This Day in Music History: Sept. 11 From Ray Charles to Jay-Z
Key Sept. 11 moments in music history include milestones for Jay-Z, Ray Charles, the Beatles, the Jackson 5, David Bowie, Bing Crosby and Peter Tosh.
This Day in Music History: Sept. 11
Sept. 11, 2001, became an indelible date in American history, and its shock immediately changed the context in which music was heard, released and performed. That morning, Jay-Z’s sixth studio album, The Blueprint, arrived as scheduled. It became one of hip-hop’s defining albums and, in 2018, the first recording from the 21st century chosen for the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry. Its place in the registry recognizes more than a commercial success: The Blueprint captured a turning point in rap, pairing Jay-Z’s direct, competitive writing with soul-based production from Just Blaze, Kanye West and others. The album’s release date forever linked a major artistic statement to a day when the country’s cultural life abruptly changed.
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Nearly five decades earlier, on Sept. 11, 1952, Ray Charles made his first New York recording session for Atlantic Records. He recorded four songs, including “The Sun’s Gonna Shine Again,” “Roll With Me Baby,” “The Midnight Hour” and “Jumpin’ in the Mornin’.” Charles was still developing the sound that would make him a central figure in American music, but the Atlantic years gave him room to bring together blues, gospel, jazz and rhythm and blues. Later recordings such as “I Got a Woman,” “What’d I Say” and Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music would demonstrate how powerfully he could cross musical and cultural boundaries. The 1952 session was an early step in that transformation.
On Sept. 11, 1962, the Beatles returned to EMI Studios in London to record more material for their debut single. “Love Me Do,” written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, had already been attempted, but the session included a new version with studio drummer Andy White on drums and Ringo Starr on tambourine. The Beatles’ official discography lists Sept. 11 among the song’s recording dates; the version from this session became especially important because it appeared on the group’s debut album, Please Please Me. Released as the Beatles’ first single in Britain the following month, “Love Me Do” was modest by the group’s later standards, but it marked the start of a recording career that would redefine pop songwriting, studio craft and the relationship between young listeners and popular music.
Five years later, on Sept. 11, 1967, the Beatles began filming Magical Mystery Tour. The project began with a colorfully painted coach leaving London with the band, performers, crew members and guests aboard. Its improvised approach reflected the Beatles’ desire to extend their work beyond conventional records and concerts during the psychedelic era. The resulting television film was poorly received when the BBC first broadcast it in Britain that December, but its music endured. Songs connected with the project, including “I Am the Walrus,” “The Fool on the Hill” and “Blue Jay Way,” remain major parts of the Beatles catalog. The production also stands as evidence of the group’s willingness to risk failure while exploring film, television and visual presentation.
On Sept. 11, 1971, The Jackson 5ive premiered on ABC. Produced by Rankin/Bass and Motown Productions, the Saturday morning animated series turned the Jackson 5’s extraordinary popularity into a weekly television presence. The program drew on the group’s Motown recordings and presented animated versions of Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael Jackson to a national family audience. The series was fictionalized, but its arrival showed how quickly the group had become a multimedia force after its run of early Motown hits. It also gave young viewers regular exposure to a Black pop group at a time when Saturday morning television offered few comparable portrayals.
Sept. 11, 1977, produced one of popular music’s most unlikely and durable holiday pairings. David Bowie and Bing Crosby recorded “Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy” for Crosby’s television special, Bing Crosby’s Merrie Olde Christmas. Bowie had been invited to sing the familiar “Little Drummer Boy,” but the production created a new counter-melody, “Peace on Earth,” to suit the duet. The special aired in late November, shortly after Crosby’s death, and the performance gradually became a seasonal favorite. Bowie’s avant-garde rock image and Crosby’s long-established role as a traditional pop and Christmas vocalist made the collaboration surprising, while the song’s plea for peace gave it a lasting emotional pull.
On Sept. 11, 1987, Jamaican singer-songwriter Peter Tosh was killed at his home in Kingston during a robbery. Tosh was 42. As a founding member of the Wailers with Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer, he helped establish the international language of reggae. His solo work carried an equally uncompromising voice, combining forceful music with calls for justice, African unity and the legalization of marijuana. Albums including Legalize It and Equal Rights made clear that Tosh viewed reggae as both art and political expression. His death cut short a vital career, but his recordings remain foundational to reggae’s global legacy.
Across these Sept. 11 milestones, music appears in several forms: a young Ray Charles beginning his Atlantic chapter, the Beatles shaping recordings and images that would travel around the world, the Jackson 5 reaching children through television, Bowie and Crosby finding common ground in a studio, Peter Tosh speaking with reggae’s activist voice, and Jay-Z creating an album that outlasted the moment of its release. Together, they show how recordings and performances can preserve not only sound, but the changing possibilities of popular culture.
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