May 3rd

Musical birthdays today include Frankie Valli (90), former Troggs bassist Pete Staples (80), Mary Hopkin (74), music biographer Alan Clayton (73), original Pavement drummer Gary Young (71), Angela Bofill (70), former Soft Cell keyboardist Dave Ball (65), country singer Shane Minor (55), ex-Reamonn frontman Rea Garvey (51), Interpol frontman Paul Banks (46), and former Destiny's Child vocalist Farrah Franklin (43).  

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for impresario and opera producer Richard D'Oyly Carte, born on this day in 1844... for Bing Crosby, born in 1903... for Pete Seeger, born in 1919...  for jazz pianist John Lewis, born in 1920... for country singer Dave Dudley, born in 1928... for James Brown, born in 1933... for chansonnier Georges Moustaki, who would have been 90... for Stone the Crows guitarist Alex Harvey, who was electrocuted on this day in 1972 at the age of 27 when he touched an improperly grounded microphone during a  gig in Swansea, Wales... for Franco-Italian pop singer Iolanda Gigliotti AKA Dalida, who took her own life today in 1987 at the age of 54... and for Jamaican saxophonist & flautist Cedric Brooks, who left us today in 2013.  

Also on May 3rd: Kitty Wells records 'It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels'. Wells was disenchanted with her career prospects and was considering retirement, but agreed to the session at Owen Bradley’s Nashville studio because of the $125 union scale recording payment. The song goes on to become the first Billboard № 1 single by a solo female country singer (1952)... 'The Fantasticks' opens off Broadway (1960)... The Beatles spend the day filming for their forthcoming film Help! on Salisbury Plain with the British Army's Third Tank Division (1965)... The Beach Boys open their US tour on which the co-headliner is Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The second half of the concert, which features the Maharishi, consists of a lecture to the audience on 'spiritual regeneration.' The overwhelmingly negative reaction causes more than half of the remaining tour dates to be cancelled... The Jimi Hendrix Experience record 'Voodoo Chile' (1968)... Epic Records release Sly & the Family Stone's Stand!, the group's breakout album (1969)... In Copenhagen, at the opening gig of their current European tour, Led Zeppelin give the only known performance of a Page-Plant composition entitled 'Four Sticks', and also play 'Misty Mountain Hop' live for the first time (1971)... David Bowie opens a sold out six-night stand at Wembley Stadium, his first UK gigs since announcing his retirement from live performance three years previously... Paul McCartney makes his first live concert appearance in the US since 1966 when he and Wings kick off their 'Wings over America' tour at the Tarrant County Convention Center in Fort Worth, TX (1976)... The Police make their British TV debut, performing 'Roxanne' on the BBC's 'Top of the Pops'(1979)...  Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band start a six week run at № 1 on the US album chart with 'Against The Wind' (1980)... Robert Palmer goes to № 1 on the Billboard singles chart with 'Addicted To Love'. Palmer originally recorded the song as a duet with Chaka Khan, but her vocal track had to be removed owing to contractual difficulties (1986)... In Dublin, Katrina and the Waves become the first British winners of the Eurovision song contest in 16 years with 'Love Shine a Light'...  The Notorious B.I.G. starts a three week run at № 1 on the US singles chart with his posthumous hit 'Hypnotize', released as a single shortly after the rapper's murder in March (1997)... The first Bob Dylan radio program is aired on XM Satellite Radio. Artists played on the show included Blur, Prince, Billy Bragg, Wilco, Mary Gauthier, L.L. Cool J and The Streets (2006)... Sean 'Diddy' Combs is honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The 38-year-old singer dedicates the star to his father, who was shot dead in 1972 (2008)... Bob Dylan goes to № 1 on the UK album chart with Together Through Life, his seventh LP to top the British charts. Dylan's 33rd studio album is the first to reign on the UK chart with since 1970. His first № 1 in 1964, was ‘The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan'. Bob now holds the record, previously held by Tom Jones, for the longest gap between solo № 1 albums (2009).

