March 3rd

Musical birthdays today include former Searchers lead singer Mike Pender (84), Jennifer Warnes (79), Roger Waters sideman and former Thin Lizzy guitarist Terry 'Snowy' White (78), Robyn Hitchcock (73), Hooters guitarist John Lilley (72), Ronan Keating (49), and rapper Wesley 'Lil' Flip' Weston, Jr. (45). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for bluegrass legend Doc Watson, born today in 1923... for double bassist and John Coltrane sideman Jimmy Garrison, born in 1934... for ex-Henry Cow woodwinds player Lindsay Cooper, who would have been 75... for composer Johann Pachelbel, who died on this date in 1706... for classical pianist Paul Wittgenstein, who died in 1961... for Danny Kaye, who passed away in 1987... for flamenco guitarist Carlos Montoya, who died in 1993... for Beatles recording engineer Norman Smith, who passed away in 2008... for Ronnie Montrose, who lost a long battle with cancer in 2012... and for former Miracles vocalist Bobby Rogers, who left us today in 2013. 

Also on March 3rd: Bizet's Carmen receives its premiere at the Opéra Comique in Paris (1875)... Cab Calloway records 'Minnie the Moocher', which will become the first million-selling jazz single (1930)... President Herbert Hoover signs the bill making The Star-Spangled Banner the official US national anthem (1931)... Jackie Brenston, backed by Ike Turner and his band, records 'Rocket 88' [often cited as the first ever rock 'n' roll record] at Sam Phillips' studio in Memphis, TN (1951)... In Los Angeles, Neil Young, Stephen Stills and Richie Furay form Buffalo Springfield (1966)... Led Zeppelin record their first BBC Radio 1 'Top Gear' session at the Playhouse Theatre in London (1969)... The South African Broadcasting Corporation lifts its ban on The Beatles (1971)... Slade debut on the UK single chart at № 1 with 'Com on Feel the Noize', making them the first act since the Beatles to achieve the feat... Robert Flack takes home the Grammy for Song of the Year for 'The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face (1973)... Patti Smith's album Easter is released (1978)... The Bee Gees have the № 1 album in the US with Spirits Having Flown (1979)... Michael Jackson personally unveils his waxwork lookalike at Madame Tussaud's (1985)... The Smashing Pumpkins are banned from performing their new single 'Disarm' on the BBC's Top of the Pops because of the song's lyrical content (1994)... Foo Fighters make their live debut during a benefit show at the Satyricon in Portland, OR (1995)... Ray Jackson files suit against Rod Stewart over the latter's 1971 hit 'Maggie May'. Jackson claims that he came up with the tune's classic mandolin 'hook', and may have lost as much as £1 million because he did not receive credit for it. The musician, who later found fame with Lindisfarne, was payed just £15 for the session in 1971 (2003)... Elton John announces that he intends to marry his longtime partner David Furnish if a change in UK law will allow it (2004)... To celebrate the release of their new album No Line on the Horizon and their appearance every night for a week on the Late Show with David Letterman, NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg announces that part of 53rd street in Midtown Manhattan will temporarily be renamed U2 Way (2009).

March 2nd

Musical birthdays today include operatic bass Robert Lloyd (86), French chansonnier Alain Chamfort (77), former Missing Persons lead singer Dale Bozzio (71), Jay Osmond (71), ex-Cowsills drummer John Cowsill (70), original AC/DC bassist Mark Evans (70), Restless Heart lead singer Larry Stewart (67), Jon Bon Jovi (64), bluesman Alvin Youngblood Hart (63), Wu-Tang Clan rapper Clifford 'Method Man' Smith (55), Chris Martin (49), and Hollywood Undead rapper Aron 'Deuce' Erlichman (43).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for composer Bedřich Smetana, born on this day in 1824... for Kurt Weill, born in 1900... for jazz saxophonist Eddie 'Lockjaw' Davis, born in 1922... for Riverside Records producer Orrin Keepnews, born in 1923... for Four Tops vocalist Lawrence Payton, who would have been 88 today... for Lou Reed, who would have been 84... for former Shadows drummer Tony Meehan, who would have been 82... for Taste lead singer Rory Gallagher, who would have been 78... for Karen Carpenter, who would have been 76... for jazz guitarist Charlie Christian, who died on this date in 1942... for Serge Gainsbourg, who died in 1991... for Dusty Springfield, who passed away in 1999... for Hank Ballard, who died in 2003... and for Jeff Healey, who left us today in 2008. 

