June 16th

Musical birthdays today include rockabilly singer Billy 'Crash' Craddock (81), Motown songwriter & producer Lamont Dozier (79), O'Jays lead singer Eddie Levert (78), singer-songwriter Iain Matthews (74), ex-Dream Theater vocalist Charlie Dominici (69), Marillion drummer Ian Mosley (67), afrobeat saxophonist Femi Kuti (58), Super Furry Animals keyboardist Cian Ciaran (44),Semi Precious Weapons lead singer Justin Tranter (40), and singer-songwriter & ex-Radish guitarist Ben Kweller (39).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for  jazz saxophonist Eli 'Lucky' Thompson, born on this day in 1924... for Tupac Shakur, who would have been 49... for drummer & bandleader Chick Webb, who died on this date in 1939... for Pretenders guitarist James Honeyman-Scott, who died of a drug overdose today in 1982 at the age of 25... for composer Maurice Duruflé, who passed away in 1986... for rocker and politician Screaming Lord Sutch [né David Sutch], who took his own life today in 1999 at the age of 58... and for operatic contralto Maureen Forrester, who left us today in 2010.

Also on June 16th: A gala programme of ballet and music by composer Edward Strauss opens the original Madison Square Garden (1890)... Antonin Dvořák receives an honorary doctorate in music from Cambridge University (1891)... 
Orson Welles' production of Marc Blitzstein's allegorical musical 'The Cradle Will Rock' opens on Broadway with the composer himself at the piano (1937)... Rudolf Nureyev defects to the West in Paris (1961)... The Konrads, with lead singer Dave Jay [who will later change his name to David Bowie] make their live debut as the band for a dance at the Bromley Technical School in Kent (1962)... Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers record the album Ugetsu live at Birdland, the Riverside label's first recording at the venue (1963)... Bob Dylan and sidemen record the definitive version of 'Like a Rolling Stone' (1965)... The Beatles make a surprise appearance on Top of the Pops, performing ‘Paperback Writer’ and ‘Rain’. It will be The Beatles' penultimate live musical television appearance before the June 1967 worldwide transmission of ‘All You Need Is Love' (1966)... The three day Monterey Pop Festival begins. In the spirit of the Summer of Love, the proceeds will go to charity, all the artists having agreed to perform for free. The California festival sees the first major US appearances by Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin. Also on the bill are The Byrds, The Grateful Dead, Otis Redding, Simon & Garfunkel, The Steve Miller Band, Canned Heat, The Mamas And The Papas, Jefferson Airplane, Buffalo Springfield and The Electric Flag. John Phillips, of The Mamas and The Papas later writes, 'San Francisco, (Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair)' about the festival, which becomes a hit for Scott McKenzie (1967)... Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band's Trout Mask Replica is released (1969)... Mungo Jerry have the first UK № 1 hit of the post-Beatles era with 'Summertime' (1970)... David Bowie releases Ziggy Stardust & the Spiders from Mars (1972)... The Jackson Five's four-week summer variety show premieres on CBS- TV featuring The Jacksons plus sisters Latoya, Rebbie and Janet (1976)... The musical 'Beatlemania' opens on Broadway (1977)... The Blues Brothers film starring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd has its world premiere in Chicago. The film also features cameos by Aretha Franklin and James Brown, and Ray Charles in the role of a streetwise store owner (1980)... Frankie Goes To Hollywood become the first band to have their first two singles go to the top of the UK chart, as 'Two Tribes' arrives at № 1. Buoyed by the momentum, the group's previous single 'Relax' climbs back up the chart to the second spot (1984)... Vince Neil of Mötley Crüe marries mud wrestler Sharisse Rudell (1988)... Unofficial sound systems are allowed at Glastonbury for the first time as the 20th edition of the 3-day festival opens. On the bill this year are Van Morrison, Elvis Costello, Throwing Muses, The Pixies, All About Eve, Hot House Flowers, The Waterboys, Suzanne Vega and Fairground Attraction. Tickets cost £28 (1989)... Oasis play their first show outside the UK, at the Erotika Club in Paris (1994)... Rage Against The Machine, The Beastie Boys, Smashing Pumpkins, The Fugees, Red Hot Chili Peppers, John Lee Hooker, Beck, Sonic Youth, Yoko Ono, De La Soul and Richie Havens all appear at the two-day Tibetan Freedom Concert in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco; a sell-out crowd of over 100,000 makes it the largest US benefit concert since Live Aid in 1985 (1996)... Rod Stewart marries model girlfriend Penny Lancaster on the Italian Riviera just outside the resort of Portofino. The 62 year old singer was previously married to models Alana Hamilton and Rachel Hunter and has seven children in total (2007).