June 7th

Musical birthdays today include Tom Jones (79), jazz guitarist Royce Campbell (67), Savuka frontman Johnny Clegg (66), record executive & producer Antonio 'L.A.' Reid (63), Dominican singer-songwriter Juan Luis Guerra (62), Prefab Sprout lead singer Paddy McAloon (62), Lynyrd Skynyrd drummer Michael Cartellone (57), producer & former Theaudience guitarist Billy Reeves (54), Stone Temple Pilots drummer Eric Kretz (53), original Jane's Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro (52), rapper Necro [né Ron Braunstein] (43), Fightstar frontman Charlie Simpson (34), Iggy Azalea (29), and Fetty Wap (29).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for conductor George Szell, born on this day in 1897... for Dean Martin [né Dino Crocetti], born in 1917... for jazz guitarist Tal Farlow, born in 1921... for jazzman Harold 'Tina' Brooks, who would have been 86 today... for Prince, who would have been 62... for blues & gospel singer Carole Fredericks, who died on this date in 2002... for fusion jazzman & former Soft machine bassist Hugh Hopper, and for Kenny Rankin, both of whom who passed away today in 2010... and for former Fleetwood Mac guitarist & singer Bob Welch, who took his own life today in 2012 at the age of 66. 

Also on June 7th: John Coltrane and sidemen complete the Africa/Brass sessions, devoting most of the day to Eric Dolphy's arrangement of 'Greensleeves' (1961)... The Rolling Stones release their debut single, a cover of Chuck Berry's 'Come on' (1963)... During their first US tour, the Stones are booed off the stage in San Antonio, TX. A troupe of performing monkeys who were one of the opening acts are brought back on as security try to restore order... Heading for the far eastern leg of their world tour, The Beatles fly from Amsterdam to Hong Kong. When the plane stops to refuel in Beirut, police turn firefighting foam on hundreds of fans who have invaded the runway (1964)... British supergroup Blind Faith, featuring Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, Rick Grech and Steve Winwood make their live debut at a free concert in London's Hyde Park. Their only album release provokes controversy because the cover features a topless pubescent girl holding a silver space ship which many perceive as a phallic symbol. The US record company issues it with an alternative cover showing a photograph of the band on the front. The controversy is fuelled by rumours about the girl's relationship to the band, which include the story that she is a groupie being kept as a slave... Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell both appear on the premiere of ABC-TV's 'The Johnny Cash Show' from Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. Dylan sings 'I Threw It All Away' and 'Living the Blues', and duets with the host on 'Girl From The North Country'; Joni performs 'Both Sides Now' (1969)... Elton John's ninth studio LP Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy becomes the first record ever to debut on the Billboard album chart at № 1. John Denver is at the top of the singles listing with 'Thank God I'm a Country Boy' (1975)... Led Zeppelin play the first of six sold out nights at Madison Square Garden on what will prove to be the band's final North American tour (1977)...  Priscilla Presley opens Graceland to the public. The bathroom in which Elvis died nearly 5 years earlier remains sealed... Stray Cats release Built for Speed, their third and biggest selling album (1982)... David Bowie plays a concert in West Berlin in front of the Reichstag with the speakers pointing towards the nearby Berlin Wall, behind which thousands of young East Berliners stand and listen (1987)... Hanson are at № 1 in both the US and the UK with 'MMMbop'. The single will go on to top the charts in 27 other countries... Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher plays a five-song set at the Tibet Freedom Concert, Downing Stadium in NYC. U2, Patti Smith and Radiohead are also on the bill (1997)... Virgin Records announce that they have dropped Victoria Beckham after her debut solo album, which cost over £3 million to make and sold only 50,000 copies (2002)... The funeral of Bo Diddley takes place in Gainesville, FL. Many in attendance chant "Hey Bo Diddley" shortly after family members passed by his coffin as a gospel band played the pioneering rocker's music. At the service, they present a floral tribute in form of his trademark square guitar (2007).