Also on March 2nd: The first ballet performed in Britain, The Loves of Mars and Venus, premieres at the Drury Lane Theatre in London (1717)... Bo Diddley has his first recording session at Universal Studios in Chicago (1955)... Miles Davis convenes the first of the two sessions that will produce Kind of Blue (1959)... After his discharge from the US Army, Elvis steps on British soil for the first and only time in his life when the plane carrying him back to America makes a refuelling stop at Prestwick, Scotland (1960)... The Four Seasons become the first group to have three consecutive № 1 singles in America when 'Walk like a Man' goes to the top of the charts (1963)... The Beatles begin filming 'A Hard Day's Night' at London's Marylebone train station, and George Harrison meets Patti Boyd for the first time (1964)... The film version of The Sound of Music has its world premiere in New York (1965)... Stevie Wonder takes home four Grammys, including Album of the Year for Innervisions... Terry Jacks has the № 1 song in both Britain and America with 'Seasons in the Sun' (1974)... An LAPD motorcycle officer who pulls over a Lincoln Continental for running a red light is surprised to find Paul McCartney at the wheel with his wife Linda beside him. Detecting an odour of marijuana, the officer searches the occupants and vehicle and finds eight ounces of cannabis on Mrs. McCartney, who is arrested for the offence (1975)... Gigs around the UK tonight include Black Sabbath at the Apollo in Glasgow, AC/DC at the Top Rank in Swansea, and David Bowie and Iggy Pop on a double bill at Newcastle City Hall (1977)... Compact discs and players are released in major markets outside of Japan for the first time... Bananarama release their debut album Deep Sea Skiving (1983)... The Smiths top the UK singles chart with 'How Soon Is Now' (1985)... Madonna's new single 'Rescue Me' enters the Billboard Hot 100 at № 15, the highest debut by a female artist in the history of the chart (1991)... Jimi Hendrix is crowned 'Wildest Guitar Hero of All Time' in poll amongst readers of Classic Rock Magazine. Hendrix beat out second place finisher Keith Richards, with Stevie Ray Vaughn and Jimmy Page rounding out the top 4 (2007).

March 1st

Musical birthdays today include Cuban composer & guitarist Leo Brouwer (87), ex-Blood, Sweat & Tears lead singer Jerry Fisher (84), former Manfred Mann lead singer Mike d'Abo (82), Roger Daltrey (82), Winston Rodney, AKA Burning Spear (81), Nik Kershaw (68), Gin Blossoms bassist Bill Leen (64), Soulsystem drummer Rob Affuso (63), singer-songwriter Mary-Lou Lord (61), Super Furry Animals drummer Dafydd Ieuan (56), Ke$ha (39), and Justin Bieber (32).  

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Glenn Miller, born on this day in 1904... for Harry Belafonte, born in 1927... for record producer and manager Gerry Bron, born in 1933... for Québécois rocker Gerry Boulet, who would have been 80... for choral composer and poet Thomas Campion, who died on this date in 1621... for pianist and long-time Art Blakey sideman Bobby Timmons, who passed away today in 1974... and for original Jackson 5 drummer Johnny Jackson, who left us today in 2006. 

Also on March 1st: Buddy Holly kicks off what will be his only UK tour with a show at the Trocadero in London (1958)... Cellist Jacqueline du Pré makes her concert debut at London's Wigmore Hall... Elvis Presley signs a 5-year movie deal with Hal Wallis (1961)... At Abbey Road, the Beatles begin recording 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds' (1967)... Elton John's first single 'I've Been Loving You Too Long' is released in Britain on the Phillips label... Johnny Cash and June Carter are married (1968)... Jim Morrison is charged with lewd and lascivious behaviour after allegedly exposing himself to the crowd during a gig in Miami (1969)... Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon is released (1973)... Chris Difford places a handwritten advert in a shop window saying 'Lyricist seeks musician for co-writing. Glen Tillbrook is the first to answer the ad, and the two will go on to form Squeeze (1974)... The Eagles have their first US № 1 with 'Best of My Love' (1975)... Fred 'Sonic' Smith and Patti Smith are married (1980)... Janet Jackson opens her Rhythm Nation 1814 World Tour at the Miami Arena. As part of the show, Jackson has a live panther on stage, but after a widespread expression of concern for public safety, and several incidents of the panther urinating on the stage, the big cat is banished from the act after five shows (1990)... Nirvana play their final concert at the Terminal Eins in Munich. The venue, with a capacity of 3,000, is a disused airport hangar. When the power goes off halfway through the show, the band play an impromptu acoustic set, including a version of 'My Best Friend's Girl' by The Cars (1994)... Bruce Springsteen's 'Streets of Philadelphia' wins Song of the Year at the Grammys (1995)... Steely Dan release Two against Nature, their first studio album in 20 years (2000)... Kelly Clarkson becomes the only American Idol winner to date to have a UK № 1, when 'My Life Would Suck without You' tops the British chart (2009)

