May 9th

Musical birthdays today include ex-Ventures guitarist Nokie Edwards (86), former Crickets frontman [replacing Buddy Holly after his death] Sonny Curtis (84), former Freddie & the Dreamers bassist Pete Birrell (80), Tommy Roe (79), Richie Furay (77), Blood, Sweat & Tears guitarist Steve Katz (76), Billy Joel (72), Cheap Trick bassist Tom Petersson (71), operatic mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter (66), Depeche Mode lead singer Dave Gahan (59), former Housemartins & Beautiful South lead singer Paul Heaton (59), pop singer Marie-Claire Cremers, AKA Amber (52), Wu Tang Clan rapper Dennis Coles AKA Ghostface Killah (51), Oasis bassist Paul McGuigan (50), and Simple Plan lead singer Pierre Bouvier (42). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for composer Giovanni Pierluigi de Palestrina, born on this day in 1525... for country legend Hank Snow, born in 1914... for Soviet-era dissident bard Bulat Okudzhava, born in 1924... for Dave Prater [of Sam & Dave], who would have been 84... for composer & organ virtuoso Dieterich Buxtehude, who died on this date in 1707... for country singer Keith Whitley, who died in 1989 at the age of 34... for song & dance woman Alice Faye, who passed away in 1998... for chansonnier Pascal Sevran, who died in 2008... for Lena Horne, who died in 2010... and for the Rev. Richard Penniman, AKA Little Richard, who left us today.

Also on May 9th: In Linz, Austria, Anton Bruckner's 1st Symphony is performed for the first time, with the composer conducting (1868)... Vladimir Horowitz plays his first public concert in 12 years, returning to Carnegie Hall. When the pianist appears on stage, he receives a 30 minute standing ovation (1963)... Chuck Berry begins his first ever UK tour at the Astoria Theatre in London. Opening acts include The Animals, The Swinging Blue Jeans, and Karl Denver & the Nashville Teens... Louis Armstrong goes to № 1 on the US singles chart with 'Hello Dolly' making him at the age of 62 the oldest artist to hit the top (1964)... The Beatles attend their first Bob Dylan concert, the first of two sold out nights at the Royal Albert Hall (1965)... The Doors play the Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, auditioning for the position of the venue's house band (1966)... Sandie Shaw is at № 1 on the UK singles chart with 'Puppet On A String'. This week's two highest new entries are Jimi Hendrix with 'The Wind Cries Mary' and The Kinks with 'Waterloo Sunset' (1967)... Zapple Records releases George Harrison's debut solo album Electronic Sounds (1969)... The Guess Who start a three-week run at № 1 on the US singles chart with 'American Woman', the group's sixth Top 30 hit and only chart topper. The song was born by accident when guitarist Randy Bachman was playing a heavy riff on stage after he had broken a string, and the other members joined in on the jam. A fan in the audience who had bootlegged the show presented his tape to the group after the show and they developed the riff into a full song (1970)... Mick Jagger adds $150,000 of his own money to the $350,000 raised by a Rolling Stones benefit concert on January for victims of the recent Nicaraguan earthquake (1973)... Bonnie Raitt plays two shows at Harvard Square Theatre in Cambridge, MA; her opening act is Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. Rolling Stone critic Jon Landau is in the audience Springsteen and writes a review that includes the line 'I saw rock and roll future, and its name is Bruce Springsteen' (1974)... 'I Don't Like Mondays' by The Boomtown Rats wins in the Best Pop Song and Outstanding British Lyric categories at the 25th Ivor Novello Awards, while Supertramp's 'The Logical Song' wins Best Song Musically and Lyrically. Boomtown Rats lead singer Bob Geldoff was inspired to write  the song after reading about the tragic shooting spree of 16-year-old Brenda Spencer, who killed two people and wounded nine others when she fired from her house across the street at the entrance of San Diego's Grover Cleveland Elementary School (1980)... Bruce Springsteen makes his North American TV debut as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live (1992)... Jimmy Page appears on SNL with rapper Sean 'Puffy' Combs and performs 'Come With Me' from the 'Godzilla' movie soundtrack. The song samples the guitar riff from Led Zeppelin's 'Kashmir' (1998)... Country star Kenny Chesney marries Renee Zellweger (2005)... David Bowie's latest video, which stars Gary Oldman and Marion Cotillard, is temporarily pulled from YouTube because of its graphic content. 'The Next Day' features heavy religious imagery, including Cotillard bleeding from stigmata marks. The video sees Bowie performing in a basement bar, surrounded by religious figures, while Oldman, dressed as a priest, punches a beggar before dancing with a prostitute, played by Oscar-winner Cotillard. YouTube admitted making the 'wrong call' in removing the video, and reinstated it with an adult content warning (2013).