August 3rd

Musical birthdays today include drummer Jimmy Nicol (86), Shirelles vocalist Beverly Lee (84), ex-Byrds bassist John York (79), Alan Parson Project saxophonist Ian Bairnson (72), Spear of Destiny guitarist Kirk Brandon (69), session drummer Martin Atkins (66), Stray Cats bassist Lee Rocker [né Leon Drucker] (64), Metallica lead singer James Hetfield (62), Deftones lead guitarist Stephen Carpenter (56), Salt-n-Pepa rapper DJ Spindarella [née Deidra Roper] (56), Bleeding Through lead singer Brandan Schiepatti (45), and Shiny Toy Guns vocalist Carah Faye Charnow (41).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for trumpeter & bandleader Les Elgart, born on this day in 1917... for Tony Bennett, born in 1926... for Broadway musical lyricist & producer Richard Adler, born in 1921... for soul singer Syreeta Wright, who would have been 79 today... for South African reggae singer Lucky Dube, who would have been 61... and for Love frontman Arthur Lee and operatic soprano Dame Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, both of whom left us today in 2006.

Also on August 3rd: The La Scala opera house in Milan is inaugurated with a performance of Antonio Salieri's Europa Riconosciuta [Europe Rewarded] (1778)... The French National Revolutionary Convention creates the Conservatoire de Paris (1795)... 23-year-old Maria Callas makes her debut in Ponchielli's La Gioconda at the Arena di Verona (1947)... The Beatles play their final show at the Cavern Club. Paid £5 for their first appearance at the venue in 1958, they receive £300 today... The Beach Boys release 'Surfer Girl', Brian Wilson's first song for the group as both writer and producer (1963)... The Rolling Stones go into RCA Studios in Los Angeles to begin nine days of sessions that will produce the Their Satanic Majesties Request album. Today's work will be devoted almost entirely to 'Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadow?'... The repercussions of John Lennon's 'bigger than Jesus' remark continue to spread, as the South African government ban the airplay of Beatles records (1966)... The two-day Newport Pop Festival in Costa Mesa, CA gets under way. Among the acts on the bill are Alice Cooper, Canned Heat, The Chambers Brothers, Country Joe and the Fish, The Electric Flag, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Sonny & Cher, Steppenwolf, and Tiny Tim. Over 100,000 fans attend (1968)... Carl Wilson is indicted in federal court in Los Angeles for taking an unauthorised leave of absence from his job as a hospital orderly, which the Beach Boy was doing as alternative civil service in order to avoid the military draft (1969)... Paul McCartney announces the formation of his new band Wings, which will include wife Linda on keyboards, and guitarist Denny Laine (1971)... In another unusual double bill, Bruce Springsteen opens for Anne Murray at the Schaefer Festival in NYC. It is also the final show that drummer Ernest 'Boom' Carter and pianist David Sancious play with the E Street Band... Bad Company go to № 1 on the US album chart with their self-titled debut. The band are made up of former members of Free [Paul Rodgers and Simon Kirke], Mott the Hoople [Mick Ralphs], and King Crimson [Boz Burrell] (1974)... Madonna scores her first UK № 1 single with 'Into the Groove' from the soundtrack to the film 'Desperately Seeking Susan'... Topping the chart in the US are Tears for Fears with 'Shout' (1985)... The UK tabloid News of the World prints an exclusive interview with 16-year-old model Mandy Smith in which she reveals that she has been having an affair with Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman ~ now 52 ~ for the last two and a half years (1986)... To celebrate the release of their eponymous debut album, Metallica hold a playback party at Madison Square Garden. Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic of Nirvana are among those in attendance (1991)... Los Del Rio start a 14-week run at № 1 in the US with 'Macarena' (1996)... After an absence of 37 years, Bob Dylan returns to the Newport Folk Festival ~ now known as the 'Apple and Eve Newport Folk Festival' ~ where, after donning a wig and false beard, he plays a two-hour, 19-song set (2002)... Queen guitarist Brian May hands in his astronomy PhD thesis 36 years after abandoning it in order to join the band. Dr. May recently carried out observational research in Tenerife, where he studied the formation of 'zodiacal clouds' (2007).

