March 21st

Musical birthdays today include jazz pianist Amina Myers (84), multi-instrumentalist David Lindley (82), former Sly & the Family Stone singer & keyboardist Rose Stone (81), Mungo Jerry frontman Ray Dorset (80), Eddie Money (77), ex-Supertramp lead singer Roger Hodgson (76), former Stylistics lead singer Russell Thompkins, Jr. (75), House of Love singer & guitarist Guy Chadwick (70), Stray Cats drummer James McDonnell AKA Slim Jim Phantom (65), Ace of Base songwriter & producer Jonas Berggren (59), Prodigy rapper Keith Palmer AKA Maxim Reality (59), Dope lead singer Brian Ebejer AKA Edsel Dope (52), Kaiser Chiefs keyboardist Nick Baines (48), Outlawz rapper Rufus Cooper III AKA Young Noble (48), Sum 41 frontman Deryck Whibley (46), and Saturdays vocalist Rochelle Humes (37). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for composer Modeste Mussorgsky, born on this day in 1842... for Appalachian traditional musician Bascom Lamar Lunsford, born in 1882... for Son House, born in 1902... for jazz pianist 'Sir' Charles Thompson, born in 1920... for bouzouki virtuoso Manolis Chiotis, born in 1920 [and who died on his birthday in 1970]... for Otis Spann, born in 1931... for Solomon Burke, who would have been 84... for Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band co-founder & songwriter Vivian Stanshall, who would have been 81... for Leo Fender, founder of the musical instrument corporation bearing his name, who died on this date in 1991... for Bobby Short, who passed away in 2005... and for gospel singer Loleatta Holloway, who left us in 2011. 

Also on March 21st: Beethoven's final string quartet, Op. 130 in Bb, is premiered in Vienna by the Schuppanzig Quartet (1826)... Richard Strauss conducts the Wetzler Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall in the world premiere of his Simfonia Domestica (1904)... Kate Smith records the original version of 'God Bless America' (1939)... The Beatles play their first ever evening show at the Cavern Club, as the opening act for The Swinging Blue Jeans (1961)... At Rudy Van Gelder's studio with Eric Dolphy sitting in, Andrew Hill records the album Point of Departure for Blue Note... 'She Loves You' replaces 'I Want to Hold Your Hand' as the № 1 song in the US, the latter having held the top spot for the last 7 weeks (1964)... Al Green's debut album Back Up Train is released (1967)... The Faces, formed from the ashes of The Small Faces and The Jeff Beck Group, release their first album, First Step (1970)... Following a riot by David Cassidy fans at the singer's performance on 'Top of the Pops', the BBC imposes an indefinite ban on appearances on the show by acts whose fans the network deem to be composed primarily of teenage girls (1973)... 14 years into their career, REO Speedwagon's first US Top 40 hit is a № 1, 'Keep on Lovin' You' (1981)... Bob Dylan and his new band convene in NYC for their final rehearsal before their appearance on the David Letterman Show tomorrow night... Strawberry Fields, an area in Central Park bought by Yoko Ono as a memorial to her husband, opens to the public (1984)... Released just 12 days ago, U2's The Joshua Tree is already the № 1 album in both the US and the UK. It is also the first album ever to sell a million copies in the CD format (1987)... Bruce Springsteen wins the Best Song Oscar for 'Streets of Philadelphia' (1994)... Blur join Simply Red and R.E.M. as the only acts to have 4 UK № 1 albums in the '90s, when their new release 13 tops the chart (1999)... Michael Jackson's interior decorator tells The Times of London newspaper that the singer keeps 17 life size dolls, in both adult and child sizes, all fully dressed in his bedroom for 'company' (2000)... In an online poll organized by Yahoo!, Ozzy Osbourne is named favourite ambassador to welcome aliens to planet earth. The 55-year-old singer came top of a poll asking people whom they would want to represent them to alien life. The inquiry into the wishes of internet users was carried out following the discovery of signs of water on Mars. Ozzy won 26 per cent of the vote, while Simon Cowell came in last on the list, with just three per cent. A spokesman for Yahoo! News said: "As the world waits desperately for signs of alien life, we decided to ask our users who they thought was best suited for this most auspicious of roles. Ozzy is a great choice but I'm not sure what the Martians would make of his individual approach to the English language" (2004)... A five-year legal row over the use of the Beach Boys' name is settled by two former members of the group. Mike Love had argued he was the only person allowed to perform under the name of the band and sued Al Jardine, whom he claimed was appearing as an unlicensed Beach Boys act. Mr Jardine's lawyer says "a friendly settlement" has been reached that allows them to focus on the talent and future of this iconic American band (2006).