February 28th

Musical birthdays today include jazz pianist Mike Wofford (88), former Jaggerz and Wild Cherry lead singer Donnie Iris (83), film director, score composer and trumpeter Mike Figgis (78), Black Sabbath keyboardist Geoff Nichols (78), B-52s vocalist Cindy Wilson (69), Train lead singer Patrick Monahan (57), Jason Aldean (49), and Jake Bugg (32). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for classical pianist Guiomar Novaes, born on this day in 1895... for jazz violinist Svend Asmussen, born in 1916... for guitarist John Fahey, who would have been 87 today... for Nashville session guitarist Joe South, who would have been 86... for Brian Jones, who would have been 84.. for producer Brian Delph, who would have been 69... for one-hit wonder Bobby Bloom ['Montego Bay'], who took his own life today in 1974 at the age of 28... for original Uriah Heep lead singer David Byron, who died in 1985... for classical violinist Helmut Zacharias, who passed away in 2002... for Searchers drummer Chris King, who died in 2005... and for Dave Clark Five lead singer Mike Smith, who left us today in 2008. 

Also on February 28: Handel's opera Siroe, de di Persia premieres in London (1728)... The first public recital of Schubert's lieder takes place in Vienna (1819)... Jules Massenet's final opera Cleopatre premieres in Monte Carlo (1914)... Motown records release the LP The Fabulous Miracles (1963)... Police have to be called to dislodge music fans who have barricaded themselves inside Liverpool's Cavern Club to protest the venue's definitive closure... Gene Clark announces that he is leaving the Byrds (1966)... In an interview with the New Musical Express, Fleetwood Mac founder Peter Green talks about his plans to give all of his money away. The following year, he will threaten his accountant with a gun for presenting him with a royalty cheque... Led Zeppelin play a gig in Copenhagen billed as 'The Nobs' after Eva von Zeppelin,  a descendant of the airship designer, threatens legal action if the family name is used in Denmark... Simon and Garfunkel's 'Bridge over Troubled Water' begins a 6-week run at № 1 in the US ~ chart supremacy for the song in Britain will begin in 2 weeks' time... Van Morrison's album Moondance is released (1970)... George and Patti Harrison are injured in a car crash; Patti will be in a coma for nearly a week, but will make a complete recovery (1972)... Paul Simon's 'Still Crazy after All These Years' wins Best Pop Vocal Performance and Best Album at the 18th Grammys. In his acceptance speech, the singer says "I'd like to thank Stevie Wonder for not releasing an album this year" (1976)... Ray Charles is attacked on stage in Detroit by a man who attempts to strangle him with a microphone cord. The assailant is a member of a group called Project Heavy, a community project for disadvantaged youths (1977)... U2's War is released (1983)... George Michael announces the dissolution of Wham! (1986)... Bob Dylan goes into The Studio in New Orleans to begin recording the Oh Mercy album with Daniel Lanois at the controls... The Indigo Girls release their eponymous debut album (1989)... Eric Clapton plays his 100th show at the Royal Albert Hall, this one a fundraiser for the 'Children in Crisis' charity (1994)... The Arctic Monkeys win British band of the year at the NME Awards in London's O2 Arena. Blackout by Britney Spears is named Worst Album of the Year (2008).

February 27th

Musical birthdays today include bluesman Jimmy Burns (84), Cockney Rebel frontman Steve Harley (75), Journey guitarist Neal Schon (72), Iron Maiden guitarist Adrian Smith (69), Lynyrd Skynyrd lead singer Johnny Van Zant (67), classical violinist Frank Peter Zimmermann (61), TLC vocalist Rozonda 'Chilli' Thomas (55), and Josh Groban (45). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for composer Hubert Parry, born on this day in 1848... for operatic soprano born Lotte Lehmann, born in 1888... for Marian Anderson, born in 1897... for jazz singer Mildred Bailey, born in 1907... for Dexter Gordon, born in 1923... for pioneering rock 'n' roll guitarist Sidney 'Hardrock' Gunter, born in 1924... for English topical song comedian Jake Thackray, who would have been 88... for sound artist and Coil co-founder Peter Christopherson, who would have been 71... for Frankie Lymon, who died of  a drug overdose today in 1968 at the age of 25... for drummer, bandleader and Goon Show regular Ray Ellington, who passed away on this date in 1985... and for classical pianist Van Cliburn, who left us today in 2012.  