May 2nd

Musical birthdays today include Engelbert Humperdinck (88), jazz pianist Connie Crothers (83), former Roulettes drummer Bob Henrit (80), original Steppenwolf Keyboardist Goldy McJohn (79), Larry Gatlin (76), ex-Foreigner lead singer Lou Gramm (74), Sol Invictus frontman Tony Wakeford (65), Blow Monkeys frontman Bruce 'Dr. Robert' Howard (63), and Lily Allen (39). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Broadway lyricist Lorenz Hart, born on this day in 1895... for songwriter Doris Fisher [best remembered for 'You Always Hurt the One You Love'], born in 1917... for singer & sitarist Vasantrao Deshpande, born in 1920... for Theodore Bikel, born in 1924... for Link Wray, born in 1929... for classical violinist Michael Rabin, who would have been 86... for reggae singer Alexander 'Judge Dread' Hughes, who would have been 79... for Lesley Gore, who would have been 78... for Jethro Tull bassist John Glascock, who would have been 73... for composer Giacomo Meyerbeer, who died on this date in 1864... for trumpeter & bandleader Larry Clinton, who died in 1985... and for original Slayer lead guitarist Jeff Hanneman, who left us today in 2014.

Also on May 2nd: Verdi's opera Il Trovatore has its American premiere at the Academy of Music in NYC (1855)... Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf is performed for the first time at a children's concert given by the Moscow Philharmonic (1936)... The Beatles have their first № 1 single in the UK, the first of 11 in a row, with 'From Me to You' (1963)... The Who give a press preview of their new rock opera 'Tommy' at Ronnie Scott's in London. The double album about a 'deaf, dumb and blind kid' who becomes the leader of a messianic movement, is the first musical work to be billed overtly as a rock opera. In 1998 it will be inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame for its 'significant historical and artistic value' and has now sold over 20 million copies worldwide... The Beatles record 'Something' at Abbey Road... Pink Floyd's show at the Manchester Chamber of Commerce is recorded for inclusion on Ummagumma (1969)...  Bruce Springsteen auditions for CBS Records A&R man John Hammond in New York. Springsteen plays a short set for him in his office; Hammond is so impressed that he arranges a showcase performance that night at the Gaslight Club for other Columbia executives. The future Boss passes the second audition as well (1972)... At Birmingham University, Joy Division play what will prove to be their last gig with Ian Curtis (1980)... Spandau Ballet have their only UK № 1 single with 'True' (1983)... A security guard alerts the police after a man wearing a wig, fake moustache and false teeth walks into Zales Jewellers in Los Angeles. Three squad cars arrive and police detain the man, who turns out to be Michael Jackson in disguise... The Cure release Disintegration (1989)... The video for the R.E.M. song 'Losing My Religion' is banned in Ireland because its religious imagery is deemed unfit for broadcast...  Nirvana book into Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, California for 16 days. On a budget of $65,000 and with Butch Vig producing, the band begin recording what will become the Nevermind album (1991)... Total Guitar magazine's readers have voted Guns N' Roses' anthem ‘Sweet Child O' Mine’ as the greatest guitar riff ever, ahead of Nirvana's ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’. Led Zeppelin's ‘Whole Lotta Love’ came third, followed by Deep Purple's ‘Smoke On The Water’. Total Guitar editor Scott Rowley says: "To a new generation of guitarists, Guns N' Roses are more thrilling than the Sex Pistols" (2004)... Eric Clapton joins former Cream members Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce for the first of four nights at London's Royal Albert Hall, 36 years after they split up. Tickets were changing hands for more than £500 on eBay and fans flew over from the USA to witness the reunion, which Clapton, aged 60, is said to have agreed to because of the failing health of the other former members of the band (2005)... Bob Dylan mingles unnoticed with other Beatles fans during a minibus tour to John Lennon's childhood home. He is one of 14 tourists to examine photos and documents in the National Trust-owned home, where Lennon grew up with his aunt Mimi and uncle George. Dylan, who was on a day off on a European tour, paid £16 for the public trip to the 1940s house in Woolton, Liverpool (2009).

May 1st

Musical birthdays today include Judy Collins (85), Rita Coolidge (79), ex-Henry Cow sax & winds player Tim Hodgkinson (75), songwriter & producer Glen Ballard (71), Ray Parker, Jr. (70), Will Kimbrough (60), Tim McGraw (57), original Smashing Pumpkins bassist D'arcy Wretzky (56), Lynyrd Skynyrd bassist Johnny Colt (56), original Suede lead guitarist Bernard Butler (54), and ex-Reel Big Fish trombonist Dan Regan (47). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Kate Smith, born on this day in 1907... for country singer Sonny James, born in 1929...  for blues harmonica virtuoso Marion 'Little Walter' Jacobs,born in 1930... for jazz singer Shirley Horn, who would have been 89... for Stax session keyboardist Carson Whitsett, who would have been 79... for former April Wine and B.T.O. bassist Jim Clench, who would have been 75... for Les Rita Mitsouko frontman Fred Chichin, who would have been 70... for Link 80 lead singer Nick Traina, who would have been 45... for Lost Sounds guitarist Jimmy Lindsey Jr. AKA 'Jay Reatard', who would have been 44... for composer Antonin Dvořák, who died on this date in 1904... for Spike Jones, who died in 1965... for composer Aram Katchaturian, who passed away in 1978... for blues guitarist Charles 'Skip' Pitts, who died  today in 2012... and for Gordon Lightfoot, who left us one year ago today. 

