10 ready-to-read segments for October 22, lead story first. Free to use on air; a quick credit to Today in Tunes is appreciated.
On this day in 1969, 57 years ago: Led Zeppelin II hits US stores. Pieced together in studios booked between tour dates, it became the band's first No. 1 in both the US and UK, twice knocking the Beatles' Abbey Road off the top. Here's Led Zeppelin with “Whole Lotta Love.”
On this day in 1724, 302 years ago: Bach premieres the cantata Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele. First heard in Leipzig as part of Bach's chorale cantata cycle, every one of its seven movements is in a major key, and it calls for a rare violoncello piccolo.
On this day in 1883, 143 years ago: The Metropolitan Opera House opens with Gounod's Faust. New-money families like the Vanderbilts built it after the old-guard Academy of Music refused to give them boxes, turning a Gilded Age snub into an opera institution.
On this day in 1976, 50 years ago: Bob Seger breaks through with Night Moves. His first album to credit the Silver Bullet Band also used the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section on several tracks, and it carried him from Michigan hero to national star.
On this day in 2002, 24 years ago: Christina Aguilera reinvents herself with Stripped. Released internationally ahead of its US launch, it introduced her "Xtina" persona and contained the Linda Perry ballad "Beautiful," which won a Grammy.
On this day in 1811, 215 years ago: Franz Liszt, piano's first superstar, born in Hungary. Fans fought over his cigar stubs during 1840s "Lisztomania," and he is credited with the modern solo piano recital and the symphonic poem.
On this day in 1968, 58 years ago: Shaggy born Orville Burrell in Kingston, Jamaica. He honed his toasting style while serving in the US Marines, then hit big with "Boombastic" and the multi-platinum album Hot Shot.
On this day in 1998, 28 years ago: Rapper Roddy Ricch born in Compton, California. His single "The Box" ruled the Hot 100 for eleven weeks and was the longest-running No. 1 of 2020.
On this day in 1973, 53 years ago: Cellist Pablo Casals dies in Puerto Rico at 96. In 1890 he found Bach's cello suites in a Barcelona music shop and practised them for 13 years before playing them in public, turning neglected pieces into staples.
On this day in 1989, 37 years ago: Folk revivalist Ewan MacColl dies in London. He wrote "Dirty Old Town" and "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," which he taught to Peggy Seeger over the phone; Roberta Flack's version later won him a Grammy.
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