August 2nd

Musical birthdays today include ex-Amen Corner guitarist Andy Fairweather Low (77), former Gong guitarist Steve Hillage (75), ex-Rainbow lead singer Joe Lynn Turner (75), DJ & psychobilly singer Mojo Nixon [né Neil McMillan, Jr.] (69), former Jesus Lizard lead singer David Yow (66), ex-The La's lead singer Lee Mavers (64), Battles drummer John Stanier (58), and pop singer Nayer Regalado (38). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for composer & conductor Arthur Bliss, born on this day in 1891... for Québecois singer-songwriter Félix Leclerc and bluesman Big Walter Price, both born in 1914... for jazzman Roy Crimmins, born in 1929... for country singer Hank Cochran, who would have been 90 today... for Garth Hudson, who would have been 89.. for Shirelles vocalist Doris Coley, who would have been 85... for Traffic drummer Jim Capaldi, who would have been 82... for Echo & the Bunnymen drummer Pete de Freitas, who would have been 65... for Enrico Caruso, who died on this date in 1921... for The Association bassist Brian Cole, who died of a drug overdose on this day in 1972 at the age of 29... for Motown house band bassist James Jamerson, who died from complications of alcoholism on this day in 1983 at the age of 47... for chansonnier Michel Berger, who passed away in 1992... for Fela Kuti, who died in 1997... and for operatic soprano Marguerite Piazza, who left us today in 2012. 

Also on August 2nd: The first festival of the International Society for Contemporary Music is held in Salzburg, Austria; chamber works by Berg, Bartok and Schoenberg are on the programme (1926)... Ralph Peer, a talent scout and A&R man with Victor Records in NYC, arrives in Bristol, VA to begin recording local musicians. Over the next 10 days, he will blanket local villages and hamlets with posters and flyers inviting anyone interested to come and audition for him at the studio he has set up. Among his discoveries are The Carter Family and Jimmie Rogers, who will become the first country superstars (1927)... Touring with Clyde McPhatter, The Cadillacs, Edna McGriff, and Otis Rush, Buddy Holly & the Crickets appear the Howard Theater in Washington, DC. With 'That'll Be the Day' sitting at № 2 on the charts, this is the band's first major US tour (1957)... At the US District Court in NYC, Robert Allen Zimmerman legally becomes Bob Dylan. He has already signed his first publishing deal with Witmark Music earlier in the summer under his adopted name (1962)... The Beatles play a show at the Gaumont Cinema in Bournemouth. Among the opening acts are a 'new and unknown London group' called The Kinks (1964).,.. The Doors score their second US № 1 single with 'Hello I Love You' (1968)... As a guest on this week's edition of The Johnny Cash Show on ABC, Merle Haggard performs his own 'The Fugitive' and a version of Jimmie Rogers' 'Hard Times No More' before joining Cash for  duet on 'Sing Me back Home' (1969)... The Mamas and the Papas file a lawsuit against their record label ABC-Dunhill for over a million dollars in unpaid royalties (1973)... The Clash release their single 'Bank Robber' in the US ~ it was previously available as an import only. The band's label CBS resisted releasing the record on the grounds that it was 'not commercial enough' (1980)... Rick James is arrested in Los Angeles on charges of assault with  deadly weapon, aggravated mayhem and torture and forcible oral copulation, according to accusations made by his girlfriend Tanya Hijazi. The singer is released on $1 million bail (1991)... The Liverpool music store Rushworth and Dreaper close down after 150 years of trading. The store became famous for supplying The Beatles and other Merseyside groups with their instruments (2000)... New Orleans International Airport is renamed Louis Armstrong Airport (2001).

