10 ready-to-read segments for October 24, lead story first. Free to use on air; a quick credit to Today in Tunes is appreciated.
On this day in 2006, 20 years ago: Teenage Taylor Swift releases her debut album. Released when she was 16, it became the longest-charting album of the 2000s on the Billboard 200, and she was the first female country artist to write or co-write every song on a platinum debut. Here's Taylor Swift with “Tim McGraw.”
On this day in 1962, 64 years ago: James Brown records Live at the Apollo. Brown paid for the session himself after King Records boss Syd Nathan refused, sure a live album would flop. It spent 66 weeks on the pop albums chart and is now in the National Recording Registry.
On this day in 1978, 48 years ago: The Wiz premieres with Diana Ross and Michael Jackson. Working with Quincy Jones on the film, Jackson asked him for producer suggestions, and Jones ended up producing Off the Wall, Thriller and Bad.
On this day in 2000, 26 years ago: Linkin Park release Hybrid Theory. With about 32 million copies sold, it is the biggest-selling debut since Appetite for Destruction, and "Crawling" won the band a Grammy.
On this day in 2005, 21 years ago: Reunited Cream begin three nights at Madison Square Garden. The New York dates followed sold-out Royal Albert Hall reunion shows in May, though Clapton later felt they fell short because of thin rehearsal and old tensions.
On this day in 1925, 101 years ago: Avant-garde composer Luciano Berio born in Oneglia, Italy. He co-founded one of Europe's key electronic music studios and wrote Sinfonia, in which eight amplified voices speak, whisper and shout over an orchestra.
On this day in 1930, 96 years ago: The Big Bopper born J.P. Richardson in Sabine Pass, Texas. Best known for "Chantilly Lace," he also wrote "Running Bear," which became a No. 1 hit for Johnny Preston months after Richardson died in the 1959 plane crash.
On this day in 1986, 40 years ago: Drake born Aubrey Graham in Toronto. Before rap stardom he played Jimmy Brooks on Degrassi: The Next Generation, and he now holds the record for most Hot 100 entries by a solo artist.
On this day in 1948, 78 years ago: Operetta master Franz Lehár dies in Bad Ischl. His The Merry Widow was such a sensation that Gustav and Alma Mahler tried to recreate its waltz from memory after seeing it in Vienna.
On this day in 2017, 9 years ago: Rock and roll pioneer Fats Domino dies at 89. His 1949 "The Fat Man" was among the first rock and roll records to sell a million, and the Associated Press estimated his lifetime sales at over 110 million records.
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