February 20th

Musical birthdays today include Buffy Sainte-Marie (85), The Cramps co-founder & guitarist Kristy 'Poison Ivy' Wallace (73), Cheap Trick bassist Jon Brant (72), Stone Roses lead singer Ian Brown (63), rapper & producer Kevin 'k-os' Brereton (54), Backstreet Boy Brian Littrell (51), The Darkness drummer Ed Graham (50), Nickle Creek mandolinist Chris Thile (45), t.A.T.u. vocalist Julia Volkova (41), and Rihanna (38) Shoutout to the Great Beyond for blues pianist Jimmy Yancey, born on this day in 1898... for Buena Vista Social Club singer Ibrahim Ferrer, born in 1927... for jazz singer Nancy Wilson, who would have been 88 today... for Lindisfarne guitarist Alan Hull, and for J. Geils, both of whom would have been 79 ... for Steely Dan co-founder Walter Becker, who would have been 76... for Spirit guitarist Randy California, who would have been 75... for Kurt Cobain, who would have been 59... for Great White guitarist & singer Ty Longley, who died along with 99 others in the Great Station nightclub fire today in 2003 at the age of 32... and for John Raitt, who left us today in 2005. 

Also on February 20th: Rossini's The Barber of Seville has its premiere at the Teatro Argentina in Rome under the title Almaviva, o sia L'inutile precauzione (1816)... Tchaikovsky's ballet Swan Lake is premiered by the Bolshoi in Moscow (1877)... Buddy Holly's self-titled second album is released (1958)... 17-year-old Jimi Hendrix plays his first public gig, with a local band in the basement of the Seattle synagogue Temple de Hirsch. The young phenom is fired between sets for showing off (1960)... John Coltrane releases the album Coltrane Jazz (1961)... Bob Dylan and his girlfriend Suze Rotolo are photographed walking together on 4th St. in Greenwich Village for what will become the iconic cover of The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (1963)... The Plastic Ono Band single 'Instant Karma' is released in the US (1970)... Screaming Lord Sutch appears at the Art College of High Wycombe, with the Sex Pistols as his opening act (1976)...  The Smiths release their eponymous debut album (1984)... Kylie Minogue has her first no. 1 song on the UK singles chart with 'I Should Be So Lucky' (1988)... Bob Dylan receives a lifetime achievement award at the 33rd Grammys (1991)...  100 people die after pyrotechnics ignite the Great Station nightclub in Warwick, RI during a gig by Great White. The group's singer Ty Longley is among those killed in the accident. Two brothers who own the club are charged with involuntary manslaughter along with the band's tour manager . Foam soundproofing material at the edge of the stage was set alight and the blaze spread quickly in the one-storey wooden building as fans all tried to escape through the same exit. Great White will begin a tour in July to raise money for the survivors and families of victims (2003)... Brian Wilson kicks off an 11-date UK tour at London's Royal Festival Hall. The shows see Wilson performing the full suite of songs from his unreleased masterpiece 'Smile' , the former head Beach Boy's 'teenage symphony to God' (2004)... The US hair salon where Britney Spears shaved her head sets up a website to auction her hair for more than $1 million. The website, buybritneyshair.com, claims to have been set up by salon owner Esther Tognozzi, and includes photos of the hair, saying it is 'absolutely authentic'. In addition to the singer's locks, the winning bidder will also get the clippers Spears used, a blue lighter she left at the salon and the can of Red Bull she was drinking at the time. Meanwhile, Spears has been spotted around Los Angeles sporting a short blonde wig (2007)... A Rolling Stones album bought for £2 at a garage sale sells for £4,000 at auction. The 1976 copy of 'Black and Blue' LP was signed by John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Paul and Linda McCartney and George Harrison as well as by the Stones themselves. The buyer obtained the album after haggling the unsuspecting owner down from £3 (2008).