August 1st

Musical birthdays today include folksinger Ramblin' Jack Elliott (95), BTO guitarist Tim Bachman (75), bluesman Robert Cray (73), singer-songwriter & producer Michael Penn (68), Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott (65), rapper Chuck D [né Carlton Ridenhour] (66), rapper Professor Griff [né Richard Griffin] (66), rapper Coolio [né Artis Ivey Jr.] (63), Counting Crows lead singer Adam Duritz (62), Disturbed guitarist Dan Donegan (58), and Dhani Harrison (48). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Francis Scott Key, author of the Star-Spangled Banner, born on this day in 1779... for film score composer Walter Scharf, born in 1910... for  operatic bass-baritone Theo Adam, born in 1924... for Jerry Garcia, who would have been 84 today... for King Crimson and Bad Company bassist Boz Burrell, who would have been 80... for James Gang & Deep Purple guitarist Tommy Bolin, who would have been 76... for 10,000 Maniacs guitarist Rob Buck, who would have been 67... for classical pianist John Ogdon, who died on this date in 1989... for classical pianist Sviatoslav Richter, who passed away in 1997... and for Irish folksinger Tommy Makem, who left us today in 2007. 

Also on August 1st: John Phillip Sousa is voluntarily discharged from the United States Marine Corps in order to form his own band (1892)... Antonin Dvořák completes his New World Symphony whilst on a visit to a Czech immigrant settlement in Spillville, Iowa (1893)... Aretha Franklin goes into a studio in Detroit to record 'Every Day I Sing the Blues', her first secular track (1960)... The first issue of 'Beatles Monthly' is published. A magazine devoted to the group, it will publish 77 issues before folding in 1969, and at its peak will have 350,000 subscribers (1963)... Billboard Magazine publishes an article on the comeback of the harmonica in pop and rock music, citing the contributions of The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan and Stevie Wonder (1964)... Jethro Tull release the album Stand Up... The three day Atlantic City Pop Festival opens at a racetrack in the New Jersey resort city. On the bill are BB King, Janis Joplin, Santana, Three Dog Night, Dr. John, Procol Harum, Arthur Brown, Iron Butterfly, CCR, Little Richard, Tim Buckley, The Byrds, Jefferson Airplane, The Mothers of Invention, Canned Heat and Joni Mitchell (1969)... Nicolas Roeg's film 'Performance', with Mick Jagger in his big screen acting debut, has its world premiere in London (1970)... George Harrison's Concert for Bangladesh takes place at Madison Square Garden in NYC... The Sonny & Cher Show debuts on CBS-TV (1971)... With Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott celebrating his 21st birthday, the band make their US debut opening for AC/DC in NYC (1980)... MTV is launched, and plays The Buggles' 'Video Killed the Radio Star' as its first offering... Rick Springfield has the № 1 single in the US with 'Jesse's Girl' (1981)...Los Lobos are at № 1 on both sides of the Atlantic with their version of the Ritchie Valens classic 'La Bamba'... MTV Europe is launched. The first video played is Dire Straits' 'Money for Nothing', containing the appropriate line 'I want my MTV' (1987)... Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley announce that they were married nearly three months ago in a small private ceremony in the Dominican Republic (1994)... A new book entitled 'Show the Girl the Door' written by a former tour manager is published, disclosing the demands of female acts on tour: Shania Twain travels with a specially trained sniffer dog to detect bombs. Jennifer Lopez likes for her dressing room to be entirely white, including carpets, flowers and furniture. Cher has high security rooms for her wigs. Janet Jackson has an ear, eye, nose & throat specialist and a registered nurse on standby. Britney Spears insists on bowls of Gummi Bears ~ red and green only ~ backstage at all times (2002)... Prince kicks off a series of 21 sold out UK shows at London's O2 arena. Tickets for the event cost £31.21, the same figure used by the singer to name his album. Prince, who was raised as a Jehovah's Witness, has announced that after the current run of shows is over, he is planning to take time out to study the Bible (2007)... The British government file suit to try to stop Kelly Clarkson from taking a turquoise and gold ring once owned by Jane Austen out of the country. The one time American Idol winner bought the jewellry at auction lst year for £150,000, but Culture Minister Ed Vaizey has applied for a temporary export bar, saying he wants the 'national treasure to be saved for posterity' (2013).

