May 31st

Musical birthdays today include Peter Yarrow (84), former Marmalade lead guitarist Junior Campbell (75), Kraftwerk drummer Fritz Hilpert (66), session keyboardist & Bonnie Tyler sideman John Young (66), Corey Hart (59), Run-D.M.C. rapper Darryl McDaniels (58), operatic soprano Diana Damrau (51), jazz bassist Christian McBride (50), former Reel Big Fish multi-instrumentalist Scott Klopfenstein (42), Fall Out Boy drummer Andy Hurley (42), and ex-Animals as Leaders drummer Navene Koperweis (36). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for English music hall pianist songwriter Billy Mayerl, born on this day in 1902... for country singer Johnny Paycheck [né Donald Lytle], who would have been 83 today... for John Bonham, who would have been 73... for underground singer-songwriter Wesley Willis, who would have been 58... for Joseph Haydn, who died on this date in 1809... for pianist, songwriter and Duke Ellington collaborator Billy Strayhorn, who died in 1967... for soul singer Johnnie Taylor, who passed away in 2000... and for Argentine singer-songwriter and bandoneón player Rubén Juárez, who left us in 2010. 

Also on May 31st: Violin prodigy Nicolò Paganini makes his concert debut in Genoa at the age of 11 (1794)... Columbia releases what is often considered the first true jazz record, 'Darktown Strutters' Ball' by The Original Dixieland Jazz Band, as a 78 RPM, catalog № A-2297 (1917)... In Nashville, Johnny Cash makes his Grand Ole Opry debut (1958)... Dick Dale and the Del-Tones record 'Let's Go Trippin'', often regarded as the first surf rock instrumental (1961)... Filming begins for the first season of The Monkees' TV series (1966)... With Yoko sitting in at Studio 1, Abbey Road for the first time, The Beatles continue to work on 'Revolution', adding the vocal tracks. After numerous overdubs, the final six minutes of the song evolve into chaotic jamming, with Lennon repeatedly shouting "alright" and Yoko speaking random phrases. The jam becomes the basis for ‘Revolution 9’ (1968)... The Who give themselves a place in the Guinness Book of Records for the loudest performance of a rock band, as they reach 120 decibels during a gig at the Charlton Athletic football grounds in Greenwich, London (1973)... The BBC announce a formal ban on the new Sex Pistols single 'God Save The Queen', declaring it 'in gross bad taste'. The IBA [Independent Broadcasting Authority] simultaneously issues a warning to all radio stations saying that playing the single will constitute a breach of Section 4:1:A of the Broadcasting act (1977)... Lipps, Inc. have the № 1 single in the US and seven European countries with 'Funky Town' (1980)... R.E.M. sign their first recording contract,  a 5-album deal with IRS Records (1982)... Sire Records release Talking Heads' album Speaking in Tongues (1983)... David Bowie's Tin Machine make their live debut at the International Music Awards in NYC (1989)... Geri Halliwell announces that she has quit The Spice Girls, saying "This is because of differences between us. I am sure the group will continue to be successful and I wish them all the best" (1998)... UK police announce that thousands of people at this year's rock festivals will be subjected to a computerised drug test. Fans will be asked to provide swab samples from their hands, which would be inserted into a machine for analysis. It is to be a voluntary test, but Anti-drug officers can search anyone refusing (2003)... Death Cab for Cutie go to № 1 on the US album chart with Narrow Stairs (2008).

May 30th

Musical birthdays today include Dave Clark Five guitarist Lenny Davidson (78), Dead Kennedys bassist Geoffrey 'Klaus Flouride' Lyall (32), classical pianist Zoltan Kocsis (70), The Clash drummer Topper Headon (67), Wynona Judd (58), former Rage against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello (58), ex-Pavement frontman Stephen Malkmus (56), Charlatans lead singer Tim Burgess (55), stage musical singer Idina Menzel (51), rapper & producer Thomas 'CeeLo Green' Calloway (47), Shadows Fall lead singer Brian Fair (47), and Devendra Banhart (41).  


Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Benny Goodman, born on this day in 1909... for Latin jazz percussionist Armondo Peraza, born in 1924...for accordionist & electronic music pioneer Pauline Oliveros, who would have been 90 today... for rapper Lamont 'Big L' Coleman, who would have been 48... for song & dance man Dooley Wilson, who died on this date in 1953... for Derek & the Dominoes bassist Carl Radle, who died in 1980... for Sun Ra, who passed away in 1993... for big band singer & saxophonist Tex Beneke, who died in 2000... and for guitarist & Miles Davis sideman Pete Cosey, who left us today in 2012.

Also on May 30th: J.S. Bach makes his debut as cantor at Leipzig's Thomasschule with his first cantata performance in the city. He presents cantata № 75, Die Elenden soll essen, at the St. Nicolai Church, and will be formally inducted into his post tomorrow (1723)... London Records release The Rolling Stones' self-titled debut album in America, subtitled England's Newest Hitmakers (1964)... Dolly Parton marries Carl Thomas Dean, a road-paving contractor, in Ringgold, GA. (1966)... At Abbey Road, The Beatles record 'Revolution', the first of the tracks that will make up the collection that will come to be known as The White Album (1968)... George Harrison's album Living in the Material World is released in the US (1973)...  A 14-year-old Australian David Cassidy fan named Bernadette Whelan dies of heart failure four days after attending her idol's concert in White City Park, Perth. Over 1,000 other fans had to be given medical attention during the show (1974)... David Bowie kicks off his 87-date Glass Spider world tour at the Feyenoord Stadium in Rotterdam (1987)... The Black Crowes go to № 1 on the US album chart with The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion (1992)... Alan Whitaker of Penzance appears on the UK TV quiz show Mastermind with The Sex Pistols as his specialist subject. He wins a place in the semi-final of the show, answering all but one of the 18 questions correctly (1996)... Scottish pop singer Finley Quaye is threatened with jail after his mobile phone rang when he is in the dock waiting to be sentenced on charges of assaulting his former girlfriend. After being found guilty, he is ordered to attend a six-month domestic violence programme (2003)... A leaked copy of the new White Stripes album Icky Thump is played entirely on the Chicago radio station Q101 [WKQX FM]. Jack White personally calls the US radio station from Spain, where he is on tour, to voice his displeasure (2007)..