Also on February 27th: William Byrd is appointed organist and choir master at Lincoln Cathedral (1563)... Beethoven's 8th Symphony in F premieres in Vienna (1814)... Robert Schumann is rescued from an attempt to drown himself in the Rhine (1854)... 21-year-old former hairdresser and Cavern Club cloakroom attendant Cilla Black has her first UK № 1 with 'Anyone Who Had a Heart'... The Rolling Stones make their second appearance on Top of the Pops, performing 'Not Fade Away' (1964)... At Abbey Road Studios, Pink Floyd continue working on their debut album Piper of the Gates of Dawn. With the exception of two group-composed instrumentals and one Roger Waters song, all the material on the album was written by Syd Barrett... Elvis releases his first all-gospel album, How Great Thou Art (1967)... 5 months after her death, Janis Joplin's album Pearl goes to the top of the US album chart, where it will stay for 9 weeks (1971)... Continuing their tour of Australia, Led Zeppelin play the Sydney Showgrounds, with Jimmy Page appearing clean shaven for the first time in two years (1972)... Cher files for divorce from Sonny Bono (1974)... Keith Richards is led out of Toronto's Harbour Castle hotel in handcuffs after a raid on his room by 15 Mounties nets an ounce of heroin. The guitarist is charged with possession with intent to traffic, and faces up to seven years in prison (1977)... James Brown is paroled after serving two years of a six-year sentence for leading police on a car chase across two states (1991)... Her 14th week at № 1 in the US with 'I Will Always Love You' gives Whitney Houston the new record for longest reigning American chart topper (1993)... A worker in a supermarket in Aspen, CO calls the police after spotting a man in a ski mask pushing a cart up and down the aisles. Officers arrive on the scene and identify the mysterious customer as Michael Jackson, who is in town on holiday with his children (1994)... Pictures appear in the UK press of Pete Doherty visiting a zoo in Oxfordshire with his girlfriend Kate Moss. The Babyshambles lead singer is harshly criticized by veterinarians after pictures show him tossing the remains of a cannabis joint to a group of penguins (2007).

February 26th

Musical birthdays today include Mitch Ryder (81), Sandie Shaw (79), soprano soloist Emma Kirkby (77), Journey keyboardist Jonathan Cain (77), Michael Bolton (73), Killing Joke lead singer Jaz Coleman (66), Rage against the Machine bassist Tim Commerford (58), Erykah Badu AKA 'Th First Lady of Neo-soul' (55), Snow Patrol drummer Johnny Quinn (54), Dispatch guitarist & singer Brad Corrigan (53) Corinne Bailey Rae (47), Sharon van Etten (45), Fun lead singer Nate Ruess (43), Natalia Lafourcade (41) and Automatic Loveletter vocalist Juliet Simms (40/span>). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Fats Domino, born on this day in 1928... for classical pianist Lazar Berman, born in 1929... for Johnny Cash, born in 1932... for Canned Heat lead singer Bob Hite, who would have been 82... for trumpeter Roy 'Little Jazz' Eldridge, who died on this day in 1989... for former Platters and Coasters vocalist Cornell Gunter, who died in 1990... and for former Band of Gypsies and Electric Flag drummer Buddy Miles, who left us today in 2008. 

Also on February 26th: Franz Schubert's Symphony no. 4 in c minor, commonly known as the 'Tragic', receives its premiere in Leipzig more than 50 years after its composition, and nearly 40 years after the composer's death (1869)...  The Original Dixieland Jass Band [the spelling 'jazz' would not become definitive until the early '20s] records the first jazz record, for the Victor Talking Machine Co. in NYC (1917)... Billboard Magazine reports that for the first time since their introduction in 1949, 45 RPM records are outselling 78s (1955)... Jimmy Page releases a solo single in the UK called 'She Just Satisfies', which he produced and played all the instruments on with the exception of the drums (1965)... Nancy Sinatra is at № 1 on both sides of the Atlantic with 'These Boots Were Made for Walking'. Meanwhile, Rubber Soul reigns atop the album charts (1966)... The Beatles collection of non-album singles and B-sides Hey Jude is released in the US (1970)... During a court case between The Sex Pistols and their former manager Malcom McLaren, it is revealed that only £30,000 of the £800,000 that the band earned can be accounted for (1979)... After seeing U2 play at Dublin's National Boxing Stadium in front of 2,400 people, Rob Partridge and Bill Stewart of Island Records offer the band a recording contract (1980)... At Bob Dylan's Rundown Studios in Santa Monica, CA, Allen Ginsberg records two songs ('Do the Meditation' and 'Airplane Blues'), with Dylan on bass, Jim Keltner on drums, and Steve Taylor on guitar... Thriller arrives at № 1 on the Billboard album chart, a position that it will occupy for the next 37 weeks (1983)... A 10-minute version of The Beatles' 'Revolution 1' is leaked onto the Internet, giving fans a never-before-heard idea of what the White Album sessions were like. Only two copies of the take were made when the song was completed on June 4, 1968. One copy left the studio that day with John Lennon, and the other remained behind. Which copy was leaked and by whom remains a mystery (2009).