June 6th

Musical birthdays today include Gary 'U.S.' Bonds (81), jazz pianist Monty Alexander (76), King Crimson bassist Tony Levin (74), former Caravan bassist Richard Sinclair (72), Holly Near (71), Dwight Twilley (69), Yellow Magic Orchestra lead singer Yukihiro Takahashi (68), producer & former The Time keyboardist Jimmy Jam [né James Harris III] (61), Steve Vai (60), Bad Religion bassist Jay Bentley (56), Korn guitarist James Shaffer (50), Uncle Kraacker [né Matthew Shafer] (46), former Libertines guitarist Carl Barât (42), ex-Yellowcard bassist Peter Mosely (40), Pussy Riot vocalist Maria Alyokhina (32), and rapper Mike G [né Michael Griffin II] (30). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for saxophonist & bandleader Jimmie Lunceford, born on this day in 1902... for composer Aram Khachaturian, born in 1903... for former Four Tops vocalist Levi Stubbs, who would have been 82 today... for Tangerine Dream keyboardist Edgar Froese, who would have been 75...  for Stan Getz, who died on this date in 1991... for Ratt guitarist Robbin Crosby, who died of a drug overdose on this day in 2002 at the age of 42... for former Animals keyboardist Dave Rowberry, who died in 2003... for Billy Preston, who passed away in 2006... and for Marvin Isley, who left us in 2010. 

Also on June 6th: In NYC, Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie have their final collaborative recording session, which will yield the album Bird & Diz (1950)... Bing Crosby is presented with a platinum disc to commemorate his 200 millionth record sold (1960)... The Beatles are introduced to George Martin and have their first recording session at Abbey Road Studios (1962)... Elton John's debut album Empty Sky is released in Britain (1969)... At the Extravaganza 70 Festival at Olympia Hall in London, Syd Barrett plays his first gig since leaving Pink Floyd, backed by a band that includes his old friend Floyd guitarist David Gilmour. Barrett baffles the audience as well as his musicians when he abruptly takes off his guitar during the fourth number and walks off stage, not to return (1970)... John Lennon & Yoko Ono jam live on stage with Frank Zappa at the Fillmore East in NYC. The performance is recorded and will be partially released on John's album Some Time in New York City (1971)... David Bowie's The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust & the Spiders from Mars is released (1972)... RCA Records releases Dolly Parton's original version of 'I Will Always Love You' (1974)... Def Leppard play at Crookes Workingman's Club in Sheffield. The gig is reviewed in the UK music paper 'Sounds' and leads to an audition and eventual contract with Phonogram Records (1979)... Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Crosby Stills & Nash, Stevie Wonder, Stevie Nicks and Jackson Browne all appear at The Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California before a crowd of 85,000 fans at the six hour 'Peace Sunday: We Have a Dream' antinuclear concert. Dylan is joined onstage with Joan Baez and duets with her on 'Blowin’ in the Wind' and 'With God on Our Side'. The show is partly broadcast on ABC TV’s 'Entertainment Tonight' program on the same day (1982)... Michael Jackson announces that he is breaking all ties with the Jehovah's Witnesses. Jackson was brought up in the faith and earlier in his career would don disguises and go door to door with the Watchtower message in cities where he was performing (1987)... The 2 Live Crew album As Nasty as They Wanna Be is ruled obscene by a federal judge in Fort Lauderdale, FL (1990)... B*Witched score their first UK № 1 single with 'C'est La Vie', making them the seventh act in chart history to debut at the top. On the album chart, Boyzone have their third UK № 1 with Where We Belong ~ it is also the first time in chart history that the top positions have been simultaneously occupied by Irish acts (1998)... A High Court judge in London rules that rap lyrics should be treated as a foreign language after admitting that he was baffled by the expressions 'shizzle my nizzle' and 'mish mish man.' The dispute is over a copyright issue between the Ant'ill Mob and the Heartless Crew who sampled the lyrics in a remix (2003)

