History Highlight:

On this day in 1969, Johnny Cash performed for the first time at the Minnesota State Fair. Cash was joined onstage by his backing band the Tennessee Three; opening acts were June Carter and the Carter Sisters, and the Statler Brothers. Cash played a 19-song set, including his big hits "Ring of Fire," "I Walk The Line" and "Folsom Prison Blues," plus the Shel Silverstein-penned novelty song, "A Boy Named Sue." The concert is significant in Minnesota State Fair history because it was the first time ever a Grandstand show had sold out to a standing-room-only crowd of more than 26,000 people. A story published in the Minneapolis Star the next day reported, “A fair publicist said there hadn’t been a night like it since Depression days when a car was given away at every concert” and that “police were called to the grandstand after a bookseller’s booth by a ticket cage was nearly destroyed by the surging crowd trying to get tickets for the show.” In addition to that first show 55 years ago, Johnny Cash would go on to perform at the Minnesota State Fair five more times: in 1970, 1976, 1978 and 1980, and on a double-bill with Willie Nelson in 1991.

Also, Today In:

1967 - The Beatles joined their new guru, the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, at a press conference in Wales, during which Paul McCartney told the media that the band had become disciples of the guru and had quit drugs.

1970 - Isle Of Wight Festival kicks off in the U.K. The lineup featured Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Jimi Hendrix, Donovan, Jethro Tull, Miles Davis, Arrival, Cactus, Family, Taste, Mungo Jerry, ELP, The Doors, The Who, Spirit, The Moody Blues, Chicago, Procol Harum, and Sly and the Family Stone.

1970 - Jimi Hendrix opened Electric Lady Studios in New York City. He died a few months later, but the studio lived on, with many major acts recording there over the years.

1978 - Frankie Valli went to No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with the Barry Gibb song "Grease," the signature tune from the hit film of the same name.

1981 - Ottawa City Council declared it "Paul Anka Day" to celebrate the Canadian singer-songwriter's 25th anniversary in the music industry. The council also named a street "Paul Anka Drive" in his honor. Anka has written more than 900 songs, including such hits as "Put Your Head on My Shoulder" and "Diana," plus Tom Jones's "She's a Lady" and Frank Sinatra's "My Way."

1987 - Sonny Bono, who once said that he never voted until he was 53, announced that he was running for mayor of Palm Springs, Calif. He won that election in 1988 and eventually went on to win a seat in Congress in 1996.

1995 - Ronnie White of The Miracles died at the age of 57 from leukemia. White co-wrote The Temptations' hit, "My Girl," among other Motown hits.

1995 - Seal went to No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Kiss From A Rose," which appears in the film Batman Forever.

1997 - Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers was hospitalized after crashing his motorcycle on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles.

2000 - Allen Woody former bass player with The Allman Brothers Band and co-founder of Gov't Mule was found dead in New York aged 44.

2003 - Rolling Stone magazine named Jimi Hendrix the greatest guitarist in rock history. Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Chuck Berry, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Ry Cooder were also in the top 10 list.

2005 - A post office near the Los Angeles studio where Ray Charles recorded much of his music was renamed after the R&B legend.

2005 - Green Day were named best band on the planet at the 12th annual Kerrang! rock awards, they also won best live act.

2007 - The High School Musical 2 soundtrack album was at No. 1 on the U.S. chart, remaining there for four weeks.

2014 - Kate Bush made her stage comeback at London's Hammersmith Apollo to an ecstatic response from fans at her first live concert for 35 years. After performing a 26-song setlist, Bush received a standing ovation as she closed the show with "Cloudbusting" from her 1985 hit album The Hounds of Love. In a residency titled, "Before the Dawn," Bush played 22 shows in London, all of which had completely sold out in less than fifteen minutes after tickets went on sale in March of that year.

2014 - The New Pornographers released their sixth studio album, Brill Bruisers. It features the title track, “War on the East Coast,” and “Dancehall Domine.”

2019 - Ed Sheeran's d (divide) tour comes to an end as the highest-grossing tour of all time, earning over $775 million.

Birthdays:

Don Bowman (“Chit Akins, Make Me a Star”) was born today in 1937.

Jet Black, the drummer for The Stranglers, was born today in 1938.

Nik Turner of Hawkwind was born today in 1940.

Chris Curtis of the Searchers was born today in 1941.

Maureen “Moe” Tucker of the Velvet Underground is 80.

Valerie Simpson, from husband-and-wife songwriting-production team Ashford and Simpson, who wrote hits such as 'Ain't No Mountain High Enough', 'You're All I Need To Get By', 'Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing', and 'Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)' is 78.

Leon Redbone was born today in 1949.

Dr. Alban (“It’s My Life”) is 67.

Branford Marsalis is 64.

Elastica bassist Annie Holland is 59.

Shirley Manson is 58. A Scottish singer, she is best-known as the lead singer of Garbage. We were lucky enough to have her into the studio to play DJ in her own Theft of the Dial. Garbage's self-titled debut album was released in August of 1995, and in the 20-plus years since then, the band has featured the same lineup — Manson, Butch Vig, Duke Erikson and Steve Marker. "I think the reason we've stayed together is we've treated each other with respect, and we all understand that we need each other," Manson says. "Nobody in the band thinks they can do it on their own."

Dan Vickrey of Counting Crows is 58.

No Doubt drummer Adrian Young is 55.

Tyler Connolly of Theory of a Deadman is 49.

Saint Jhn is 38.

Cassie is 38.

Cordae is 27.

Lil Tecca is 22.

Highlights for Today in Music History are gathered from This Day in Music, Song Facts, Twin Cities Music Highlights, StarTribune Archive and Wikipedia.