February 25th

Musical birthdays today include former Vinegar Joe vocalist Elkie Brooks (81), bluegrass banjo player Pete Wernick (80), Doug Yule (79), Emitt Rhodes (76), ex-Daniel Amos lead guitarist Jerry Chamberlain (74), X frontman John Doe (72), The Alarm frontman Mike Peters (67), Bad Religion guitarist Brian Baker (61), Julio Iglesias, Jr. (52), former Cradle of Filth vocalist Sarah Jezebel Deva (49), The Used lead singer Bert McCracken (44), and Music for Dead Birds singer Danny Monaghan (38).


Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Enrico Caruso, born on this day in 1873... for Ralph Stanley, born in 1927... for former NBC Orchestra lead saxophonist Tommy Newsom, born in 1929.... for country singer Faron Young, born in 1932... for George Harrison, who would have been 83 today... for pop songwriter Johnny Burke [best remembered for 'Pennies from Heaven' and 'Moonlight Becomes You'], who died on this date in 1964... for former Marshall Tucker Band lead guitarist Toy Caldwell, who died in 1993... for folk singer Mark Spoelstra, who passed away in 2007, and for ex-Allman Brothers Band guitarist 'Dangerous Dan' Toler, who left us today in 2014. 


Also on February 25th: George M. Cohan's first musical The Governor's Son' opens on Broadway (1901)... Elvis has his first major US hit when his single 'I Forgot to Remember to Forget' goes to № 1 on the Billboard Country & Western chart (1956)... Buddy Holly records 'That'll Be the Day' at the Norman Petty Studio in Clovis, NM (1957)... Columbia records releases Barbra Streisand's debut LP, The Barbra Streisand Album (1963)... Back from America, the Beatles record 'Can't Buy Me Love', 'You Can't Do That' and 'I Should Have Known Better' at Abbey Road Studios (1964)... Pink Floyd appear at the Ricky Tick Club in Hounslow, greater London. The Yardbirds were filmed there the previous year for a scene in Michelangelo Antonioni's film 'Blow Up' (1967)... Led Zeppelin play their first ever gig in New Zealand at the Western Springs Stadium in Auckland. News reviews published the next day report that the band could be heard over 5 miles from the venue... Pink Moon, Nick Drakes's third and final album, is released (1972)... The Jam sign with Polydor Records for £6,000 (1977)... Christopher Cross wins the Song of the Year Grammy for 'Sailing' (1981)... Van Halen have the № 1 single in America with 'Jump' (1984)... U2 kick off their first full-scale large venue American tour at the Reunion Arena in Dallas, TX ... Tears for Fears release Songs from the Big Chair (1985)... Simple Minds go to № 1 in the UK with 'Belfast Child'. Clocking in at 6:39, it is the second-longest British no. 1 ever after 'Hey Jude' (1988)... At Radio City Music Hall, Bob Dylan is handed 3 Grammys, including Best Album for Time out of Mind'. During Dylan's performance of the song 'Not Dark Yet', background dancer Michael Portnoy rips his shirt off, takes a position next to Dylan centre stage and reveals the words 'Soy Bomb' painted on his chest (1998)... Lil' Kim says that a shooting which occurred after she left a NYC radio station had nothing to do with her. One person was wounded in the fusillade of 22 bullets outside of Hot 97. According to the New York Daily News, the incident was the result of a feud between Lil' Kim and rival rappers Capone-N-Noreaga (2001)... George Michael is found slumped over in a car in London's Hyde Park. A concerned passerby spotted the singer and called police, who, after having Michael checked by paramedics, arrested him on suspicion of possessing drugs before then releasing him on bail. Michael makes a public statement about the incident and says "I was in possession of class C drugs, which is an offense, and I have no complaints about the police who were professional throughout." He also says that the event was "my own stupid fault, as usual." (2006)... President Obama honours Stevie Wonder, his musical idol, with America's highest award for pop music, the Library of Congress' Gershwin prize at a ceremony at the White House. The president says that the Motown legend was the soundtrack to his youth, and he doubts that his wife would have married him if he hadn't been a fan. Wonder's song 'Signed, Sealed, Delivered' was the theme song during Obama's '08 presidential campaign (2009).