June 5th

Musical birthdays today include former Sly and the Family Stone guitarist Freddie Stone (74), Laurie Anderson (73), country singer-songwriter [and first ever female producer on a Nashville label] Gail Davies (72), Iron maiden drummer Nicko McBrain (68), Psychedelic Furs lead singer Richard Butler (64), Kenny G [né Kenneth Gorelick] (64), Nile guitarist Karl Sanders (57), operatic soprano Sandrine Piau (54), Cox Family mandolinist & singer Suzanne Cox (53), Brian McKnight (51), Mark Wahlberg (49), rapper & producer Aesop Rock [né Ian Bavitz] (44), Thousand Watt Stare guitarist Christian Martucci (43), Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz (41), and Simple Plan guitarist & singer Sébastian Lefebvre (39).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for musical screenwriter & director Jacques Demy, who would have been 88 today... for Badfinger guitarist & songwriter Tom Evans, who would have been 73... for stage singer Ronnie Dyson, who would have been 70... for blues & gospel singer Carole Fredericks, who would have been 68... for composer Carl Maria von Weber, who died on this date in 1826... for bluesman Sleepy John Estes, who died in 1977... for country singer Conway Twitty, who died in 1993... for Mel Tormé, who passed away in 1999... and for Dee Dee Ramone [né Douglas Colvin], who died of a drug overdose today in 2002 at the age of 49.  

Also on June 5th: Miles Davis & sidemen hold the second of the three sessions that will produce the album Round about Midnight, Davis' debut on Columbia (1955)... Elvis appears on ABC-TV's 'The Milton Berle Show'. During the performance, Presley abruptly halts an uptempo rendition of 'Hound Dog' with a wave of his arm and launched into a slow, grinding version accentuated with energetic, exaggerated hip movements. The singer's gyrations create a storm of controversy and public reaction (1956)... Robert Allen Zimmerman graduates from Hibbing High School in Hibbing, MN. In the school yearbook, the future Bob Dylan has declared as his ambition 'to join Little Richard' (1959)... Roy Orbison has his first № 1 hit in America with 'Running Scared' (1961)... The Rolling Stones play their first ever live gig in the US at the Swing Auditorium in San Bernardino, CA (1964)... The Jimi Hendrix Experience appear on the Dusty Springfield TV show 'It Must Be Dusty', taped in London. Hendrix performs 'Stone Free' and 'Voodoo Chile', and then duets on a version of 'Mockingbird' with the hostess (1968)... Barclay James Harvest release their eponymous debut album (1970)...  James Levine makes his NY Metropolitan Opera debut, conducting a performance of Tosca... Grand Funk Railroad break a record held by The Beatles when they sell out Shea Stadium in less than 72 hours... Paul & Linda McCartney's album Ram is at № 1 on the UK chart (1971)...  During sessions for Wish You Were Here at Abbey Road Studios, Syd Barrett turned up unexpectedly as Pink Floyd are listening to playbacks of 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond', a song that happens to be about the group's former leader. By this time, the 29-year-old Barrett has shaved off all of his hair [including his eyebrows] and become overweight, and his ex-bandmates do not at first recognise him. Barrett eventually leaves without saying goodbye, and none of the band members will ever see him again (1975)...  Alice Cooper's boa constrictor, a co-star of his live act, suffers a fatal bite from a rat it is being fed for breakfast. Cooper will hold auditions for a replacement, and a snake named 'Angel' gets the gig (1977)... Muddy Waters, 64, marries his girlfriend Marva Jean Brooks on her 25th birthday (1979)... On tour in the US, U2 record their concert at the Red Rock Amphitheater outside of Denver, CO. The performance will be released as the album Under  Blood Red Sky (1983)... Mariah Carey marries Sony Music CEO Tommy Mottola in Manhattan. Guests include Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, Barbra Streisand and Ozzy Osbourne (1993)... Officials in Singapore reject an appeal of a ban on Janet Jackson's latest album All for You. They decide that the lyrics of the album, particularly to the song song ‘Would You Mind’, are 'not acceptable to our society'. The record was initially outlawed because of its 'sexually explicit lyrics', including 'I just wanna touch you, tease you, lick you, please you, love you, make love to you.' EMI say that they are attempting a compromise by trying to persuade Jackson's management to delete ‘Would You Mind’ from the album for Asian distribution (2001)... A grandfather who set up his own pirate radio station in Wakefield, Yorkshire is under investigation by local broadcasting authorities. Ricky Rock, as he calls himself, erected a 32 ft. transmitter in his back garden and has been playing hits by The Beatles, The Beach Boys, and Elvis. Ricky says he set the station up because the "talentless boy bands and droning dance music" featured on local stations does not cater to the tastes of his generation (2003)... Sir Paul McCartney releases his 21st solo album, 'Memory Almost Full' on the new Starbucks label Hear Music. It is later announced that copies sold through UK Starbucks will not be eligible to be counted for the UK charts as the 533 stores were not registered with the Official Chart Company. The album is being played non-stop in more than 10,000 Starbucks outlets across 29 countries (2007).

