Oct. 7 in Music History: José Feliciano’s Anthem, ‘Cats’ and Pop Breakthroughs
This date spans José Feliciano’s controversial 1968 national anthem, the Broadway debut of “Cats” and landmark moments for Janet Jackson, Alanis Morissette and rock’s biggest names.
Before the Detroit Tigers and St. Louis Cardinals played Game 5 of the World Series on Oct. 7, 1968, José Feliciano challenged an American musical tradition. His folk-inflected performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” accompanied by acoustic guitar, drew an immediate backlash. But it also helped open the way for popular artists to interpret the national anthem in their own voices, turning a familiar pregame ritual into a setting for musical expression.
Get The Latest News!
Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.
As Oct. 7, 2026, brings another anniversary of that performance, the date also offers a look at rock on live television, a Broadway landmark, two defining pop breakthroughs and a festival that gathered several generations of rock history on one stage.
Feliciano was 23 when he performed at Detroit’s Tiger Stadium. Born in Puerto Rico and raised in New York, he had found success that year with his version of the Doors’ “Light My Fire.” For the anthem, he drew on folk and blues traditions rather than following the familiar ceremonial arrangement. His custom-built Candelas guitar, later donated to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, was the same instrument he used to record his breakthrough hit.
The reaction exposed a divide over what listeners expected from a national symbol. Some heard disrespect where Feliciano intended a personal expression of patriotism. The performance came during a year marked by the Vietnam War and the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy. Its lasting significance was not that everyone accepted it, but that it broadened the possibilities for artists performing the anthem before a national audience.
For St. Louis-area readers, the connection is direct: The Cardinals were Detroit’s opponents that afternoon. A moment in their World Series became part of a larger story about music, identity and the freedom to reinterpret a song that belonged to the country.
Ten years later, on Oct. 7, 1978, the Rolling Stones served as hosts and musical guests for the fourth-season premiere of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live.” Their appearance included a medley of “Beast of Burden,” “Respectable” and “Shattered,” placing the band’s music inside a live television program built around comedy and unpredictable performances.
The episode brought an established rock band into a different kind of entertainment setting. Rather than appearing only for an isolated musical number, the Stones occupied both the hosting and performing roles. The combination illustrates how late-night television could give musicians room to participate in a show’s personality as well as present their songs. The official program archive preserves the episode as a meeting of rock performance and television comedy.
On Oct. 7, 1982, “Cats” opened at Broadway’s Winter Garden Theatre. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical drew on T.S. Eliot’s “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats,” transforming poems about feline characters into a theatrical production driven by music, movement and visual design. Betty Buckley played Grizabella, whose song “Memory” supplied a central emotional moment.
The opening began an extraordinary run. The original Broadway production continued until Sept. 10, 2000, completing 7,485 performances. In 1983, it won seven Tony Awards, including best musical and original score, with Buckley receiving the award for featured actress in a musical. Recognition for its direction, costumes and lighting underscored how thoroughly the production joined its songs to the physical world of the stage.
On the Billboard Hot 100 chart dated Oct. 7, 1989, Janet Jackson’s “Miss You Much” reached No. 1, beginning a four-week stay. The single helped introduce “Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814,” an album that combined romantic dance music with songs addressing racism, poverty and other social concerns.
Working with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Jackson connected the album’s sound to a coordinated visual presentation, including a black-and-white long-form film. “Miss You Much” offered an accessible entry into that larger artistic project. The album ultimately generated seven top-five singles, showing that an ambitious social message and broad pop appeal could coexist within the same release.
Another defining album reached the summit on the Billboard 200 chart dated Oct. 7, 1995: Alanis Morissette’s “Jagged Little Pill.” Released June 13, it marked a sharp turn from her earlier pop-centered recordings toward alternative rock and emotionally direct songwriting. Working with producer and co-writer Glen Ballard, Morissette built an album around anger, uncertainty, vulnerability and self-examination.
The chart milestone reflected a breakthrough that extended beyond one hit. Songs including “You Oughta Know,” “Hand in My Pocket” and “Ironic” gave the record several distinct points of connection with listeners. At the 1996 Grammy Awards, “Jagged Little Pill” won album of the year and best rock album, while “You Oughta Know” earned two additional awards. Its success established Morissette’s new musical direction on a much larger stage.
On Oct. 7, 2016, Desert Trip opened at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, with Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones. Paul McCartney, Neil Young, Roger Waters and the Who filled the remaining nights of the weekend. Dylan’s opening-night set ranged from “Highway 61 Revisited” and “Desolation Row” to later material, making the festival more than a display of a single era’s greatest hits.
The gathering placed enduring rock catalogs in a shared festival setting. Nearly five decades after Feliciano’s anthem, Oct. 7 again offered a reminder that familiar music can acquire fresh meaning through the circumstances of a live performance.
More like this:
- Most Popular
- Top Stories
- Most Recent
