This Day in Rock History: September 22

Cultural Milestones

• 1951: David Coverdale was born in Saltburn-by-the-Sea, North Yorkshire, England. He achieved fame as Deep Purple's frontman from 1973 to 1976 and then went on to have a stellar career as both a solo artist and the lead singer of the band Whitesnake.
• 1958: Joan Jett was born in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania. She's often nicknamed the "Godmother of Punk" because of her work with the Runaways and, later on, her band Joan Jett and the Blackhearts.

Notable Recordings and Performances

• 1969: Canadian-American rockers The Band released their self-titled second album, also called The Brown Album due to its brown cover. The record, taped at a house in the Hollywood Hills and released through Capitol Records, includes many of the songs that made The Band famous, including "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down."
• 1972: David Bowie kicked off the North American leg of his Ziggy Stardust tour with a show at the Cleveland Music Hall in Ohio. It was the first time U.S. audiences were introduced to his Ziggy Stardust character, and the crowd was treated to a series of iconic hits that included "Changes," "The Jean Genie," "Space Oddity," and, of course, "Ziggy Stardust."
• 1985: The first Farm Aid concert took place at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois. The goal was to raise money for American farmers, with famous names on the bill including Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Willie Nelson, Billy Joel, and Bonnie Raitt.
• 1992: Bruce Springsteen filmed his first appearance on the show MTV Unplugged. However, after playing just one acoustic song, he chose to play with a full electric band, which gave the performance the nickname MTV Plugged.