10 ready-to-read segments for November 27, lead story first. Free to use on air; a quick credit to Today in Tunes is appreciated.
On this day in 1942, 84 years ago: Jimi Hendrix is born in Seattle. "Purple Haze" was a UK No. 3 hit in 1967, and the Rock Hall ranks him perhaps the greatest instrumentalist rock has known. Here's The Jimi Hendrix Experience with “Purple Haze.”
On this day in 1896, 130 years ago: Strauss conducts the first Also sprach Zarathustra. Richard Strauss led the premiere in Frankfurt. Its opening "Sunrise" fanfare became widely known 72 years later through Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey.
On this day in 1967, 59 years ago: Magical Mystery Tour arrives as a full LP in the US. Capitol padded the film songs with recent singles like "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Penny Lane." The album then spent eight weeks at No. 1 in America.
On this day in 1970, 56 years ago: George Harrison releases All Things Must Pass in the US. Often called rock's first triple album, it held No. 1 in America for seven weeks and gave him "My Sweet Lord," the first No. 1 by a solo ex-Beatle.
On this day in 1982, 44 years ago: Lionel Richie's "Truly" hits No. 1. His debut solo single topped the Hot 100 and later won him a Grammy for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.
On this day in 1941, 85 years ago: Country hitmaker Eddie Rabbitt is born. He first made his name writing "Kentucky Rain" for Elvis Presley, then scored his own crossover smash with "I Love a Rainy Night," built from a scrap of song he'd jotted down during a 1960s thunderstorm.
On this day in 1945, 81 years ago: Jazz trumpeter Randy Brecker is born. He played on Blood, Sweat & Tears' first album, then formed the Brecker Brothers with his brother Michael by 1975. He has won six Grammys.
On this day in 1978, 48 years ago: Mike Skinner of The Streets is born in London. The rapper and producer is best known for his project The Streets, whose album Original Pirate Material arrived in 2002.
On this day in 1955, 71 years ago: Composer Arthur Honegger dies at 63. A member of the French group Les Six with a more serious streak than his friends, he wrote Pacific 231 in 1923. The short piece imitates a steam locomotive and is one of his most recorded works.
On this day in 1998, 28 years ago: Chicago soul singer Barbara Acklin dies at 55. Her own "Love Makes a Woman" reached No. 3 on the R&B chart in 1968, and she co-wrote the Chi-Lites' heartbreaker "Have You Seen Her."
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