March 20th

Musical birthdays today include reggae producer Lee 'Scratch' Perry (90), rockabilly singer Robin Luke (84), Carl Palmer (76), Fabulous Thunderbirds guitarist Jimmy Vaughn (75), ex-James lead guitarist Adrian Oxaal (61), rapper Byron Thomas AKA Mannie Fresh (57), and Franz Ferdinand frontman Alex Kapranos (54).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for bandleader & singer Ozzie Nelson, born on this day in 1906... for classical pianist Sviatoslav Richter, born in 1915... for Vera Lynn, born in 1917... for  bandleader Larry Elgart, born in 1922... for blues singer Marva Wright, who would have been 78 today... for Linkin Park lead singer Chester Bennington, who would have been 50... for French film score composer Georges Delerue, who died on this date in 1992... for operatic mezzo-soprano Risë Stevens, who passed away today in 2013... and for Kenny Rogers, who left us four years ago today. 

Also on March 20th: Bartók's Fourth String Quartet is premiered by the Waldbauer Quartet in Budapest (1929)... Following the lifting of a Musicians' Union ban on TV performances, Eugene Ormandy conducts the Philadelphia Orchestra playing Beethoven's 5th live on CBS in the first symphony concert to be televised in the United States. 90 minutes later, NBC carries Arturo Toscanini and the NBC Symphony Orchestra performing compositions by Richard Wagner live at Carnegie Hall (1948)... Elvis begins his first recordings since being discharged from the Army. A 12-hour session in a Nashville studio produces his next single, 'Stuck on You'. Scotty Moore and Bill Black, who quit the King's touring band in 1957, are with him in the studio for the last time (1960)... At CBS Studios on 30th St. in Manhattan, Hank Mobley plays his only date with the Miles Davis Quintet, one of three sessions that will produce the album Someday My Prince Will Come (1961)... The Beatles appear live on the UK television program Ready Steady Go!, lip-synching to ‘It Won't Be Long’, ‘You Can't Do That’, and ‘Can't Buy Me Love’. They are also presented with a special award from Billboard, in recognition of The Beatles having the top three singles on the US chart simultaneously... Motown Records release Meet the Temptations, the group's debut album (1964)... Eric Clapton, Neil Young, Richie Furay and Jim Mesina, are all arrested in Los Angeles for 'being at a place where it was suspected marijuana was being used.' Clapton is later found innocent, while the others pay small fines (1968)... John Lennon and Yoko Ono are married at the British Consulate in Gibraltar (1969)... David Bowie and Angela Barnett are married at the Beckenham Registry Office in London (1970)... Janis Joplin goes to № 1 on the US singles chart posthumously with 'Me and Bobby McGee' (1971)... The management of the London Palladium cancel a show by Lou Reed on the grounds of the singer's current 'punk appearance'... T-Rex play their final gig at the Locarno in Portsmouth, Hants. (1977)... 28-year-old Joseph Riviera holds up the Asylum Records office in NYC at gunpoint and demands to see either Jackson Browne or The Eagles. Riviera wants to talk to them to see if they will refinance his failing trucking operation. He flees the scene when told that neither act is in the office, but surrenders to police a short distance away (1980)... Joan Jett & the Blackhearts begin a 7-week run at № 1 on the US singles chart with 'I Love Rock 'n' Roll' (1982)... Gloria Estefan's tour bus is rammed by a tractor-trailer on the way to a concert. Emilio Estefan and their son Nayib receive cuts and bruises, while Gloria sustains a serious back injury which will require surgery two days later (1990)... Eric Clapton's four year old son Conor falls to his death from the 53rd story of a New York City apartment building after a housekeeper who is cleaning the room leaves a window open. The boy was in the custody of his mother, Italian actress Lori Del Santo, and the pair were visiting a friend's apartment. Clapton was staying in a nearby hotel after taking his son to the circus the previous evening. The tragedy inspires his song ‘Tears in Heaven’... Michael Jackson signs a $1 billion contract with Sony (1991)... Geri Halliwell tops the British charts for the third time with her single 'Bag It Up'. It makes the former Spice Girl the first woman in UK chart history to have 10 № 1 hits (2000)... The Daily Mail newspaper reports that Robbie Williams has become a priest.  He was ordained via the Internet by the non-denominational Universal Ministries and officiated the wedding of Billy Morrison of The Cult and Jennifer Holliday (2002).

