May 20th

Musical birthdays today include former Paul & Paula vocalist Jill Jackson (83), Cher (79), former Violent Femmes drummer Guy Hoffman (71), film score composer Zbigniew Preisner (70), Go-Go's guitarist Jane Wiedlin (67), Susan Cowsill (66), ex-Haircut 100 frontman Nick Heyward (64), Busta Rhymes (53), ex-3LW vocalist Naturi Naughton (41), and Starting Line lead singer Kenny Vasoli (41). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for jazz arranger & pianist Bob Florence, born on this day in 1932... for Motown producer Fred 'Shorty' Long, who would have been 85... for Joe Cocker, who would have been 81... for producer Andy Johns, who would have been 75... for composer & pianist Clara Schumann, who died on this date in 1896... for original Drifters vocalist Rudy Lewis, who died of a probable drug overdose today in 1964 at the age of 27... for flautist Jean-Pierre Rampal, who passed away in 2000... for Robin Gibb, who died in 2012... and for Ray Manzarek, who left us today in 2014. 

Also on May 20th: As an event to raise funds for a permanent home, the NY Philarmonic gives the first performance of Beethoven's 9th Symphony in the US, in Battery Park's Castle Gardens. The chorus was sung in translation, making it the first time it was performed in English anywhere (1846)... Cliff Richard makes his TV debut on the UK show 'Thank Your Lucky Stars' (1961)... Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey grow tired of waiting for John Entwistle and Keith Moon to arrive for The Who's  gig at the Ricky Tick Club in Windsor, UK, so they take to the stage with the bass player and drummer of the local band that opened the show. When Moon and Entwistle finally arrive in the middle of the set, a fight breaks out on stage, with Townshend clubbing Moon over the head with his guitar. Moon and Entwistle announce that they are quitting the band [and rejoin a week later]... Yet another one of the shows on Bob Dylan's current UK tour turns raucous, as members of the audience at the ABC Theatre in Edinburgh unhappy with the electric portion of the concert boo and slow-clap between numbers, and blast on their own harmonicas (1966)... The Beatles new album Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band receives its first radio airplay anywhere, with a special preview on the Kenny Everett BBC Light program 'Where It's At'. The DJ plays every track from the album except 'A Day In The Life', which the BBC has banned saying it could promote drug use... The Young Rascals go to № 1 on the US singles chart with 'Groovin'' (1967)... The Beatles, armed with a batch of new songs after their visit to India, convene at George Harrison's home in Esher, Surrey. They tape 23 new songs on George's 4-track recorder, many of which will end up on the group's next two albums, the White Album and Abbey Road. The demos include ‘Cry Baby Cry’, Revolution’, ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’, ‘Blackbird’ and ‘Child of Nature’ [a Lennon song that will later become ‘Jealous Guy’] (1968)... While watching a baseball game in Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, Peter Cetera gets into an altercation with four Marines who object to the length of his hair. The Chicago lead singer ends up with a broken jaw and will spend two days in intensive care... Led Zeppelin begin three days of recording and mixing sessions at A&R Studios in NYC,  laying down 'Heartbreaker' and various other parts for new tracks for the group's forthcoming second album. The band are under pressure to finish the sessions so the album can be released in time for the autumn market (1969)... The Beatles' final film 'Let It Be' opens simultaneously in London and Liverpool one week after its world premiere in NYC (1970)... Polydor Records release In the City, the debut album from The Jam (1977)... Paul McCartney & Wings' 'With a Little Luck' is the № 1 single in the US... 'The Buddy Holly Story', a biopic with Gary Busey in the title role, has its world premiere in the late singer's hometown of Lubbock, TX (1978)... U2 cause traffic chaos in Kansas City, MO after they pay for traffic control to close down five lanes of a downtown thoroughfare so that they can shoot the video for 'Last Night On Earth'. Apart from major traffic jams, a Cadillac crashes into a plate glass window trying to avoid a cameraman... Foo Fighters release their second album The Colour And The Shape. Even though the band are American, they chose the alternative spelling of 'colour' as a nod to the record's British producer Gil Norton (1997)... Frank Sinatra's funeral, with numerous celebrities in attendance, is held at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills (1998)... R.E.M. have their final US № 1 album with Reveal (2001)... James Brown is pardoned for his past crimes in South Carolina. Brown served a two-and-a-half-year prison term after an arrest on drug and assault charges in 1988, and is now granted a full pardon by the State Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services. The Godfather of Soul, who appears before the board, sings 'God Bless America' to them after the decision (2003).

