September 22nd

 

Musical birthdays today include jazz singer Marlena Shaw (84), Lighthouse co-founder Paul Hoffert (83), King Sunny Adé (80), David Coverdale (75), Right Said Fred frontmen Fred & Richard Fairbrass (73), Debby Boone (70), Nick Cave (69), Joan Jett (68), ex-Weezer bassist Matt Sharp (57), Rilo Kiley lead guitarist Blake Sennett (50), violinist Emilie Autumn (47), Cribs drummer Ross Jarman (42), and Canadian singer-songwriter Coeur de Pirate [née Béatrice Martin] (37). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for American composer and bandleader Arthur Pryor, born on this date in 1870... for cabaret singer Joni Jame, born in 1930... for songwriter Harry Warren ['That's Amore', 'Chatanooga Choo Choo'], who died on this date in 1981... for Irving Berlin, who passed away in 1989 at the age of 101... and for violin virtuoso Isaac Stern, who left us today in 2001. 

Also on September 22: Webern's String Quartet, op. 28 is given its first performance at the Berkshire Chamber Music Festival in Pittsfield, MA. The work was commissioned by American philanthropist Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge (1938)... Elvis Presley gives a final press conference at the Military Ocean Terminal in Brooklyn, NY before shipping out to Germany with the US 3rd Armored Division on the USS General Randall (1958)... Bob Dylan is on the bill at Carnegie Hall as part of an all-star hootenanny. Dylan performs 'The Ballad of Hollis Brown' for the first time in public (1962)... Herman's Hermits have their first and only UK № 1 with 'I'm into Something Good'... Fiddler on the Roof opens on Broadway (1964)... San Francisco band The Great Society, with then husband and wife Jerry and Grace Slick on drums and lead vocals, respectively, make their live debut at The Coffee Gallery in North Beach... The Who kick off their first Scandinavian tour with a gig in Copenhagen. Roger Daltrey is nearly fired from the band for punching Keith Moon in the jaw just before they go on (1965)... The Doors perform 'Light My Fire' and 'People Are Strange' on The Murray the K Show on WPIX-TV in New York (1967)... The Band release their eponymous second album, which will yield the hit singles 'Up on on Cripple Creek', 'Rag Mama Rag' and 'The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down' (1969)... David Bowie kicks off the North American leg of the Ziggy Stardust world tour at The Music Hall in Cleveland, OH (1972)... The Rolling Stones have the № 1 album in Britain today with Goats Head Soup (1973)... Def Leppard receive their first major press notice when Melody Maker reviews a gig the band recently played in Wolverhampton (1979)... David Geffen incorporates his latest musical venture, the Geffen Records label. His first act signed is John Lennon, who is looking for a home for his just completed album Double Fantasy (1980)... The re-formed King Crimson release Discipline, the band's first album of new material in 7 years (1981)... Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Willie Nelson, Joni Mitchell and Tom Petty headline the first Farm Aid concert at the stadium of the University of Illinois-Champaign  (1985)... Bob Dylan releases Oh Mercy (1989)... Nirvana play their largest gig to date, at Seattle's Motor Sports International Garage. Dave Grohl, who will audition for the band two days from now, is in the audience of 15,000 (1990)... Bryan Adams makes British chart history when '(Everything I Do) I Do It for You' comes in at № 1 for the 12th consecutive week (1991)... Bruce Springsteen's MTV Unplugged session loses the Un- after the Boss turns up with an electric ensemble for a rare live performance with musicians other than the E Street Band (1992)... Diana Ross is arrested on the Concorde after an incident at Heathrow Airport. The singer claims that a female security guard fondled her breasts when frisking her; Ross retaliated by grabbing the guard's genital area... Joe Strummer, Mick Jones and Paul Simonon are all seen in the same room at the same time for the first time in 15 years, as the former bandmates attend the London premiere of the Clash documentary Westway to the World (1999)... 'A Tribute to Heroes' is aired commercial-free on most of the major US TV networks. The live program was organized to raise money for 9/11 charities. Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, U2, Billy Joel, Pearl Jam and Limp Bizkit all perform (2001)... Jimmy Page is made an honorary citizen of Rio de Janeiro for his work raising money to help the city's street children (2005)... Research conducted by UK car maker SEAT shows that 'Bohemian Rhapsody' is the song most likely to be found on British iPods, with 40% of owners of the device having the Queen hit on their playlists (2011)

