Chapter 01 — Today in music
On a day like today April 12
rewound 1 time
1966
Jan Berry crashes near Dead Man's Curve: the song made prophecy
Jan Berry, half of Jan & Dean, crashed his Corvette near the Los Angeles curve his own hit "Dead Man's Curve" had made famous two years earlier. He survived with severe brain damage and spent decades relearning to speak and sing. No pop lyric ever proved so tragically literal.
Jan Berry
Jan & Dean
1940
Herbie Hancock is born, the pianist who never feared the future
Herbie Hancock was born in Chicago, a classical child prodigy, Miles Davis's pianist and an eternal explorer. "Head Hunters" took jazz to funk and "Rockit" took it to hip hop and scratching in the MTV era. Sixty years of shedding skins without ever losing substance.
Herbie Hancock
One ephemeris a day, one editorial a week. Zero spam, pure archive.
