May 18th

Musical birthdays today include song & dance man Robert Morse (89), Albert Hammond (76), former Wire guitarist Bruce Gilbert (74), Rick Wakeman (71), Devo lead singer Mark Mothersbaugh (70), country singer George Strait (68), 'Wreckless' Eric Goulden (66), Toyah Willcox (62), proto-rapper Robert Ginyard AKA Rob Base (53), Marta 'Martika' Marrero (51), A Perfect Circle frontman Billy Howerdel (50), Chantal Kreviazuk (46), Jack Johnson (45), country singer David Nail (41), and former Underminded drummer Tanner Wayne (32).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Broadway musicals composer Meredith Willson, born on this day in 1902... for blues shouter Big Joe Turner, born in 1911... for Perry Como, born in 1912... for chansonnier Charles Trenet, born in 1913... for country singer Leon Ashley, who would have been 82 today... for operatic soprano Pauline Viardot, who died on this date in 1910... for composer Gustav Mahler, who died in 1911... for Ian Curtis, who took his own life today in 1980 at the age of 26... and for Elvin Jones, who passed away today in 2007... and for former Crowded House drummer Peter Jones, who left us in 2012. 

Also on May 18th: Gluck's opera Iphegenie en Tauride premieres in Paris (1778)... The first National Irish Music Festival opens in Dublin (1897)... The Castiles, with 16-year-old Bruce Springsteen on lead vocals, make their first recordings at Mr Music Inc in Brick Town, NJ. They cut two Springsteen songs, ‘Baby I’ and ‘That’s What You Get’. The songs are cut directly to disc, after which several test pressings of the studio takes are made... As his '66 tour continues, Bob Dylan and Robbie Robertson are filmed singing several songs in a hotel room in Glasgow, Scotland. The footage will turn up in the film 'Eat The Document', which was originally commissioned for the ABC television series 'Stage '66'. After Dylan edits the film himself, however, the network will reject it as 'incomprehensible for a mainstream audience' (1966)... John Lennon and Paul McCartney sing backing vocals on The Rolling Stones track 'We Love You' during a session at Olympic Studios, London... The Beatles are selected to represent the UK for the first-ever global-wide satellite broadcast. The group agree to be shown in the studio recording a song written especially for the occasion, scheduled for June 25. John Lennon will write ‘All You Need is Love’, which was thought to sum up the 1967 'Summer of Love' and The Beatles' sympathies. With the satellite broadcast being broadcast to many non-English-speaking countries, the BBC asked The Beatles to 'keep it simple'... Pink Floyd begin recording their forthcoming single 'See Emily Play' at Sound Techniques Studios, Chelsea, London (1967)... The first Miami Pop event takes place with an estimated 100,000 people attending the concert, organised by Richard O'Barry and Michael Lang [later famous as the promoter of Woodstock]. Bands featured at the  festival include Steppenwolf, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Mothers of Invention, Blue Cheer, Chuck Berry, The Blues Image, Pacific Gas and Electric, Three Dog Night and the Crazy World of Arthur Brown (1968)... Seven years after topping the charts in the US, Tammy Wynette's 'Stand by Your Man' goes to № 1 in Britain (1975)... RCA Records release David Bowie's album Lodger (1979)... Simple Minds have the № 1 single in America with 'Don't You Forget about Me' from the soundtrack to 'The Breakfast Club' (1985)... Sister Lovers, 18 Wheeler, Boyfriend and Oasis appear at the club King Tuts in Glasgow. Creation Records boss Alan McGee, who is in the audience, declares after seeing Oasis' set, "I've found the greatest rock 'n' roll band since The Beatles". McGee had missed a train at nearby Queen Street station, and decided to head to Tuts to kill time before the next one. He signs Oasis to his Creation label on the spot (1993)... The Isley Brothers have the № 1 album in the US with Body Kiss, their first American chart-topper since 1971 (2003)... John Lennon's handwritten lyrics for 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds' sell for $237,132  at an auction in the US. The sale of the sheet, which includes the opening words to 'She's Leaving Home', takes place at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills, CA (2011).