September 4th

Musical birthdays today include song & dance lady Mitzi Gaynor (89), Merald 'Bubba' Knight [elder brother of Gladys and member of the Pips] (78), ex-Quicksilver Messenger Service guitarist Gary Duncan (74), fusion saxophonist Dave Liebman (74), Pretenders drummer Martin Chambers (69), W.A.S.P. guitarist Blackie Lawless (64), Soundgarden lead guitarist Kim Thayil (60), Rudimentary Peni frontman Nick Blinko (59), ex-Pussycat Dolls vocalist Carmit Bachar (46), Beyoncé (39) and Asking Alexandria lead singer Danny Worsnop (30). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for composers Anton Bruckner (b. 1824) and Darius Milhaud (b. 1892)...  for jazz trumpeter and band leader Gerald Wilson, born in 1918... for guitarist Danny Gatton, who would have been 74 today... for Russian punk rock pioneer Yanka Dyagileva, who would have been 54... for composer Edvard Grieg, who died on this date in 1907... for jazz saxophonist and composer Charlie Barnet, who left us in 1991... for country singer Dottie West, who was killed in a road accident at the age of 59 on the same day.... and for former Badfinger drummer Charlie Gibbin, who died in his sleep at the age of 56 in 2006. 

Also on September 4: To coincide with the release of his second single 'Good Rockin' Tonight', Elvis Presley makes his first appearance at the Grand Ole Opry. Audience reaction is so poor that Opry manager Jim Denny advises Elvis to go back to driving a truck (1954)... The Beatles' first formal session at Abbey Road Studios takes place. They record six tracks, including 'Love Me Do' and 'Please Please Me' (1962)... The Animals make their US live debut at the Paramount Theater in Brooklyn, NY (1964)... While the group are at the Battersea Dogs Home to buy a guard dog, the Who have their van stolen. The vehicle, which is carrying £5000 worth of equipment, will be recovered in a few days (1965)... The Bee Gees top the British charts for the second time with 'I've Gotta Get a Message to You'. The song is about a man who, while awaiting execution in the electric chair, begs the prison chaplain to pass along a final message to his wife... The Beatles film promotional videos for 'Hey Jude' and 'Revolution' at Twickenham Film Studios. The vocals are dubbed live over pre-recorded instrumental tracks in order to get around the current British Musicians Union ban on lip-synch performances. For 'Hey Jude', the group are accompanied by a 36-piece orchestra and some 300 fans and extras on the refrain... In the wake of recent rioting at the recent Democratic National Convention in the city, Chicago city authorities announce a ban on sales and radio airplay of the Rolling Stones' single 'Street Fighting Man' (1968)... The film Easy Rider has its UK premiere at London's Classic Cinema (1969)... Paul McCartney has his first stateside № 1 as a solo artist with 'Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey'... The New York Times reports that Sly Stone is being sued by his Lower East Side landlord for 'repeatedly attracting loud, noisy and boisterous persons to the building' (1971)... At a Wishbone Ash concert in Houston, TX, a concessionaire named Francisco Caruso is stabbed to death by a fan whom he refused a free sandwich (1972)... John and Yoko appear on Jerry Lewis' annual muscular dystrophy telethon (1972)... Queen's eponymous debut album is released in the US (1973)... The Bee Gees go to № 1 on the US charts with 'You Should Be Dancing'. It is the group's first foray into the disco form, and their first song in which Barry Gibb uses his now-trademark falsetto... The Sex Pistols make their television debut when they appear on the Manchester-based Granada TV program So It Goes (1976)... Paul Simonon, bassist for the supposedly arch-political Clash, says in an interview with the NME "I didn't even know who was prime minister until about a month ago" (1977)... Fela Kuti is jailed by the Nigerian government on a currency smuggling charge and sentenced to 2 years. Amnesty International designates him a prisoner of conscience, and begin a campaign for his release, which will come after 20 months (1984)... The day after getting his driving license back after a 5-year suspension, Gregg Allman is arrested in Florida on a DUI charge (1986)... The departure of drummer Mike Joyce marks the official end of The Smiths. The group had been heading for a split ever since the July departure of guitarist Johnny Marr, whose replacement had proved unsatisfactory (1987)... Blur, Oasis, Radiohead, Paul Weller, Manic Street Preachers and the Stone Roses all record tracks for the War Child charity album, proceeds from which will go to children caught up in the current war in the former Yugoslavia (1995)... At the Virgin Megastore in central London, Cat Stevens autographs copies of his first album in 18 years, The Life of the Last prophet, a spoken-word album praising Allah. The album was released under his present name of Yusuf Islam (1996)... Kelly Clarkson is voted the first American Idol winner (2004)... The first guitar torched by Jimi Hendrix on stage, a Fender Stratocaster which he set on fire at the end of a show at the Astoria, Finsbury, N. London in 1967, goes for £280,000 at an auction of rock memorabilia. Also on the block is a copy of the Beatles' first management contract from 1962, signed by all four members of the group ~ it goes for £240,000 (2008)... The friends and family of Michael Jackson pay their last respects to the singer at a funeral held at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Los Angeles (2009).