March 19th

Musical birthdays today include R&B singer Clarence 'Frogman' Henry (89), singer-songwriter Richard Dobson (84), cellist Myung-wha Chung (82), Ruth Pointer (80), jazz pianist Chris Brubeck (74), Mr. Big bassist Billy Sheehan (73), Specials lead singer Terry Hall (67), singer-songwriter Gary Jules (57), rapper Bernard Freeman AKA Bun B (53), and Mastodon drummer Brann Dailor (51). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Broadway musicals singer Patricia Morison, born on this day in 1915... for early country singer Martha Carson, born in 1921... for former Zombies guitarist Paul Atkinson, who would have been 79 today... for original B-52's guitarist Ricky Wilson, who would have been 72... for Free lead guitarist Paul Kosoff, who died on this date in 1976... for Quiet Riot guitarist Randy Rhoads, who was killed in a private plane crash today in 1982 at the age of 25... for French horn player Alan Civil, who passed away in 1989... for Andrew Wood, lead singer of Mother Love Bone, who died of a drug overdose today in 1990 at age 24. (The remaining members of the band would go on to form Pearl Jam)... and for Luther Ingram, who left us in 2007. 

Also on March 19th: Haydn's oratorio Die Schöpfung [The Creation] premieres in Vienna (1789)... Charles Gounod's opera Faust has its premiere at the Théâtre Lyrique in Paris (1859)... Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite is performed for the first time in St. Petersburg, with the composer himself conducting (1892)... In NYC, the Met gives Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov its first American performance (1913)... Bob Dylan's self-titled debut album is released by Columbia Records (1962)... UK Prime Minister Harold Wilson presents The Beatles with their awards for show business personalities of the year for 1963 at London's Dorchester Hotel (1964)... Britain's Tailor and Cutter Magazine runs an article asking The Rolling Stones to start wearing ties. The current fashion does not include wearing ties with shirts, and many tie-makers are facing financial ruin. Mick Jagger says of the appeal, "The trouble with a tie is that it could dangle in the soup. It is also something extra to which a fan can hang when you are trying to get in and out of a theatre (1965)... Jethro Tull's album Aqualung is released (1971)... Jefferson Airplane re-name themselves and become Jefferson Starship. The new line-up includes Paul Kantner, Grace Slick, drummer Johnny Barbata, David Freiberg, Peter Kaukonen, Craig Chaquico and Papa John Creach (1974)... The J Geils Band are at № 1 on the US singles chart with 'Centerfold'. Roxy Music occupy the top spot in the UK with 'Jealous Guy' (1981)... The second Beatles Anthology series is released. The album features 'Real  Love', a track the remaining members of the Beatles recorded using an old demo track of John Lennon's. The song was first recorded by Lennon in 1977 with a handheld tape recorder on his piano at home; it originated as part of an unfinished stage play that Lennon was working on at the time entitled 'The Ballad of John and Yoko' (1996)... Former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell's London home is broken into. The intruders leave obscene notes on the walls, steals the singer's computer and hi-fi, and throws milk and Ribena fruit drink on the walls. They also steal a necklace that once belonged to Elizabeth Taylor (2001)... 50 Cent becomes the first solo artist to have three singles in the US Top 5. 'Candy Shop' is at № 1, with 'How We Do' by The Game, (a member of his G-Unit group) at № 4 and 'Disco Inferno' at № 5 (2005)... Shakira is set to become the first pop star to release a single only in the form of a mobile download. The singer's forthcoming release 'Hips Don't Lie' will not be issued in the US as a CD or as a download via the internet but will be available to phone users connected to Verizon (2006).

