On This Day In Music

'Monday, Monday', John Phillips' 'dumb f---in' song about a day of the week' wasn't even especially liked by the band themselves.

The songs that would come to define the Bee Gees' disco sound were written in a week after they 'hadn’t even looked at' the script.

Bowie's ravaged masterpiece represented the culmination – and eventual destruction – of Ziggy Stardust.

Yauch used his platform to advocate for important causes, never compromised his principles, and spoke truth to power... and yet he never lost his sense of fun and absurdity.

Greenfield's musical sophistication and swirling, dramatic arpeggios set The Stranglers apart from their contemporaries.

The album was Mick 'n' Keef's creation - but was elevated to greatness by Brian Jones.

'In the City' began a run of 18 hit singles for The Jam – and heralded the arrival of a brash new talent.

Within seven years, the iTunes Store would be the largest music vendor in the world. Within 20 it would be all-but forgotten.

Kiss was like nothing rock music had seen before, and Frehley quickly became an idol to a whole generation of aspiring guitar gods.

Dusty elevated a song recorded in a stairwell and written in the back of a taxi into three minutes of pure magic.

'The album was the convergence of a lot of influences,' said Graham Coxon. 'Alex wanted to be in Duran Duran, I wanted to be in Wire, and Damon wanted to be… I don't know.'

Alan McGee later remembered: 'Damon left the party thinking "F--k you, Liam, I'm going to teach you a lesson".'

Vicious's snarling take on Sinatra's classic would also inspire his covers of Eddie Cochran's 'Something Else' and 'C'mon Everybody'.

The star-studded event featured George Michael, Guns N' Roses and David Bowie, and helped bring worldwide attention to the AIDS crisis.

Less than a year later, the band would record debut single 'Radio Free Europe'.

The story of how Bez came to be a part of the Happy Mondays is as ridiculous, as funny, and as endearingly shambolic as the man himself.

The rockabilly legend captured teenage joy and frustration like no other – and was an influence on everyone from the Beatles to Sid Vicious.

'The Most Beautiful Girl in the World' was credited to an unpronounceable squiggle.

'He was a perfect instrument of those songs and that speed and that energy. He never screamed, never waved his arms around. He stood in one place and delivered.'

Earlier in the evening, singer Ian Curtis had threatened Wilson for failing to feature the band on his TV show.

Spector's conviction for the 2003 murder of Lana Clarkson came after decades of violent, erratic behavior.

'The event is so momentous,' reported CBS News, 'that historians may, one day, view it as a landmark in the decline of the British Empire.'

The production genius of Nile Rodgers would help create a genre-fluid pop masterpiece – and make Bowie a mass appeal pop giant.

'They called me up in Tennessee, they said, Tammy, stand by the JAMs…'

The Nirvana frontman's death still casts a shadow on popular music thirty years later.

The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and others all owed a huge debt to the Hoochie Coochie Man.

'Adele took her anguish and heartbreak and turned it into unprecedented success.'

'There's a trilogy in my life,' Gainsbourg once said. 'An equilateral triangle, shall we say, of Gitanes, alcoholism and girls.'

Marvin, Sr. was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter, tearfully telling the court, 'If I could bring him back, I would.'

Pink Floyd's extended meditation on mortality, greed and mental illness would go on to spend the equivalent of 19 years in the Billboard 200 and become the fourth best-selling LP of all time.

Sure, the lyrics were dodgy at best, but the significance of the track was immense.

Dury's lyrics were by turns funny, tender, rude, cutting, romantic… and always whip-smart.

The rapper's death served as a tragic wake-up call for many in the hip-hop community.

The consensus was that the gathering would be privy to a public lovemaking session. What they were given instead were the newlyweds in bed, wearing pajamas while discussing their message of non-violence.

'I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got' reached No. 1 on this day, but it would be the album's second single that sealed Sinéad's legacy.

The album was the band's most successful to that point – but also included what is for many fans R.E.M.'s most hated song

Dylan’s fifth album marked the moment he went electric – and was also his big commercial breakthrough.

The 'Memphis Press-Scimitar' reported that the 'Traditional, Southern beauty of Graceland may well have saved Memphis its most famous resident.'