Also on May 1st: Mozart's opera Le Nozze di Figaro has its premiere at the Burgtheater of Vienna (1786)... On her 24th birthday, Kate Smith makes her US national radio debut on CBS (1931)... Herman's Hermits are at № 1 on the Billboard singles chart with 'Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter' (1965)... The Beatles play their last ticketed live show in Britain at the Empire Pool, Wembley (1966)... Elvis marries Priscilla Beaulieu in Las Vegas. The wedding license costs $15, the cake $3,500... The FBI arrests Carl Wilson of The Beach Boys on suspicion of evading the military draft. The singer, whose deferment papers are in fact in order, is released in time to join the rest of the band in Ireland for the beginning of a European tour (1967)... Reprise records release Joni Mitchell's album Clouds... Bob Dylan tapes an appearance for The Johnny Cash Show at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. After two solo numbers from Dylan, Johnny Cash joins him for a rendition of 'Girl From The North Country' (1969)... D.C. mayor Walter Washington proclaims a 'Marvin Gaye Day' in the nation's capital (1973)... The Carpenters perform at the White House at the personal invitation of President Richard Nixon (1974)... Led Zeppelin go to № 1 on the US album chart with Presence. The № 1 single in the country is The Bellamy Brothers' 'Let Your Love Flow' (1976)... The Clash kick off their 'White Riot' tour at the Roxy in London, sharing the bill with The Jam and The Buzzcocks (1977)... Mick Fleetwood files for bankruptcy (1984)... The five-bedroom 1902 house where Kurt Cobain was living at the time of his death goes up for sale, for an asking price of $3 million. The carriage house in which the Nirvana guitarist committed suicide was demolished last year (1997)... 'The Paintings of Paul McCartney' exhibit opens at the Lyz Art Forum, Siegen, Germany. The show features 70 canvasses by the former Beatle, including a piece called 'Bowie Spewing', Macca's representation of a young David Bowie (1999)... Coldplay become the first British band since The Beatles to place a single in the US top 10 in the first week of its release, when 'Speed of Sound' debuts in the Billboard Hot 100 at № 8 (2005)... A Minnesota man is accused of impersonating a member of Pink Floyd at a US hospital while racking up as much as $100,000 in unpaid medical bills. Phillip Michael Schaeffer, 53, went for treatment on April 20 and claimed he was Pink Floyd singer-guitarist David Gilmour and that he didn't have health insurance. The man was treated and released three days later from St. Cloud Hospital, but not before signing an autograph for an employee’s son (2013).

April 30th

Musical birthdays today include singer-songwriter Johnny Farina (83), Merrill Osmond (71), Jamaican rapper Barrington Levy (60), His Name Is Alive frontman Warren Devefer (55), ex-Dishwalla frontman J.R. Richards (52), 98 Degrees vocalist Jeff Timmons (51), hip-hop artist & producer Aliaune Thiam AKA Akon (51), Dresden Dolls lead singer Amanda Palmer (48), R&B/soul singer Cleo Higgins (42), and pop singer Nikki Webster (37). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for bluesman Reverend Gary Davis, born on this day in 1896... for bossa nova singer-songwriter Dorival Caymmi, born today in 1914... for rockabilly singer Johnny Horton, born in 1925... for Bobby Vee, who would have been 81 today... for Mimi Fariña, who would have been 79... for critic Lester Bangs, who died on this date in 1982... for Muddy Waters, who passed away in 1983... for Nazareth drummer Darrell Sweet, who died in 1999... and for former Platters vocalist Zola Taylor, who left us today in 2007. 