May 19th

Musical birthdays today include Pete Townshend (80), Irish singer-songwriter Paul Brady (78), Grace Jones (77), ZZ Top bassist Dusty Hill (76), AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd (71), producer & former Human League keyboardist Martin Ware (69), ex-Ace of Base lead singer Jenny Berggren (53), rapper Mario 'Yo Gotti' Mims (44), and Franco-Malian pop singer Inna Modja (41). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for operatic soprano Nellie Melba, born in this day in 1861... for saxophonist & bandleader Georgie Auld, born in 1919... for West End musicals composer Sandy Wilson, born in 1924... for British traditional pop singer Alma Cogan, born in 1934... for country singer-songwriter Mickey Newbury, who would have been 85... for former T Rex bassist Steve Currie, who would have been 77... for Joey Ramone, who would have been 74... for composer Charles Ives, who died on this date in 1954... for Coleman Hawkins, who passed away in 1969... for jazz singer Susannah McCorkle, who took her own life today in 2001 at the age of 55... and for former Freddie and the Dreamers frontman Freddie Garrity, who left us today in 2006. 

Also on May 19th: Bach's Mass in B Minor is performed in America for the first time, at the May Festival in Cincinnati, OH (1886)... A Denver Opera Company production of Friedrich von Flotow's Martha is the first opera to be broadcast on radio in its entirety, on local station 9ZAF (1921)... Alan Freed is indicted along with seven other DJs for accepting $30,650 in payola from six record companies (1960)... The Beatles hold a launch party at manager Brian Epstein's house in London for the Sgt Pepper album. Linda Eastman is present as the official press photographer (1967)... Paul Simon releases the single 'Kodachrome', named after the Kodak 35mm film. It will become a № 2 hit in the US, but is not released as a single in Britain because the BBC refuses to play a song with a trademarked name (1973)... Keith Richards crashes his car near Newport Pagnell in Buckinghamshire after falling asleep at the wheel; marijuana and cocaine are found in the vehicle by the police, resulting in another court date for the guitarist (1976)... Dire Straits release 'Sultans of Swing' for the first time on the Vertigo label in Britain. The single fails to chart, but will be re-released several months later to considerably greater success (1978)... Eric Clapton holds a party at his Surrey house celebrating his recent marriage to Patti Boyd. Clapton has set up a small stage in the garden, and as the evening progresses, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr ended up jamming together along with Clapton, Ginger Baker and Mick Jagger. The all-star band runs through a selection of Little Richard and Eddie Cochran songs (1979)... Ringo Starr and his future wife Barbara Bach are involved in a car crash less than half a mile from where Marc Bolan was killed; the car is a write-off but neither Starr nor Bach is seriously injured (1980)... Sire Records release The Ramones' album Animal Boy (1986)... James Brown is arrested for the fifth time in 12 months. Following a car chase with police near his home, he is charged with assault, resisting arrest and possession of illegal weapons. He will eventually receive a 6 year jail sentence (1988)... A guitar played by both John Lennon and George Harrison sells for $408,000 at auction. The custom-made instrument, built in 1966 by VOX, was bought by an unidentified US buyer in New York. Harrison played 'I Am The Walrus' on the guitar in a scene from Magical Mystery Tour in 1967. Lennon used it in the video for 'Hello, Goodbye' later that year. After playing the guitar, Lennon gave it as a 25th birthday present to Alexis 'Magic Alex' Mardas, a member of The Beatles' inner circle in the late '60s (2013).

May 18th

Musical birthdays today include Albert Hammond (81), former Wire guitarist Bruce Gilbert (79), Rick Wakeman (76), Devo lead singer Mark Mothersbaugh (75), country singer George Strait (73), 'Wreckless' Eric Goulden (71), Toyah Willcox (67), proto-rapper Robert Ginyard AKA Rob Base (58), Marta 'Martika' Marrero (56), A Perfect Circle frontman Billy Howerdel (55), Chantal Kreviazuk (51), Jack Johnson (50), country singer David Nail (46), and former Underminded drummer Tanner Wayne (37).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Broadway musicals composer Meredith Willson, born on this day in 1902... for blues shouter Big Joe Turner, born in 1911... for Perry Como, born in 1912... for chansonnier Charles Trenet, born in 1913... for song & dance man Robert Morse, born today in 1931... for country singer Leon Ashley, who would have been 86 today... for operatic soprano Pauline Viardot, who died on this date in 1910... for composer Gustav Mahler, who died in 1911... for Ian Curtis, who took his own life today in 1980 at the age of 26... and for Elvin Jones, who passed away today in 2007... and for Crowded House drummer Peter Jones, who left us in 2012. 