June 4th

Musical birthdays today include former Average White Band saxophonist Roger Ball (76), Michelle Phillips (76), saxophonist Anthony Braxton (75), ex-Winger guitarist/keyboardist Paul Taylor (70), Eldra 'El' DeBarge (67), R&B singer & producer Al. B Sure! [né Albert Brown III] (52), ex-Cradle of Filth bassist Dave Pybus (50), Dave Matthews Band bassist Stefan Lessard (46), ex-Visions of Atlantis lead singer Maxi Nil (39), Saturdays vocalist Mollie King (33), and Half Noise drummer Zac Farro (30). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for early Québecoise recording star La Bolduc [née Mary Travers], born on this day in 1894... for jazzman & film score composer Oliver Nelson, who would have been 88 today... for Freddy Fender, who would have been 83... for Peter and Gordon singer Gordon Waller, who would have been 75... for Paul McCartney & Wings guitarist Jimmy McCulloch, who would have been 67.. for Lords of the New Church frontman Steven 'Stiv' Bators, who died on this date in 1990... for ex-Herman's Hermits guitarist Derek Leckenby, who died in 1994... for Small Faces co-founder & bassist Ronnie Lane, who passed away in 1997... for bluegrass fiddler & banjo player John Hartford, who died in 2001... and for former Jefferson Airplane drummer Joey Covington, who was killed in a road accident three years ago  today at the age of 67. 

Also on June 4th: Georg Philipp Telemann takes up the position of cantor at the Gymnasium Johanneum in Hamburg (1721)... In Los Angeles, Johnny Mercer, Buddy DeSylva and Glenn Wallichs found Capitol Records. The label will become home to such artists as Frank Sinatra, The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Eddie Cochran, Gene Vincent, Bobby Darin, Dean Martin, Glen Campbell, Steve Miller, Dr. Hook, Bob Seger, Tina Turner and Heart, among many others. Wallichs is also credited with pioneering the technique of promoting records by sending copies of new releases to disc jockeys (1942)... The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Procol Harum, Denny Laine and The Chiffons all appear at The Saville Theatre, London. Both Paul McCartney and George Harrison are in the audience to see Hendrix perform the title track from Sgt Pepper, which was released 3 days previously (1967)... In Glenrowan, Australia, hundreds of people sign a petition protesting against the casting of Mick Jagger in the role of the Australian folk hero Ned Kelly in the film of the same name. The film, directed by Tony Richardson, will be released in October 1970... Columbia releases Johnny Cash's album Live at San Quentin (1969)... Elvis begins a  five day stint of recording at RCA's studio B in Nashville, starting each day at 6pm and working until dawn (1970)... The Rolling Stones become the first western group to receive royalties for sales of their records in the USSR (1975)... The Sex Pistols appear at The Lesser Free Trade Hall in Manchester. The show is now often regarded as the birth of the punk rock movement, and the catalyst for the 'Summer of Punk'. In the audience are Morrissey, future Joy Division members Bernard Sumner and Peter Hook, and Mark E Smith who will found The Fall. Tickets cost £1 (1976)... The Jam's debut single 'In the City' enters the UK Top 40, the first of 18 consecutive singles of theirs to do so (1977)... The Police are at № 1 on both sides of the Atlantic and in 14 other countries with 'Every Breath You Take' (1983)... Columbia releases Bruce Springsteen's album Born in the USA (1984)...  The opening show of the first Conspiracy of Hope tour takes place at the Cow Palace in San Francisco, CA. The benefit concerts on behalf of Amnesty International are being held to increase awareness of the organization on the 25th anniversary of its foundation. The six shows are headlined by U2 and Sting, and also feature Bryan Adams, Peter Gabriel, Lou Reed, Joan Baez, and The Neville Brothers (1986)... The US Postal Service announce the results of a poll conducted to see which picture of Elvis Presley should be used on a commemorative stamp. The young Elvis won out over the older and larger 'Vegas Elvis' (1992)... Wet Wet Wet start a 4-month run at  № 1 on the UK singles chart with 'Love Is All Around', from the film 'Four Weddings & A Funeral'. The song was written by Reg Presley of The Troggs and was a Top 10 for his band in 1967... Philip Glass' opera 'Beauty and the Beast' has its world premiere at the Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville, Spain (1994)... Crowded House announce that they have disbanded (1996)... Wyclef Jean is one of ten people arrested for disorderly conduct in a New York rally protesting cuts in education. Jean is subdued and led away in handcuffs following an attempt to perform, which is forbidden by the event’s permit. P. Diddy, Alicia Keys, Jay-Z, LL Cool J, Erykah Badu, Foxy Brown and the Wu-Tang Clan are also at the rally to show their support and to protest a proposed $1.2 billion cut in the budget for New York’s public education system (2002). 