February 19th

Musical birthdays today include composer György Kurtág (100), Smokey Robinson (86), Lou Christie (83), Loverboy guitarist Paul Dean (80), Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi (78), Wishbone Ash guitarist Andy Powell (76), Scorpions bassist Francis Buchholz (72), dBs frontman Peter Holsapple (70), English Beat lead singer Dave Wakeling (70), Seal (63), Whitesnake guitarist Doug Aldrich (62), Smash Mouth guitarist Leroy Miller (61), Phish drummer John Fishman (61), Fear Factory frontman Burton C. Bell (57), Nickelback drummer Daniel Adair (51), Gossip vocalist Beth Ditto (45), and pop singer Haylie Duff (41) *** *** *** Shoutout to the Great Beyond for bluesmen Robert Walker and Sam Myers, both of whom would have been 88 today... for Miracles vocalist Bobby Rogers, who would have been 86... for Hans Hölzel, AKA Falco, who would have been 68... for original AC/DC lead singer Bon Scott, who died on this day in 1980... for French cabaret singer Charles Trenet, who passed away in 2001... for country singer Johnny Paycheck, who died in 2003... for ELO bassist Kelly Groucutt, who died in 2009... and for Procol Harum frontman Gary Brooker, who left us four years ago today. *** *** *** Also on February 19th: Thomas Edison patents the phonograph (1878)... A British novelty company ships half a ton of Beatle wigs to the US. An American reporter later asks John Lennon, "How do you feel about teenagers imitating you with Beatle wigs?" John replies "They're not imitating us, because we don't wear wigs." (1964)... The Beatles record 'You're Going to Lose That Girl' at Abbey Road in only two takes (1965)... Yes release The Yes Album (1971)... Harry Nilsson has the № 1 song in the US with his version of Badfinger's 'Without You' (1972)... Former Tower of Power lead singer Rich Stevens is arrested in connection with the drug related murders of three men in San Jose, CA. Stevens is found guilty of the charges in November (1976)... Manfred Mann's Earth Band score a № 1 single in the US with their version of the Bruce Springsteen song 'Blinded By The Light.' The track was the first single from Bruce Springsteen's 1973 debut album Greetings from Asbury Park N.J. The Earth Band's version features several changes in the lyrics, the most prominent one coming in the chorus, where Springsteen's 'cut loose like a deuce' is replaced with 'revved up like a deuce.' Springsteen himself has said that it was not until Manfred Mann rewrote the song to be about a "feminine hygiene product" that it became popular (1977)... Ozzy Osbourne is arrested in San Antonio, TX for urinating on the Alamo. Osbourne is wearing a dress at the time of his arrest, [his wife Sharon having hidden all his clothes so that he could not venture outside the hotel]. The intoxicated Osbourne, who apparently thought he was relieving himself on a pile of rubble, is prohibited from ever playing in San Antonio again [a ban which was lifted in 1992] (1982)... Joni Mitchell releases Night Ride Home, the last of her four albums for Geffen Records (1991)... During their Use Your Illusion Tour, Guns n' Roses play the first of three sold out nights at the Tokyo Dome. The 55,000-seat baseball stadium [popularly known as 'the Big Egg'] is the largest concert hall in Japan (1992)... Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson marry in Cancun, Mexico... Roxette become the first western act to play in Bejing since Wham! in 1984 when they play a concert celebrating the Chinese New Year (1995)... Björk is shown on UK breakfast TV attacking a news reporter upon arrival at Bangkok International Airport. The footage shows the singer pulling the female reporter to the floor and banging her head repeatedly on the ground. Björk later apologises for the incident (1996)... The family of the late Johnny Cash block an attempt by advertisers to use his song 'Ring of Fire' to promote haemorrhoid-relief products. The idea is said to have been backed by Merle Kilgore, who co-wrote the song with Cash's wife June Carter Cash. Cash's daughter Rosanne said the family would "never allow the song to be demeaned like that" (2004).

