February 4th

 Musical birthdays include former Animals drummer John Steel (80), ex-Fifth Dimension vocalist Florence LaRue (77), Alice Cooper (73), Kansas drummer Phil Ehart (70), former Humble Pie drummer Jerry Shirley (69), country singer Clint Black (59), Offspring lead guitarist Kevin 'Noodles' Wasserman (58), Our Lady Peace bassist Duncan Coutts (52), Natalie Imbruglia (46), rapper Cameron 'Cam'ron' Giles (45), rapper Allen 'Matchstik' Forrest (40), and ex-Pussycat Dolls vocalist Kimberly Wyatt (39).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for songwriter Ray Evans [best remembered for 'Que Sera Sera' and 'Mona Lisa'], born on this day in 1915... for Karen Carpenter, who passed away today in 1983 at the age of 33... for Liberace, who died today in 1987... for R&B singer Gwen Guthrie, died in 1999... and for Maurice White, who left us five years ago today.

Also on February 4th: A well-to-do German music lover named Johann von Uffenbach on a visit to Venice hears Vivaldi play and commissions a series of Concerti Grossi (1715)... Claudio Arrau makes his Carnegie Hall debut (1924)... Bob Dylan and three travelling companions set out from NYC on a cross-country jaunt by car, intending to make it to San Francisco via New Orleans in 3 weeks (1964)... The Righteous Brothers are at № 1 on both sides of the Atlantic with 'You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'' (1965)... The Jimi Hendrix Experience launch what is being billed as the '60 Cities in '60 Days' tour at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco... The Beatles record 'Across the Universe'. John and Paul decide the song needs some high harmonies, so they invite two 'Apple Scruffs' (female fans who hang around outside Abbey Road Studios) to come in and sing on the song. The two are Lizzie Bravo, a 16-year-old Brazilian living nearby and 17-year-old Londoner Gayleen Pease (1969)... John and Yoko donate their hair for an auction in aid of the Black Power movement (1970)... Fleetwood Mac release Rumours (1977)... The Bee Gees are at № 1 on the US singles chart with 'Stayin' Alive'. In Britain, Jamaican teenage one-hit wonders Althia & Donna hold the top spot with 'Up Town Ranking' (1978)... Former Milli-Vanilli member Rob Pilatus is hospitalized after a man hits him over the head with a baseball bat in Hollywood, CA. Pilatus was attempting to steal the man's car at the time of the attack (1996)... Courtney Love is arrested at Heathrow airport for 'endangering an aircraft' on a transatlantic flight. The singer is alleged to have hurled abuse at the cabin crew on the flight from Los Angeles, and also to have thrown bottles and in-flight meals after her nurse, who was in an economy seat, was barred from sitting next to her in the first class cabin (2003)... Bjorn Ulvaeus confirms that the members of Abba recently turned down a $1 billion offer by an American and British consortium to reform the group. "It is a hell of a lot of money to say no to, but we decided it wasn't for us," fellow member Benny Andersson told the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet (2004)... A Razorlight gig in Lyon is halted mid-set because of an altercation between singer Johnny Borrell and bassist Carl Dalemo. The pair exchange insults before casting their instruments aside and coming to blows onstage. Borrell then storms off, leaving the French crowd amazed and unsure about what is going on (2007)... Robert Plant says he thinks Led Zeppelin cannot reunite for a full tour and album because the band feels incomplete without drummer John Bonham. During an interview on UK station Absolute Radio, Plant states, “The reason that it stopped was that we were incomplete, and we've been incomplete now for 29 years.” He admitted: ”I think the thing about it, really, is that to visit old ground is an incredibly delicate thing to do, considering the disappointment that could be there once you commit to that, and the comparisons to something that was basically fired by youth and a different kind of exuberance from now... It's very hard to go back and meet that head on and do it justice” (2009).