September 21st

 

Musical birthdays today include rock guitarist Bobby Tench (82), Spinners lead singer G.C. Cameron (81), ex-Eagles lead guitarist Don Felder (79), former XTC lead guitarist Dave Gregory (74), former Motörhead drummer Phil 'Philthy Animal' Taylor (72), Swing Out Sister lead singer Corinne Drewery (67), Faith Hill (9), Barenaked Ladies drummer Tyler Stewart (59), De La Soul's David Jude Jolicoeur AKA Dave (58), Liam Gallagher (54), former Korn drummer David Silveria (54), Glasvegas frontman James Allan (47), and Horrors lead singer Faris Badwan (40). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for composer Gustav Holst, born on this day in 1874... for classical pianist György Sándor, born in 1912... for jazz bassist Leroy 'Slam' Stewart, born in 1914... for jazz vocalist Ward Swingle and longtime Mingus sideman Shafi Hadi, both born in 1929... for Leonard Cohen, born today in 1934... free jazz drummer Sunny Murray, who would have been ..90. for  for Liverpool band leader Rory Storm, who would have been 85... for John Stafford Smith [composer of the tune 'To Anacreon in Heaven', which was later adopted for The Star Spangled Banner], who died on this date in 1836... for jazz bassist Jaco Pastorious, who was killed in an altercation outside a bar today in 1987 at the age of 36... and for ex-King Crimson singer and Bad Company founding member Boz Burrell, who left us today in 2006. 

Also on September 21: Bessie Smith records 'Jailhouse Blues', her first side for Columbia Records (1923)... The № 1 song in the US today is Bobby Vinton's 'Blue Velvet' (1963)... Madame Tussaud's Waxworks gives the Beatles their fifth image change of clothes and hair in 4 years... Stravinsky visits Moscow for the first time since 1920 (1968)... The BBC TV music show The Old Grey Whistle Test premieres. In addition to live acts, clips of Jimi Hendrix performing at Monterey and Bob Dylan singing 'Maggie's Farm' at Newport in 1965 are show on television for the first time. According to presenter Bob Harris, the program [which will run until 1987] derived its name from an old Tin Pan Alley expression ~ when a music publishing company received the first test pressing of a record, they would play it for the people they called 'the old greys', i.e. uniformed doormen. The songs they could remember and whistle after the first hearing were said to have 'passed the old grey whistle test' (1971)... Barry White has his only US № 1 with 'Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Baby' (1974)... Art Pepper goes into the studio to record the album to which he will give the same title as his recently published autobiography, Straight Life (1979)... During a North American tour, Bob Marley collapses while jogging in NYC's Central Park. Hospital tests will show that the singer is suffering from cancer in an advanced stage (1980)...  The National Enquirer runs a cover photo of Michael Jackson in an oxygen chamber for a story claiming that the singer has a 'bizarre plan' to live until he is 150 years old (1986)... Status Quo put themselves in the Guinness Book of World Record by playing 4 gigs in 4 cities [Sheffield, Glasgow, Birmingham and London] within a 12-hour period (1991)... Nirvana release their final studio album In Utero (1993)... The audience at Nashville's Grand Ole Opry witness an historic moment when Hank Williams III makes his debut at the venue. The third-generation country singer leads off his set with 'Lovesick Blues', which grandpa Hank also launched his first Opry performance with it 1949 (1996)... Yusuf Islam [the former Cat Stevens] is denied entry to the United States after his name turns up on an anti-terrorism watch list. The one-time folk singer denies all alleged ties to Hamas (2004)... A contract revealing that the Beatles refused to perform for a segregated audience at the Cow Palace in San Francisco on August 31, 1965 sells for $23,033 at an auction in L.A. (2011). 