Also on May 18th: Gluck's opera Iphegenie en Tauride premieres in Paris (1778)... The first National Irish Music Festival opens in Dublin (1897)... The Castiles, with 16-year-old Bruce Springsteen on lead vocals, make their first recordings at Mr Music Inc in Brick Town, NJ. They cut two Springsteen songs, ‘Baby I’ and ‘That’s What You Get’. The songs are cut directly to disc, after which several test pressings of the studio takes are made... As his '66 tour continues, Bob Dylan and Robbie Robertson are filmed singing several songs in a hotel room in Glasgow, Scotland. The footage will turn up in the film 'Eat The Document', which was originally commissioned for the ABC television series 'Stage '66'. After Dylan edits the film himself, however, the network will reject it as 'incomprehensible for a mainstream audience' (1966)... John Lennon and Paul McCartney sing backing vocals on The Rolling Stones track 'We Love You' during a session at Olympic Studios, London... The Beatles are selected to represent the UK for the first-ever global-wide satellite broadcast. The group agree to be shown in the studio recording a song written especially for the occasion, scheduled for June 25. John Lennon will write ‘All You Need is Love’, which was thought to sum up the 1967 'Summer of Love' and The Beatles' sympathies. With the satellite broadcast being broadcast to many non-English-speaking countries, the BBC asked The Beatles to 'keep it simple'... Pink Floyd begin recording their forthcoming single 'See Emily Play' at Sound Techniques Studios, Chelsea, London (1967)... The first Miami Pop event takes place with an estimated 100,000 people attending the concert, organised by Richard O'Barry and Michael Lang [later famous as the promoter of Woodstock]. Bands featured at the  festival include Steppenwolf, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Mothers of Invention, Blue Cheer, Chuck Berry, The Blues Image, Pacific Gas and Electric, Three Dog Night and the Crazy World of Arthur Brown (1968)... Seven years after topping the charts in the US, Tammy Wynette's 'Stand by Your Man' goes to № 1 in Britain (1975)... RCA Records release David Bowie's album Lodger (1979)... Simple Minds have the № 1 single in America with 'Don't You Forget about Me' from the soundtrack to 'The Breakfast Club' (1985)... Sister Lovers, 18 Wheeler, Boyfriend and Oasis appear at the club King Tuts in Glasgow. Creation Records boss Alan McGee, who is in the audience, declares after seeing Oasis' set, "I've found the greatest rock 'n' roll band since The Beatles". McGee had missed a train at nearby Queen Street station, and decided to head to Tuts to kill time before the next one. He signs Oasis to his Creation label on the spot (1993)... The Isley Brothers have the № 1 album in the US with Body Kiss, their first American chart-topper since 1971 (2003)... John Lennon's handwritten lyrics for 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds' sell for $237,132  at an auction in the US. The sale of the sheet, which includes the opening words to 'She's Leaving Home', takes place at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills, CA (2011).

May 17th

Musical birthdays today include bluesman Henry 'Taj Mahal' Fredericks (83), Passport drummer Udo Lindenberg (79), Camel guitarist Andrew Latimer (76), former Yes and King Crimson drummer Bill Bruford (76), original Iron Maiden lead singer Paul Di'Anno (67), Enya Brennan (64), Phish keyboardist Page McConnell (62), Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor (60), original Tool bassist Paul D'Amour (58), New Kids on the Block lead singer Jordan Knight (55), Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme (52), and Maylene & the Sons of Disaster lead singer Dallas Taylor (45).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for composer Erik Satie, born on this day in 1866... for operatic soprano Birgit Nilsson, born in 1918... for French horn virtuoso Dennis Brain, born in 1921... for free jazz saxophonist Dewey Redman, born in 1931... for Spinners bass vocalist Pervis Jackson, who would have been 87... for singer-songwriter Jesse Winchester, who would have been 81... for Surface lead guitarist David Townsend, who would have been 70... for violin virtuoso Nicolo Paganini, who died on this date in 1840... for Lawrence Welk, who died in 1992... for Johnny 'Guitar' Watson, who passed away in 1996... and for Donna Summer, who left us today in 2012.  

