March 13th

Musical birthdays today include jazz drummer Roy Haynes (94), country singer Jan Howard (89), songwriter Mike Stoller (86), Neil Sedaka (80), soul & gospel singer Candi Staton (79), producer Marshall Chess (77), classical violinist Emmy Verhey (70), U2 bassist Adam Clayton (59), jazz trumpeter Terence Blanchard (57), rapper Lonnie 'Common' Lynn (47), and Disturbed lead singer David Draiman (46). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for jazzman and songwriter Sammy Kaye, born on this day in 1910... for jazz singer 'Scatman' John Larkin, who would have been 77 today... for choral composer and spiritual arranger Moses Hogan, who would have been 62... for reggae & ska musician Alexander 'Judge Dread' Hughes, who died on this date in 1998... for sitar virtuoso Vilayat Khan, who passed away in 2004... and for Grateful Dead soundman, roadie, and LSD supplier Owsley 'Bear' Stanley, who left us today in 2011. 

Also on March 13th: Felix Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor receives its premiere performance in Leipzig with Ferdinand David as soloist (1845)... Wagner's Tannhäuser is performed in Paris in a version substantially revised from its original 1845 form (1861)... Arnold Schoenberg's opera Moses and Aaron premieres as a broadcast on German radio 3 years after the composer's death (1954)... The Recording Industry Association of America [RIAA] introduces its gold and platinum awards for record sales (1958)...  Cannonball Adderley records Know What I Mean?, a collaboration with Bill Evans, at Bell Sound Studios in NYC (1961)... Eric Clapton quits The Yardbirds, citing musical differences... In America, The Beatles' 'Eight Days a Week' goes to № 1(1965)... Rod Stewart leaves the British blues band Steampacket to go solo... Pink Floyd make their first appearance at the Marquee Club in London (1966)... At Abbey Road, six members of Sounds, Inc. add the horn parts to The Beatles' 'Good Morning' (1967)... David Cassidy plays the first of 10 sold out UK shows at the Bell Vue King's Hall in Manchester (1973)... Iggy Pop and David Bowie kick off a joint North American tour at Le Plateau in Montreal with Blondie as their opening act (1977)... Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (1987)... Eric Clapton starts a three-week run at № 1 on the US album chart with his Unplugged session for MTV. Topping the UK listings is Are You Gonna Go My Way by Lenny Kravitz (1993)... At 53, Cher becomes the oldest woman to score a US № 1 single when 'Believe' tops the chart (1999)... True to form, The Sex Pistols refuse to attend their own induction into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame. While Blondie, Herb Alpert and Black Sabbath all turn up at the Waldorf Astoria hotel to acknowledge the honour, the Pistols post a handwritten note on their website calling the institution 'Urine in wine', adding 'We're not your monkeys. We're not coming. You're not listening'... Rolling Stone reports that The Kinks were last year's top earners among artists whose music was used in American advertising, the group grossing some $11 million (2006)... Michael Jackson refinances his Neverland ranch after being given one week to pay the $25 million he owed on the property or have it foreclosed on and sold at auction (2008).