May 29th

Musical birthdays today include former Can keyboardist Irmin Schmidt (85), Procol Harum lead singer Gary Brooker (77), French chanteuse Catherine Lara (77), ex-Ohio Express lead singer Joey Levine (75), Status Quo frontman Francis Rossi (73), ex-Oingo Boingo frontman Danny Elfman (70), La Toya Jackson (66), Melissa Ethridge (61), Wolfsbane lead singer Blaze Bayley (59), Noel Gallagher (55), Blues Traveler guitarist Chan Kinchla (53), ex-Verve  bassist Simon Jones (50), Melanie Brown AKA Spice Girl Mel B (47), and Hives lead singer Pelle Almqvist (44). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for film score composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold, born on this day in 1897... for Mexican singer & actress Armida Vendrell, born in 1911... for Poco bassist Mike Porcaro, who qould have been 65 today... for Gilbert & Sullivan librettist W.S. Gilbert, who died on this date in 1911... for former Quicksilver Messenger Service lead guitarist John Cipollina, who passed away in 1989... for Jeff Buckley, drowned in an accident on this day in 1997 at the age of 30... for Doc Watson, who died in 2013... and for pop singer B.J. 'Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My head' Thomas, who left us one year ago today.   

Also on May 29th: Beethoven attends a performance of Haydn's oratorio The Seasons in Vienna (1801)... 'The Swedish Nightingale' Jenny Lind sails from NYC after a triumphant 2-year US tour (1852)... The premiere of Stravinsky's score for Diaghilev's ballet The Rite of Spring causes a riot at the Ballet russe in Paris (1913)... Bing Crosby records Irving Berlin's 'White Christmas' in 3 takes and 18 minutes with the John Scott Trotter Orchestra and the Ken Darby Singers (1942)... Chubby Checker wins a grammy for Best Rock & Roll Recording with 'Let's Twist Again', while Ray Charles' 'Hit the Road Jack' takes the trophy for best R&B Recording (1962)... Bob Dylan's Bringing It All Back Home goes to № 1 on the UK album chart... The Beach Boys have the top US single with 'Help Me Rhonda' [The recording session for the song was interrupted by the Wilson brothers' father Murry, who arrived at the studio drunk and criticized the band's enthusiasm, lifestyle and hair length. The tape reel continued to record the confrontation, which still circulates among fans] (1965)... The Move, Cream, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Pink Floyd, Zoot Money, Geno Washington and The Ram Jam Band all appeare at the Tulip Bulb Auction Hall in Spalding, Lincolnshire. The Floyd are only a support band and play in a corner of the hall [basically a large shed] with a white sheet behind them and lights projected through coloured oils onto it. Tickets cost £1, and the poster advertising the show promises a 'Knockout Atmosphere' (1967)... Crosby, Stills & Nash release their self-titled debut album on Atlantic Records (1969)... The Rolling Stones hit № 1 in the US with 'Brown Sugar'... Several dozen Grateful Dead fans are treated for hallucinations caused by LSD after they unwittingly drink spiked apple juice served at a gig at San Francisco's Winterland Ballroom (1971)... The Buzzcocks play a gig at the Electric Circus in Manchester. Their opening act, a local band called Warsaw, are making their live debut and will soon change their name to Joy Division (1977)... Tina Turner releases her comeback album Private Dancer (1984)... Michael Jackson makes an offer of $1 million to the London Hospital Museum, where the skeleton of 'Elephant Man' John Merrick is preserved, to buy the remains. The proposition is turned down (1987)... Fresh from the final studio sessions for the Nevermind album, Nirvana play an announced show at the Jabberjaw in Los Angeles. In the audience are Iggy Pop and Dave Grohl's girlfriend and L7 bassist Jennifer Finch, who has also brought along Courtney Love (1991)... The FBI recover 44 nude pictures of Madonna that had been stolen from the studio of NYC photographer Steven Meisel (1992)... Skeletal remains are found by scuba-diving photographers looking for old car wrecks to shoot at the bottom of Decker Canyon near Malibu, CA. Based on forensic analysis, the remains are those of Philip Kramer, former bassist with rock group Iron Butterfly, who disappeared on his way home from work on February 12, 1995. His death is ruled a probable suicide (1999)... In Moscow, The Eagles play their first concert in Russia as part of a 6-date tour of the country (2001)... A 16ft by 6ft mosaic designed by John Lennon goes on display at The Beatles Story museum on the Albert Docks in Liverpool. The mosaic had been built into Lennon's swimming pool at his Kenwood home in Surrey where he lived between 1964 and 1968 (2002)... A piano played by John Lennon on the night he died is put up for sale for $375,000 online at the Moments in Time memorabilia website. The upright grand piano is the property of the Record Plant Recording Studios in New York where the former Beatle recorded his 1971 album Imagine. Lennon was said to be so fond of the instrument that he had it moved to whichever studio he was working in and had used the piano hours before being shot in December 1980 (2007)... After being found guilty last month of the shooting death of actress Lana Clarkson in 2003, Phil Spector is sentenced to a minimum of 19 years by a Los Angeles judge (2009)... A park in Sabrosa, Portugal [some 50 miles north of Lisbon] is renamed BB King Park in honour of a live show for 20,000 spectators that the blues legend played there in 1975 (2010). 

May 28th

Musical birthdays today include ska & reggae pioneer Cecil 'Prince Buster' Campbell (84), Gladys Knight (78), ex-Billy & the Beaters lead singer Billy Vera (78), John Fogerty (77), session bassist Leland Sklar (75), guitarist & avant-garde composer Arto Lindsay (69), Union Station lap steel guitarist Jerry Douglas (66), former Fine Young Cannibals lead singer Roland Gift (61), King Crimson & Porcupine Tree drummer Gavin Harrison (59), country singer Phil Vassar (58), Presidents of the United States of America guitarist Chris Ballew (57), Kylie Minogue (54), Doves frontman Jimi Goodwin (52), ex-Westlife vocalist Mark Feehily (42), Moldy Peaches singer-songwriter Adam Green (41), Beach House singer & keyboardist Victoria Legrand (41), and singer-songwriter Colbie Caillat (37). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for jazz trumpeter Tommy Ladnier, born on this day in 1900... for bluesman Aaron 'T-Bone' Walker, born in 1910... for former Jefferson Airplane violinist Papa John Creach, born in 1917... for operatic baritone & conductor Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, born in 1925... for Wendy O. Williams, who would have been 73... for classical pianist Yuri Egorov, who would have been 68... for jazz pianist Mary Lou Williams, who died on this date in 1981... for trumpeter & bandleader Melvin 'Sy' Oliver, who passed away in 1988... and for Cameroonian makossa guitarist & pop singer Francis Bebey, who left us today in 2001. 