February 18th

Musical birthdays today include Yoko Ono (93), former Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers vocalist Herman Santiago (85), Irma Thomas (85), ex-Styx lead singer Dennis DeYoung (79), jazz and R&B singer Veronica 'Randy' Crawford (74), Juice Newton (74), Robbie Bachman (73), ex-Little River Band drummer Derek Pellicci (73), former The Fall drummer Paul Hanley (62), Andy and Jez Williams of The Doves (56), Nickel Creek guitarist & singer Sean Watkins (49), and Regina Spektor (46) *** *** Shoutout to the Great Beyond for country singer [and co-author of 'The Tennessee Waltz'] Pee Wee King, born on this day in 1914... for Doobie Brothers drummer Keith Knudsen, who would have been 77 today... for Megadeath drummer Gar Samuelson, who would have been 87... for original Replacements lead guitarist Bob Stinson, who died on this date in 1995... and for Soft Machine guitarist Kevin Ayers and former Temptations vocalist Martin Harris, both of whom left us today in 2013 *** *** Also on February 18: The 18th century popular English opera Flora becomes the first opera produced in the American colonies when it premieres in Charleston, SC (1735)... Gian Carlo Menotti's Telephone premieres at the Met (1947)... The Platters have the № 1 single in the UK with 'The Great Pretender' (1956)... Ray Charles records 'What'd I Say' at Columbia Studios in NYC (1959)... On a weekend pass from a stint in the Marine reserves, The Everly Brothers appear in full uniform and with regulation crewcuts on The Ed Sullivan Show to perform their new single 'Cryin' in the Rain' (1962)... The Beatles record John's new song 'You've Got to Hide Your Love Away'. They are aided by flautist John Scott, the first musician other than the four members of the group or George Martin to play on a Beatles track (1965)... Brian Wilson and the L.A. session musicians informally known as The Wrecking Crew finish the first mix of the instrumental track to 'Good Vibrations' (1966)... One-hit wonders The Buckinghams go to № 1 in the US with 'Kind of a Drag' (1967)... David Gilmour officially becomes a member of Pink Floyd (1968)... Johnny Cash drops in on Bob Dylan's sessions for the Nashville Skyline album. The two spend several hours jamming together and record some 18 tracks, both their own material and country standards, but only their duet on Dylan's 'Girl from the North Country' will be considered worthy of release (1969)... Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band make their New York debut at Ungano's (1971)... 12-year-old Neil Reid becomes the youngest person ever to have a № 1 album in Britain when his self-titled debut offering tops the charts (1972)... Kiss release their eponymous debut album (1974)... In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Bill Wyman says that he intends to quit the Stones on the group's 20th anniversary in 1982. In fact, he will stay with the band until 1993 (1980)... Bon Jovi are at № 1 on the US singles chart with 'Livin' on a Prayer' (1987)... Freddie Mercury makes his final on stage public appearance when he and the other members of Queen collect an award for their 'outstanding contribution to music' at London's Dominion Theatre (1990)... An American court orders the release of John Lennon's FBI file. The British government was opposed to the move, having passed on MI5 files on the ex-Beatle to the US government in the '70s (2000)... Carpenters fans gather in front of the Los Angeles City Hall to protest plans to have the pop duo's former family home in the suburb of Downey torn down. The current owners of the house object to fans looking in the windows and leaving floral tributes. The 5-bedroom house was immortalized when it appeared on the cover of the siblings' 1973 hit album Now & Then (2008)... Whitney Houston's by invitation only funeral is held at the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, NJ (2012).