Also on April 30th: Berlioz's Te Deum is performed for the first time at the Église de Saint Eustache in Paris (1855)... The Boston Pops Orchestra is founded (1885)... At the Opéra comique in Paris, Debussy's opera Peléas et Mélisande has its premiere (1902)... RCA Victor Records releases its first Red Seal 78 RPM, a selection of lieder performed by contralto Ada Crossley (1903)... Elvis records 'Jailhouse Rock' (1957)... The Everly Brothers complete a spectacular debut on the British chart with their first single 'Cathy's Clown', as it goes to № 1, to remain there for 7 weeks (1960)... The Young Rascals have the № 1 song in America with 'Good Lovin'' (1966)... The BBC  launch The Cilla Black Show making the hostess the first British female performer to have her own TV show. The theme song, 'Step Inside Love', was written by Paul McCartney (1968)... Allman Brothers Band road manager Twiggs Lyndon is arrested for murder after stabbing a club manager during an argument over a contract. At the ensuing trial, Lyndon's lawyers argue that their client was temporarily incapacitated at the time of the incident and that touring with the Allman Brothers would drive anyone insane. Lyndon is acquitted (1970)... Paul McCartney & Wings' album  Red Rose Speedway is released (1973)... Keith Moon hires nine NYC cab drivers to block off both ends of a Chelsea street so that he can throw the entire contents of his hotel room out of the window (1976)... Led Zeppelin set a new world attendance record for a concert when they play to 76,229 people at a gig at the Pontiac Silverdome in Michigan. The Who held the previous record at the same venue with 75,962 (1977)... Michael Jackson hits № 1 in the USA with 'Beat It' (1983)... Nirvana sign with David Geffen's DGC label for $290,000 (1991)... A giant inflatable pig which floated away during a Roger Waters performance is recovered in tatters in southern California. Two families from La Quinta who found what was left of the object decide to share four lifetime passes to the Coachella festival that were offered as part of the reward... The woman who was given the handwritten lyrics to 'Give Peace A Chance' by John Lennon in 1969, announces plans to sell the lyric sheet at a Christie's auction. At the time, Lennon told Gail Renard to hang on to the piece of paper, saying "It will be worth something someday." The piece of music history is expected to fetch around $400,000, but when actually sold in July of this year, it goes for $790,000 (2008)... UNESCO declares that April 30th will henceforth be observed by the organization as International Jazz Day, 'to highlight jazz and its diplomatic role of uniting people in all corners of the globe' (2011).

April 29th

Musical birthdays today include Willie Nelson (91), conductor Zubin Mehta (88), Klaus Voormann (86), Oak Ridge Boys vocalist Duane Allen (81), Tommy James (77), Great White frontman Mark Kendall (67), rapper Percy 'Master P' Miller (57), Carnie Wilson (56), Pink Martini lead singer China Forbes (54), Franco-Indonesian singer Anggun Sasmi (50), S Club vocalist Jo O'Meara (45), Editors frontman Tom Smith (43), and ex-Trivium drummer Travis Smith (42). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for conductor & impresario Thomas Beecham, born on this day in 1879... for Duke Ellington, born in 1899... for tabla player and Ravi Shankar sideman Alla Rakha, born in 1919... for harmonica virtuoso Toots Thielemans, born in 1922... for Coasters vocalist Carl Gardner, born in 1928... for April Stevens, born in 1929... for Lonnie Donnegan, born in 1931... for bluesman Otis Rush, who would have been 90 today... for American roots musician Hasil Adkins, who would have been 87... for Tami Terrell, who would have been 79... for Can vocalist Michael Karoli, who would have been 76... for blues singer & pianist Leroy Carr, who died on this date in 1935... for Cisco Houston, who died in 1961... for bluesman J.B. Lenoir, who passed away in 1967... and for Mick Ronson, who left us today in 1993. 