Also on May 28th: The world's first air-conditioned opera house opens in Dessau, Germany (1938)... The John Coltrane Quartet record the Live at the Village Vanguard Again! album... Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass go to № 1 on the US album chart with What Now My Love; the group also have three other LPs in the US Top Ten ~ South of the Border, Whipped Cream and Other Delights, and Going Places ~ for a new record... All four Beatles spend the day with Bob Dylan in his room at the Mayfair Hotel in London watching rushes of D.A. Pennebakers's forthcoming documentary film, Don't Look Back, which covers Dylan's concert tour of the UK the previous year (1966)... Atlantic Records release Graham Nash's first solo album, Songs for Beginners (1971)... Ronnie Lane announces that he is leaving The Faces. He will go on to form the group Slim Chance, who will have a hit the following year with 'How Come' (1973)... The Allman Brothers Band release a statement that they are going on indefinite hiatus after Greg Allman testifies against Scooter Herring, his personal road manager, who is charged with drug trafficking. Herring is subsequently sentenced to 75 years in prison. An album of previously unreleased live material will be issued later in the year under the title Wipe the Windows, Check the Oil, Dollar Gas (1976)... Sting, Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers play together for the first time when they perform as part of Mike Howlett's band Strontium 90 in Paris (1977)... Irene Cara has the № 1 single in America with 'Flashdance... What a Feeling'... The second 4-day US Festival opens at Glen Helen Regional Park outside San Bernardino, CA. On the bill are The Clash, U2, David Bowie, The Pretenders, Van Halen, Stray Cats, Men At Work, Judas Priest, Stevie Nicks, Willie Nelson. INXS, Joe Walsh, Motley Crue and Ozzy Osbourne. [Bowie will come in for subsequent criticism when it is revealed that he received $1 million for his one hour set, while paying each member of his backing band $350]. Over 750,000 fans attend the festival (1983)... Steven Tyler marries his second wife, clothing designer Teresa Barrick (1988)... Britney Spears is at № 1 on the album chart in the US and thirteen other countries with Oops!... I Did It Again (2000)... Right Said Fred singer Richard Fairbrass and gay rights activist Peter Tatchell are both attacked by riot police during a demonstration in Moscow. Trouble breaks out when they try to appeal against the ban on a gay rights march through the Russian capital. The banned march was aimed at marking the 14th anniversary of Russia's decriminalisation of homosexuality (2007).

May 27th

Musical birthdays today include composer & academic Thea Musgrave (94), jazz pianist Ramsay Lewis (87), country singer Don Williams (83), Bruce Cockburn (77), pop singer & former New Seekers vocalist Marty Kristian (75), ex-Jefferson Starship bassist Pete Sears (74), Dee Dee Bridgewater (72), Siouxsie Sioux [neé Susan Ballion] (65), Crowded House frontman Neil Finn (64), Black Crowes keyboardist Eddie Harsch (55), The LOX rapper Jason 'Jadakiss' Phillips (47), OutKast rapper André Benjamin AKA André 3000 (47), and Australian singer-songwriter Michael de Grussa (40). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Julia Ward Howe, author of the Battle Hymn of the Republic, born on this day in 1819... for Chilean popular singer Ester Soré, born in 1917... for  Cilla Black, who would have been 79 today... for rapper & former TLC vocalist Lisa 'Left Eye' Lopes, who would have been 50... for violin virtuoso Niccolò Paganini, who died on this date in 1840... for musical educator W. Otto Meissner [organiser of the first American public high school band in Connersville, IN in 1906], who died in 1967... for Appalachian fiddler Uncle Charlie Osborne, who passed away in 1992... and for Gil Scott-Heron, who left us today in 2012. 

Also on May 27th: Buddy Holly & the Crickets release their debut single 'That'll Be the Day'... Toronto's CHUM-AM 1050 becomes Canada's first radio station to broadcast in an all pop & rock format (1957)... Bob Dylan's breakthrough second  album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan is released... Harold Vick records Steppin' out, his first and only album for Blue Note as a leader (1963)... Eleven boys are suspended from a grammar school in Coventry, England for refusing to cut their hair, in emulation of The Rolling Stones (1964)... To celebrate Cilla Black's birthday, her manager Brian Epstein organises illuminated greetings at London's Piccadilly Circus and at sites in Manchester, Bristol and Birmingham (1967)... Declan McManus plays his first live London gig as Elvis Costello... The Sex Pistols single 'God Save The Queen' is released in the UK. Banned by TV and radio, high street shops and pressing plant workers refuse to handle the record. It still manages to sell 200,000 copies in one week and peaks at № 2 on the UK charts behind Rod Stewart's 'I Don't Want to Talk About It'. There have been persistent rumours ~ never confirmed or denied ~ that it was actually the biggest-selling single in the UK at the time, and that the British Phonographic Industry conspired to keep it out of the top spot (1977)... In Tel Aviv, Leonard Bernstein's Halil for Flute & Orchestra is performed for the first time, with the composer conducting and Jean-Pierre Rampal as principal flautist (1981)... The Smiths are at № 1 on the UK independent chart with their debut single 'Hand In Glove.' The band recorded the track after their manager Joe Moss paid £250 for a one-day recording session at Strawberry Studios in Stockport (1983)... Cliff Richard releases his 100th single, 'The Best of Me' (1988)... The Stone Roses play at Spike Island, Widnes, Cheshire to a capacity crowd of 30,000. The event, considered a failure at the time due to sound problems and bad organisation, has become legendary in the UK over the years as a 'Woodstock for the baggy generation' (1990)... The Eagles played their first concert in fourteen years when they do a reunion show in Burbank, CA. The two-and-a-half-hour gig ends with two encores, closing with 'Desperado' (1994)... Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mya and Pink go to № 1 on the US singles chart with their remake of 'Lady Marmalade.' A hit for LaBelle in 1975, this version is taken from the Baz Luhrmann film 'Moulin Rouge!' (2001)... Robbie Williams comes first in a poll asking British music fans to name the greatest live solo artist in pop & rock history, beating out Elvis, Jimi Hendrix and David Bowie in the process. A UK nation-wide survey of 25,000 people saw the former Take That star coming in ahead of Madonna, Michael Jackson and Bob Dylan as well (2005)... The advertising firm of Saatchi & Saatchi are fired by Dr Martens for running an advertising campaign featuring dead rock stars such as Kurt Cobain and Sid Vicious wearing the brand's boots in heaven. David Suddens, the chief executive of Dr Martens parent company Airwear, says that the brand had not commissioned the series of four print ads, stating 'Dr Martens are very sorry for any offence that has been caused by the publication of images showing dead rock icons wearing Dr Martens boots' (2007)... Sir Paul McCartney is awarded an honorary Doctorate of Music by Yale University (2008)... The NME publishes an article reporting that  many musicians are annoyed by fans filming gigs on their smartphones. Jack White and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs are both now putting up signs at their concerts asking people to leave their mobiles in their pockets (2013).

