Mick Jagger

Martin Scorsese and Mick Jagger team for HBO series about the 1970s NYC music scene

Martin Scorsese and Mick Jagger’s long-in-the-works TV series about a ’70s New York City record label exec has been picked up by HBO. As Collider reports, the network has officially placed an order for the project and announced its cast.

The show — which has been in development since 2011 — will focus on the “drug and sex-fueled music business as punk and disco were breaking out”, according to a press release (via Rolling Stone). Scorsese is set to direct the pilot episode and, alongside Jagger, will serve as one of the show’s executive producers. Terrence Winter (Boardwalk Empire, The Sopranos) has been tapped as showrunner.

Actor Bobby Cannavale (Boardwalk Empire, Third Watch) joins the cast as American Century Records president Richie Finestra, who must make a “life-changing decision” amidst the chaos of the ever-evolving ’70s music scene. His wife Devon, a former actress and model, will be played by Olivia Wilde (Her, Tron: Legacy). Ray Romano has also signed on as Zak Yankovich, American Century’s Head of Promotions.

This Day in Music History — November 10

1958 : Lou Rawls, who is fronting a group called the Travelers, is badly injured in a car accident in Marion, Arkansas that also involves Sam Cooke, who is headlining the tour. The driver, Edward Cunningham, dies in the accident.

1975 : Queen shoots the video for Bohemian Rhapsody, which according to director Bruce Gowers, takes about four hours. It airs repeatedly on the British show Top Of The Pops and helps the song become one of the most popular in UK history.

2002 : Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Tom Petty, Elvis Costello, Lenny Kravitz, and Brian Setzer guest star on The Simpsons in an episode where they run a rock and roll fantasy camp. The first rule of the camp: There are no rules! Second rule: No outside food.

2003 : An emotional tribute to the recently-deceased Johnny Cash is held at Nashville’s famous Ryman Auditorium, featuring classic Cash songs performed by Sheryl Crow, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, Kid Rock, and Steve Earle, among others.

This Day in Music History — November 5

1979 : Mick Jagger officially divorces his first wife Bianca

1982 : Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys part ways on the orders of Wilson’s new psychiatrist and caretaker, Dr. Eugene Landy.

1999 : Van Halen announces that lead singer Gary Cherone is leaving the band. All parties claim the split is amicable.

2000 : U2 scores their eighth UK #1 album when All That You Can’t Leave Behind tops the chart, keeping Blur off the top.

2012 : With one day to go until the United States General Election, which includes the presidential election, dozens of music stars take to the press to support incumbent Barack Obama over Mitt Romney, including Jay-Z, Lemmy Kilmister of Motorhead, Bruce Springsteen, Katy Perry, Mike McCready of Pearl Jam, and Stevie Wonder. This should come as no surprise, as music celebrities traditionally come out to support the progressive candidate in elections.

This Day in Music History — October 29

1983 : Pink Floyd’s Dark Side Of The Moon album breaks the record for most weeks on the Billboard album charts when it eclipses Johnny’s Greatest Hits by Johnny Mathis with 491 weeks. Dark Side would stay a total of 741 weeks.

1993 : Tim Burton’s animated musical The Nightmare Before Christmas hits US theaters. The film features music composed by Danny Elfman of Oingo Boingo; Elfman also sings the vocal parts of protagonist Jack Skellington.

2005 : The wax figures of the younger Beatles used in the cover of the band’s Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album are auctioned off for 81,500 pounds in London after being discovered languishing in the backroom of Madame Tussauds’ famous wax museum.

2009 : To celebrate the 25th anniversary of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, a series of concerts take place at Madison Square Garden, featuring inductees like Bruce Springsteen, Bono, Mick Jagger and Aretha Franklin.

This Day in Music History — October 6

1927 : The Jazz Singer , a musical starring Al Jolson and the first talking picture, is released.

1990 : Soundgarden, Iggy Pop, Ice T, The Cramps, Joan Baez and Public Enemy are among the artists to perform at Shoreline Amphitheatre in California, as part of A Gathering of Tribes, which is organised by The Cult’s Ian Astbury. This festival is the reported inspiration behind Lollapalooza, which launches a year later, in 1991.

1991 : Michael Jackson gives Elizabeth Taylor away to Larry Fortensky during her eighth wedding, held at Jackson’s 2,700-acre Neverland estate near Los Angeles.

2002 : Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones donates 100,000 pounds to the school he once attended in Dartford, England, for musical instruments and a band director. The resultant musical center is named after the singer.