March 18th

Musical birthdays today include musical theatre composer John Kander [best known for Cabaret and Chicago] (99), former Doobie Brothers drummer John Hartman (76), session guitarist Bernie Tormé (74), Irene Cara (67), ex-Hüsker Dü drummer Grant Hart (65), singer-songwriter James McMurtry (64), Alice in Chains lead guitarist Jerry Cantrell (60), ex-Lush guitarist Miki Berenyi (59), Dana Owens AKA Queen Latifah (56), Evan and Jaron Lowenstein (52), original Jamiroquai bassist Stuart Zender (52), Sutton Foster (51), ex-LFO vocalist Devin Lima (49), Maroon 5 lead singer Adam Levine (47), Trevor Powers AKA Youth Lagoon (37), and multi-instrumentalist and composer Dylan Mattingly (35). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, born on this day in 1844... for country singer-songwriter Lester 'Smiley' Burnette', born in 1911... for jazz trumpeter Pat Halcox, born in 1930... for Wilson Pickett, who would have been 84... for Alan Parsons Project founder Eric Woolfson, who would have been 80... for Procol Harum drummer B.J. Wilson, who would have been 79... for The Mamas and the Papas co-founder John Phillips, who died in 2001... and for Chuck Berry, who left us today in 2018. 

Also on March 18th... Arnold Schoenberg's string sextet Verklärte Nacht, considered one of the most influential pieces in  early 20th century orchestral music, premieres in Vienna... In a Milan hotel room, Enrico Caruso makes the first surviving recording of classical opera. He sings 109 arias for The Grammophone Company and is paid $5000 (1902)... 
In NYC, the Met performs its first opera by an American composer, The Pipe of Desire by Frank Shepherd Converse (1910)... Frank Sinatra makes his first studio recording, a demo of the song 'Our Love' with The Frank Mane Band (1939)... At A&R Studios in NYC, Stan Getz, João Gilberto and collaborators hold the first of two days of sessions that will become the Getz/Gilberto album, the success of which is credited with launching the international popularity of the bossa nova style (1965)... The UK music magazine New Musical Express announces that former Spencer Davis Group lead vocalist Steve Winwood is planning to form a new group with Jim Capaldi, Chris Wood and Dave Mason. [The ensemble  choose the name Traffic]... The Beatles score their 13th US № 1 single with the double A-side 'Penny Lane'/'Strawberry Fields Forever' (1967)... Neil Young hits № 1 in America with 'Heart of Gold', his only stateside Top 20 as a solo performer to date. Meanwhile, Paul Simon's eponymous debut solo effort is at the top of the album chart... T-Rex play the first of two sold-out shows at Wembley's Empire Pool. Ringo Starr films the gig for the Apple documentary 'Born to Boogie' (1972)... The Clash release their first UK single, 'White Riot' (1977)... The Bee Gees have the top 3 entries on the US singles chart, with 'Night Fever' at № 1, '(Love is) Thicker Than Water', written by brother Andy at № 2, and 'Emotion' by Samantha Song written and produced by The Bee Gees at № 3 (1978)... After having produced the sessions for his Empire Burlesque album himself, Bob Dylan makes what is to many the surprising announcement that he has asked hip hop producer Arthur Baker to do the final mix (1985)...  A radio station in Fresno, CA announces that it has arranged to have all of its Cat Stevens records destroyed by having a steamroller run over them;  the former singer, now a convert to Islam, recently made remarks in an appearance at a British university that were widely interpreted as supportive of the Ayatollah Khomeini's fatwa against Salman Rushdie (1989)...
After attending an in-store promo appearance at Dublin's Virgin Megastore, the four members of U2 are fined £500 each after being found guilty of selling condoms in the establishment illegally (1991)... At the 100 Club in London, the Sex Pistols announce that they are reuniting nearly 20 years after their split (1996)... The remains of the Notorious B.I.G. are laid to rest in Inglewood, NJ (1997)... During a promotional appearance by British boy band A1 in a record store in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta,  four girls are killed and two others seriously injured when the crowd breaks into a stampede (2001)... Eddie Vedder inducts The Ramones into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame (2002)... Courtney Love exposes her breasts during an appearance on David Letterman's TV talk show. The singer, who has her back to the audience, flashes the host while singing the song Danny Boy. After the taping, she goes on to perform a surprise gig at the Plaid nightclub in Manhattan, where she is alleged to have injured a spectator by throwing a microphone stand into the crowd. Ms. Love is charged with assault and reckless endangerment (2004)... Organisers of an attempt to reunite 19 people who watched The Beatles play in a town hall in 1963 receive claims from 24 people who said they were there. Billy Shanks is helping to lead the search for the audience members of the gig in Dingwall, Ross-shire, Scotland 48 years earlier. He said that some who turned up thought the music was rubbish and left to join an audience of 1,200 watching a local band in nearby Strathpeffer (2011)... David Bowie's first album in a decade becomes the fastest seller of the year, hitting the No.1 spot in the UK in its first week of release. The Next Day is the 66-year-old's first № 1 since 1993's Black Tie White Noise, and has sold 94,000 copies in the first week (2013).