May 26th

Musical birthdays today include former Can drummer Jaki Liebezeit (84), Guess Who drummer Garry Peterson (75), Stevie Nicks (74), Hank Williams, Jr. (74), Alphaville lead singer Marian Gold (68), singer-songwriter Kristina Olsen (65), Lenny Kravitz (58), Chroma Key singer & keyboardist Kevin Moore (55), former Oasis drummer Alan White (50), Lauryn Hill (47), Chimaira lead singer Mark Hunter (45), Microphones frontman Phil Elvrum (44), and The Fray lead singer Isaac Slade (41).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for pioneering blues recording artist Mamie Smith, born on this day in 1883... for Al Jolson, born in 1886... for English popular singer George Formby, born in 1904... for composer and instrument inventor Louis 'Moondog' Hardin, born in 1916... for Buena Vista Social Club pianist Rubén González, born in 1919... for Peggy Lee, born in 1920... for Miles Davis, born in 1926... for Levon Helm, who would have been 81... for guitarist & longtime David Bowie sideman Mick Ronson, who would have been 75... for composer Victor Herbert, who died on this date in 1924... for early country star Jimmie Rogers, who died in 1933... for R&B singer Little Willie John, who died in 1968... for original O'Jays vocalist William Powell, who passed away in 1977... and for classical pianist Ruth Laredo, who left us today in 2005. 

Also on May 26th: The first Jimmie Rodgers Memorial Festival is held on the 20th anniversary of the singer's death. The gathering in Meridian, MS continues to be an annual event (1953)... Marianne Faithful records the Jagger/Richards song 'As Tears Go By', accompanied by future Led Zeppelin members Jimmy Page on guitar and John Paul Jones on bass (1964)... The Rolling Stones are at № 1 on the UK singles chart with 'Paint It, Black'. It was originally titled 'Paint It Black' without a comma. Keith Richards has stated that the comma was added by the record label, Decca. It is the first № 1 single to feature a sitar... The Beatles record 'Yellow Submarine' at Abbey Road Studios. George Martin, who is recovering from a case of food poisoning, misses the session, which is produced by EMI engineer Geoff Emerick instead. The track features John Lennon blowing bubbles in a bucket of water and shouting "Full speed ahead Mister Captain!" (1966)... Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is released in Britain... The Mothers of Invention release Absolutely Free, their second studio album (1967)... Pink Floyd, Blonde on Blonde and The Pretty Things are all on the bill at the OZ magazine benefit at the Middle Earth Club, Covent Garden, London. OZ was a satirical humour magazine, founded by Richard Neville in 1963 and based in Sydney, Australia. In its second and better-known incarnation it became a counter-culture magazine, based in London from 1967 to 1973 (1968)... John and Yoko begin an eight-day 'bed in' in room 1742 of the hotel La Reine  Elizabeth in Montreal to promote world peace. They record 'Give Peace a Chance' in the room (Petula Clark can be heard on the chorus). The song is credited to Lennon & McCartney, even though Paul had nothing to do with the record (1969)... With Mott the Hoople on the point of splitting up, David Bowie offers the band two of his new songs, 'Suffragette City', which they turn down, and 'All The Young Dudes', which they record. The song will give the group a top 10 hit on both sides of the Atlantic (1972)... The Edgar Winter Group top the US singles chart with 'Frankenstein', the band's only US № 1. The group features ex-McCoys guitarist Rick Derringer. In live performances of the song, Edgar Winter further pioneered the advancement of the synthesizer as a lead instrument by becoming the first person ever to strap a keyboard instrument around his neck (1973)... On Irish television today: at 4.00, 'Top Cat', 4.30 'Skippy' and at 5.30 a  program called 'Youngline', a series for young people highlighting their interests. Today's show includes a feature on a new pop group now calling themselves U2 (1978)... 'Sunday Girl' gives Blondie their second UK № 1 hit single. The track was taken from the group's 'Parallel Lines', which goes on to become the biggest selling album of the year in Britain (1979)... For the first time ever, the top five positions on the US singles chart are held by female artists : Madonna is at № 1 with 'Vogue', while Heart are at № 2, Sinead O'Connor at № 3, Wilson Phillips at № 4 and Janet Jackson at № 5 (1990)... Michael Jackson marries Lisa Marie Presley in the Dominican Republic (1994)... The Rolling Stones play two semi-acoustic concerts at the Paradiso Amsterdam over two days. Keith Richards will later say that the Paradiso gigs were the best live shows the Stones ever did. The venue is housed in a converted former church building that dates from the nineteenth century, subsequently squatted in 1967 by hippies who wanted to convert the church into an entertainment club. Artists who have recorded concerts at the Paradiso include Joy Division, Willie Nelson, Phish, Nirvana, The Cure, Lenny Kravitz, Nick Cave, Dave Matthews and Amy Winehouse (1995)... A fire at the home of Eric Clapton causes over £1.5 million worth of damage. Firemen arrived on the scene to find Clapton braving the blaze to save his collection of guitars (1996)... A US judge ends a bitter two-year court battle over James Brown's estate. Judge Jack Early rules that half of the late singer's assets will go to a charitable trust, a quarter to his wife and young son, and the rest to his six adult children in equal shares. Brown's family and widow Tomi Rae Hynie Brown, had been squabbling over his fortune since the Godfather of Soul died of heart failure in 2006 (2009)... Willie Nelson appears in public for the first time since cutting his trademark waist-length braids. A spokesman for the legendary entertainer [who refuses to comment] says that he decided to lose his signature hairstyle earlier in the month, but made no announcement of the change (2010).

May 25th

Musical birthdays today include jazz saxophonist Marshall Allen (98), country singer Tom T. Hall (86), former Family keyboardist John Palmer (79), U.K. Subs lead singer Charlie Harper (78), Tokens vocalist Mitch Margo (75), Scorpions lead singer Klaus Meine (74), former Asleep at the Wheel steel guitarist Cindy Cashdollar (66), Paul Weller (64), ex-Megadeath lead guitarist Glen Drover (53), Tha Dogg Pound rapper Delmar 'Daz Dillinger' Arnaud (49), The Fray guitarist Joe King (42), pop singer Neon Hitch (35), and Union J vocalist JJ Hamblett (34). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for early 20th c. recording star Billy Murray, born on this day in 1877... for song & dance man Bill 'Bojangles' Robinson, born in 1878... for songwriter Hal David and big band singer Kitty Kallen, both born in 1921... for Beverly Sills, born today in 1929... for reggae singer & producer Sugar Minott, who would have been 66... for composer Gustav Holst, who died on this date in 1934... for blues harp virtuoso Alex Miller AKA Sonny Boy Williamson II, who died in 1965 [According to the Led Zeppelin biography 'Hammer of the Gods', whilst touring the UK in the early '60s, Sonny Boy once set his hotel room on fire by trying to cook a rabbit in a coffee percolator]....for Sublime frontman Bradley Nowell, who died of a drug overdose today in 1996 at the age of 28... for Mars Volta sound technician & vocal operator Jeremy Michael Ward, who died of an overdose today in 2003 at the age of 27... for ska & reggae pioneer Desmond Dekker, who passed away in 2006... for rapper Tero 'Camu Tao' Smith, who died in 2008... and for Bill Haley & His Comets bassist Marshall Lytle, who left us today in 2013. 