September 20th

Musical birthdays today include Styx bassist Chuck Panozzo (78), jazzman Steve Coleman (69), Thompson Twins co-founder Alannah Currie (69), former Housemartins and Beautiful South lead singer Dave Hemingway (65), Soundgarden bassist Ben Shepherd (58), The Feeling frontman Dan Gillespie Sells (47), and Québécoise pop singer Marilou (36). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for jazz guitarist John Collins, born today in 1914... for drummer & bandleader Chico Hamilton, born in 1921... for classical pianist William Kappell, born in 1922... for jazz singer & guitarist Jackie Paris and pop singer Gogi Grant, both born in 1924... for original Coasters member Bobby Nunn, born in 1925... for former Styx drummer John Panozzo, who would have been 78... for Spanish violin virtuoso Pablo de Sarasate, who died on this date in 1908... for singer-songwriter Jim Croce, who was killed in an airplane crash today in 1973 at the age of 30... and for Leonard Skinner, the high school gym teacher who was the namesake of the band Lynyrd Skynyrd, who left us today in 2010. 

Also on September 20: Dimitri Shostakovich's Suite for Jazz Orchestra premieres in Leningrad (1938)... With the Beatles on hiatus, George Harrison travels to India to meet the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi for the first time (1966)... Led Zeppelin, still under the name The New Yardbirds, enter Olympic Studios in London to begin recording their first album. It will take only 36 hours to complete, at a reported cost of £1,780. Almost all of the tracks are recorded live off the floor with no overdubs (1968)... During a group meeting at Abbey Road Studios, John Lennon tells the other Beatles "I want a divorce" and announces that he is leaving the band... 'Sugar Sugar' by the Archies starts a 4-week run at № 1 in the US. It's 8-week stay at the top in Britain will set a longevity record in the spot for a one-hit wonder (1969)... Jim Morrison is acquitted on charges of lewd and lascivious behaviour, but is found guilty of exposing himself during a concert at the Dinner Key Auditorium in Coconut Grove, FL 18 months earlier. After his trial at the Dade County Courthouse in Miami, Judge Henry Goodman sentences the Doors vocalist to six months plus sixty days hard labour for public self-exposure and profanity, and a $500 fine. The sentence will still be on appeal when Morrison dies in Paris the following summer (1970)... Paul and Linda McCartney are arrested for possession of cannabis for the second time this month, this time at their farmhouse in Campbeltown, Scotland (1972)... The Roxy in Los Angeles opens its doors. The first headliners are Neil Young & Crazy Horse (1973)... David Bowie has his first US № 1 single with 'Fame', which he co-wrote with John Lennon (1975)... The four former Beatles turn down a £230 million offer from promoter Sid Bernstein to do a one-off reunion concert for charity (1976)... AC/DC release Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (1976)... Kate Bush becomes the first female solo artist to have a № 1 album in Britain, with Never for Ever. Meanwhile, Queen score their only chart-topping LP in the US with The Game (1980)... Bruce Springsteen releases his first solo album Nebraska (1982)... Steve Winwood and Eric Clapton share a stage for the first time since the demise of Blind Faith when they appear at the ARMS [Artists for Research into Multiple Sclerosis] benefit concert at the Royal Albert Hall (1983)... The musical Miss Saigon has its world premiere in London's West End (1989)... The Dave Matthews Band release the album Under the Table and Dreaming, which features their first widely heard singles including 'What Would You Say' and 'Ants Marching' (1994)... In New Orleans, ex-10,000 Maniacs frontwoman Natalie Merchant kicks off her first solo tour (1995)... Pearl Jam's video for 'Jeremy' is cited as one of the reasons that school shooter Barry Loukaitis snapped and killed his algebra teacher and two fellow students in Washington state. The defendant's attorneys take the unprecedented step of playing the video in the courtroom (1997)... The former north London home of the original members of Pink Floyd is bought by a Singaporean developer named Sham Masterman. The businessman, who admits that he is not a fan of the group, purchases the Highgate house and the one next door for £1.2 million. Syd Barrett, Roger Waters, Rick Wright and Nick Mason all lived in the house in the late '60s. The previous owner, lighting technician Mike Leonard, was landlord and friend to the musicians, and even inspired their group's first name, 'Leonard's Lodgers' (2012)

September 19th

 Musical birthdays today include Bill Medley (86), folk singer Sylvia Tyson (86), pop & Broadway musical singer Freda Payne (84), David Bromberg (81), ex-10cc lead singer Lol Creme (79), Daniel Lanois (75), free jazz guitarist Henry Kaiser (74), Nile Rogers (74), Rex Smith (71), former Runaways lead guitarist Lita Ford (68), Jarvis Cocker (63), Trisha Yearwood (62), heavy metal guitarist & drummer Jimmy Bower (58), rapper Amil (48), indie pop duo Tegan & Sara Quinn (46), and singer-songwriter Eamon (43). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Brian Epstein, born on this day in 1934... for former Chieftains fiddler Martin Fay, who would have been 90... for Cass Elliot, who would have been 85... for country rock pioneer Gram Parsons, who died today in 1973 at the age of 26... and for session drummer Earl Palmer [who played on the original studio recordings of 'Tutti Frutti', 'You've Lost that Lovin' Feelin' and 'River Deep, Mountain High' among many others], who left us today in 2008. 