March 17th

Musical birthdays today include John Sebastian (82), former War drummer Adam Brown (80), producer Patrick Adams (76), ex-Thin Lizzy guitarist Scott Gorham (75), former L.A. Guns lead singer Paul Black (67), ex-Altered Images lead singer Claire Grogan (64), VALIS frontman Van Conner (59), Billy Corgan (59), former Hole bassist Melissa Auf der Maur (54), Corrs drummer Caroline Corr (52), The Darkness frontman Justin Hawkins (51), and Last Shadow Puppets guitarist Miles Kane (40). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Sayed Darwish, [often called the Father of modern Egyptian popular music], born on this day in 1892... for Nat King Cole, born in 1919... for  jazz flautist Paul Horn, born in 1930... for '60s pop star Adam Wade, born in 1935... for former Platters vocalist Zola Taylor, who would have been 87... for Jefferson Airplane guitarist Paul Kantner, who would have been 85... for The Call frontman Michael Been, who would have been 76... for Boyzone vocalist Stephen Gately, who would have been 50... for ex-Traffic and Blind Faith bassist Ric Grech, who died on this date in 1990 at the age of 43... for longtime ABBA drummer Ola Brunkert, who was found dead in his Majorca home with his throat cut today in 2008 ~ he was 62... and for former Box Tops lead singer Alex Chilton, who left us today in 2010. 

Also on March 17th: In Warsaw, 20-year-old Frédéric Chopin makes his concert debut. Among the pieces on the program is the composer's own Piano Concerto in f minor (1830)... Tchaikovsky's opera Eugene Onegin premieres in Moscow (1879)... Elvis buys the Graceland mansion from Mrs. Ruth Brown-Moore for $102,500. The original building was at one time a place of worship, and was given its name by the Graceland Baptist Church (1957)... With Rudy Van Gelder producing, John Coltrane has his final studio session, recording the title track for Expression, the last album he approved for release before his death... Harpist Sheila Bromberg becomes the first woman to play on a Beatles recording when she adds her part to the Sgt. pepper track 'She's Leaving Home'... The Grateful Dead's eponymous debut album is released (1967)... The Bee Gees make their US television debut on The Ed Sullivan Show (1968)... Eric Weissberg & Deliverance go to № 1 on the Billboard singles chart with 'Duellin' Banjos' (1973)... U2 win £500 and a chance to audition for CBS Ireland in a talent contest in Dublin (1978)... Van Halen's 'Jump' hits № 1 in the US. Over the years, David Lee Roth has given various explanations of the lyrics, but has most often said they came to him while watching live TV news coverage of a man threatening to kill himself by leaping off a building (1984)...  Ray Davies receives his CBE medal from the Queen at Buckingham Palace (2004)... The Smiths, who split acrimoniously in 1987, turn down a $5 million offer from the promoters of Coachella  to reunite for a one-off performance at this year's festival (2006)... John Lennon and George Harrison are honoured with a blue Heritage Plaque at the site of the former Apple Boutique at 94 Baker St., London (2013).