.

June 3rd

Musical birthdays today include Ian Hunter (80), Suzi Quatro (70), Deniece Williams (70), Dan Hill (66), Rembrandts frontman Danny Wilde (64), Ozric Tentacles lead guitarist Ed Wynne (59), Slayer guitarist Kerry King (56), Phish bassist Mike Gordon (55), Republica lead singer Saffron [née Samantha Sprackling] (52), High on Fire frontman Mike Pike (48), Stereophonics frontman Kelly Jones (46), and Hi-5 guitarist Dihan Slabbert (38). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for blueswoman Memphis Minnie (née Lizzie Douglas), born on this day in 1897... for Josephine Baker, born in 1906... for Curtis Mayfield, who would have been 78 today... for original Byrds drummer Michael Clarke, who would have been 74... for T Rex drummer Mickey Finn, who would have been 73... for Lynyrd Skynyrd keyboardist Billy Powell, who would have been 67... for composer Georges Bizet, who died on this date in 1875... for Bill Haley & His Comets pianist Johnny Grande, who passed away in 2006... and for saxophonist & Louis Prima sideman Sam Butera and 'Queen of the Chicago blues' Koko Taylor, both of whom left us in 2009. 

Also on June 3rd: Elvis graduates from J.C. Hulmes High School in Memphis; his graduation photo shows him to have a split curl in the middle of his forehead, later to become his trademark. The first member of his family to graduate high school, his final report card shows that he received an A in English but only a C in music (1953)... Ringo Starr is taken ill with tonsillitis and pharyngitis, days before a world tour is about to start. After a last-minute phone call from George Martin, session drummer Jimmy Nichol rushes over to EMI Studios, where he and The Beatles run through six songs from their tour repertoire in a quick rehearsal. Nichol replaces Ringo and becomes a Beatle for eleven days (1964)... Aretha Franklin goes to № 1 on the Billboard singles chart with her version of 'Respect', a top ten hit for Otis Redding the previous year (1967)... The Kinks' Ray Davies has to make a 6,000 mile round trip from New York to London to record one word in a song. Davies was forced to change 'Coca-Cola' to 'cherry cola' in the lyrics of the band's forthcoming single 'Lola' due to an advertising ban on BBC Radio (1970)... The Rolling Stones kick off their biggest North American tour to date with a show at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, BC... Jethro Tull have the № 1 album in the US with Thick as a Brick... Pink Floyd release the album Obscured by Clouds (1972)... Session drummer Jim Gordon murders his mother by pounding her head with a hammer at the prompting of voices. A schizophrenic, it will not be until his trial in 1984 that Gordon is properly diagnosed. Since his attorney is unable to use the insanity defense, the drummer is sentenced to sixteen years-to-life in prison. A Grammy Award winner for co-writing 'Layla' with Eric Clapton, Gordon also worked with The Beach Boys, John Lennon, George Harrison, Frank Zappa and Jackson Browne, among others (1983)... Fine Young Cannibals top the US album chart with The Raw & The Cooked (1989)... The Carter Family and Johnny Cash are inducted into the NAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame in a ceremony in Asbury Park, NJ (1990)... Paul McCartney, Sting, Elton John, Brian Wilson, Cliff Richard, Ozzy Osbourne, The Corrs, Will Young, Atomic Kitten and S Club 7 all appear at The Queen's Jubilee concert at Buckingham Palace (2002)... Red Hot Chili Peppers go to № 1 on both the US and UK album charts with Stadium Arcadium, the band's ninth studio release (2009).

