Friday, October 2, 2020

Music History Today: October 3, 2020

October 3, 1992: Sinead O'Connor damaged her career she tore a picture of the pope during her appearance on "Saturday Night Live." 

On October 3, 1992: Irish musician Sinéad O’Connor stunned the audience at 30 Rockefeller Plaza and viewers across the United States when she tore up a photo of Pope John Paul II during a performance on Saturday Night Live.

Sinead O'Connor in SNL 1992

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O’Connor sang an acapella version of the Bob Marley song “War.” She gave a stark, intense performance of the song, changing some of the lyrics to specifically mention child abuse. At the conclusion, O’Connor held a picture of the pope to the camera and tore it to pieces, saying “Fight the real enemy.”  

Read more: History

October 3, 1967: Woody Guthrie dies at age 55 after a long battle with Huntington's disease. 

Woodrow Wilson Guthrie was born in Oklahoma in 1912 and entered adulthood just as America entered the Great Depression. He began writing music following his experiences traveling west to California with other Dust Bowl refugees in the 1930s. 

Dust Bowl Ballads: Woody Guthrie


His most important work took place following a move to New York City in 1939. Guthrie recorded the album Dust Bowl Ballads, which served as the first introduction for many to a music form that Guthrie helped pioneer - protest folk -  most famously in the song “This Land Is Your Land.” 
Read more: History

October 3, 1970:  Rare Earth peaks at Number 8 on the charts with "(I Know) I'm Losing You." 

When “(I Know) I’m Losing You” began its run on the Billboard soul charts, it marked the second such success for the rockers from Detroit. Rare Earth was signed to a label specifically created by Motown in 1969 to appeal to rock music buyers. That label was named after them.

“Rare Earth broke out of Baltimore and Washington,” according to Joe Summers, the late Motown executive who managed Rare Earth Records at the time. “We were selling them black. The band was really upset – they wanted to be the Rolling Stones.”  
Read more: Classic Motown

October 3, 1975: Soul singer India.Arie is born in Denver, Colorado. 

India.Arie released her debut album Acoustic Soul on March 27, 2001. The album was met with positive reviews and commercial success. "Acoustic Soul" debuted at number ten on the U.S. Billboard 200 and number three on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. 

India.Arie
Within months, without the concentrated radio airplay that typically powers pop and rap albums, Acoustic Soul was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. The album was promoted with the release of the lead single "Video." 
Read more: Wikipedia

October 3, 1988: Guns N' Roses released the single "Welcome To The Jungle." 

Guns N’ Roses’ debut album, Appetite For Destruction, was released in 1987 and went on to sell more than 30 million copies worldwide and become the best-selling debut in US music history. 

Guns N' Roses
Unlike other big rock albums of that year – such as Def Leppard’s Hysteria and Whitesnake’s 1987 – Appetite For Destruction had a raw new sound. And on an album that defined Guns N’ Roses as the greatest rock’n’roll band of their generation, no song was more definitive than its opening statement: Welcome To The Jungle.  
Read more: Louder Sound 



 Saturday Night Live 1992
Sinead O'Connor

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