March 16th

Musical birthdays today include former Jordanaires vocalist Ray Walker (92), free jazz guitarist Keith Rowe (86), Kazakh accordionist & composer Ramzan Paskayev (79), Asleep at the Wheel frontman Ray Benson (75), Nancy Wilson (72), William Drayton, Jr. AKA Flavor Flav (67), Dokken drummer Jimmy DeGrasso (63), Scooter frontman H.P. Baxxter (62), Tracy Bonham (59), Mountain Goats lead singer John Darnielle (59), R&B and soul singer Tiffany Cobb AKA Blu Cantrell (50), and Wolfgang Van Halen (35). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for New Orleans Rhythm Kings clarinetist Leon Roppolo, born on this day in 1902... for jazz trumpeter Reuben 'Ruby' Braff and operatic soprano Christa Ludwig, both born in 1928... for jazz pianist Tommy Flanagan, born in 1930... for singer-songwriter Fred Neil [best remembered for 'Everybody's Talkin'], who would have been 89... for Jerry Jeff Walker, who would have been 84... for Tammi Terrell, who died of a malignant brain tumour on this day in 1970 at the age of 24... for T-Bone Walker, who died in 1975... for former Bonham lead singer Daniel McMaster, who passed away in 2008... and for former Spinners vocalist Bobby Smith, who left us today in 2013.

Also on March 16th: Handel's oratorio Theodora premieres at Covent Garden (1750)... The NY Philharmonic are the first orchestra to play Anton Bruckner's 4th Symphony (1888)... At Rudy Van Gelder's studio in Hackensack, NJ, Miles Davis records the final tracks on what will become the album Collectors' Items (1956)... The Platters are at № 1 in both Britain and America with 'Smoke Gets in Your Eyes' (1959)... 
The Beatles set a new record for advance sales in the US with 2.1 million copies of their latest single 'Can't Buy Me Love' (1964)... The Rolling Stones have their first UK № 1 with a song written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards when 'The Last Time' tops the chart (1965)... The Beatles finish shooting the 'ski lift' segment of Help! in Innsbruck, Austria (1966)... 
 Fleetwood Mac, The Move, Amen Corner, Peter Sarstedt, The Tymes, Harmony Grass and Geno Washington all appear at 'Pop World 69' at London's Wembley Empire Pool (1969)... Simon and Garfunkel win both Song and Album of the Year at the Grammys, for Bridge over Troubled Water (1971)... John Lennon is served with a deportation order by the US Immigration & Naturalization Service, and immediately lodges an appeal with the New York office (1972)... Elvis plays live in Memphis for the first time since 1961 when he kicks off a four-night residency at the Mid-South Coliseum (1974)... After being with the label for just six days, The Sex Pistols are fired from A&M due to pressure from the company's other artists and its Los Angeles head office. 25,000 copies of 'God Save The Queen' were pressed and the band made £75,000 ($127,500) from the deal... Pink Floyd play the first of 5 sold-out nights at the Empire Pool, Wembley, performing their new album Animals in its entirety (1977)... The Who release Face Dances, their first album since the death of Keith Moon (1981)... MTV America launches a contest to give away Jon Bon Jovi's childhood home in Perth Amboy, NJ (1989)...  Seven members of country singer Reba McEntire's band and her road manager are among 10 people who are killed when their private jet crashes in California just north of the Mexican border. McEntire, who had given a private concert in San Diego for IBM employees the night before, was not on the plane (1991)... In Buenos Aires, The Ramones play what they say will be their final live show (1996)... The Hollies are inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame along with Genesis and ABBA... A previously unknown Led Zeppelin recording from the group's 1971 gig at  St Matthew's Baths Hall in Ipswich is unearthed at a rummage sale. The bootleg copy of the audio from the group's gig on November 16th 1971 was picked up for just "two or three pounds" by music fan Vic Kemp. "I was going through a stand of CDs at the car boot at Portman Road and the guy who was selling them said, 'You might be interested in this,'" Kemp told the Evening Star. "It must have been recorded by someone standing at the front with a microphone. You can hear Robert Plant talking to the audience quite clearly" (2010).

