October 2nd

Musical birthdays today include Don McLean (77), Cajun musician Jo-El Sonnier (76), Richard Hell [né Richard Meyers] (73), Mike Rutherford (72), Sting (71), Human League frontman Philip Oakey (67), ex-Dream Academy multi-instrumentalist Kate St John (65), Glass Tiger lead guitarist Al Connelly (62), ex-Sugarcubes drummer Sigtryggur Baldursson (58), Gillian Welch (55), Damon 'Badly Drawn Boy' Gough (53), Slipknot guitarist Jim Root (50), Aqua lead singer Lene Nystrøm (49), and The Sounds lead singer Maja Ivarsson (43). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for jazz guitarist Howard Roberts, born on this day in 1929... for rapper Proof, who would have been 49... and for cowboy singer and entertainer Gene Autry, who left us today in 1998. 

Also on October 2: The NY Academy of Music opens at 14th St. & Irving Place in Manhattan with a performance of Bellini's Norma. It will be the centre of opera in the city until the creation of the Met (1854)... Leonard Bernstein arrives in Tel Aviv to begin conducting the newly renamed Israel Philharmonic in a month-long concert series (1948)... 'Stay' by Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs is the № 1 song in America today. At 1:37, it remains the shortest US chart-topper ever (1959)... 15 Elvis Presley fans are arrested in Leipzig, East Germany, after marching through the city streets shouting "Long live Elvis!" along with derogatory remarks about German music (1959)... Phil Spector and his partner Lester Sill release their first single on their new label Philles, The Crystals' 'Oh Yeah, Maybe Baby' (1961)... The Kinks' eponymous debut albumn is released (1964)... The McCoys have the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 with 'Hang on Sloopy' (1965)... All six members of the Grateful Dead are arrested for possession of marijuana after an SFPD raid on their house at 710 Ashbury St. (1967)... Pink Floyd release their fifth album, Atom Heart Mother (1970)... Following several attempts at grave robbery, the remains of Elvis and his mother Gladys are disinterred from the Memphis cemetery and moved to Graceland (1977)... Peter Gabriel performs with Genesis for the first time since leaving the band in 1975. Phil Collins and company join their former lead singer on stage in a concert to benefit WOMAD [World of Music, Art and Dance], the festival organizing body that is Gabriel's current project (1982)... Bruce Springsteen's Born in the USA world tour ends with the last of 4 sold out shows at L.A.'s Memorial Coliseum (1985)... The Everly Brothers receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (1986)... The Cranberries release their second album No Need to Argue (1994)... Journey announce that they have decided to re-form (1995)...  In Galway, Ireland, former Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones plays his first solo concert (1999)... Kevin Spacey is the MC for 'Come Together: A Night for John Lennon's Words and Music' at New York's Radio City Music Hall. Among those performing are Alanis Morissette, Moby, Stone Temple Pilots and the Dave Matthews Band. The evening closes with an invitation to the audience to sing along on 'Give Peace a Chance' (2002)... Robbie Williams signs with EMI for £80 million, the most lucrative record deal in British history to date. When asked what he's going to do with all the money, the singer replies "Count it" (2002)... Billy Joel marries 23-year-old Kate Lee at his Centre Island, New York mansion. It is the singer's third trip to the altar (2004).