July 31st

Musical birthdays today include jazz guitarist Kenny Burrell (95), singer-songwriter Lobo (83), Gary Lewis (81), Bauhaus lead guitarist Daniel Ash (69), former R.E.M. drummer Bill Berry (68), jazz bassist Stanley Jordan (67), UFX frontman Duncan Lewis Jowitt (66), The Corrs multi-instrumentalist Jim Corr (62), guitarist & Rob Zombie sideman John 5 (55), Leona Naess (52), Coldplay drummer Will Champion (48), Avenged Sevenfold lead singer M Shadows (45), Dropkick Murphys banjo player & singer Jeff DaRoss (44), and blues-rock guitarist Shannon Curfman (41). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for drummer & bandleader Roy Milton, born on this day in 1907... for jazz pianist & arranger Hank Jones, born in 1918... for Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun, born in 1923... for Franz Liszt, who died on this date in 1886... for country singer Jim Reeves, who died in a private plane crash today in 1964 at the age of 40... for jazz pianist Bud Powell, who passed away in 1966... for jazz pianist Teddy Wilson, who died in 1986... and for No Use for a Name frontman Tony Sly, who left us today in 2012.


Also on July 31st: Adolph Sax completes his first sale of his new invention, the saxophone, to the French army for use in its bands (1845)... Elvis plays three shows [two matinee and one evening] at the Hesterly Armory in Tampa, FL. A full scale riot breaks out at the end of the evening performance when the singer announces "Girls, I'll see you backstage!" Fans storm the stage and chase Elvis to his dressing room (1955)... Ringo Starr makes his debut at the Cavern Club, playing drums with The Eddie Clayton Skiffle Group. John Lennon and his band The Quarrymen will play the Mathew St. venue for the first time one week from now [minus Paul McCartney at this point, who will not join John onstage at the Cavern until January, 1958] (1957)... Cliff Richard has the first of his 14 UK № 1s with 'Living Doll' (1959)... The first Beatles record burning to protest John's 'bigger than Jesus' remark takes place in Birmingham, AL (1966)... Having moved from Abbey Road to Trident Studios to take advantage of the new 8-track recording equipment at the latter facility, The Beatles continue to work on 'Hey Jude' (1968)... The Maysles Brothers' Rolling Stones documentary 'Gimme Shelter' has its UK premiere at London's Rialto Cinema... James Taylor hits № 1 in the US with his cover of Carole King's 'You've Got a Friend' (1971)... During an Eagles concert in Long Beach, CA, tempers boil over between Glen Frey and Don Felder, who spend most of the show glaring at each other and describing the beating each plans to administer to the other backstage after the show. "Only three more songs until I kick your ass, pal", Frey is heard to say to Felder at one point ~ the intervention of Don Henley and several roadies keeps any serious fisticuffs from breaking out. The group's next album will be mixed by the two musicians on opposite coasts, after they decide that they can no longer bear to be in the same state, let alone in the same studio (1980)... The Eurythmics' 'There Must be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)' goes to the top of the charts in the UK. The song, the group's only British № 1, features a harmonica solo by Stevie Wonder (1985)... Michael Jackson makes an unscheduled appearance on the balcony of his London hotel room after a man threatens to jump to his death from a block of flats across the street if he doesn't see the singer, who is in the UK for a series of concerts. Jackson spends a minute waving to 28-year-old Eric Herminie, who then climbs back into the building on his own (1992)... The son of Bryan Ferry is arrested by armed police outside Tony Blair's County Durham home as he tries to make a political statement. Otis Ferry went through security gates and was taken into custody when he refused to give his name. He was trying to place posters supporting animal hunts on the walls of the Prime Minister's residence (2002)... Simon & Garfunkel wrap up the European leg of their reunion tour with a free show at the Coliseum in Rome that attracts an estimated 600,000 fans (2004)... Appearing at Helsinki's Olympiastadionin, Bruce Springsteen plays his longest show to date, clocking in at 4 hours and 6 minutes (2012).