Also on May 25th: Gilbert & Sullivan's HMS Pinafore opens at the Opera Comique in London (1878)... A benefit concert is held at the original Madison Square Garden. Arturo Toscanini conducts a combined NBC Symphony and New York Philharmonic in a performance of music by Wagner, Verdi, and John Philip Sousa. The evening raises $100,000 for the Red Cross; during an intermission auction, NYC mayor Fiorello LaGuardia auctions off Toscanini's baton for $10,000 (1944)... Procol Harum's 'A Whiter Shade of Pale' enters the UK singles chart for the first time. It will go on to reach № 1, and by 2009 will be officially classed as the song most frequently played in public places in Britain over the last 75 years (1967)... Simon & Garfunkel score their second US № 1 album with Bookends (1968)... A benefit concert is held for Fairport Convention at The Roundhouse, London to raise money for the families of the band's drummer Martin Lamble and Richard Thompson's girlfriend, clothes designer Jeannie Franklyn, who were both killed in an accident driving back from a gig. Also on the bill are Family, The Pretty Things, Soft Machine and John Peel... At Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, MD, Led Zeppelin and The Who play on the same bill for the only time in their careers, with Zeppelin as the opening act. [On the tickets, their name is misspelt 'Lead Zeppelin'] (1969)... Carole King plays a free concert for an estimated crowd of 100,000 in NYC's Central Park (1973)... Rick Wakeman becomes the first member of Yes to have a № 1 LP outside the group when his Journey to the Centre of the Earth tops the UK album chart (1974)... After seeing The Hype [soon to change their name to U2] play at the Project Arts Centre in Dublin, Paul McGuinness becomes their manager (1978)... Dire Straits have the № 1 album on both sides of the Atlantic with Brothers in Arms. It is one of the first albums to be directed primarily at the CD market, and also one of the first to be recorded on digital rather than on analog equipment (1985)... The earliest known recording of Mick Jagger and Keith Richard, a home tape from 1961 of the duo performing several traditional blues songs, sells at Christies of London for £50,250 (1995)... Bob Dylan is diagnosed as suffering from histoplasmosis pericarditis, a fungal infection of the lungs, and is admitted to hospital, where he will stay for a week. Having just turned 56, Dylan later admitted "I really thought I'd be seeing Elvis soon". After being treated with antibiotics and rest, Bob will be back on the road only 10 weeks later, for 22 American and Canadian shows (1997)... 30 Eminem fans are are injured in a crowd surge at a gig in Washington DC. Five people were taken to hospital, one man having suffered a heart attack (2002)... Madonna cancels three shows in Israel after receiving death threats directed at both her and her children. A spokesperson says she was targeted because she symbolises the West and not because she practises the Jewish Kabbalah faith (2004)... The Sheriff's Office of Alameda Co., CA announce that they are officially closing the stabbing case of Meredith Hunter, the 18-year-old Rolling Stones fan who was killed at the 1969 Altamont free concert. After a renewed two-year inquiry, investigators have dismissed the theory that a second Hell's Angel took part in the stabbing (2005)... Sixties pop star Wayne Fontana is remanded into custody after admitting that he poured petrol over a bailiff's car and set fire to it. The judge admonishes the former lead singer of the Mindbenders for arriving at Derby Crown court dressed as the Lady of Justice. Fontana has to hand over a sword and scales to guards, but is allowed to wear a crown, cape and dark glasses to symbolise his claim that "justice is blind" (2007). 

May 24th

Musical birthdays today include composer Harold Budd (86), jazzman Archie Shepp (85), Bob Dylan (81), Patti LaBelle (78), session guitarist Waddy Wachtel (75), Blue Öyster Cult drummer Albert Bouchard (75), Daniel Amos singer & songwriter Terry Scott Taylor (72), Roseanne Cash (67), Cameo frontman Larry Blackmon (66), Dire Straits keyboardist Guy Fletcher (62), Black Crowes lead guitarist Rich Robinson (53), and Nine Inch Nails keyboardist Alessandro Cortini (46). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for rockabilly pioneer Rusty York, who would have been 87 today... for rapper Dwight 'Heavy D' Myers, who would have been 54... for bluesman Elmore James, who died on this date in 1963... for Duke Ellington, who passed away today in 1974... for Byrds founding member Gene Clark, who died in 1991... for Wilco co-founder & guitarist Jay Bennett, who died in 2009... for Slipknot bassist Paul Gray, who died of a drug overdose today in 2010 at the age of 38... for Congolese soukous singer Ndombe Opetum, passed away in 2012...and for jazz drummer Jimmy Cobb, who left us two years ago today.

Also on May 24th: At the Hofburg Theatre in Vienna, Beethoven's Egmont Overture is performed for the first time (1810)... Country pioneer Jimmie Rodgers, now terminally ill with tuberculosis, makes his final recordings in NYC. The 'Yodelin' Brakeman' is so weak that he has to lie down on a cot in the studio in between the takes of 'Mississippi Delta Blues' and 'Years Ago'. He will die two days later in his room at the Taft Hotel (1933)... The first Eurovision Song Contest is held in Lugano, Switzerland. The host country have the winning entry with Lys Assia's 'Refrain' (1956)... The Beatles record the first instalment of their own BBC radio program, 'Pop Go the Beatles'. The Fabs' guests for their inaugural show are The Lorne Gibson Trio (1963)... Captain Beefheart, The Buffalo Springfield and The Doors appear on the same bill at the Whiskey A Go Go in West Hollywood, CA (1966)... The Rolling Stones release the single 'Jumpin' Jack Flash'... The Small Faces release the album Ogdens Gone Nut  (1968)... The Beatles hit № 1 in America with 'Get Back'. The group's only single that credits another artist, ~ the label of the 45 says 'The Beatles with Billy Preston ~ it is also their first release in the US in true stereo (1969)... At the Bath Festival in Somerset, England, Peter Green plays his last gig with Fleetwood Mac (1970)... Genesis fans turning up at the Club Roxy box office in Los Angeles to buy tickets for a forthcoming gig are surprised to find the band members Phil Collins, Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford selling the tickets themselves (1980)... The Spice Girls go to № 1 on the Billboard album chart with their debut collection Spice, making them only the third all-female act to do so after the Supremes and The Go-Go's, and the first British girl group (1997)... Queen front man Freddie Mercury, who died in 1991, is honoured on a new set of millennium stamps issued by the Royal Mail. Mercury, who features on the 19p stamp, was a keen philatelist, and his collection was purchased by the Post Office in 1993. The stamp marks his contribution to the Live Aid charity concert in 1985, and causes controversy by showing Queen’s drummer, Roger Taylor, in the background - UK stamps by tradition only carry pictures of living persons who are members of the Royal Family (1999)... Paul McCartney performs live in Russia for the first time when he gives a concert for 20,000 fans on Moscow's Red Square (2003)... Billy Joel is served with a lawsuit filed by his former drummer for hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid royalties. Liberty Devitto claims that Joel hasn't paid him proper royalties for 10 years of his work. Devitto was Joel's drummer from 1975 until 2005, when he said he was abruptly sacked from the band. He says: "People get fired, they get severance or insurance for a certain period of time. I didn't even get a phone call. It was cold" (2009).

