This Day in Music
Michael Fitzgibbon
A Message from Our Founder
I have no expectation that readers will read this long blog every day. I hope only that it will be scanned and each reader will pick out what interests them the most. Please enjoy and feel free to add comments below. Thank you for subscribing!
~Michael Fitzgibbon, This Day in Music, May 16, 2026
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Pets, farms, peace of mind, and Elvis is home, on this day in music.
Pet Sounds
1966: Legendary American band The Beach Boys release their eleventh studio album, the seminal “Pet Sounds.” A collection of prog-pop and psychedelic-pop songs, it is widely considered one of the best albums of the 1960's, if not the entire Rock and Roll oeuvre.
Released to universal critical acclaim, it received the highest rating from every music publication at the time, such as 5-Stars (out of five) from AllMusic, Blender, Encyclopedia of Popular Music, Q, Rolling Stone, and The Rolling Stone Album Guide.
After a photo session to promote the record, The Beach Boys were banned from the San Diego Zoo for unruly behaviour, though Bruce Johnston said it was the fault of the goats for eating his radio. Whatever happened, the Boys have since been welcomed back to the famous zoo.
The LP features many classic Beach Boys songs, including “Wouldn't It Be Nice,” “Sloop John B,” “God Only Knows,” and “Caroline, No,” but all 13 tracks are fabulous.
Though the Boys sing all the vocal parts, with the exception of creative force and principal songwriter Brian Wilson, who produces and plays several instruments himself, almost all of the music is performed by professional session musicians, including The Wrecking Crew rhythm section of Carol Kaye on Bass, Hal Blaine on drums, and Glenn Campbell on guitar and banjo.
I could go on all day about this record, but there's no time. Buy this album and listen to it!
McCartney II
1980: “McCartney II,” the second solo studio album by British Rock and Roll legend Paul McCartney is released. Though it seems odd that in the ten years since leaving The Beatles this is only Paul's second album, it's notable that he released one album as Paul and Linda McCartney ("Ram") and seven more with Wings during the interim. It is therefore his tenth record post-Beatles, which in addition to several non-album singles, concert tours, and work with other artists, is significant output for one decade.
The LP was poorly received by critics and produced one hit single, “Coming Up.” However, retrospective reviews are less harsh, with Record Collector and AllMusic showing 4-Star reviews, and Pitchfork rating it 7.2/10. The same recording sessions for this LP also produced the non-album single, “Wonderful Christmastime,” released November 16, 1979. Paul’s noël is much-maligned, but I’ve always enjoyed it.
Though not a hit with critics, “McCartney II” was commercially successful. It reached No. 1 on the U.K. Albums List, No. 3 on the Billboard 200, No. 4 in Austria, and No. 4 in Canada, New Zealand, Norway, and Sweden. However, much of those sales traded on the McCartney name and shipments of the record overall disappointed, though it was certified Gold in the U.S. and the U.K.
Farmhouse
2000: Modern jam-rock masters from Vermont Phish release their ninth studio album, “Farmhouse.” One of my favourite albums by Phish, it was recorded at Trey Anastasio’s studio in Chittenden County, VT, which is located in his barn, making the title near-literal.
All tracks are written by Anastasio, with partners contributing lyrics, including Tom Marshall, Tony Markellis, Russ Lawton, and Scott Herman. Having performed all of the songs at live concerts dating back to 1997, the band itself was well-familiarized with the material and able to put their best passes down on tape.
The LP features many of Phish’s most-classic and well-known songs, including “Farmhouse,” “Heavy Things,” which is one of their most successful mainstream radio songs and reached No. 22 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, “Twist,” which they performed on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on October 3, 2000, “Gotta Jibboo,” “Back on the Train,” and the great closer, “First Tube.”
Critics were generally positive about the album, yet have under-valued it, evidenced by AllMusic’s 4.5-Star rating, 4-Stars from the Encyclopedia of Popular Music, an absolutely insulting 2.5-Star rating from Rolling Stone, and a B- from the Village Voice.