July 30th

Musical birthdays today include Buddy Guy (90), Paul Anka (85), saxophonist David Sanborn (81), bluesman Otis Taylor (78), folk & jazz guitarist Richard 'Duck' Baker (77) former The Damned drummer Rat Scabies [né Chris Millar] (71), Kate Bush (68), bluegrass banjoist Ron Block (62), former Smiths guitarist Craig Gannon (60), Manic Street Preachers drummer Sean Moore (58), merengue singer Elvis Crespo (55), and ex-Lostprophets lead singer Ian Watkins (49). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for conductor George Szell, who died on this date in 1970... and for Sun Records founder Sam Phillips, who left us today in 2003. 

Also on July 30th: In Paris, 'La Marseillaise' is sung publicly for the first time (1792)... Slim Whitman appears at the Hillbilly Hoedown at the Overton Park band shell in Memphis, TN with a young Elvis Presley as his opening act. Elvis is so nervous as he plays that he stands up on the balls of his feet and shakes one leg in time to the music. When he comes offstage, he asks what all the yelling in the audience was about. Someone tells him that the shaking of his baggy pleated trouser leg created a wild gyrating effect that sent the crowd into a frenzy (1954)... The Beatles have the № 1 album in America with Yesterday... and Today. The Troggs top the singles chart with 'Wild Thing' (1966)... The Beatles close their Apple Boutique after seven months, instructing the sales staff to give all merchandise away to customers and passersby... Buffalo Springfield release their final album, Last Time around (1968)... Miles Davis' fusion period officially begins as Columbia Records release In a Silent Way (1969)...  John Phillips of The Mamas & the Papas calls a press conference to accuse his old label ABC-Dunhill of "...the systematic, cold-blooded theft of perhaps up to $60 million from each and every artist who ever recorded for the company during a 7-year period" (1973)... Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band play the Troubador in Los Angeles, with former Byrd in chief Roger McGuinn as their opening act (1974)... Bob Dylan returns to Columbia Studio E in New York with a smaller group of musicians, including Rob Stoner, Scarlett Rivera, Emmylou Harris, and drummer Howie Wyeth. For the most part, this group of musicians will form the core of the Rolling Thunder Revue. The difference becomes apparent early on in the session, when a usable take of 'Isis' is recorded on the first try. Both Dylan and Stoner are pleased with the session, and Stoner has suggested that the more intimate sound was much closer to the sound of the completed album. Five of the nine songs from Desire were recorded at that session, as well as a slow version of 'Isis,' the original master take of 'Hurricane', the single-only release 'Rita Mae,' and a successful take of 'Golden Loom' that was later released in 1991. Of the participating musicians, only Emmylou Harris is dissatisfied with the results. It will also be her last session with Dylan, as she has prior commitments with her own career (1975)... George Jones has his ninth and final № 1 on the Billboard Country chart with the Merle Haggard song 'I Always Get Lucky with You' (1983)... Variety Magazine reports that RCA has dropped John Denver from its artist roster after the release of his single 'What Are we Making Weapons for?' The publication says that the song upset the record company's new owner, General Electric, one of the largest defense contractors in the US (1986)... At the funeral of Motown star Mary Wells, Smokey Robinson sings a medley of her hits (1992)... Glasgow's annual two-day 'T in the Park' festival opens, with Rage against the Machine, Björk, Blur, Manic Street Preachers, Del Amitri, Primal Scream, Crowded House, Oasis and Aimee Mann all on the bill (1994)... The Rolling Stones, AC/DC, Rush, The Guess Who, Justin Timberlake, The Flaming Lips, Sass Jordan and The Isley Brothers play a benefit concert in Toronto to prove that the city is safe from SARS. With some 450,000 spectators attending, it is the largest show of its kind in Canadian history (2003)... Two members of the South Korean punk rock group Couch scandalize their nation when they expose their genitals on a children's TV show. Both men are immediately arrested (2005)... Shakira feat. Wyclef Jean go to № 1  on the UK singles chart with 'Hips Don't Lie'. A remake of Jean's 2004 hit 'Dance like This', the song goes on to top the charts in 50 countries and become the biggest selling song of the 21st century thus far by a female artist (2006). 