February 17th

Musical birthdays today include bluegrass banjo player Buck Trent (88), original Soft machine saxophonist Karl Jenkins (82), Fred Frith (77), Loreena McKennitt (68), Symphony X bassist Michael LePond (60), Chanté Moore (59), Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong (54), Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins (53), country singer Bryan White (52), Paris Hilton (45), and Ed Sheeran (35)*** *** Shoutout to the Great Beyond for composer Arcangelo Corelli, born on this day in 1653... for bandleader Orrin Tucker, born in 1911... for jazz clarinetist Buddy DeFranco, born in 1923... for Bobby 'Tossin' and Turnin'' Lewis, born in 1925... for country singer Johnny Bush, born in 1935... for Gene Pitney, who would have been 85... for Triffids frontman David McComb, who would have been 64... for conductor Bruno Walter, who died on this date in 1962... for Thelonious Monk, who passed away in 1982... for Latin jazz percussionist Ray Barretto and guitarist Bill Cowsill, both of whom left us in 2006... and for country singer Mindy McCready, who took her own life five years ago today at the age of 37 *** *** Also on February 17th: Verdi's Un Ballo in maschera premieres in Naples (1859)... Puccini's Madama Butterfly premieres at La Scala (1904)... Elvis Presley wins his first Gold record for the album 'Elvis'... The Everly Brothers sign a $1 million contract with Warner Brothers Records (1960)... After working through the night, Bob Dylan and his Nashville session men finally record the take of 'Stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again' that will go on Blonde on Blonde. Dylan then goes directly to the airport to fly to New Haven, CT for the next date on his current tour... Nancy Sinatra goes to № 1 on the UK singles chart with 'These Boots Are Made for Walking' (1966)... At Abbey Road, The Beatles begin recording 'Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite' (1967)... After a concert at the Royal Albert Hall, Joni Mitchell announces that she is retiring from live performance. She will be back on stage by the end of the year, however, after spending a few months on Crete, where she writes most of the songs that will make up her album Blue (1970)... James Taylor makes his US TV debut appearance on the Johnny Cash Show. Neil Young and Linda Ronstadt also perform (1971)... John Lennon releases Rock 'n' Roll, his last album of the '70s... AC/DC release their debut album High Voltage (1975)... The Clash kick off their 'Pearl Harbor '79' North American tour with a show at NYC's Palladium... Blondie have their first UK № 1 album with Parallel Lines (1979)... The Hoodoo Gurus and The Go-Betweens open for REM at the Hordern Pavilion, in Sydney, Australia (1989)... The Steinway piano on which John Lennon composed 'Imagine' goes on display at the Beatles Story Museum on the Albert Docks in Liverpool (2000)... Prosecutors in Phil Spector's murder trial demand that a fingernail overlooked by police investigating the shooting of Lana Clarkson should be put forward as evidence. They claim the fingernail, blackened with gunpowder, could indicate that the 40-year old actress killed herself at Spector's Los Angeles mansion. Spector denies killing Clarkson (2004).

February 16th

Musical birthdays today include jazz pianist Howard Riley (83), former New Seekers vocalist Lyn Paul (77), Ice-T (68), ex-Def Leppard guitarist Pete Willis (66), Duran Duran guitarist Andy Taylor (65), Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo (61), Three Days Grace bassist Brad Walst (49), and Yellowcard drummer Longineu W. Parsons III (46) *** *** Shoutout to the Great Beyond for conductor Willem Kes [the first director of Amsterdam's Concertgebouw Orchestra], born on this day in 1856... for bandleader Wayne King, born in 1901... for jazz pianist Bill Doggett, born in 1916... for Patty Andrews, born in 1918... for songwriter Otis Blackwell [best remembered for 'Great Balls of Fire' and 'Don't be Cruel'], born in 1931... for Sonny Bono, born in 1935... for James Ingram, who would have been 74... for avant-garde musician John Balance, who would have been 63... for bluesman Brownie McGhee, who died on this date in 1996... for Doris 'Mama Soul' Troy, who passed away in 2004... and for Merseyside rocker Tony Sheridan, who died in 2013... and for Lesley Gore, who left us today in 2016*** *** Also on February 16th: The Beatles make their second live appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, exactly one week after the first. Before an audience of 3,500 at the Deauville Hotel in Miami Beach, FL, they perform ‘She Loves You’, ‘This Boy’, ‘All My Loving’, ‘I Saw Her Standing There’, ‘From Me to You’, and ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ (1964)... Led Zeppelin make their Australian live debut when they kick off a six-date tour at the Subiaco Cricket Oval, Perth. Police battle with over 500 fans who ram locked gates trying to get into the concert. Over 4,000 fans are outside the venue without tickets and local residents jam police phone lines to complain about the noise (1972)... Bob Dylan starts a four week run atop the US album chart with Planet Waves, his first stateside № 1 LP. The album was originally set to be titled Ceremonies of the Horsemen, a reference to the song 'Love Minus Zero / No Limit', from the 1965 album Bringing It All Back Home. When Dylan decided to change the title at the last minute, the release was delayed for two weeks... During a tour of America, the members of Emerson, Lake & Palmer are arrested in Salt Lake City after swimming naked in their hotel pool. They are each fined $75 (1974)... The Jam are at № 1 on the UK singles chart with 'A Town Called Malice'... Simon and Garfunkel release The Concert in Central Park (1982)... The Simpsons have the № 1 single in the UK with 'Do the Bartman'. The song, written by Michael Jackson and Bryan Lorenand, make The Simpsons the first cartoon characters to hit the top since The Archies with 'Sugar Sugar' in 1969. Jackson, a huge fan of The Simpsons, had called the producers one night offering to write Bart a song that he promised would be a hit, and to do a guest spot on the show (1991)... Thieves break into George Michael's London home and steal over £100,000 worth of paintings, jewellery and designer clothes before driving and off in the singer's £80,000 Aston Martin DB7. They also cause £200,000 worth of damage to the house (2002).