Several famous musicians from the jam and roots-rock scene join the talented lineup of Trey Anastasio (g), Page McConnell (key), Mike Gordon (bg), and Jon Fishman (d) on the album, including Béla Fleck on banjo, Jerry Douglas on Dobro (a leading brand of resonator guitars) and lap steel guitar, and a brass section consisting of Dave Grippo (saxes), Jennifer Hartswick (t), James Harvey (tb), and Andy Moroz (tb).
Piece of Mind
1983: Legendary heavy metal kings Iron Maiden release “Piece of Mind,” their fourth studio album. It is the first of four Iron Maiden albums wherein the title is not named after one of the record’s songs.
From the opening pattern of “Where Eagles Dare,” performed by fabulous new drummer Nicko McBrain, ex- Trust and Pat Travers Band, to classics like “Flight of Icarus,” and “The Trooper,” this relentless collection of melodic yet heavy rock songs is a contender for Iron Maiden's best.
Lyrically, the LP reflects the band’s interests in movies and literature, for example “To Tame a Land” was inspired by the book Dune by Frank Herbert, and “Where Eagles Dare” was influenced by the great 1968 movie by the same name starring Clint Eastwood and Sir Richard Burton. Lord Alfred Tennyson’s poem, The Charge of the Light Brigade was the inspiration for the track, “The Trooper.” Iron Maiden are well-read metal heads.
Rare for a hard rock album, “Piece of Mind” was successful in the charts, its highest position being No. 2 in Finland, where metal rules, followed by No. 3 in the U.K., No. 6 in Sweden, No. 10 in Canada, and No. 14 on the Billboard 200. It is certified Platinum in the U.S. and the U.K., double-Platinum in Canada, and Gold in Finland, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, and Sweden. Estimated global sales of the record are 6.6 million. These are huge numbers for a heavy metal LP.
Most critics acclaimed the album with high regard, resulting in an AllMusic rating of 4.5-Stars, 8.5/10 from Pitchfork, and 4.5-Stars from SputnikMusic. There’s no telling what Kurt Loder was thinking when he rated the album only 2-Stars for Rolling Stone magazine, dismissing the musicianship as “pedestrian” and the songwriting as “clichéd.” Maybe Loder just didn’t like Iron Maiden or metal in general.
But Seriously, Folks…
1978: Classic Eagles and James Gang singer-songwriter and guitarist Joe Walsh releases his fourth solo studio album, “But Seriously, Folks...” Modestly rated by critics, it produced arguably Walsh's most famous song, “Life's Been Good.”
It reached No. 8 on the Billboard 200 and features all of his Eagles bandmates from the “Hotel California” tour as guest musicians and vocalists, including Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Don Felder, and Timothy B. Schmidt.
Robert Fripp
1946: Legendary progressive rock pioneer Robert Fripp is born in Wimborne Minster (Dorset), England. Most famous as the founding member, banner-holder, and principal music composer of King Crimson, Fripp has enjoyed a long and successful career, releasing his first album in 1968 with his trio, Giles, Giles, and Fripp.
A massively talented and innovative guitar player, he created the New Standard Tuning for guitar, and a tape delay system known as Frippertronics. Do you remember the startup sound of Windows Vista OS? It was composed by Robert.
Fripp has produced 13 King Crimson studio albums, along with six EP’s, 23 live albums, and ten singles. As a solo artist, he has released three studio album and nine live albums. Spearheading the projects The League of Gentlemen and The League of Crafty Guitarists, Fripp released a further six records.
He has also recorded with numerous talented musicians, including six albums with Brian Eno, three with Andy Summers, and worked with Peter Gabriel, Talking Heads, John Wetton, John Paul Jones, David Sylvan, and David Bowie. Casual listeners can hear a sample of his playing on the Bowie classic, “Heroes,” along with its best cover version by King Crimson, performed in 2016 as a tribute to Bowie following his death.
Happy 80th Birthday, Robert!
The Daily Elvis
1960: The Frank Sinatra Timex Show: Welcome Home Elvis is broadcast on ABC in the U.S. The TV special celebrated the honourable discharge of Elvis from the U.S. Army, and his return to the American entertainment scene.