July 29th

Musical birthdays today include REO Speedwagon keyboardist Neal Doughty (80), Rush lead singer & bassist Geddy Lee (73) Patti Scialfa (73), operatic soprano Alessandra Marc (69), former Thin Lizzy guitarist John Sykes (67), Corrosion of Conformity lead guitarist Woody Weatherman (61), country singer Martina McBride (60), Boyz II Men vocalist Wanya Morris (53), producer Rodney 'Darkchild' Jerkins (49), and All Pigs Must Die drummer Ben Koller (46).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for trumpeter & bandleader Don Redman, born on this day in 1900... for film score composer Mikis Theodorakis, born in 1926... for jazz guitarist Charlie Christian, born in 1916... for composer Robert Schumann, who died on this date in 1856... for 'Mama' Cass Elliot, who died today in 1974... for bandleader Les Elgart, who passed away in 1995... and for Pennywise bassist Jason Thirsk, who took his own life today in 1996 at the age of 28. 

Also on July 29: Carl Perkins enters the UK charts for the first time with his debut single 'Blue Suede Shoes' (1956)... Elvis is at № 1 on the UK singles chart for the 14th time with '(You're the) Devil in Disguise'. When the song was first played for a British audience on the BBC show 'Juke Box Jury', celebrity guest John Lennon voted the song 'a miss', offering the opinion that Elvis "is more like Bing Crosby now"... With the US charts full of hot rod songs, Capitol Records send disc jockeys a list of car terms and phrases to help promote The Beach Boys' new single 'Little Deuce Coupe' (1963)... The Beatles second feature film 'Help!' has its world premiere at the Pavilion Cinema in London's West End (1965)... Cream make their live debut at the Twisted Wheel in Manchester... Bob Dylan is riding his Triumph 55 motorcycle near his home in Woodstock, NY when the rear wheel locks up. Dylan loses control and is thrown over the handlebars, fracturing two vertebrae in his neck. His recuperation leads to the cancellation of the remaining dates on his current world tour and a period of reclusion... The American teen magazine Datebook publishes Maureen Cleave's February interview with John Lennon in which he says that The Beatles are "bigger than Jesus now." Christians in the US react with outrage, organising bonfires of the band's records in many places (1966)... The Doors hit  № 1 on the US singles chart with 'Light My Fire.' At this point, most US pop radio stations are still playing an edited version of the song with much of Ray Manzarek's organ soloing excised (1967)... Gram Parsons leaves The Byrds on the eve of the band's departure on a South African tour, saying that he refuses to play for segregated audiences... The Beatles have their first session for the recording of 'Hey Jude' (1968)... The  Rolling Stones' contract with Decca Records expires (1970)... Singer and political provocateur Screaming Lord Sutch is arrested for jumping off a London bus together with four nude women as the double-decker passes 10 Downing Street (1972)... Led Zeppelin play the last of three nights at Madison Square Garden, the closing shows of a 33-date North American tour. After the concert, the receipt from the previous two nights ~ just over $200,000 ~ are found missing, stolen from the safe at the Drake Hotel where the group have been staying. Tour manager Richard Cole, who discovered the theft, is arrested as a suspect and questioned, but is later released (1973)... The soundtrack to 'Grease' goes to No.1 on the US album chart (1978)... On the day of the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana, a number of songs related to the event are released, among them 'Lady D' by Typically Tropical, 'Charlie's Angels' by Mini & the Metros, and Mike Berry's 'Diana' ~ none will reach the charts (1981)... Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream introduce 'Cherry Garcia' flavour (1987)... The chairman of Britain's Professional Association of Teachers warns that children are being put under pressure to grow up too fast by pop stars who have a sexy image. "Kylie Minogue might be a great singer, but in many of her videos you can see more of her bottom than you can hear of her voice" (2003)... Heart problems force Kiss singer and guitarist Paul Stanley to abandon a show in Fresno, CA. Paramedics stop and restart his heart to return it to a regular rhythm after his pulse rate spontaneously jumped to 190 beats per minute (2007).