Also on May 17th: Pietro Mascagni's opera Cavalleria rusticana premieres at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome (1890)... The first Monterey Folk Festival opens in Monterey, CA (1963)... Bob Dylan makes his first headlining concert appearance in the UK when he plays an afternoon show at the Royal Festival Hall in London billed as a ‘Folksong Concert’. Dylan's 18-song set includes the live debut of Mr. Tambourine Man, and takes place on a Sunday afternoon. During an intermission, Dylan receives a telegram from John Lennon seeking a meeting which will not materialise until later in the year (1964)... On the UK leg of his current world tour, Dylan plays the Free Trade Hall in Manchester. A member of the audience unhappy with Dylan's move from an acoustic sound to rock shouts "Judas!" The star replies "I don't believe you... You're a liar" before turning to his backing musicians, who are leading into 'Like a Rolling Stone', and instructing them to "Play it fucking loud!" (1966)... Working at Abbey Road studios, The Beatles begin recording a new John Lennon song entitled ‘You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)’. The song was not finished until November 1969, and was not released until March 1970, as the B-side of the ‘Let it Be’ single (1967)... McCoy Tyner records the album Time for Tyner (1968)... Joni Mitchell appears on the cover of Rolling Stone for the first time... Leonard Bernstein conducts his final concert as director of the NY Philharmonic (1969)... Apple Records release Paul & Linda McCartney's album Ram... 'Godspell' premieres off- Broadway (1971)... Elton John is awarded a Platinum Record for sales of a million copies of the LP Captain Fantastic and The Brown Dirt Cowboy, the first album ever to be certified Platinum on the day of its release... Led Zeppelin play the first of five sold-out nights to 17,000 fans at Earls Court Arena, London (1975)... A fire destroys Tom Petty's house in Los Angeles (1987)... Bill Wyman's restaurant 'Sticky Fingers' opens in London (1989)... Nirvana play the last date of a North American tour at the Zoo in Boise, ID. It is Chad Channing's final gig with the band before being replaced as drummer by Dave Grohl (1990)... Paul McCartney and Heather Mills admit that they have given up the fight to save their marriage, saying that after four years together, they are going their separate ways (2006)... Amy Winehouse and Pete Doherty post a two-minute clip of themselves playing with newborn mice on YouTube. The video shows Doherty and Winehouse in a bare room making rambling comments whilst picking up the mice and talking to them (2008).

May 16th

Musical birthdays today include jazz drummer Billy Cobham (81), King Crimson lead guitarist Robert Fripp (79), Jonathan Richman (74), Heaven 17 singer Glenn Gregory (67), former Noir Désir guitarist Serge Teyssot-Gay (62), Dave Matthews Band violinist Boyd Tinsley (60), former Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic (60), Janet Jackson (59), R&B singer Ralph Tresvant (57), ex-Slowdive lead singer Rachel Goswell (53), and P.O.D. lead singer Sonny Sandoval (51).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for jazzman Woody Herman, born today in 1913... for Liberace, born in 1919... for jazz trombonist Eddie Bert, born in 1922... for jazz singer Betty Carter, born in 1929... for Django Reinhardt, who died on this date in 1953... for pianist and arranger Ernie Freeman, who died in 1981... for Sammy Davis Jr., who passed away in 1990... for soul singer Marvin Johnson [whose debut single was the first 45 RPM issued by Berry Gordy's proto-Motown label Tamla], who died in 1993... for heavy metal singer Ronnie James Dio, who died in 2010... and for 'Godfather of Go-go' Chuck Brown, who left us today in 2013.   

