June 6th

Musical birthdays today include Gary 'U.S.' Bonds (80), jazz pianist Monty Alexander (75), King Crimson bassist Tony Levin (73), former Caravan bassist Richard Sinclair (71), Holly Near (70), Dwight Twilley (68), Yellow Magic Orchestra lead singer Yukihiro Takahashi (67), producer & former The Time keyboardist Jimmy Jam [né James Harris III] (60), Steve Vai (59), Bad Religion bassist Jay Bentley (55), Korn guitarist James Shaffer (49), Uncle Kraacker [né Matthew Shafer] (45), former Libertines guitarist Carl Barât (41), ex-Yellowcard bassist Peter Mosely (39), Pussy Riot vocalist Maria Alyokhina (31), and rapper Mike G [né Michael Griffin II] (29). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for saxophonist & bandleader Jimmie Lunceford, born on this day in 1902... for composer Aram Khachaturian, born in 1903... for former Four Tops vocalist Levi Stubbs, who would have been 82 today... for Tangerine Dream keyboardist Edgar Froese, who would have been 75...  for Stan Getz, who died on this date in 1991... for Ratt guitarist Robbin Crosby, who died of a drug overdose on this day in 2002 at the age of 42... for former Animals keyboardist Dave Rowberry, who died in 2003... for Billy Preston, who passed away in 2006... and for Marvin Isley, who left us in 2010. 

Also on June 6th: In NYC, Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie have their final collaborative recording session, which will yield the album Bird & Diz (1950)... Bing Crosby is presented with a platinum disc to commemorate his 200 millionth record sold (1960)... The Beatles are introduced to George Martin and have their first recording session at Abbey Road Studios (1962)... Elton John's debut album Empty Sky is released in Britain (1969)... At the Extravaganza 70 Festival at Olympia Hall in London, Syd Barrett plays his first gig since leaving Pink Floyd, backed by a band that includes his old friend Floyd guitarist David Gilmour. Barrett baffles the audience as well as his musicians when he abruptly takes off his guitar during the fourth number and walks off stage, not to return (1970)... John Lennon & Yoko Ono jam live on stage with Frank Zappa at the Fillmore East in NYC. The performance is recorded and will be partially released on John's album Some Time in New York City (1971)... David Bowie's The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust & the Spiders from Mars is released (1972)... RCA Records releases Dolly Parton's original version of 'I Will Always Love You' (1974)... Def Leppard play at Crookes Workingman's Club in Sheffield. The gig is reviewed in the UK music paper 'Sounds' and leads to an audition and eventual contract with Phonogram Records (1979)... Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Crosby Stills & Nash, Stevie Wonder, Stevie Nicks and Jackson Browne all appear at The Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California before a crowd of 85,000 fans at the six hour 'Peace Sunday: We Have a Dream' antinuclear concert. Dylan is joined onstage with Joan Baez and duets with her on 'Blowin’ in the Wind' and 'With God on Our Side'. The show is partly broadcast on ABC TV’s 'Entertainment Tonight' program on the same day (1982)... Michael Jackson announces that he is breaking all ties with the Jehovah's Witnesses. Jackson was brought up in the faith and earlier in his career would don disguises and go door to door with the Watchtower message in cities where he was performing (1987)... The 2 Live Crew album As Nasty as They Wanna Be is ruled obscene by a federal judge in Fort Lauderdale, FL (1990)... B*Witched score their first UK № 1 single with 'C'est La Vie', making them the seventh act in chart history to debut at the top. On the album chart, Boyzone have their third UK № 1 with Where We Belong ~ it is also the first time in chart history that the top positions have been simultaneously occupied by Irish acts (1998)... A High Court judge in London rules that rap lyrics should be treated as a foreign language after admitting that he was baffled by the expressions 'shizzle my nizzle' and 'mish mish man.' The dispute is over a copyright issue between the Ant'ill Mob and the Heartless Crew who sampled the lyrics in a remix (2003)