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Today in Music History

August, 24

  • 1999 A collection of never-before released songs “The Vault… Old Friends 4 Sale,” produced, arranged, composed, and performed by The Artist, back in the day – when he was still known as Prince – is released internationally by Warner Bros.
  • 1998 Country comedian Jerry Clower, a member of the Grand Ole Opry, dies following bypass surgery in Jackson, Miss. He is 71. The pride of Yazoo City, Miss., Clower becomes famous for his humorous tales of rural Southern life.
  • 1998 It is announced that a 53-year-old Englishwoman by the name of Ingrid Pedersen has declared herself John Lennon’s half-sister. “Now at last I can admit who I am – the little sis John loved but could never find,” she says. Birth and adoption certificates appear to show she was born in Liverpool to Julia Lennon, the Beatle’s mother, after her brief affair with a soldier.
  • 1997 One of the few bright notes on the summer’s commercially disappointing festival slate, the Lilith Fair, has its last show. The one-of-a-kind all-female slate includes Sarah McLachlan, Jewel, Fiona Apple, Sheryl Crow, Tracy Chapman and others.
  • 1990 A Nevada judge clears heavy metal group Judas Priest in a $6.2 million civil suit that charged subliminal suggestions on the group’s recordings provoked two youths to shoot themselves in 1985.
  • 1983 Jerry Lee Lewis’ fifth wife, Shawn Stevens, is found dead of a methadone overdose three months after their marriage.
  • 1973 No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: “Brother Louie,” Stories.
  • 1961 No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: “Wooden Heart (Muss I Denn),” Joe Dowell. The song is a cover of a song Elvis Presley sang in the film “G.I. Blues.”
  • 1957 No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: “Tammy,” Debbie Reynolds. The song is featured in the film “Tammy and the Bachelor” and is nominated for an Academy Award.
  • 1943 No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: “In the Blue of the Evening,” Tommy Dorsey Orchestra/Frank Sinatra.