June 23rd

Musical birthdays today include Grateful Dead singer-songwriter & guitarist Robert Hunter (82), former Orlons lead singer Rosetta Hightower (80), April Wine frontman Myles Goodwyn (75), blues singer Luther Kent (75), jazz saxophonist Donal Harrison (73), Danzig lead guitarist & founder Glenn Danzig (68), Testament lead singer Chuck Billy (61), original Oasis rhythm guitarist Paul Arthurs (58), Chico DeBarge (57), KT Tunstall (48), Jason Mraz (46), Blue vocalist Antony Costa (42), and Amie Ann Duffy (39).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for jazz bassist Milt Hinton, born on this day in 1910... for June Carter Cash, born in 1929... for original Crickets bassist Niki Sullivan, who would have been 83... for Stuart Sutcliffe, who would have been 82... for ex-Metropolitan Opera director James Levine, who would have been 79... for original Kinks bassist Pete Quaif, who passed away in 2010... and for Bobby 'Blue' Bland, who left us today in 2013.

Also on June 23rd: Lonnie Donegan is at № 1 on the UK singles chart with 'Gamblin' Man/Putting On The Style' ~ it is the last British № 1 to be released as a 78 rpm disc as well as in the 7' vinyl format (1957)... Ray Charles' Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music goes to the top of the US album chart, where it will remain for 3 1/2 months. In the UK, the soundtrack from the film of West Side Story settles in at № 1 on the LP listings for a 2 month run (1962)... The Beatles have their tenth consecutive UK № 1 single with 'Paperback Writer'/'Rain'. The track is marked by a boosted bass guitar sound throughout, partly in response to John Lennon's demand to know why the bass on a certain Wilson Pickett record far exceeded the bass on any Beatles track. It was also cut louder than any other Beatles record, due to  newly developed equipment used in the mastering process (1966)... The Byrds release Byrdmaniax, the group's 10th and penultimate studio album (1971)... George Harrison has the № 1 album in America with Living in the Material World (1973)... Paul McCartney & Wings conclude the Wings over America tour with a sold out show at the Forum in Los Angeles (1976)... Bob Dylan releases Saved, the second album in his Born Again trilogy (1980)... Duran Duran are at № 1 on the Billboard singles chart with 'The Reflex' (1984)... After 50 previous UK top 10 hits and 6 US chart-toppers, Elton John finally hits № 1 on the singles chart in his homeland for the first time with 'Sacrifice'... Buddy Holly's Gibson acoustic guitar sells for £139,658 in a Sotheby's auction in London. The guitar is in a hand-tooled leather case made by Holly himself (1990)... At the Glastonbury Festival, Alan White plays his first live gig with Oasis after the sacking of original drummer Tony McCarroll (1995)... Bob Dylan is awarded an honorary doctorate in music by the University of St Andrews in Scotland (2004).. Tony Bennett makes a surprise appearance during Tim McGraw and Faith Hill's sold-out show at Madison Square Garden. The veteran crooner joins McGraw for a rendition of the Hank Williams classic 'Cold, Cold Heart' (2006)... 62-year-old Gregg Allman undergoes a successful liver transplant operation at the Mayo Clinic Hospital in Jacksonville, FL. Allman recently began a series of treatments for hepatitis C, but chronic damage of his liver led doctors to recommend a transplant. In a statement to the press, Allman says "I changed my ways years ago, but we can't turn back time. Every day is a gift"... Willie Nelson is inducted into the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress. The NRR is a list of sound recordings that 'are culturally, historically, or aesthetically important, and/or inform or reflect life in the United States' (2010).