May 23rd

Musical birthdays today include Irish folk singer Luka Bloom (67), Radiohead drummer Philip Selway (55), session saxophonist Mindi Abair (53), Maroon 5 drummer Matt Flynn (52), Jewel (48), blink-182 drummer Scott Raynor (41), Pipettes vocalist Gwenno Saunders (41), Tristan Prettyman (39), ex-Sugababes vocalist Heidi Range (39), and singer-songwriter & mandolinist Sarah Jarosz (31). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for song & dance man Scatman Crothers and big band leader Artie Shaw, both born on this day in 1910... for jazz trumpeter Humphrey Lyttleton, born in 1921... for Foggy Mountain Boys singer & guitarist Mac Wiseman, born in 1925... for Rosemary Clooney, born in 1928... for electronic music pioneer Robert Moog, who would have been 88... for producer & former Chairmen of the Board frontman General Johnson, who would have been 81... for classical pianist Wilhelm Kempff, who died on this date in 1991... for jazz guitarist Joe Pass, who died in 1994... for folk singer & activist Utah Phillips, who passed away in 2008... and for Franco-Egyptian singer-songwriter Georges Moustaki, who left us today in 2014. 

Also on May 23rd: Beethoven's only opera Fidelio premieres at the Kärntertor Theatre in Vienna (1814)... At the Park Theater in NYC, Don Giovanni is performed in America for the first time, with Mozart's librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte in attendance (1826)... Shuffle along, the first all-black musical in the US, opens on Broadway (1921)... The Everly Brothers hit № 1 in the US with 'Cathy's Clown' (1960)... John Coltrane & sidemen convene for the first of the Africa/Brass sessions (1961)... Roy Orbison and the Beatles kick off a joint tour of the UK in Nottingham (1963)... Ella Fitzgerald becomes the first artist to have a hit with a cover of a Beatles' song when her version of 'Can't Buy Me Love' enters the British Top 40 (1964)... The Who release their rock opera Tommy (1969)... Jefferson Airplane are prevented from giving a free concert in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco authorities having recently passed a resolution banning electric instruments in public. The group will later write the song ‘We Built this City’ in response to the incident (1973)... George Harrison announces the launch of his own label, Dark Horse Records (1974)... Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band launch their 117-date Darkness on the Edge of Town tour with a show in Buffalo, NY (1978)... Tom Petty files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The move is partly the result of a dispute with Petty’s record label, which was recently purchased by MCA (1979)... The UK Musicians Union moved a resolution to ban synthesizers and drum rhythm machines from sessions and live concerts fearing that their use would put musicians out of work (1982)... Photographer Michael Lavine takes what will be the publicity shots for Nirvana’s Nevermind album at Jay Aaron Studios in Los Angeles. The idea for the front cover shot of the baby swimming was adopted after Kurt Cobain and Dave Grohl saw a TV documentary on water babies, and was taken by Kirk Weddle. Several babies were used; five-month old Spencer Eldon’s photo came out best (1991)...   Hanson notch a sellout in less than 20 minutes in the Detroit market for a June 29 show at the Pine Knob Amphitheater (1998)... The musical ‘Up for Grabs’ opens at London’s Wyndham Theatre featuring Madonna in the lead role. The first night crowd complains that the singer is lacking in vocal power, and that they have to strain to hear her lines (2002)...  King Carl XVI Gustav of Sweden presents the surviving members of Led Zeppelin with the Polar Music Prize in Stockholm, recognising them as “great pioneers” of rock music. Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones are joined by the daughter of drummer John Bonham, who died in 1980. The Polar Music Prize was founded in 1989 by Stig Anderson, manager of Swedish pop group Abba, who named it after his record label, Polar Records previous winners include Sir Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen and producer Quincy Jones (2006). 

May 22nd

Musical birthdays today include former Parliament-Funkadelic vocalist Calvin Simon (80), Elton John collaborator Bernie Taupin (72), Specials keyboardist & songwriter Jerry Dammers (67), Icehouse frontman Iva Davies (67), Morrissey (63), Type O Negative lead guitarist Kenny Hickey (56), producer & former MK Ultra lead singer John Vanderslice (55), R&B singer and producer Donell Jones (49), and Project Dirty lead singer Rhett Fisher (42). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Richard Wagner, born on this day in 1813... for Original Dixieland Jass band trombonist Eddie Edwards, born in 1891... for Sun Ra, born in 1914... for Persian classical musician Jalil Shahnaz, born in 1921... for chansonnier Charles Aznavour, born in 1924... for jazz trumpeter Kenny Ball, born in 1930... for jazz multi-instrumentalist John Grimaldi, who would have been 67... for former Eleven keyboardist & singer Natasha Schneider, who would have been 66... and for classical pianist Steven DeGroote, who left us today in 1989. 

