion on this day in 1967 when The Doors were banned from The Ed Sullivan Show for refusing to change the lyric "girl we couldn't get much higher" in "Light My Fire," proving Jim Morrison's commitment to artistic integrity…

 

Beatle mythology reached fever pitch on this day in 1969 when media on both sides of the Atlantic ran wild stories claiming Paul McCartney was dead, launching the "Paul is dead" conspiracy that became one of rock's most enduring urban legends…

 

Rock tragedy struck today in 2000 when Paula Yates was found dead from a suspected drug overdose at 41, ending the troubled life of the TV presenter who had been married to Bob Geldof and was Michael Hutchence's girlfriend at the time of his death…

 

Theatrical rock's wild showman Fee Waybill of The Tubes turns 75 today, the flamboyant frontman whose outrageous stage personas and satirical edge made the band pioneers of performance art in rock music.