April 2nd

Musical birthdays today include DJ Barry Hansen AKA Dr. Demento (81), Emmylou Harris (75), ex-Cars drummer David Robinson (73), soul singer & producer Gregory Abbott (68), Bananarama vocalist Keren Woodward (61), country singer Billy Dean (60), former Smashmouth frontman Greg Camp (55), and Maroon 5 keyboardist Jesse Carmichael (43). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Serge Gainsbourg, born on this day in 1928... for jazz trumpeter Booker Little, who would have been 84... for Marvin Gaye, who would have been 82... for Leon Russell, who would have been 79... for jazzguitarist Larry Coryell, who would have been 78... for Guess Who guitarist Kurt Winter, who would have been 75... for original Lynyrd Skynyrd bassist Leon Wilkeson, who would have been 70... for Buddy Rich, who died on this date in 1987... for Edwin Starr, who passed away in 2003... for saxophonist and Stan Kenton sideman Bud Shank, who died in 2009... and for classical flautist Linda Vogt, who left us today in 2013.

Also on April 2nd: Beethoven conducts the first performance of his 1st Symphony in Vienna (1800)... The New York Philharmonic Orchestra, the oldest symphony in the United States, is founded in Manhattan (1842)... The Beach Boys record 'I Get around' (1964)... The Who make their radio debut on the BBC's 'Joe Loss Pop Show' (1965)... Bob Dylan attends a screening of 'Don't Look back', D.A. Pennebaker's cinema verité documentary of the singer's 1965 UK tour. Following the private showing in Hollywood, Dylan tells the director that he has several changes in mind that he will point out if he can see the film again. After another screening the next day, however, Dylan decides that the movie is fine as it is (1966)... Bruce Springsteen's new band Child make their live debut at the Pandemonium Club in Wanamassa, NJ (1969)... Phil Spector finishes editing and mixing Let It Be from the 'Get Back' studio tapes (1970)... Donny Hathaway's eponymous debut album is released (1971)... ABBA top the UK singles chart with 'Knowing Me, Knowing You', while Frank Sinatra's Portrait of Sinatra gives him his first British № 1 album... In America, the № 1 LP is Fleetwood Mac's Rumours (1977)... U2 kick off the 29-date US leg of their Joshua Tree tour at the Arizona State Activity Center (1987)...  Nirvana go into Smart Studios in Madison, Wisconsin and start work on demo versions of ‘In Bloom’, ‘Dive’, ‘Lithium’, ‘Pay To Play’, ‘Imodium’, ‘Sappy’ and ‘Polly’ with Butch Vig producing (1990)...Joni Mitchell is reunited with Kilauren Gibb, the daughter whom she gave up for adoption 34 years earlier (1997)... Mariah Carey signs the most lucrative recording deal in history. The 31-year old singer inks a contract with Virgin for three albums worth £60m. The singer has sold over 120 million records worldwide, scoring 14 US № 1 singles (2001)... One of John Lennon's schoolbook containing the 12-year-old's illustrations of Lewis Carroll's poem The Walrus and the Carpenter sells at auction in London for £126,500. Also sold for £12,000 was a ship's log book written by Lennon during a stormy trip to Bermuda in 1980, while a letter from Paul McCartney to his three bandmates fails to reach its £50,000 reserve price (2006)... A fully restored grand piano used in the Motown Records studios is put on display at a museum dedicated to the legendary record label in Detroit. Sir Paul McCartney helped fund the refurbishment of the 1877 Steinway, which was originally in Motown's Studio B. and was used to create hits for names including Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and Edwin Starr... Coldplay beat the likes of Pink Floyd and The Beatles to the top of a BBC Radio 2 poll to find listeners' favourite album of all time. A Rush Of Blood To The Head, Coldplay's second collection, which was released in 2002, comes top of the list. Keane's Hopes And Fears takes second place, with Duran Duran's Rio in third. Dark Side Of The Moon finished fourth, while Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' could only manage eighth place. The poll was held to tie in with the recent BBC season The Golden Age of the Album (2013).