Also on May 22nd: On his 59th birthday, Wagner lays the cornerstone of his Festival Theatre Hall in Bayreuth (1872)... In Milan, Verdi conducts the premiere performance of his Requiem (1874)... In Hibbing, MN, Robert Allen Zimmerman, the future Bob Dylan, has his bar mitzvah at the Agudath Achim synagogue, even though he will not be 13 for another two days (1954)... Jerry Lee Lewis arrives in London to begin a UK tour. He and his new 14-year-old bride are besieged by reporters at Heathrow Airport (1958)... Ornette Coleman and sidemen record The Shape of Jazz to Come at Radio Recorders studio in Los Angeles (1959)... Frank Zappa opens his 'Studio Z' in Cucamonga, CA (1963)... The Beatles have the № 1 single on both sides of the Atlantic with 'Ticket to Ride' (1965)... Percy Sledge goes to № 1 in the US with 'When a Man Loves a Woman' (1966)... Florence Ballard makes what will prove to be her last public appearance with The Supremes, as they perform 'The Happening' on the Tonight Show (1967)... Frank Sinatra performs with a full orchestra at Oakland-Alameda Coliseum as a fundraiser for US presidential candidate Hubert Humphrey (1968)... Paul McCartney & Wings top the Billboard singles chart with 'Silly Love Songs' (1976)... Nearly 30 years after the 'payola' law destroyed the career of DJ Alan Freed, it is finally used to convict someone in the record industry: promo man Ralph Tashjian is found guilty of distributing cocaine and money to radio stations to get more airplay for, among others, Bruce Springsteen (1989)... Fleetwood Mac reunite with their classic late-70s lineup for the first time in a decade, performing the first of two specials for the show MTV Unplugged. The experience convinces the group to tour together again (1997)... At the ASCAP Pop Music Awards, Steely Dan receive the lifetime songwriting achievement Founders Award (2000)... White Stripes drummer Meg White marries Jackson Smith, tying the knot in a small ceremony at ex-husband and bandmate Jack White’s Nashville home (2009).

May 21st

Musical birthdays today include British folksinger Martin Carthy (81), Ronald Isley (81), original Animals guitarist Hilton Valentine (80), session guitarist Bill Champlin (75), Leo Sayer (74), guitarist Marc Ribot (68), Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers drummer Stan Lynch (67), My Bloody Valentine frontman Kevin Shields (59), Forgetters frontman Blake Schwarzenbach (55), Mob Deep rapper Kejuan 'Havoc' Muchita (48), CKY frontman Deron Miller (46), ex-Three Days Grace frontman Adam Gontier (46), Suburban Legends guitarist Brian Klemm (40), former Sugababes vocalist Mutya Buena (37), and Honor Society drummer Alexander Noyes (36). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for radio bandleader Horace Heidt, born on this day in 1901... for Fats Waller, born in 1904... for jazz bassist Tommy Bryant, boen in 1930... for Atomic Rooster organist Vincent Crane, who would have been 79... for Chris 'The Notorious B.I.G.' Wallace, who would have been 50... for Russian pianist and popular singer Alexander Vertinsky, who died on this date in 1957... for big band singer Vaughn Monroe, who died in 1973... for studio musician & producer Paul Delph, who passed away in 1996... and for former Uriah Heep bassist Trevor Bolder, jazz trombonist Frank Comstock, and TV & film score composer Bob Thompson, all of whom left us today in 2014. 

Also on May 21st: The Mendelssohn Glee Club, the oldest surviving independent musical group in the United States after the New York Philharmonic, is founded in NYC (1876)... The Castiles, with Bruce Springsteen on vocals, appear at Freehold Regional High School in New Jersey. They are performing at their own school for the first time ~ all five members of the band are juniors at Freehold HS (1966)... Jimi Hendrix signs with Warner Brothers' Reprise Records, the label on which the three Experience albums will be released (1967)... Atlantic Records release the CSN&Y single 'Ohio', Neil Young's reaction to the Kent State shootings on the 4th of this month (1970)... Motown records release Marvin Gaye's album What's Going on (1971)... Two would-be concert promoters are arrested by police in Dover, DE on fraud charges in connection with selling mail order tickets for a forthcoming 'Elten John' show. The alternative spelling of the singer's stage name proves to be the giveaway as police take away over $12,000 in cheques (1974)... Stevie Wonder hits № 1 in the US with the single 'Sir Duke' (1977)... In Moscow, Elton John plays the opening date of a 10-show campaign in the USSR, making him the first western pop star to headline a solo tour in the Evil Empire (1979)... Joe Strummer is arrested at a particularly tempestuous Clash gig in Hamburg, Germany after smashing his guitar over the head of a member of the audience; he is released after an alcohol & drug test prove negative (1980)... David Bowie goes to № 1 on the US & UK singles chart with 'Let's Dance', featuring Stevie Ray Vaughan on guitar. It is Bowie's first single to reach number one on both sides of the Atlantic (1983)... Mariah Carey hits back at Eminem's threats to sample the mushy voicemail messages she left on his mobile. Carey described the rapper as 'a little girl', saying it's "like dealing with a girlfriend in 7th grade, and he shouldn't do it because it'll get him in a bit of trouble with my lawyers" (2003)... Lou Pearlman, the impresario who created the Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync, is sentenced to 25 years in federal prison on charges involving a decades-long scam that swindled thousands of investors out of their life savings. Many victims were Pearlman's relatives, friends, and retirees who lost everything (2008)... Bono has emergency spinal surgery after suffering an injury whilst preparing for upcoming tour dates. The 50-year-old singer is treated at a specialist neurosurgery clinic in Munich and is expected to stay there for a number of days (2010)... Bob Dylan comes out on top as both the most inspirational individual for poets and the dream collaborative partner in a survey carried out by The Foyle Poetry Society. The extensive survey questioned poets asking which musician and which genre of music most inspired their writing. The young people, aged between 11 and 17 and from countries throughout the world, also voted for Regina Spektor, David Bowie, Florence and the Machine, Leonard Cohen, Morrissey and Pete Doherty (2011).

May 20th

Musical birthdays today include former Paul & Paula vocalist Jill Jackson (80), Cher (75), former Violent Femmes drummer Guy Hoffman (68), film score composer Zbigniew Preisner (67), Go-Go's guitarist Jane Wiedlin (64), Susan Cowsill (63), ex-Haircut 100 frontman Nick Heyward (61), Busta Rhymes (50), ex-3LW vocalist Naturi Naughton (38), and Starting Line lead singer Kenny Vasoli (38). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for jazz arranger & pianist Bob Florence, who would have been 90 today... for Motown producer Fred 'Shorty' Long, who would have been 82... for Joe Cocker, who would have been 78... for producer Andy Johns, who would have been 72... for composer & pianist Clara Schumann, who died on this date in 1896... for original Drifters vocalist Rudy Lewis, who died of a probable drug overdose today in 1964 at the age of 27... for flautist Jean-Pierre Rampal, who passed away in 2000... for Robin Gibb, who died in 2012... and for Ray Manzarek, who left us today in 2014. 

