September 6th

Musical birthdays today include composer Joan Tower (83), country singer David Allan Coe (82), former Blood, Sweat & Tears horn player Dave Bergeron (79), Roger Waters (78), multi-instrumentalist and composer Patrick O'Hearn (67), country singer Mark Chesnutt (58), House of Love guitarist Terry Bickers (58), Alice in Chains lead singer William DuVall (54), ex-Scissor Sisters drummer Paddy Boom (52), Cardigans lead singer Nina Persson (46) and Atomic Kitten vocalist Kerry Katona (40). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for bluesman Jimmy Reed, born on this day in 1925... for Kool & the Gang co-founder Claydes Charles Smith, who would have been 73 today... for Cranberries lead singer Dolores O'Riordan, who would have been 50.. for producer Tom Wilson, who died on this date in 1978... for Grand Ole Opry stalwart Ernest Tubb, who died in 1984... for Creedence Clearwater Revival rhythm guitarist Tom Fogerty, who passed away in 1990... for session pianist Nicky Hopkins, who died in 1994... and for Luciano Pavarotti, who left us today in 2007.

Also on September 6: Mozart's opera La Clemenza di Tito premieres in Prague (1791)... At the Municipal Auditorium in Montgomery, AL, 19-year-old Hank Williams, working as a roadie for country singer Hardrock Gunter, sings two numbers spontaneously when he goes on stage to retrieve the star's guitar. The impromptu performance brings the house down (1943)... Jerry Lee Lewis' contract with Sun Records expires. The star opts not to renew his deal, signing instead with Smash Records, a subsidiary of the Chicago-based Mercury label (1963)...  D.A. Pennebaker's Bob Dylan documentary 'Don't Look Back' has its New York premiere at the 34th Street East Theater (1967)... As the Beatles continue to work on the White Album, Eric Clapton adds the guitar solo to 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps' and George lays down his lead vocal (1968)... Jimi Hendrix makes his final live appearance, at a festival on the German Baltic Sea island of Fehmarn (1970)... The album The Place I Love by the group Splinter becomes the first release on George Harrison's new label, Dark Horse Records. Harrison himself also contributed slide guitar work to the record (1974)... The Jam are at № 1 on the UK singles chart with 'Start!' (1980)... № 1 in the US today is Bananarama's 'Venus' (1986)... The NFL's Steelers are forced to move practice to the University of Pittsburgh when The Rolling Stones take over Three Rivers Stadium to prepare for an upcoming concert (1989)... At Camden yards in Baltimore, Bruce Hornsby and Branford Marsalis perform the Star Spangled Banner before the Orioles' game in which Cal Ripken appears in his 2,131st consecutive contest, eclipsing the record held by Lou Gehrig (1995)... Elton John performs a new version of 'Candle in the Wind' at the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales in Westminster Abbey. The broadcast of the event is seen by some 2.5 billion people worldwide, and the rewrite of the singer's 1973 tribute to Marilyn Monroe will go on to become the biggest-selling single of all time (1997)... Earth, Wind & Fire announce that Viagra will be sponsoring their upcoming 30th anniversary US tour (2001)... Morrisey causes controversy after claiming that the Chinese are a 'sub-species' because of the way they treat animals. In an interview with the Guardian, the former Smiths frontman says "Did you see the thing on the news about their treatment of animals and animal welfare? You can't help but feel that the Chinese are a sub-species" (2010).