June 2nd

Musical birthdays include pop & Motown artist Sammy Turner (88), Gladys Knight & the Pips vocalist William Guest (79), Charlie Watts (79), Bangles bassist Michael Steele (65), Lydia Lunch (61), former Spandau Ballet lead singer Tony Hadley (60), Misfits guitarist Bez Cadena (59), Raconteurs multi-instrumentalist Jason Falkner (52), Cypress Hill rapper Louis 'B-Real' Freese (50) Keane keyboardist Time Rice-Oxley (44), and Strokes drummer Fabrizio Moretti (40). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for composer Edward Elgar, born on this day in 1857... for doo-wop & R&B singer Johnny Carter, who would have been 86 today... for soul singer Jimmy Jones, who would have been 83... for songwriter & arranger Marvin Hamlisch, who would have been 76... for Dorsey Brothers trumpeter Robert 'Bunny' Berigan, who died from the effects of alcoholism on this day in 1942 at the age of 33... for classical guitar virtuoso Andrés Segovia, who died in 1987... for former Bob Marley & the Wailers vocalist Junior Braithwaite, who was murdered on this day in 1999 at the age of 50... for Grateful Dead keyboardist Vince Welnick, who took his own life today in 2006 at the age of 55... and for Bo Diddley, who left us in 2009. 

Also on June 2nd: At the Stadtstheater in Zürich, the first two acts of Alban Berg's opera Lulu are performed for the first time; the complete 3-act version of the work will not have its premiere until 1979 (1935)... Ray Charles is at № 1 in both in the US and the UK with his version of country artist Don Gibson's 'I Can't Stop Loving You' (1962)... In Hilversum, Holland, Eric Dolphy plays his final concert. The show is recorded and will be released as the album Last Date following Dolphy's death from a diabetic coma later this year... The Rolling Stones make their debut on US TV with an appearance on The Les Crane Show (1964)... Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts' Club Band has its worldwide release (1967)...  Paul McCartney & Wings top both the US singles and album charts with 'My Love' and Red Rose Speedway, respectively (1973)... Columbia releases Bruce Springsteen's Darkness on the Edge of Town (1978)... Prince plays his first UK show at the Lyceum Ballroom in London. It will be five years before he gives another concert in Britain (1981)... Wham! have their first UK № 1 with 'Wake Me up before You Go Go' (1984)... Bill Wyman marries 19-year-old Mandy Smith in an unannounced private ceremony in London, with the other four Rolling Stones present, and the bassist's 28-year-old son as best man (1988)... UK tabloids report that Paul McCartney threw his fiancée Heather Mills' engagement ring out of a hotel window during a recent row. Guards at the Turnberry Isle Resort in Miami, FL combed the grounds using metal detectors and later found the £15,000 bauble (2002)... A painting of Kylie Minogue wearing gold hot pants causes tempers to fray among drivers in Brighton. Artist Simon Etheridge put up the almost life-size picture in his own Art Asylum gallery as part of a Festival and since then motorists have been causing regular traffic hold-ups as they stop to take a second look (2003)... Franz Ferdinand frontman, Alex Kapranos is detained by Russian police after being suspected of being a spy. Kapranos was attempting to board a plane in Moscow when the altercation took place. Travelling under his actual surname of Huntley, Alex is accused of being an MI6 agent who was previously suspected of stealing information on Russian weaponry. Unluckily for Alex, the surname Huntley was in fact used by former MI6 agent Richard Tomlinson when stealing secrets in the early 90s. The singer was freed after he pointed out that the Huntley they were so concerned about was 42, 13 years older than himself (2005).

