July 9th

Musical birthdays today include former Ames Brothers vocalist Ed Ames (91), Yellow Magic Orchestra bassist Haruomi Hosono (71), original Soft Cell vocalist Marc Almond (61), Simple Minds lead singer Jim Kerr (59), Courtney Love (54), Anthrax bassist Frank Bello (53), Modest Mouse frontman Isaac Brock (43), Jack White (43), rock & jazz violinist Lucia Micarelli (35), and Hedley lead singer Jacob Hoggard (34).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for classical violinist Eduard Sõrmus, born on this day in 1878... for country singer Lee Hazelwood, who would have been 89 today... for Argentine popular singer Mercedes Sosa, who would have been 83... for Americana musician Root Boy Slim [né Foster MacKenzie III], who would have been 73... for original AC/DC lead singer Bon Scott, who would have been 72... for former Jimi Hendrix Experience drummer Mitch Mitchell, who would have been 70... for Commodores keyboardist & founding member Milan Williams, who died on this date in 2006... and for Motörhead guitarist Michael 'Würzel' Burston, who left us in 2011.

Also on July 9th: CBS Radio begins its first series of summer symphonic concerts from Lewisohn Stadium in NYC (1931)... Elvis records 'Blue Moon of Kentucky', the B-side for his first single, at Sun Studio in Memphis, TN. Presley recorded the A-side ‘That’s Alright’ four days earlier (1954)... Bill Haley & His Comets go to № 1 on the US singles chart with '(We're Gonna) Rock Around The Clock'. The song's success is generally considered the beginning of the Rock Era in popular music (1955)... Jersey City, NJ passes a city ordnance banning rock and roll shows within the town limits. The measure reads in part: 'Rock and roll music encourages juvenile delinquency and inspires young females in lewd bathing suits to perform obscene dances on the city's beaches' (1956)... Johnny Cash signs his first contract with Columbia Records, the label with which he will remain for the next 30 years (1958)... Bob Dylan records 'Blowin' In the Wind' at Columbia Recording Studio A in NYC during an afternoon session (1962)... The Jimi Hendrix Experience open for The Monkees at Convention Hall in Miami, FL. It having become apparent that the Experience are not suitable to the headliners' mainly teenybopper audience, tour promoter Dick Clark and Hendrix’s manager Chas Chandler concoct a story after the show saying that the conservative Daughters of the American Revolution group have complained about Jimi’s act and that as  result the Experience are leaving the tour after just six shows (1967)... Tammy Wynette hits № 1 on the Billboard Country chart with 'D-I-V-O-R-C-E' (1968)... 
Working at Abbey Road studios, The Beatles record ‘Maxwell's Silver Hammer.’ John Lennon is back at work, having recovered from a car crash in Scotland; a bed has been installed in the studio for Yoko, who was more seriously injured in the accident, including losing the child she had been carrying (1969)... Paul McCartney and Wings play their very first show in the small French town of Chateauvillon. The band includes Denny Laine, Denny Seiwell, Henry McCullough and Paul's wife, Linda. It is Macca's first time on the road since the Beatles gave up touring in 1966. The band are travelling in a converted London double-decker bus with a psychedelic interior (1972)... The Sex Pistols open for the Pretty Things at London's Lyceum (1976)... Declan MacManus AKA Elvis Costello quits his job as a data entry clerk at Elizabeth Arden cosmetics to devote himself to music full-time (1977)... 'Every Breath You Take' by The Police is the № 1 single on both sides of the Atlantic... In Britain, Wham! are atop the album chart with their debut LP Fantastic! (1983)... At Soldier Field in Chicago, The Grateful Dead play what proves to be their final concert with Jerry Garcia (1995)...  David Bowie is forced to cancel a string of European shows after emergency heart surgery. The 57 year-old singer had an operation last month in Germany, where he was on tour, to treat 'an acutely blocked artery'. The star's cancellation last month of 11 dates was originally attributed to a shoulder injury (2004)... Happy Mondays' frontman Shaun Ryder is in trouble after smoking several cigarettes on stage during a concert at he Ritz in Manchester. Smoking has been banned in all enclosed public places in England since the 1st of July of this year, and anyone flouting the law faces a £50 fine. Performers were only exempt from the smoking ban if 'the artistic integrity of their act required it' (2007).