April 5th

Musical birthdays today include R&B singer Billy Bland (85), former Fairport Convention fiddler Dave Swarbrick (76), Hollies lead singer Allan Clarke (75), former Judas Priest drummer Dave Holland (69), ABBA vocalist Agnetha Fältskog (67), original Wall of Voodoo lead singer Stan Ridgway (63), ex-Plimsouls lead singer Peter Case (63), classical pianist Julius Drake (58), Pearl Jam lead guitarist Mike McCready (51), Paula Cole (49), Ra frontman Sahaj Ticotin (48), Three 6 Mafia rapper Jordan Houston AKA Juicy J (42), and jazz pianist Robert Glasper (39). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for conductor Herbert von Karajan, born on this day in 1908... for cabaret singer Gale Storm, born in 1922... for Platters vocalist Tony Williams, who would have been 89 today... for producer & songwriter Joe Meek [best remembered for 'Telstar'], who would have been 88... for saxophonist Stanley 'The Sugar Man' Turrentine, who would have been 83... for pop singer Crispian St. Peters and Miracles vocalist Ronald White, both of whom would have been 78... for Canned Heat lead singer Bob Hite, who died of  drug overdose today in 1981 at the age of 37... for Kurt Cobain, who took his own life today in 1994 at the age of 27... for Cozy Powell, who was killed in a drunk driving accident today in 1998 at age 50... for original Alice in Chains lead singer Layne Staley, who died of a drug overdose today in 2002 at the age of 34... for Gene Pitney, who passed away in 2006... and for amplifier inventor and designer Jim Marshall, who left us four years ago today. 

Also on April 5th: Johann Strauss' opera Die Fledermaus has its premiere in Vienna (1874)... Ray Charles marries his second wife, Della (1955)... After making 6 live albums over the last two years, Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers have their first studio recording session at Columbia's 30th St. Studios in NYC (1956)...  Monkees fans walk from London's Marble Arch to the US Embassy in Grosvenor Square to protest Davy Jones' planned call-up. Jones will be exempted when he is deemed responsible for supporting his father (1967)... Elvis launches a 15-date tour at Memorial Auditorium in Buffalo, NY (1972)... Minnie Riperton has the № 1 single in America with the Stevie Wonder-produced 'Lovin' You' (1975)... Duran Duran make their live debut at the Lecture Theatre at Birmingham Polytechnic (1978)... R.E.M. play their first ever gig at St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Athens, GA (1980)... Marvin Gaye's funeral takes place at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Los Angeles; Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, Quincy Jones, Berry Gordy and many other Motown singers, writers and producers attend the service (1984)... At 3:50 PM GMT, over 5,000 radio stations worldwide air the charity single by USA for Africa 'We Are The World'. The song goes on to be a № 1  in the US & the UK, as well as in most Western territories (1985)... Tracy Chapman's eponymous debut album is released (1988)... The Spice Girls perform their first ever-live UK concert when they appeared in front of a 9,000 strong audience in Glasgow (1998)... Apple's iTunes overtakes Wal-Mart to become the largest music retailer in the US. Market research firm NPD says that iTunes surpassed Wal-Mart in January and February if 12 downloads are considered equal to the sale of one CD album. iTunes has sold more than four billion songs since its launch in 2003 (2008)... A statue in tribute to Nirvana singer Kurt Cobain is unveiled in his hometown of Aberdeen, WA. The ceremony marks the 17th anniversary of Cobain's death. The statue designed by local artists Kim and Lora Malakoff is of his signature Fender Jag-Stang guitar. The concrete guitar is eight and a half feet tall and also features a ribbon with lyrics written on it from Nirvana's 'On a Plain'. It reads: 'One more special message to go and then I'm done and I can go home' (2011).