October 24th

Musical birthdays today include Bill Wyman (82), Catalyst saxophone & winds player Odean Pope (80), producer Ted Templeman (74), New Age composer David Wright (65), Neutral Milk Hotel frontman Jeff Mangum (48), Laura Veirs (45), ex-Silverhair drummer Jeff Gillies (39), former Blizzards lead guitarist Niall Breslin (38), and Drake (32). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for bluesman Sonny Terry, born on this date in 1911... for British coloratura soprano Anne Sharp, born in 1916... for R&B singer Willie Mabon, born in 1926... for J.P. 'The Big Bopper' Richardson, who would have been 88... for Steppenwolf drummer Jerry Edmonton, who would have been 72... and for Roy Orbison sideman and songwriting collaborator [most notably on 'Pretty Woman'] Bill Dees, who left us in 2012.

Also on October 24th: Victor Herbert's Naughty Marietta premieres in Syracuse, NY (1910)... James Brown records the Live at the Apollo album (1962)... As their first foreign tour begins, the Beatles spend the day in the Swedish capital, recording a performance for a radio program entitled 'The Beatles popgrupp fran Liverpool på besök i Stockholm', (The Beatles pop group from Liverpool visiting Stockholm). The Fab Four, enthused by the chance to perform before an audience not screaming so loudly that they cannot hear themselves, play seven songs: ‘I Saw Her Standing There’, ‘From Me to You’ ‘Money’, ‘You Really Got a Hold On Me’, ‘She Loves You’, ‘Roll Over Beethoven’ and ‘Twist and Shout' (1963)... Pink Floyd are at № 1 on the UK album chart with the 'Atom Heart Mother', the group's first chart-topper. The album cover shows a cow standing in a pasture with no text or any other clue as to what might be on the record (1970)... John Lennon's greatest hits collection Shaved Fish appears in shops, the ex-Beatle's last release of the '70s (1975)... A day in the life of Keith Richards... The guitarist is fined £205 after admitting having cannabis, Chinese heroin, Mandrax tablets and an unlicensed revolver at his Chelsea home in the UK. Later in the evening, Keith and Anita Pallenberg accidentally set fire to their London hotel bedroom (1977)... Michael Jackson starts a two week run at № 1 on the US singles chart with 'Bad'. A music video for the song, directed by Martin Scorsese and featuring one of the first appearances of an as yet-undiscovered Wesley Snipes, will be released later in the year... Topping the album chart on the other side of the pond is Sting, with Nothing like the Sun, his third solo outing. The title comes from Shakespeare's Sonnet № 130 ('My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun'), which Sting used in the song 'Sister Moon' (1987)... Garth Brook's No Fences becomes the first country album certified for shipments of more than 5 million copies (1991)... The Smashing Pumpkins release Melon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (1995)...  Queen become the first rock act to receive an official seal of approval in Iran. Western music is still strictly censored in the Islamic republic, where homosexuality is considered a crime, but an album of Queen's greatest hits is released today in Iran. Freddie Mercury was proud of his Iranian ancestry, and illegal bootleg albums and singles had made Queen one of the most popular bands in the country (2004)... Madonna gives a surprise lecture in NYC, discussing her career and new film after she arrives unannounced at Hunter College as part of the MTV series Stand In. Students had been expecting a screening of her new documentary, 'I'm Going to Tell You a Secret' but they are also given the chance for a Q&A with the singer (2005).