Also on May 16th: Jean-Baptiste Lully takes up the position of King's Master of Music at the court of Louis XIV (1661)... The first flat gramophone disc is demonstrated at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, PA by its inventor, Emile Berliner (1888)... Ethel Merman makes her Broadway debut in the opening of 'Annie Get Your Gun' (1946)... Mary Wells has the № 1 single in America with 'My Guy' (1964)... Driving  away after a gig at the Civic Hall in Long Beach, CA, the limo taking the Rolling Stones back to their hotel is besieged by fans who cave in the roof by standing on it. The band attempt to hold the roof up while their chauffeur drives off with bodies falling onto the road (1965)... The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds is released (1966)... Pete Townshend spends the night in a US jail for assaulting a man during a Who gig at The Fillmore East. Townshend, who claimed self-defence, was unaware that the man who jumped onto the stage was a plainclothes policeman trying to warn the audience that a fire had broken out. The Who guitarist is later fined $30 for the offence (1969)... Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young go to № 1 on the US album chart with Deja Vu (1970)... Neil Young makes an unannounced appearance at The Bottom Line in NYC and plays most of the songs from his forthcoming album On the Beach (1974)... Patti Smith makes her UK debut at The Roundhouse, London (1976)... The London Evening Standard reports that Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant has been arrested at the airport in Atlanta, GA for being drunk and pulling a knife. Plant was in fact at his home in Wales at the time of the incident, and the person arrested was a man impersonating the singer. The newspaper will run an apology the following night (1977)... U2 have their first US № 1 single with 'With or without You' (1987)... Keith Richards falls while reaching for a book on a high shelf of the library in his Connecticut home. The fall breaks several of his ribs, causing the Stones to postpone many dates on their Bridges To Babylon tour (1998)... Bob Dylan tops the US and UK album charts simultaneously for the only time in his career with Together through Life (2009).

May 15th

Musical birthdays today include Original Little River Band lead singer Graeham Goble (78), Brian Eno (77), Mike Oldfield (72) Sisters of Mercy frontman Andrew Eldritch (65), former  Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five lead rapper Melvin 'Melle Mel' Glover (64), Saint Etienne keyboardist Pete Wiggs (59), classical violinist Anne Akiko Meyers (55), Trail of Dead lead singer Conrad Keely (53), Ahmet Zappa (51), Deerhunter frontman Bradford Cox (43), and Pussycat Dolls vocalist Jessica Sutta (43). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for composer Claudio Monteverdi, born on this day in 1567... for ragtime pianist Eddie Morton, born in 1870... for Eddy Arnold, born in 1918... fort British jazzman John Barnes, born in 1932... for folk singer Bruce 'Utah' Phillips, who would have been 89 today... for Trini Lopez, who would have been 88... for former Chiffons vocalist Barbara Lee, who died on this date in 1992... for June Carter Cash, who passed away in 2003... and for film & TV score composer Alexander Courage [best remembered for the original Star Trek theme], who left us today in 2008. 

Also on May 15th: The Royal Opera House at Covent Garden reopens two years after being badly damaged in a fire (1858)... Charlie Parker records the live album One Night in Birdland (1950)... John Cage's Piano Concerto premieres at Carnegie Hall (1958)... Bob Dylan’s single 'Subterranean Homesick Blues' peaks at No.39 on the Billboard chart, giving Dylan his first US top 40 hit. John Lennon reportedly finds the song so captivating that he has been quoted as saying he doesn't know how he'd be able to write a song that could compete with it (1965)... Paul McCartney meets American photographer Linda Eastman for the first time, during a Georgie Fame concert at the Bag O'Nails nightclub in London (1967)... George Harrison and Ringo Starr attend the premiere of 'Wonderwall' at the Cannes Film Festival. The film by first-time director Joe Massot stars Jack MacGowran and Jane Birkin, and features a cameo by Anita Pallenberg. The soundtrack was composed by Harrison. The film also provides the name for the Oasis track 'Wonderwall', which was inspired by George Harrison's score (1968)... John  Lennon's Life With The Lions is released on Apple's avant-garde imprint Zapple. One side of the album was recorded on a cassette player at London's Queen Charlotte Hospital during Yoko Ono's pregnancy which ended in a miscarriage (1969)...  EG Records release King Crimson's second album In the Wake of Poseidon (1970)... Crosby Stills Nash & Young score their second US № 1 LP with 4 Way Street. The live album features recordings from shows at the Fillmore East and The L.A. Forum (1971)... The Rolling Stones go to № 1 on the Billboard album chart with Black and Blue, their first release since the replacement of Mick Taylor with Ron Wood (1976)... Former Sex Pistol John Lydon's band Public Image Ltd performs a show at the Ritz Club in NYC posing behind a video screen while the music is played from tapes. The band are showered with missiles and eventually booed off stage (1981)... Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney start a seven week run at № 1 on the US singles chart with 'Ebony and Ivory' (1982)... Manic Street Preachers guitarist Richey Edwards carves '4 real' into his arm with a razor blade while being interviewed by music paper The NME (1991)... Oasis become one of the first bands to attempt to exert censorship over the Internet when the group announce that they are working with Sony to close down unofficial websites carrying lyrics, sound files and photographs of the band (1997)... It is reported that Britney Spears has been crowned the queen of America's fastest growing youth movement, the teenage celibates. Spears told the German magazine Bravo that she intended to abstain from sex until her wedding night (2000).