February 15th

Musical birthdays today include songwriter and producer Brian Holland (85), ex-Kinks drummer Mick Avory (82), Supertramp saxophonist John Helliwell (81), Melissa Manchester (75), former UB40 lead singer Ali Campbell (67), ex-Culture Club bassist Mikey Craig (66), Jane Child (59), rapper Bryan 'Birdman' Williams (57), Incubus lead singer Brandon Boyd (50), Bad Religion drummer Brooks Wackerman (49), Bright Eyes frontman Conor Oberst (46), and Relient K guitarist Matt Hoopes (45) *** *** Shoutout to the Great Beyond for country singer Hank Locklin, born on this day in 1918... for Santana bassist David Brown, who would have been 76 today... for composer Mikhail Glinka, who died on this date in 1857... for Nat King Cole, who passed away in 1965... for blues harmonica innovator 'Little Walter' Jacobs, who died in 1968... for guitarist Mike Bloomfield, who died of a drug overdose on this day in 1981 at the age of 37... for rapper Lamon 'Big L' Coleman, shot to death on this day in 1999 at the age of 24... for French chansonnier Pierre Bachelet, who died in 2005... and for salsa singer Joe Cuba, who left us in 2009 *** *** Also on February 15: Jean-Baptiste Lully's opera Armide receives its first performance at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal in Paris (1686)... Ray Charles begins recording the milestone album Modern Sounds in Country & Western Music at United Studios in Los Angeles (1962)... The Beatles score their first US № 1 album with Meet the Beatles ~ it will remain at the top of the chart for the next 11 weeks (1964)... Bob Dylan arrives in Nashville to begin the sessions at CBS Studios on Music Row for the album that will become Blonde on Blonde. The day's work will be productive, including the definitive version of 'Visions of Johanna'... The Beach Boys shoot the iconic cover photo for the Pet Sounds album at the San Diego Zoo (1966)... John and Cynthia Lennon, along with George and Patti Harrison, fly to India to study meditation with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Paul and Ringo join them a few days later, but Starr becomes bored and will leave on March 1st, comparing the experience to a 'Butlin's holiday camp.' Many of the songs on White Album will be written during their stay (1968)... An unknown singer named Vickie Jones is arrested on fraud charges for impersonating Aretha Franklin in concert at Fort Myers, Florida. No one in the audience had asked for their money back, however... Sly & the Family Stone's ' (I Am) Everyday People' is the № 1 song in America (1969)... Linda Ronstadt has both the № 1 single in the US ['You're No Good'] and the top album [Heart like a Wheel] (1975)... Glenn Matlock is fired as the Sex Pistols' bass player and replaced with Sid Vicious (1977)... Following the publication of a quote from lead singer Joe Elliot referring to El Paso, TX as "that dump with all those greasy Mexicans", Def Leppard are forced to cancel a concert in the city after they received threats that the gig would be violently disrupted (1988)... Kelly Emberg, the ex-girlfriend of Rod Stewart, files a $25 million palimony suit in Los Angeles. The couple lived together from 1985 to 1990. Stewart's reaction to being served: "Instead of getting married again, I'm going to find a woman I don't like and just give her a house" (1991)... Sting pulls out of a concert in Vienna in protest at the inclusion of Jorg Haider's ultra-right freedom party in Austria's new government. Lou Reed has also cancelled shows in the country (2000)... A flat once rented by The Beatles in London goes up for sale for £1.75 m. The band shared the three-bedroom top floor property in Green Street, Mayfair in the autumn of 1962. The iconic photo of the Fab Four peering over a banister, used as the cover for the group's debut album Please Please Me, was taken at the top of the property's communal stairwell (2008).