March 15th

Musical birthdays today include ex-Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh (86), Mike Love (85), Ry Cooder (79), Howard Devoto (74), former Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider (71), Terence Trent D'Arby (64), Poison lead singer Bret Michaels (63), Kennedy Gordy AKA Rockwell (62), Sugar Ray lead singer Mark McGrath (58), producer & Black Eyed Peas singer William Adams AKA will.i.am (51), Linkin Park DJ & sampler Joe Hahn (49), and rapper & Ca$hville Records president David Darnell Brown AKA Young Buck (45). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Lightnin' Hopkins, born on this day in 1912... for Harry James, born in 1916... for jazz clarinetist and band leader Bob Wilber, born in 1928... for drummer & former Elvis sideman D.J. Fontana, born in 1931... for Brill Building songwriter Howard Green [best remembered for 'Breaking up Is Hard to Do' and 'Everybody's Somebody's Fool'), who would have been 88... for Sly Stone, who would have been 83 today... for Lester 'Prez' Young, who died on this date in 1959... for saxophonist and band leader Bud Freeman, who passed away in 1991... and for rapper Nathaniel Hale AKA Nate Dogg, who left us in 2011. 

Also on March 15th: Beethoven himself conducts the premiere performance of his 4th Symphony at a charity benefit in Vienna (1807)... 22-year-old Enrico Caruso makes his debut, singing the lead tenor role in Domenico Morelli's comic opera L'Amico francesco at the Teatro Nuovo in Naples (1895)...Elvis Presley signs his first management contract with Colonel Tom Parker... Atlantic Records release the Ray Charles single 'I Got a Woman', often considered the first modern soul music track (1955)... 'My Fair Lady' premieres on Broadway at the Mark Hellinger Theater (1956)... Coleman Hawkins' The Hawk Flies High is released (1957)... In Palermo, Luciano Pavarotti sings his first lead role, as the Duke in Rigoletto (1962)... The first session for the recording of George Harrison's new song ‘Within You Without You’ takes place at Abbey Road. George is the only Beatle to perform on this song, which still does not have a title. Harrison played the swordmandel and tamboura, Natver Soni plays tabla, Amrat Gajjar played dilruba, P.D. Joshi plays swordmandel, and Rashna Pranamawath plays the droning tamboura (1967)... Cream's final original album Goodbye goes to № 1 in the UK... Janis Joplin gets her first Rolling Stone cover (1969)... DJ Robert Morgan at radio KHJ in Los Angeles plays the Donny Osmond single 'Puppy Love' for 90 minutes straight until police, alerted by listeners that something might be wrong at the station, burst into the studio. The officers leave without making any arrests, but urge Morgan to change the record (1972)... Roberta Flack has the № 1 single in the US with 'Killing Me Softly with His Song', while Elton John has the top album with Don't Shoot Me, I'm Only the Piano Player (1973)... The five original members of The Band release their final studio album Islands (1977)... Bob Dylan is inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame at the 13th annual dinner held at the Hilton Hotel in NYC. After the ceremony, Dylan gives a short interview to Jane Hansen which is broadcast by NBC-TV (1982)... The Bangles are at № 2 on the singles charts in both the US and the UK with 'Manic Monday' ~ ironically, the song fails to reach the top spot on either side of the Atlantic because of 'Kiss' by Prince, who wrote the Bangles' hit under the pseudonym 'Christopher' (1986)... Mick Jagger kicks off his first ever solo tour with three shows in Osaka, Japan. The show is mostly made up of Rolling Stones songs, including some that Jagger has not performed live in years, e.g. 'Bitch', 'Gimme Shelter', 'Ruby Tuesday' and 'Sympathy for the Devil', as well as the Jimi Hendrix song 'Foxy Lady' (1988)... The Stones sign a $70 million deal to play 50 North American dates later in the year. It is the most lucrative tour contract in rock history to date (1989)... Bruce Springsteen is inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame by Bono (1999)... Sir Paul McCartney confirms that he and Heather Mills have now become an 'item' (2000)... Yoko Ono unveils a seven foot bronze statue of John Lennon overlooking the check-in hall of the newly renamed Liverpool John Lennon airport. The hall also receives the addition of a mural of the former Beatle's face that includes the words 'Above Us Only Skies' (2002).