April 11th

Musical birthdays today include Joel Grey (92), operatic bass Kurt Moll (86), bluesman Luther 'Guitar Jr.' Johnson (85),Art rock multi-instrumentalist Francis Lickerish (70), Geordie bassist Tom Ford (61), former Catatonia lead singer Cerys Matthews (55), Marcy Playground bassist Dylan Keefe (54), Rammstein bassist Oliver Riedel (53), Sum 41 lead guitarist Tom Thacker (47), and Joss Stone (37). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for early Dixieland trumpeter Nick LaRocca, born on this day in 1889... for jazz double-bassist John Levy, born in 1912... for former Ruts guitarist Paul Fox, who would have been 73 today... for Flirtations vocalist Michael Callen, who would have been 69... for Big Country frontman Stuart Adamson, who would have been 66... for Gin Blossoms lead guitarist Doug Hopkins, who would have been 63... for ragtime singer Eddie Morton, who died on this date in 1938... for folk guitarist Sandy Bull, who died in 2001... for June Pointer, who passed away in 2006... and for jazz-funk keyboardist & producer Don Blackman, who left us today in 2013. 

Also on April 11th: The first performance of Beethoven's Archduke chamber trio is given in Vienna, with the composer at the piano. His contemporary and manuscript editor Louis Spohr, who was present, wrote later that the piano was badly out of tune but that Beethoven was too deaf to notice (1815)... Amsterdam's Concertgebouw is inaugurated (1888)... Travelling from Amarillo to Nashville, the plane that Elvis Presley is flying on develops engine trouble and is forced to make an emergency landing. The incident instills a fear of flying in Presley that will last the rest of his life (1956)... Bob Dylan gives his first billed performance in NYC, opening for John Lee Hooker at Gerde's Folk City (1961)... Buffalo Springfield make their live debut at the Troubador in Los Angeles (1966)... While Fleetwood Mac are on tour in Germany, Peter Green informs his bandmates that he is leaving the group. He agrees to stay on until the end of the tour to avoid a breach of contract lawsuit (1970)... Fantasy Records release Mardi Gras, Creedence Clearwater Revival's final studio album (1972)... The Beach Boys appear at the Omni Coliseum in Atlanta, GA. The group are at a very low ebb in popularity in America, and this show proves a financial disaster for the promoter, with fewer than 3,000 tickets sold for the 16,000 capacity venue. The opening act is Mothers Finest, followed by a recently signed CBS act named Bruce Springsteen who plays a 60-minute solo set (1973)... Eddie Van Halen marries Valerie Bertinelli (1981)... Cher wins the Best Actress Oscar for her work in 'Moonstruck' (1988)... Pearl Jam are the musical guests on Saturday Night Live (1992)...  Robbie Williams raises £165,000 at a charity auction with the money going to his old school in Stoke to build a performing arts wing. Items sold are Robbie's personal possessions, including a toilet from a stage show, a Union Jack bikini, tiger's head briefs, a Millennium jet pack and the hand written lyrics to 'Angels', which fetch £27,000 (2001)... The government of Malawi accuses Madonna of "bullying state officials" after she reportedly complained about her treatment on a visit to the country. Madonna - who has adopted two Malawian-born children, recently visited 10 primary schools funded by her charity. Madonna's manager accuses local governmental officials of having a "grudge" against the singer's charity, Raising Malawi (2013).