This Day in Music History: Jim Croce dies in a plane crash, AC/DC release Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap

1968 – Led Zeppelin start recording their debut album at Olympic Studios in London. It takes just about 36 hours of studio time to complete, and cost around £1,780 ($2320). Most of the tracks are recorded live in the studio with very few overdubs.

1969 – John Lennon leaves The Beatles but agrees to not make an official announcement. The recording of “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” marks the last time all four Beatles are together in the same studio.

1971 – Peter Frampton leaves Humble Pie to begin a solo career.

1973 – Jim Croce is killed in a plane crash in Natchitoches, Louisiana, at age 30. “Time In A Bottle” hits #1 fourteen weeks later.

1973 – The Roxy Theater opens in Los Angeles, CA. Elton John, Carole King, and Jackson Brown perform the first show there.

1975 – “Fame” gives David Bowie his first #1 hit in the US.

1975 – The Bay City Rollers make their US TV debut when they perform “Saturday Night” on the Saturday Night Variety Show.

1976 – AC/DC release their third studio album, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap.

1995 – Former 10,000 Maniacs frontwoman Natalie Merchant kicks off her first solo tour in New Orleans.

2005 – Canadian JD Fortune beats two other finalists to become the new lead singer of INXS after a worldwide search to replace the late Michael Hutchence.

Information for this post was gathered from This Day in Music, The Music History Calendar, On This Day, and Wikipedia.