July 29th

Musical birthdays today include film score composer Mikis Theodorakis (96), REO Speedwagon keyboardist Neal Doughty (76), Rush lead singer & bassist Geddy Lee (69) Patti Scialfa (69), operatic soprano Alessandra Marc (65), former Thin Lizzy guitarist John Sykes (63), Corrosion of Conformity lead guitarist Woody Weatherman (57), country singer Martina McBride (56), Boyz II Men vocalist Wanya Morris (49), producer Rodney 'Darkchild' Jerkins (45), and All Pigs Must Die drummer Ben Koller (42).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for trumpeter & bandleader Don Redman, born on this day in 1900... for jazz guitarist Charlie Christian, born in 1916... for composer Robert Schumann, who died on this date in 1856... for 'Mama' Cass Elliot, who died today in 1974... for bandleader Les Elgart, who passed away in 1995... and for Pennywise bassist Jason Thirsk, who took his own life today in 1996 at the age of 28. 

Also on July 29: Carl Perkins enters the UK charts for the first time with his debut single 'Blue Suede Shoes' (1956)... Elvis is at № 1 on the UK singles chart for the 14th time with '(You're the) Devil in Disguise'. When the song was first played for a British audience on the BBC show 'Juke Box Jury', celebrity guest John Lennon voted the song 'a miss', offering the opinion that Elvis "is more like Bing Crosby now"... With the US charts full of hot rod songs, Capitol Records send disc jockeys a list of car terms and phrases to help promote The Beach Boys' new single 'Little Deuce Coupe' (1963)... The Beatles second feature film 'Help!' has its world premiere at the Pavilion Cinema in London's West End (1965)... Cream make their live debut at the Twisted Wheel in Manchester... Bob Dylan is riding his Triumph 55 motorcycle near his home in Woodstock, NY when the rear wheel locks up. Dylan loses control and is thrown over the handlebars, fracturing two vertebrae in his neck. His recuperation leads to the cancellation of the remaining dates on his current world tour and a period of reclusion... The American teen magazine Datebook publishes Maureen Cleave's February interview with John Lennon in which he says that The Beatles are "bigger than Jesus now." Christians in the US react with outrage, organising bonfires of the band's records in many places (1966)... The Doors hit  № 1 on the US singles chart with 'Light My Fire.' At this point, most US pop radio stations are still playing an edited version of the song with much of Ray Manzarek's organ soloing excised (1967)... Gram Parsons leaves The Byrds on the eve of the band's departure on a South African tour, saying that he refuses to play for segregated audiences... The Beatles have their first session for the recording of 'Hey Jude' (1968)... The  Rolling Stones' contract with Decca Records expires (1970)... Singer and political provocateur Screaming Lord Sutch is arrested for jumping off a London bus together with four nude women as the double-decker passes 10 Downing Street (1972)... Led Zeppelin play the last of three nights at Madison Square Garden, the closing shows of a 33-date North American tour. After the concert, the receipt from the previous two nights ~ just over $200,000 ~ are found missing, stolen from the safe at the Drake Hotel where the group have been staying. Tour manager Richard Cole, who discovered the theft, is arrested as a suspect and questioned, but is later released (1973)... The soundtrack to 'Grease' goes to No.1 on the US album chart (1978)... On the day of the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana, a number of songs related to the event are released, among them 'Lady D' by Typically Tropical, 'Charlie's Angels' by Mini & the Metros, and Mike Berry's 'Diana' ~ none will reach the charts (1981)... Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream introduce 'Cherry Garcia' flavour (1987)... The chairman of Britain's Professional Association of Teachers warns that children are being put under pressure to grow up too fast by pop stars who have a sexy image. "Kylie Minogue might be a great singer, but in many of her videos you can see more of her bottom than you can hear of her voice" (2003)... Heart problems force Kiss singer and guitarist Paul Stanley to abandon a show in Fresno, CA. Paramedics stop and restart his heart to return it to a regular rhythm after his pulse rate spontaneously jumped to 190 beats per minute (2007).