May 14th

Musical birthdays today include Rascals guitarist Gene Cornish (81), David Byrne (73), former Red Rider frontman Tom Cochrane (72), French pop singer Patrick Bruel (66), Marillion lead singer Steve Hogarth (66), Irish tenor Ronan Tynan (65), former The Cult lead singer Ian Astbury (63), Poison guitarist C.C. DeVille (63), Testament guitarist Eric Peterson (61), Alice in Chains bassist Mike Inez (59), New Kids on the Block vocalist Danny Wood (56), AFI bassist Hunter Burgan (48), rapper Terrence Thornton AKA Pusha T (48), Black Keys frontman Dan Auberbach (46), Thirteen Senses lead guitarist Tom Welham (42), and Miranda Cosgrove (32). 
 
Shoutout to the Great Beyond for conductor Otto Klemperer, born on this day in 1885... for Sidney Bechet, born in 1897 [and who died in 1959 on his 62nd birthday]... for original Coasters vocalist Will 'Dub' Jones, born in 1928... for Bobby Darin, and for early rocker Charlie Gracie, both of whom would have been 89 today... for Jack Bruce, and for Herman's Hermits lead guitarist Derek Leckenby, both of whom would have been 82...  for former Yardbirds lead singer Keith Relf, who was electrocuted whilst  playing an improperly grounded guitar on this date in 1976 at the age of 33... and for Frank Sinatra, who left us today in 1998. 

Also on May 14th: Vienna's Burgtheater opens for the first time (1741)... John Philip Sousa's 'The Stars and Stripes Forever' is performed in public for the first time in Willow Grove Park in Philadelphia, PA (1897)... Enrico Caruso makes his Covent Garden debut in 'Rigoletto' (1902)... Elvis is rushed to a Los Angeles hospital after swallowing a porcelain cap from one of his front teeth, which then became lodged in one of his lungs (1957)... The Silver Beats (John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Stu Sutcliffe and Tommy Moore) perform at Lathom Hall, Seaforth, Liverpool. They play a few songs during the 'interval' to audition for promoter Brian Kelly. Also appearing are Cliff Roberts & the Rockers, The Deltones, and Kingsize Taylor & the Dominoes. This is the only occasion on which the group uses the name Silver Beats, quickly changing it back to Silver Beetles (1960)... In NYC, Miles Davis finishes recording the album Seven Steps to Heaven (1963)... Pye Records release Donovan's debut album What's Been Did and  What's Been Hid (1965)... John Lennon and Paul McCartney appeared on NBC-TV's Tonight Show with guest host Joe Garagiola sitting in for Johnny Carson. The topics of conversation include transcendental meditation, the forming of Apple Corps, and song writing (1968)... Reprise Records release Everybody Knows This Us Nowhere by Neil Young & Crazy Horse... During a UK tour, Fairport Convention's van crashes on the M1 motorway on the way home from a gig in Birmingham. The group's 19 year-old drummer Martin Lamble is killed, along with Richard Thompson's girlfriend Jeannie Franklyn (1969)... ATCO Records release High Voltage, AC/DC's first album available outside Australia (1976)... During a UK tour, Talking Heads play a gig at The Rock Garden in London. Brian Eno is in the audience, and approaches the band after the show with an offer to produce them (1977)... Led Zeppelin reunite for  Atlantic Records' 40th anniversary party at Madison Square Garden, appearing with John Bonham's son Jason on drums. Other acts performing included Foreigner, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Genesis, Emerson Lake & Palmer, Wilson Pickett and Ben E. King (1988)... At an auction at Christies of London, the acoustic guitar that Elvis used to make his first recordings in 1954, 'That's All Right Mama' and 'Blue Moon of Kentucky', sells for £130,285. Also on the block are four 'Super Hero' costumes worn by the group Kiss, which go for £20,000 (1993)... George Michael is fined $750 after being convicted of a 'lewd act' in a Los Angeles public lavatory. The court also orders him to undergo psychological counselling and carry out 80 hours community service (1998)... Tom Jones is at № 1 on the UK album chart with Reload, making the singer the oldest artist to top the British album chart with new material (2001).