Also on September 19: Mahler conducts the premiere of his 7th Symphony at the National Theatre in Prague (1908)... 16-year-old English singer Cliff Richard joins his first band, The Dick Teague Skiffle Group (1957)... Chubby Checker hits № 1 on the Billboard chart with 'The Twist' (1960)... The Beatles begin recording 'Piggies' (1968)... Creedence Clearwater Revival score their only British № 1 single with 'Bad Moon Rising' (1969)... The first Glastonbury Festival opens with T Rex and Jethro Tull among the headliners (1970)... Max Weinberg makes his live debut as the drummer in the E Street Band, at a gig at The Main Point in Philadelphia (1974)... The first of a five-night series of MUSE [Musicians United for Safe Energy] concerts takes place at Madison Square Garden ~ performing this evening are Bruce Springsteen, Carly Simon, Jackson Browne and The Doobie Brothers (1979)...  The № 1 album in the US today is the Rolling Stones' Tattoo You ~ it will stay atop the charts for the next two months... Simon & Garfunkel reunite for a free concert in Central Park in NYC (1981)... Tipper Gore and other US political wives form the PMRC [Parents Music Resource Center] as Frank Zappa, Dee Snider and other musicians testify at Congressional hearings on obscenity in popular music (1985)... Pearl Jam release their second album, Vs. It sets a record for most copies sold in its first week in shops that will stand for 5 years, despite the group's refusal to produce any videos for the album's singles (1993)... James Brown is sued by his own daughters for nearly one million dollars of song royalties they say they are owed. The suit brought by Deanna Brown Thomas and Dr. Yamma Brown Lummar, a Houston physician, alleges that Brown is withholding the money because of family grudges (2002)... Former Cream bassist Jack Bruce undergoes a successful liver transplant after being diagnosed with cancer (2003).

September 18th

 

Musical birthdays today include Frankie Avalon (86), former Kansas frontman Kerry Livgren (77), ex-Black Flag lead singer Keith Morris (71), Jayhawks frontman Mark Olson (65), Cutting Crew drummer Martin Beedle (65), Human League vocalist Joanne Catherall (64), musical trendsetter, ex-college DJ and all-around good egg Sharon 'Sherri' Wallach (58), Wu-Tang Clan rapper Darryl 'Cappadonna' Hill (57), operatic soprano Anna Netrebko (55), Mobb Deep rapper Albert 'Prodigy' Johnson (52), and pop and R&B singer Asher Monroe (38). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for singer-songwriter P.F. Sloan, who would have been 81 today... for Dee Dee Ramone, who would have been 75... for jazz guitarist Emily Remler, who would have been 69... for bluesman Blind Willie Johnson, who died on this date in 1945... and for Jimi Hendrix, who left us today in 1970. 

