May 8th

Musical birthdays today include Toni Tenille (82), original Yardbirds bassist Paul Samwell-Smith (79), Gary Glitter (78), former T-Rex drummer Bill Legend (78), pianist Keith Jarrett (77), Philip Bailey (71), Talking Heads drummer Chris Frantz (71), ex-Fleetwood Mac guitarist Billy Burnett (69), Alex Van Halen (69), Blur drummer Dave Rowntree (58), former Savage Garden frontman Darren Hayes (50), Enrique Iglesias (47), Martha Wainwright (46), bluesman Joe Bonamassa (45), and former Busted guitarist Matt Willis (39). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for jazz cornettist & bandleader Ernie 'Red' Nichols, born on this day in 1905... for Robert Johnson, born in 1911... for Ricky Nelson, who would have been 82 today... for John Fred, who would have been 81.. for hip hop artist Paul 'Bad News Brown' Frappier, who would have been 45... for composer Dame Ethel Smyth, who died on  this date in 1944...  for Andrews Sister Laverne, who died in 1967... for Graham Bond, who took his own life today in 1974 at the age of 36... for producer and Casablanca Records founder Neil Bogart, who died in 1982... for classical pianist Rudolf Serkin, who passed away in 1991... for country legend Eddy Arnold, who died in 2008... and for former Help Yourself bassist Ken Whaley, who left us today in 2014.

Also on May 8th: Aaron Copland wins the Pulitzer Prize for music for his Appalachian Spring ballet score (1945)... BBC radio bans the Johnny Ray song ‘Such a Night’ after listeners complain about its 'suggestiveness'. Ray was famous for his emotional stage act, which included beating up his piano, and writhing on the floor (1954)...  The Beatles have now held the № 1 position on the US singles chart for fourteen weeks with three chart-toppers in succession: 'I Want To Hold Your Hand' for seven weeks, 'She Loves You' for two weeks and 'Can't Buy Me Love' for five weeks (1964)... The promotional clip for Bob Dylan’s 'Subterranean Homesick Blues' is filmed in an alley behind the Savoy Hotel in London. Allen Ginsberg and Dylan sidekick Bob Neuwirth can be seen in the background. The short film is considered one of the forerunners of the modern music video. The original clip was actually the opening segment of D. A. Pennebaker's film 'Don't Look Back' a documentary of Dylan's 1965 tour of England. The cue cards that Bob holds up were written by Donovan, Ginsberg, Neuwirth and Dylan himself (1965)... John, George and Ringo sign a management contract with Allen Klein and his company ABKCO, while Paul refuses, preferring to let the Eastmans represent his interests (1969)... Let It Be is released (1970)... Vangelis is at № 1 on the US singles chart with 'Chariots of Fire' (1982)... Roger Waters releases his first solo album, The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking (1984)... Mark Knopfler receives an honorary music doctorate from Newcastle University (1993)... Bruce Springsteen has the № 1 album in America for the 13th time with Devils & Dust (2005)... The Rolling Stones call off their forthcoming European tour after guitarist Keith Richards undergoes neurosurgery. The 62 year-old guitarist suffered what his publicist described as a 'mild concussion' when he fell out of a coconut tree whilst on holiday in Fiji (2006).