June 17th

Musical birthdays today include Barry Manilow (80), session guitarist Chris Spedding (79), original Santana lead singer Greg Rollie (76), Dead Kennedys lead singer Jello Biafra [né Eric Boucher] (65), former Hanoi Rocks lead singer Michael Monroe [né Matti Fagerholm] (61), No Doubt founder Eric Stefani (56), rapper Krayzie Bone [né Anthony Henderson] (49), Blue vocalist Lee Ryan (40), Kendrick Lamar (36), and English popular singer Laura Wright (33). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for composer Charles Gounod, born on this day in 1818... for Igor Stravinsky, born in 1882... for country singer Red Foley, born in 1910... for film score composer Martin Böttcher, born in 1927... for classical violinist Christan Ferras, who would have been 79 today... for Paul Young, who would have been 75... for former Residents multi-instrumentalist Philip 'Snakefinger' Lithman, who would have been 74... for ex-Pogues singer & guitarist Philip Chevron, who would have been 66... for Bill Haley & His Comets guitarist Danny Cedrone, who died on this date in 1954... for Kate Smith, who passed away in 1986... and for Soul Asylum bassist Karl Mueller, who left us today in 2005.

Also on June 17th: In Chicago, Victor Herbert's Babes in Toyland is performed for the first time (1903)... Finnish composer Jean Sibelius is awarded an honorary doctorate in music by Yale University (1914)... Colonel Tom Parker takes over from Bob Neal as the manager of Elvis Presley (1955)... 
Working at Abbey Road studios, The Beatles complete work on Paul's new song ‘Yesterday’ with the overdubbing of an additional vocal track by McCartney and a string quartet. They also record ‘Act Naturally’ for Ringo's vocal contribution on the Help! album and the song ‘Wait’, in four takes. ‘Wait’ will be left off of Help!, but will be included on the following LP, Rubber Soul... (1965)... Carole King starts a 15-week run at № 1 on the US album chart with Tapestry (1971)... The Eagles release their self-titled debut album on Asylum Records (1972)... After US soul singer Jimmy Helms is taken ill just before a gig at Shoreditch College, London, the members of the social committee decide to call upon Elton John, who lives just up the road, to ask him to perform. Elton agrees to do the gig for two bottles of wine (1977)... The John Travolta-Olivia Newton-John duet  'You're the One That I Want' from the Grease soundtrack goes to № 1 in the UK (1978)... Florida real estate agent Vittoria Holman sues Mötley Crüe and their concert promoter for hearing loss allegedly incurred at a concert in December 1985. Holman and her daughter had front row seats less than 10 feet from the speakers. The case will be settled out of court with the band's insurance company paying Holman over $30,000 (1987)... Garth Brooks is signed to Capitol Records (1988)... 60-year-old Billy Joel and his third wife, 27-year-old Katie Lee Joel announce that they are splitting up after nearly five years of marriage. Joel's nine-year union with model Christie Brinkley ended in 1994. His nine-year marriage to Elizabeth Weber, for whom he wrote 'Just The Way You Are', ended in 1982 (2009)... Bruce Springsteen plays the longest live show of his career when he turns in a 3-hour-and-48-minute, 32-song set at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid. [This surpasses his previous record, a show on December 31, 1980 at the Nassau Coliseum, NY which clocked in at 3:43](2012).