Also on May 20th: As an event to raise funds for a permanent home, the NY Philarmonic gives the first performance of Beethoven's 9th Symphony in the US, in Battery Park's Castle Gardens. The chorus was sung in translation, making it the first time it was performed in English anywhere (1846)... Cliff Richard makes his TV debut on the UK show 'Thank Your Lucky Stars' (1961)... Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey grow tired of waiting for John Entwistle and Keith Moon to arrive for The Who's  gig at the Ricky Tick Club in Windsor, UK, so they take to the stage with the bass player and drummer of the local band that opened the show. When Moon and Entwistle finally arrive in the middle of the set, a fight breaks out on stage, with Townshend clubbing Moon over the head with his guitar. Moon and Entwistle announce that they are quitting the band [and rejoin a week later]... Yet another one of the shows on Bob Dylan's current UK tour turns raucous, as members of the audience at the ABC Theatre in Edinburgh unhappy with the electric portion of the concert boo and slow-clap between numbers, and blast on their own harmonicas (1966)... The Beatles new album Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band receives its first radio airplay anywhere, with a special preview on the Kenny Everett BBC Light program 'Where It's At'. The DJ plays every track from the album except 'A Day In The Life', which the BBC has banned saying it could promote drug use... The Young Rascals go to № 1 on the US singles chart with 'Groovin'' (1967)... The Beatles, armed with a batch of new songs after their visit to India, convene at George Harrison's home in Esher, Surrey. They tape 23 new songs on George's 4-track recorder, many of which will end up on the group's next two albums, the White Album and Abbey Road. The demos include ‘Cry Baby Cry’, Revolution’, ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’, ‘Blackbird’ and ‘Child of Nature’ [a Lennon song that will later become ‘Jealous Guy’] (1968)... While watching a baseball game in Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, Peter Cetera gets into an altercation with four Marines who object to the length of his hair. The Chicago lead singer ends up with a broken jaw and will spend two days in intensive care... Led Zeppelin begin three days of recording and mixing sessions at A&R Studios in NYC,  laying down 'Heartbreaker' and various other parts for new tracks for the group's forthcoming second album. The band are under pressure to finish the sessions so the album can be released in time for the autumn market (1969)... The Beatles' final film 'Let It Be' opens simultaneously in London and Liverpool one week after its world premiere in NYC (1970)... Polydor Records release In the City, the debut album from The Jam (1977)... Paul McCartney & Wings' 'With a Little Luck' is the № 1 single in the US... 'The Buddy Holly Story', a biopic with Gary Busey in the title role, has its world premiere in the late singer's hometown of Lubbock, TX (1978)... U2 cause traffic chaos in Kansas City, MO after they pay for traffic control to close down five lanes of a downtown thoroughfare so that they can shoot the video for 'Last Night On Earth'. Apart from major traffic jams, a Cadillac crashes into a plate glass window trying to avoid a cameraman... Foo Fighters release their second album The Colour And The Shape. Even though the band are American, they chose the alternative spelling of 'colour' as a nod to the record's British producer Gil Norton (1997)... Frank Sinatra's funeral, with numerous celebrities in attendance, is held at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills (1998)... R.E.M. have their final US № 1 album with Reveal (2001)... James Brown is pardoned for his past crimes in South Carolina. Brown served a two-and-a-half-year prison term after an arrest on drug and assault charges in 1988, and is now granted a full pardon by the State Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services. The Godfather of Soul, who appears before the board, sings 'God Bless America' to them after the decision (2003).

May 19th

Musical birthdays today include Pete Townshend (77), Irish singer-songwriter Paul Brady (75), Grace Jones (74), ZZ Top bassist Dusty Hill (73), AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd (68), producer & former Human League keyboardist Martin Ware (66), ex-Ace of Base lead singer Jenny Berggren (50), rapper Mario 'Yo Gotti' Mims (41), and Franco-Malian pop singer Inna Modja (38). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for operatic soprano Nellie Melba, born in this day in 1861... for saxophonist & bandleader Georgie Auld, born in 1919... for West End musicals composer Sandy Wilson, born in 1924... for British traditional pop singer Alma Cogan, who would have been 88 today... for country singer-songwriter Mickey Newbury, who would have been 82... for former T Rex bassist Steve Currie, who would have been 74... for Joey Ramone, who would have been 71... for composer Charles Ives, who died on this date in 1954... for Coleman Hawkins, who passed away in 1969... for jazz singer Susannah McCorkle, who took her own life today in 2001 at the age of 55... and for former Freddie and the Dreamers frontman Freddie Garrity, who left us today in 2006. 

Also on May 19th: Bach's Mass in B Minor is performed in America for the first time, at the May Festival in Cincinnati, OH (1886)... A Denver Opera Company production of Friedrich von Flotow's Martha is the first opera to be broadcast on radio in its entirety, on local station 9ZAF (1921)... Alan Freed is indicted along with seven other DJs for accepting $30,650 in payola from six record companies (1960)... The Beatles hold a launch party at manager Brian Epstein's house in London for the Sgt Pepper album. Linda Eastman is present as the official press photographer (1967)... Paul Simon releases the single 'Kodachrome', named after the Kodak 35mm film. It will become a № 2 hit in the US, but is not released as a single in Britain because the BBC refuses to play a song with a trademarked name (1973)... Keith Richards crashes his car near Newport Pagnell in Buckinghamshire after falling asleep at the wheel; marijuana and cocaine are found in the vehicle by the police, resulting in another court date for the guitarist (1976)... Dire Straits release 'Sultans of Swing' for the first time on the Vertigo label in Britain. The single fails to chart, but will be re-released several months later to considerably greater success (1978)... Eric Clapton holds a party at his Surrey house celebrating his recent marriage to Patti Boyd. Clapton has set up a small stage in the garden, and as the evening progresses, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr ended up jamming together along with Clapton, Ginger Baker and Mick Jagger. The all-star band runs through a selection of Little Richard and Eddie Cochran songs (1979)... Ringo Starr and his future wife Barbara Bach are involved in a car crash less than half a mile from where Marc Bolan was killed; the car is a write-off but neither Starr nor Bach is seriously injured (1980)... Sire Records release The Ramones' album Animal Boy (1986)... James Brown is arrested for the fifth time in 12 months. Following a car chase with police near his home, he is charged with assault, resisting arrest and possession of illegal weapons. He will eventually receive a 6 year jail sentence (1988)... A guitar played by both John Lennon and George Harrison sells for $408,000 at auction. The custom-made instrument, built in 1966 by VOX, was bought by an unidentified US buyer in New York. Harrison played 'I Am The Walrus' on the guitar in a scene from Magical Mystery Tour in 1967. Lennon used it in the video for 'Hello, Goodbye' later that year. After playing the guitar, Lennon gave it as a 25th birthday present to Alexis 'Magic Alex' Mardas, a member of The Beatles' inner circle in the late '60s (2013).