June 1st

Musical birthdays today include Pat Boone (86), Ron Wood (73), Little River Band bassist Wayne Nelson (70), singer-songwriter & DJ Tom Robinson (70), country singer Ronnie Dunn (67), producer & former Depeche Mode multi-instrumentalist Alan Wilder (61), The Cure bassist Simon Gallup (60), ex-Smiths drummer Mike Joyce (57), Mindy Smith (48), Alanis Morrissette (46), Brandi Carlile (39), and multi-instrumentalist & film score composer Ari Herstand (35). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for composer Mikhail Glinka, born on this day in 1804... for bandleader & arranger Nelson Riddle, born in 1921... for bluegrass singer Hazel Dickens, who would have been 85... for blues singer & harmonica player Sonny Boy Williamson I [né John Lee Curtis], who died on this date in 1948... for ex-Temptations lead singer David Ruffin, who died in 1991... for former Hi-Five lead singer Tony Thompson, who passed away in 2007... and for jazz saxophonist Faruq Z. Bey [né Jesse Davis], who left us today in 2012. 

Also on June 1st: Lesley Gore hits № 1 in America with 'It's My Party' (1963)... The Rolling Stones are met by some 500 fans as they disembark from British Airways flight BA 505 at JFK to begin their first American tour. They will make promotional appearances between now and the first scheduled date on the 5th in San Bernardino, CA (1964)... The John Coltrane quartet finish recording the album Crescent at the Van Gelder Studio (1964)... Luciano Pavarotti makes his Covent Garden debut, as Tonio in Donizetti's La Fille du Regiment... The Beatles continue to add overdubs to 'Yellow Submarine'. Roadie Mal Evans plays on a bass drum strapped to his chest, marching around the studio with The Beatles following behind in a conga line of sorts, singing the refrain (1966)... David Bowie's eponymous debut is released on Deram Records (1967)... Simon & Garfunkel top the Billboard singles chart with 'Mrs. Robinson' (1968)... The two-room shack in Tupelo, MS where Elvis was born on January 8, 1935 is opened to the public as a museum (1971)... Miles Davis goes into Columbia Studio E in NYC to begin recording On the Corner (1972)... Soft Machine founder & former drummer Robert Wyatt fractures his spine after attempting to leave a party by climbing out of a window and down a drainpipe. He falls three stories, sustaining injuries that leave him permanently confined to a wheelchair (1973)... On his 28th birthday, Ron Wood officially replaces Mick Taylor as the Stones' second guitarist, as the band launch their biggest tour of the US to date with a concert at LSU in Baton Rouge, LA (1975)... U2 are the band for the end of the year dance at Mount Temple Comprehensive School in Dublin (1978)... Prince & the Revolution have a US № 1 with the album Around the World in a Day... Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band kick off the European leg of the Born in the USA world tour with a show at Slane Castle in Dublin (1985)... Spice Girl Emma Bunton AKA Baby Spice arrives back in the UK after breaking her ankle making a leap from a stage during an appearance on Turkish TV (1997)... Jack White marries girlfriend Karen Elson in a ceremony in a canoe on the Amazon (2005)... Contemporary musicians record their own versions of songs from the Sgt Pepper album to mark the 40th anniversary of its release. Acts including Oasis, Travis, The Fray, Kaiser Chiefs, Razorlight, Bryan Adams and The Magic Numbers all worked with Geoff Emerick, the engineer in charge of the original 1967 sessions, using the original analogue 4-track equipment to demonstrate the techniques employed for the recording at Abbey Road studios (2007).