September 2nd

Musical birthdays include Impressions founding member Sam Gooden (87), early rock and roll singer Jimmy Clanton (83), Martha & the Vandellas vocalist Rosalind Ashford (78), Caravan drummer Richard Coughlin (74), ex-ELO violinist Mik Kaminski (70), Fear Factory guitarist Dino Cazare (55), MC Chris (46), and Panic! at the Disco drummer Spencer Smith (34).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for folk singer & songwriter Tom Glazer, born today in 1914... for Brazilian jazz guitarist and samba pioneer Laurindo Almeida, born in 1917... for jazz pianist Horace Silver, born in 1928... for former Mingus sideman Clifford Jordan, born in 1931... for Billy Preston, who would have been 75... for longtime New York Metropolitan Opera director Sir Rudolf Bing, who died on this date in 1997... and for Starship lead guitarist Mark Abrahamian, who left us today in 2013 at the age of 46. 

Also on September 2: On tour in the USA, the Beatles play Philadelphia's Convention Hall. After the show, John Lennon, unaware of the city's recent history of racial tensions, is heard to express surprise that the audience of 13,000 was entirely white (1964)... The Doors record their first demos at World Pacific Jazz Studios in Los Angeles, cutting six original Jim Morrison songs... The Beatles release 'Yesterday' as a single in the US, where it will top the charts (1965)... The № 1 single in the UK today is Rod Stewart's 'You Wear It Well' (1972)... George Harrison marries Olivia Arias at the Henley-on-Thames registry office (1978)... Teddy Pendergrass announces that only women will be admitted to concerts on the tour to promote his latest album 'Life Is a Song Worth Singing' (1978)... The Human Rights Now! world tour kicks off at London's Wembley Stadium with Bruce Springsteen, Peter Gabriel, Tracy Chapman, Sting and Youssou N'Dour on the bill (1988)... Ozzy Osbourne is arrested on charges of threatening to kill his wife Sharon. All charges will be dropped after the couple reconcile [and Ozzy does a court-ordered stint in rehab] (1989)... Michael Jackson becomes the first artist in the history of the Billboard Top 40 singles chart to debut at № 1, with 'You Are Not Alone'... Following yesterday's ribbon-cutting ceremony presided over by Yoko Ono and Little Richard, the opening festivities for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, OH are capped with a 7-hour concert with Chuck Berry, Bob Dylan, John Fogerty, Aretha Franklin, Al Green, Jerry Lee Lewis, Iggy Pop, Bruce Springsteen and many others on the bill (1995)...  Burglars break into Björk's London home while the singer is asleep. The intruders make off with valuable recording equipment without rousing her (2002)... During NBC's Concert for Hurricane Relief, the ever-irrepressible Kanye West attacks President George W. Bush for not responding quickly enough to the recent flooding in New Orleans, saying "George Bush doesn't care about black people" (2005).