Also on September 18: The Royal Opera House at Covent Garden opens for the first time (1809)... Reggie Workman replaces Jimmy Garrison on bass for the second of the three sessions that it takes the John Coltrane Quartet to record the album Ballads (1962)... The Beatles continue work on the White Album, recording 'Birthday' today. Mal Evans, Yoko Ono and Pattie Harrison contribute backing vocals and handclaps (1968)... Black Sabbath release Paranoid, which will go on to become the group's only № 1 LP in their home country (1970)... The Who score their first and only UK № 1 album with Who's Next. The cover photo, taken at Easington Colliery in County Durham, shows the members of the band having apparently just relieved themselves on a large concrete piling. According to photographer Ethan Russell, only Pete Townshend was actually able to urinate on cue, so rainwater was tipped from an empty film canister to achieve the desired affect... Pink Floyd become the first rock group to play the Montreux Classical Music Festival, performing the album Atom Heart Mother in its entirety (1971)... John Lennon sits in as all-night guest DJ on WNEW-FM in NYC (1974)... The № 1 single in the US today is 'Play That Funky Music' by one-hit wonders Wild Cherry (1976)... Gary Numan takes off on a round the world trip in a single-engine Cessna aircraft. The attempt ends after he is forced down by the Indian air force over Mumbai and arrested when he lands (1981)... Kiss appear for the first time in public without their famous make-up, in an interview with MTV to promote their latest album, Lick It Up (1983)... At Sotheby's of London, Julian Lennon is the top bidder for Paul McCartney's recording notes for 'Hey Jude', as well as for a copy of his father's handwritten lyrics to 'Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite'. The two purchases will cost the younger Lennon £21,000 and £57,500 respectively (1996)... Britney Spears marries Kevin Federline in a private ceremony in Los Angeles (2004)... 73-year-old Willie Nelson and four members of his band are charged with drug possession after cannabis and magic mushrooms are found by Louisiana state troopers after the singer's tour bus is pulled over outside Lafayette (2006)... The documentary 'It Might Get Loud' has its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival (2008)... Leonard Cohen collapses on stage while singing his song 'Bird on a Wire' during a concert in Valencia, Spain and is taken to hospital. The 75-year-old tunesmith will be found to be suffering from food poisoning (2009).

September 17th

 

Musical birthdays today include Fifth Dimension founding member Lamonte McLemore (87), Five Man Electrical Band guitarist Les Emmerson (82), Tubes frontman Fee Waybill (76), Budgie drummer Steve Williams (73), Ned's Atomic Dustbin lead singer Jonn Penney (58), Prodigy singer Keith Flint (55), Simple Plan drummer Chuck Comeau (47), and ex-Panic! At the Disco bassist Jon Walker (40). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Hank Williams and for jazz pianist Ralph Sharon, both born on this day in 1923... for Jeanine Deckers, AKA the Singing Nun, born in 1933... for original Steely Dan drummer Jim Hodder, who would have been 79... for pioneering boogie-woogie pianist Jimmy Yancey, who died on this day in 1951... for former MC5 lead singer Rob Tyner, who passed away in 1991 at the age of 47... and for British cabaret singer Frankie Vaughn, who left us in 1999. 

Also on September 17: Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries is performed in America for the first time at a free concert by the Theodore Thomas Orchestra in NYC's Central Park (1872)... The first 33 1/3 RPM vinyl LP, a recording of Beethoven's 5th Symphony, is demonstrated at the Savoy Plaza Hotel in NYC by RCA Victor. The venture proves impractical owing to the high cost of the record players ($95, or approximately $1150 in today's dollars). The project is shelved, and will not be revived until 1948 (1931)... The Beatles set a new American record for payment for a single show when they receive $150,000 to play Kansas City's Municipal Stadium... Roland Kirk changes labels, going into the studio to record his first album for Limelight. Kirk plays only flute, and records 'Serenade to a Cuckoo', one of his signature tunes, which will later be covered by Jethro Tull (1964)... The Doors are banned from the Ed Sullivan Show after Jim Morrison breaks his promise to the producers to drop 'Girl, we couldn't get much higher' from 'Light My Fire' by singing the offending line anyway. The group also perform their new single 'People Are Strange' (1967)... Newspaper on both sides of the Atlantic run headline stories of Paul McCartney's reported demise. The Beatles bassist was supposedly killed in a car accident in Scotland on the 9th of November, 1966, and a double has been taking his place for public appearances ever since. McCartney tells journalists "Believe me, if I were dead, I'd be the last to know" and that he and Jane Asher were in Kenya at the time of the alleged mishap (1969)... The Sex Pistols play a show for the inmates at Chelmsford Prison, Essex (1976)... The video for Queen's single 'Bicycle Race' is filmed at Wimbledon Stadium, London. It features 65 female models pedalling around the track in the nude on bicycles that were hired for the day. The rental company will reportedly demand payment for all the saddles when they learn how the cycles were used (1978)... The № 1 single in America today is John Waite's 'Missing You' (1984)... Over 4 million copies of the Guns N' Roses albums use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II are simultaneously released for retail sale, making it the largest ship-out in US pop history... An inebriated 19-year-old man is taken off the plane in Denver, CO after harassing members of Hootie and the Blowfish, who are travelling in the first class section (1991)... The Fleetwood Mac reunion tour in support of the band's new album The Dance gets underway in Hartford, CT (1997)... Bono meets with President George W. Bush to discuss increasing US federal funding for AIDS initiatives. At a press conference after their talk, the U2 singer says "I'm not here to peddle a cause. Seven thousand people a day dying isn't a cause, it's an emergency" (2003)... Barry Manilow cancels his appearance on The View because he refuses to be interviewed by conservative co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck. Manilow says that he will speak only to co-hosts Joy Behar, Barbara Walters or Whoopi Goldberg, a demand that the show's producers reject as 'completely disrespectful' (2007). 

