House of Music is the fourth and final album by American R&B; band Tony! Toni! Toné!, released in 1996 by Mercury Records. Bassist-vocalist Raphael Saadiq (pictured), guitarist-vocalist D'wayne Wiggins, and percussionist-keyboardist Timothy Christian Riley worked on its songs independently before recording them together as a group. While doing most of the production, Tony! Toni! Toné! emphasized musicianship and expanded on their previous work's traditional soul influences with live instrumentation and balladry. Music journalists have noted the album's incorporation of old-fashioned and modern sensibilities, themes of love and romance, and witty, sensitive lyrics. The album charted for 31 weeks on the Billboard 200 and sold over a million units in the United States. Critics praised the musicianship and songwriting, later deeming it a masterpiece of 1990s R&B.; Despite its success, the group disbanded shortly after due to creative differences and Mercury's management of the album's short-lived marketing campaign.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Music

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1862:

American Civil War: Confederate forces won the Second Battle of Bull Run in Prince William County, Virginia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Battle_of_Bull_Run

1918:

Fanny Kaplan fired three shots with a pistol at Vladimir Lenin in a failed assassination shortly before the beginning of the Red Terror. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fanny_Kaplan

1974:

An express train carrying foreign workers from Yugoslavia to West Germany derailed in Zagreb, killing 153 people. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zagreb_train_disaster

1995:

Bosnian War: NATO forces began a bombing campaign against the Army of Republika Srpska in Bosnia and Herzegovina. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Deliberate_Force

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

xerocracy: (informal) Political influence achieved by copying and distributing leaflets and similar material. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/xerocracy

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Purpose crosses disciplines. Purpose is an essential element of you. It is the reason you are on the planet at this particular time in history. Your very existence is wrapped up in the things you are here to fulfill. Whatever you choose for a career path, remember, the struggles along the way are only meant to shape you for your purpose.   --Chadwick Boseman https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Chadwick_Boseman