6 July

Pick a Day

6 JULY

In Music History

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2020 On his 85th birthday, The Dalai Lama releases the album Inner World, a collection of Buddhist mantras and prayers set to music.

2020 Charlie Daniels dies at 83 after suffering a stroke.

2019 With 13 weeks at #1, "Old Town Road" by Lil Nas X breaks the record for longest-running hip-hop song on the Hot 100. "Lose Yourself," "Boom Boom Pow" and "See You Again" all had runs of 12 weeks.

2016 In a small ceremony at Peckforton Castle in Liverpool, England, Ciara marries Russell Wilson, quarterback of the Seattle Seahawks.

2009 Alanis Morissette begins an eight-episode stint on the Showtime drama Weeds, playing obstetrician Audra Kitson.

2009 Guitarist Ryan Ross and bassist Jon Walker announce they are leaving Panic At The Disco. That leaves vocalist Brendon Urie and drummer Spencer Smith to continue the band.

2003 Skip Battin (bassist for The Byrds, NRPS, Flying Burrito Brothers) dies of complications from Alzheimer's disease at age 69.

1999 Folk singer Richie Havens publishes his autobiography, They Can't Hide Us Anymore.

1998 Roy Rogers, star of many Western films in which he sang, dies of heart failure at 86. The other singing cowboy of his era, Gene Autry, dies a few months later.

1994 The light-hearted drama Forrest Gump hits theaters. Aside from becoming the top-grossing film of the year in North America and winning multiple Academy Awards, the movie spawns a hit soundtrack with songs from Elvis Presley, Three Dog Night, The Doors, The Byrds, The Mamas & the Papas, Buffalo Springfield, and more.More

1991 Grunge music takes baby steps into the mainstream as the Alice in Chains album Facelift peaks at #42 in the US, and "Man In The Box" goes to #18 on the Mainstream Rock chart.

1987 Neil Young & Crazy Horse release Life, their last album under the Geffen label. With the exceptions of studio recordings "Cryin' Eyes" and "We Never Danced," the tracks are all taken from live performances.

1985 Phil Collins' "Sussudio" - a song about a girl with a funny name - hits #1. It holds the position for one week.

1979 Van McCoy, known for the 1975 disco hit "The Hustle," dies of a heart attack at age 39.

1979 The B-52s release their self-titled debut album, featuring one of their signature songs in "Rock Lobster."

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MTV Bans Neil Young's "This Note's For You"

1988

MTV refuses to play Neil Young's video for "This Note's For You," citing a policy against videos that mention products. The video is a parody of various ad campaigns, with lyrics mentioning Coke, Pepsi, Miller and Bud.

The video, directed by Julien Temple, takes aim at some of the most memorable and effective advertising of the '80s, starting with Young standing in for Eric Clapton in "The Night Belongs To Michelob" campaign. Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston are pilloried for their associations with Pepsi and Coke, and the Calvin Klein "Obsession" commercials get a send-up. Young stands out from this crowd. "I don't sing for nobody," he sings. "Makes me look like a joke." Young has never let his songs appear in commercials, holding fast even when contemporaries like The Who and The Rolling Stones made millions by doing so. He does make videos, but MTV usually ignores them - Young hasn't had a Top 40 hit since "Old Man" in 1972. When MTV snubs him, Young writes them an open letter: MTV, you spineless twerps. You refuse to play "This Note's For You" because you're afraid to offend your sponsors. What does the "M" in MTV stand for: music or money? Long live rock and roll. Neil Young Controversy ensues as MTV tries to explain why they'll air raunchy, idiotic or alcohol-infused videos (like "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party)") but not Young's incisive commentary on corporate influence. After trying to explain it away to "problems with trademark infringement," they flip face and play the video, giving it a grand debut on August 21. The following year, they award it Video of the Year at the MTV Video Music Awards.

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