September 16th

 

Musical birthdays today include George Chakiris [leader of the Sharks in the film version of West Side Story] (94), blues harmonica player Billy Boy Arnold (91), World Saxophone Quartet founding member Hamiet Bluiett (86), Lovin' Spoonful drummer Joe Butler (85), ex-Hollies bassist Bernie Calvert (84), Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers bassist Ron Blair (78), former Small Faces and The Who drummer Kenney Jones (78), singer-songwriter Vince Bell (75), jazz guitarist Earl Klugh (73), Wire frontman Colin Newman (72), ex-Runaways bassist Victory Tischler-Blue (72), My Bloody Valentine singer & guitarist Bilinda Butcher (65), former Elastica lead singer Justine Frischmann (57), Katie Melua (42), and Nick Jonas (34). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for English librettist John Gay [best remembered for The Beggar's Opera], born on this day in 1685... for scat singer Jon Hendricks, born in 1921... for B.B. King, and for jazz guitarist Charlie Byrd, both born in 1925... for boogie-woogie pianist Little Willie Littlefield, born in 1931... for blues sax player Dick Heckstall-Smith, and for Jamaican session drummer Winston Grennan, both of whom would have been 82 today... for Dead Milkmen bassist Dave Schulthise, who would have been 70... for Marc Bolan, who was killed in an automobile accident at the age of 29 today in 1977, and for operatic diva Maria Callas who died on the same day... for Motown producer and songwriter Norman Whitfield, who passed away in 2008... and for Mary Travers, who left us today in 2009. 

Also on September 16: In a Victor Records studio in Camden, NJ, Enrico Caruso makes his final recording (1920)... No No Nanette has its Broadway premiere (1925)... She Loves You is released in the US on the Swan label. Although the song is currently № 1 in the UK, it will be dormant on the US charts until the Beatles visit America for the first time in February of the following year (1963)... The new Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center opens with the world premiere of Samuel Barber's 'Antony and Cleopatra' starring Leontyne Price... The Kinks' bassist Pete Quaife announces that he is leaving the band ~ he will be replaced by John Dalton... MP Tom Drilberg asks the House of Commons to officially deplore the actions of a London magistrate who the day before called the Rolling Stones "...complete morons who wear filthy clothes" (1966)... The Beatles continue to work on 'Your Mother Should Know' at Abbey Road Studios (1967)... Led Zeppelin are voted group of the year in a Melody Maker readers' poll. For the first time in 8 years, the honour goes to a band other than the Beatles... Jimi Hendrix joins Eric Burdon on stage at Ronnie Scott's in London for what will prove to be the guitarist's final public appearance (1970)... Bob Dylan goes into the studio in NYC to begin the sessions that will produce the Blood on the Tracks album (1974)... The Sugar Hill Gang's 'Rapper's Delight', often considered the song that first popularized hip-hop in the US and subsequently around the world, is released (1979)... U2 jam with B.B. King on a yacht in Sydney Harbour rented for the blues legend's 64th birthday (1989)... Pearl Jam kick off their 'No Code' tour at the Key Arena in Seattle, WA. Because of the band's refusal to play in Ticketmaster's venue areas, they are forced to use alternate ticketing companies, who book the shows in halls which fans complain are remote and hard to get to (1996)... The original lineup of Mott the Hoople reunite for the first time in 24 years for a one-off performance at the Virgin Megastore in Oxford Street, London (1998)... For the first time in 30 years, Bob Dylan has the № 1 album in the US, with 'Modern Times'. The last time the singer achieved the feat was in 1976, with 'Desire'. Dylan also sets a record as the oldest performer to date to top the Billboard album chart, at the age of 65... The members of R.E.M., including original drummer Bill Berry, are inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in Atlanta (2006).