July 28th

Musical birthdays today include singer-songwriter Jonathan Edwards (80), Devo bassist Gerald Casale (78), former Bad Company drummer Simon Kirke (77), Steve Morse (72), Rachel Sweet (64), trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis (61), rapper Afroman (52), Papa Roach lead singer Jacoby Shaddix (50), Anberlin lead singer Stephen Christian (45), former Rocket to the Moon frontman Nick Santino (38), and rapper Soulja Boy (36). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for piano manufacturer Ignaz Bösendorfer, born on this day in 1796... for Rudy Vallée, born in 1901... for Pink Floyd keyboardist Rick Wright, and for blues guitarist Mike Bloomfield, both of whom would have been 83 today... for original Tyrannosaurus Rex drummer Steve Peregrin Took, who would have been 75... for Antonio Vivaldi, who died on this date in 1741... for Johann Sebastian Bach, who died in 1750... for songwriter George Kleinsinger [best remembered for 'Tubby the Tuba'], who passed away in 1982... and for ZZ Top bassist Dusty Hill, who left us three years ago today. 

Also on July 28th: Hector Berlioz's Symphonie funèbre et triomphale premieres at the Salle Pleyel in Paris, with the composer himself conducting the orchestra using a sword rather than a baton (1840)... The first published interview with 19-year-old Elvis Presley appears in the Memphis Press-Scimitar (1954)... Gene Vincent makes his debut US television appearance on The Perry Como Show (1956)... On their second visit to to Sweden, The Beatles play two shows at the Johanneshovs Isstadion in Stockholm. During the first performance, both John and Paul receive mild shocks from ungrounded microphones (1964)... The Who make their debut appearance on the UK pop music programme 'Ready Steady Go!' The group's management have packed the audience with mods, ensuring a rapturous reception as the band rip through 'I Can't Explain' (1965)... Police in Moscow report that thousands of public phone booths have been vandalised by thieves stealing parts of the receivers in order to convert their acoustic guitars to electric. A recent feature in a Russian youth magazine showed details on how to make the change (1969)... The Watkins Glen outdoor summer jam is held outside of Watkins Glen, NY with The Allman Brothers, The Band and The Grateful Dead as headliners. Over 600,000 spectators attend, making it the single largest public gathering in US history according to some historians. 150,000 tickets were sold for $10 ~ for all others present, the concert is free, though a large part of the audience are unable to see the stage (1973)... Bob Dylan goes into Columbia Studio A in NYC to begin the sessions for the album that will become Desire. He is joined by Eric Clapton on dobro on 'Romance in Durango', and by Emmylou Harris on pedal steel on 'Abandoned Love' (1975).... 'I Don't Like Mondays' gives The Boomtown Rats their second UK № 1 single. Bob Geldof wrote the song after reading a report of the shooting spree of 16-year-old Brenda Spencer, who opened fire on children playing on a school playground across the street from her home in San Diego, killing two adults and wounding eight children and a police officer. Spencer showed no remorse for the crime afterwards, explaining her actions by saying "I don't like Mondays. This livens up the day" (1980)... R.E.M. release the album Life's Rich Pageant (1985)... Rapper Ice-T announces that Warner Brothers records will pull the controversial song 'Cop Killer' from all future copies of his Body Count album. The song has been the target of protest by members of law enforcement who say that it encourages attacks on police. Ironically, Ice-T will later join the cast of the NBC drama 'Law & Order: SVU' (1992)... The wine that Sir Cliff Richard makes on his Algarve estate starts a UK supermarket battle. Fans have been asking when the wine will go on sale at stores of the Tesco chain, who have said that they would be the first to stock it, but Waitrose shops have been selling the £8.40 a bottle red for the past week (2003).