Chapter 01 — Today in music
On a day like today June 11
1988
Wembley sings against apartheid: the Mandela tribute half the planet watched
On June 11, 1988, Wembley Stadium hosted the 70th birthday tribute for Nelson Mandela, still imprisoned, broadcast to more than sixty countries. Dire Straits, Simple Minds, Stevie Wonder and dozens of artists turned a birthday into a global campaign against apartheid. Twenty months later Mandela walked free: music did not release him, but it helped the world not forget him.
Dire Straits
Simple Minds
Stevie Wonder
1949
Frank Beard is born, the only beardless man in ZZ Top (with that surname)
On June 11, 1949, Frank Beard was born in Texas — ZZ Top's drummer and the punchline of rock's longest-running joke: in the band of infinite beards, the only clean-shaven member is Mr. Beard himself. Beyond the anecdote, his dry, danceable pulse held up half a century of Texas boogie, from 'La Grange' to the synthesized era of 'Eliminator'.
Frank Beard
ZZ Top
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