Also on April 29th: In Vienna, Mozart's Sonata for violin & piano in Bb K. 454 is performed for the first time in the presence of Emperor Josef II, with the composer himself at the keyboard (1784)... 'La Marseillaise' is played in public for the first time by a French National Guard band in Strasbourg (1792)... Publicist Andrew Oldham and agent Eric Easton sign a management deal with The Rolling Stones after buying the rights to the bands first recordings for £90. They also persuade keyboard player Ian Stewart to drop out of the line up and become the band's road manager, while still playing piano at the back of the stage (1963)... Jimmy Nicol, the drummer who sat in for an ailing Ringo Starr on The Beatles' tour of Australia last year, is in a London tax court facing bankruptcy debts of £4,000 (1965)... The 14 hour Technicolour Dream benefit party for The International Times is held at Alexandra Palace in London. Seeing the event mentioned on TV, John Lennon calls his driver and goes to the show. Coincidentally, Yoko Ono is one of the performers. Other acts on the bill include The Flies, Pink Floyd, Arthur Brown, The Move and Suzie Creamcheese (1967)... Ringo adds his vocal to 'Octopus's Garden' (1969)... After a gig in Memphis, Bruce Springsteen takes a cab to Graceland and proceeds to climb over a wall leading to the mansion. A guard takes him to be another obsessive Elvis fan and apprehends him (1976)...    Polydor Records UK release The Jam's first single 'In the City'... The Grateful Dead open a 5-night run at the Palladium in NYC (1977)... In Paris, Black Sabbath kick off their first tour without Ozzy Osbourne, Ronnie James Dio having now assumed lead singer duties (1980)... Paula Abdul marries Emilio Estevez in Santa Monica, CA. The couple file for divorce 2 years later (1992)... Tupac Shakur marries Keisha Morris inside the Clinton Correctional Facility, where he is serving a four-year jail term for sex abuse (1995)... 
Steven Tyler shatters his kneecap when he falls off the stage at a concert in Anchorage, AK, delaying Aerosmith's 'Nine Lives' tour and necessitating camera angle adjustments for the filming of the video for 'I Don't Want to Miss a Thing' (1998)... In London, a blue plaque is unveiled at 38 Aubrey Walk, Kensington to honour the musical heritage of the address where British singer Dusty Springfield lived from 1968 until 1972 (2001)... Avril Lavigne has the № 1 album in both the US and the UK with The Best Damn Thing (2007)... An anonymous Queen fan wins a two-hour one-to-one guitar lesson with Brian May, after bidding £7,600 at a private charity auction. The auction, in support of the Action for Brazil's Children Trust, of which May is a patron, was held at London's exclusive Cuckoo Club (2009).

April 27th

Musical birthdays today include ex-April Wine drummer Jerry Mercer (85), session drummer Jim Keltner (82), bluegrass guitarist Herb Pedersen (80), B-52's bassist & singer Kate Pierson (76), ex-Kiss lead guitarist Ace Frehley (73), Sheena Easton (65), former Belle & Sebastian vocalist Isobel Campbell (48), My Morning Jacket drummer Patrick Hallahan (46), ex-Evanescence bassist Will Boyd (45), Fall Out Boy frontman Patrick Stump (40), and Halo Circus lead singer Allison Iraheta (32). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for classical violinist Igor Oistrakh and country singer Maxine Brown, both born on this day in 1931... for radio host Casey Kasem, born in 1932... for Badfinger frontman Pete Ham, would have been 77... for composer Alexander Scriabin, who died today in 1915... for composer Olivier Messiaen, who died in 1992... for trumpeter Al Hirt, who passed away in 1999... and for cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, who left us today in 2007. 

Also on April 27th: Handel's Music for the Royal Fireworksreceives its official premiere in London's Green Park. The visual spectacle is somewhat less successful than the music itself, however, as sputtering rockets set fire to the specially built structure housing the musicians (1749)... Beethoven composes Für Elise (1810)... Tchaikovsky has his first rehearsal with the New York Symphony Society at the new Music Hall (the future Carnegie Hall) on Seventh Avenue in Manhattan (1891)... In a rare appearance outside the U.S., Elvis plays the Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, performing in his gold lamé suit for the last time (1957)... John Coltrane and the classic quartet record the album Crescent in one session at the Van Gelder Studio (1964)... Bob Dylan gives an interview to BBC journalist and radio presenter Jack DeManio at London's Savoy Hotel for broadcast on the Today programme of the Home Service the following day. Later in the day, Dylan and Joan Baez are filmed singing the traditional song 'Wild Mountain Thyme' in the Savoy. Parts of the interview and the song will be used in the film 'Don't Look Back' (1965)... The Beatles begin recording John's new song 'I'm Only Sleeping' (1966)... Epic Records release Sly and the Family Stone's second album, Dance to the Music, including the hit title track (1968)... Pink Floyd appear at Mother's Club in Erdington, Birmingham. Radio 1 DJ John Peel reviews the gig as '...sounding like dying galaxies lost in sheer corridors of time and space'. Recordings from this show will be included in the group’s album Ummagumma later this year (1969)... In an unusual double bill, The Grateful Dead share the stage with The Beach Boys at the Fillmore East (1971)... A free afternoon event is held in the parking lot of the University of Connecticut's Ice Hockey Arena in Storrs. Musical entertainment includes Aerosmith, Bruce Springsteen, Fairport Convention. Springsteen goes on to play another gig that evening at the University of Hartford (1974)... Customs officers on a train at the Soviet/Polish Border detain David Bowie after Nazi books and mementos, including a first edition of Mein Kampf, are found in his luggage. Bowie claims that he is using the material for research on a movie project about Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels (1976)... Ringo Starr and Barbara Bach are married (1981)... The Verve announce that they have disbanded (1999)... Plans are announced for Aerosmith to hold a free concert in Hawaii to placate angry ticket buyers who brought a legal case against them. Fans filed a class action suit, which claimed the band had cancelled a sold-out show in Maui two years ago, leaving hundreds of fans out of pocket, in favour of a bigger gig in Chicago. Lawyers for the would-be concert-goers say that Aerosmith have now agreed to put on a new show, and will pay all expenses. Everyone who bought a ticket to the original concert will receive a free ticket (2009).

