October 29

 

Southern rock lost its greatest guitarist today in 1971 when Duane Allman was killed at 24 after losing control of his motorcycle on a Macon, Georgia street, ending the brief but blazing career of the slide guitar master who had helped create the Allman Brothers Band's dual-guitar magic…

 

The King of the Blues received highway honors on this day in 1991 when the Memphis City Council named a stretch of Interstate 55 through Jackson "The B.B. King Freeway," recognizing the Mississippi native's immense contributions to American music and culture…

 

British rock's journeyman Denny Laine was born today in 1944, the guitarist and vocalist who co-founded The Moody Blues before becoming Paul McCartney's right-hand man in Wings, proving his versatility across two of rock's most successful bands until his death in 2023…

 

We remember Fleetwood Mac's blues master Peter Green on his birthday today in 1946, the guitarist whose soulful playing and early leadership established the band before mental illness derailed his career, though his influence on British blues remained profound until his death in 2020…

 

Big band's final champion Woody Herman died on this day in 1987 at 74, ending the career of the clarinetist and bandleader who kept the swing tradition alive through bebop and beyond while nurturing generations of jazz talent in his various "Herds."…

 

Bohemian barfly poetry arrived today in 1974 with the release of Tom Waits' 'The Heart of Saturday Night,' the sophomore album that established his gravelly-voiced persona as Los Angeles' most literate chronicler of drunks, losers, and late-night romantic dreamers.