February 14th

Musical birthdays today include folk singer Erik Andersen (83), former James Brown sideman & Parliament-Funkadelic saxophonist Maceo Parker (83), ex-Heart guitarist Roger Fisher (76), operatic soprano Soile Isokoski (69), Matchbox 20 lead singer Rob Thomas (54), and soul singer Andwele 'Dwele' Gardner (48) *** *** Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Phyllis McGuire [of the McGuire Sisters], born on this day in 1931... for conductor Michel Corboz, born today in 1932... for Chicago bluesman Samuel 'Magic Sam' Maghett, who would have been 87 today... for Clarence 'Blowfly' Reid, who would have been 86... for English session guitarist Big Jim Sullivan, who would have been 85... for song and dance man Gregory Hines, who would have been 80... for Tim Buckley, who would have been 79... for jazz drummer Warren 'Baby' Dodds, who died on this date in 1959... for composer Dmitri Kabalevsky, who died in 1987... for jazz drummer Louie Bellson, who passed away in 2009... for ex-The Knack lead singer Doug Fieger, who died in 2010... and for jazz pianist George Shearing, who left us today in 2011 *** *** Also on February 14th: The Beatles perform at the Casanova Club and at Litherland Town Hall, Liverpool, where they play a special Valentine's Day show. Paul sings Elvis Presley's 'Wooden Heart' wearing a wooden heart pinned to his coat, covered with satin and embroidered with the names John, Paul, George, and Pete. The heart is raffled off, and the winner also wins a kiss from Paul (1961)... Manfred Mann go to the top of the UK singles chart and crack the US top 10 with Bob Dylan's 'Quinn the Eskimo' (1968)... The Who appear at Leeds University. The show is recorded for the bands forthcoming 'Live At Leeds' album. Since its initial reception, Live at Leeds has been cited by many music critics as the best live rock recording of all time. The venue, the university refectory, has been named a national landmark in the UK, commemorated with a blue plaque (1970)... John Lennon and Yoko Ono begin a week-long run as the guest co-hosts of The Michael Douglas Show in NYC (1972)... Daryl Dragon and Toni Tenille take time out from a Captain & Tenille tour to get married in Virginia City, NV (1974)... Janis Ian receives over 500 valentines in care of her record label, Columbia, after reporting in the lyrics of her song 'At Seventeen' that she never received any... The B-52s give their first public performance at a party at the University of Georgia in Athens (1977)... The Smiths release Meat is Murder (1985)... Frank Zappa guest stars on an episode of NBC's 'Miami Vice', playing a crime boss named Mr. Frankie (1986)... Bon Jovi have the № 1 song in America with 'Livin' on a Prayer' (1987)... The film 'Wayne's World', featuring appearances by Meat Loaf and Alice Cooper, has its world premiere in Los Angeles. The use of Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody' in the film propels the song to № 2 on the US singles chart nearly 20 years after its first release (1992)... Jerry Garcia marries documentary filmmaker Deborah Koons (1994)... Celine Dion's 'My Heart Will Go On' sets a new record for radio exposure in the US with 116 million plays over the last week (1998)... Elton John voices himself in an appearance on The Simpsons (1999)...Stolen reel-to-reel studio recordings by The Beatles are found in Australia. Police recovered the tapes of the band's White album and Abbey Road sessions after they were advertised for sale in a Sydney newspaper. Australian police had been tipped off by British detectives from Operation Acetone, an investigation into thefts of original Beatles music from Abbey Road studios in London in the late '60s (2003)... Bruce Springsteen tops the US album charts with Working on a Dream, his 16th studio release (2009).