April 26th

Musical birthdays today include Duane Eddy (86), Giorgio Moroder (84), R&B singer Claudine Wright (83), Bobby Rydell (82), Gary Wright (81), former Blue Mink keyboardist Roger Coulam (80), ex-Mötley Crüe lead singer John Corabi (65), Duran Duran drummer Roger Taylor (64), former Replacements drummer Chris Mars (63), TLC vocalist Tionne 'T-Boz' Watkins (54), Rascal Flatts bassist Jay DeMarcus (53), original Slipknot drummer Joey Jordison (49), and S Club vocalist Jon Lee (42). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Ma Rainey, born on this day in 1886... for jazz arranger, clarinetist & saxophonist Jimmy Giuffre, born in 1921... for bluesman J.B. Hutto, born in 1926... for jazz guitarist & singer Frank D'Rone, born in 1932... for Count Basie, who died on this date in 1974... for The Sound lead singer Adrian Borland, who took his own life today in 1999 at the age of 42... for Phoebe Snow, who passed away in 2011... and for George Jones, who left us today in 2013. 

Also on April 26th: The 13-year-old Beethoven is appointed pianist in the court orchestra of the Duchy of Bonn (1783)... In Paris, Chopin performs his Grande Polonaise Brillante in public for the first time (1835)... Tchaikovsky arrives in NYC on his first visit to the United States (1891)... Police stop a Rolling Stones concert in London, Ontario after 15 minutes because of audience rioting (1965)... Dusty Springfield is at № 1 on the UK singles chart with 'You Don't Have To Say You Love Me', the singer's only chart-topper in the country. Studio logs show that Springfield was not satisfied with her vocal until she had recorded forty-seven takes (1966)... At the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco, Led Zeppelin play 'Whole Lotta Love' live for the first time (1969)... Ringo Starr's TV special 'Ringo', a musical version of The Prince and the Pauper, airs on ABC. Ringo plays both characters, and George Harrison provides the narration (1978)... Blondie are at № 1 on the UK singles chart with 'Call Me', featured in the Richard Gere film 'American Gigolo'; the track is also at the top of the charts in the US, where it will become the band's biggest selling single. Producer Giorgio Moroder originally asked Stevie Nicks to help compose and perform a song for the soundtrack, but she declined... The Beat release 'Mirror in the Bathroom', the UK's first digitally recorded single (1980)... Rod Stewart is carjacked and relieved of his $50,000 Porsche on Hollywood Boulevard (1982)... Mick Jagger appears in federal court in White Plains, NY in the copyright infringement case brought by reggae singer Patrick Alley, who claims the Jagger solo hit 'Just Another Night' was plagiarised from his own song of the same name. Alley is claiming $7 million in profits from the track. During the case, percussionist Sly Dunbar plays drums to the court to show how the beats are different in each song , while Mick sings and plays demos of his song to show the development of the track. At the end of the week-long trial, Jagger wins the case (1988)... Courtney Love reportedly turns down $1 million from Playboy to pose for a centerfold (1995)... Bruce Springsteen releases Devils & Dust (2005)... Tinchy Stryder feat. N-dubz starts a three week run at № 1 on the UK singles chart with 'Number 1', the first time ever that a single called 'Number 1' has made it to the top in Britain (2009).