July 12th

Musical birthdays today include ex-Dr. Feelgood frontman Wilko Johnson (76), Walter Egan (75), former Be-Bop Deluxe drummer Simon Fox (74), ex-Boney M. lead singer Liz Mitchell (71), composer Robert Carl (71), Americana singer-songwriter Jimmy LaFave (68), former Soul Asylum lead guitarist Dan Murphy (61), ex-Stereolab guitarist Tim Gane (59), Gin Blossoms lead singer Robin Wilson (58), Dream Theater guitarist John Petrucci (56), original Rancid drummer Brett Reed (51), Within Temptation lead singer Sharon den Adel (49), and R&B singer Tracie Spencer (47). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for operatic soprano Kirsten Flagstad and lyricist Oscar Hammerstein, both born on this day in 1895... for classical pianist Van Cliburn, who would have been 88 today... for Christine McVie, who would have been 80... for Kiss drummer Eric Carr, who would have been 73... for Iron Butterfly bassist Philip Taylor Kramer, who would have been 71... for saxophonist & bandleader Jimmie Lunceford, who died on this date in 1947... for Minnie Riperton, who died in 1979... for Traffic saxophonist Chris Wood, who passed away in 1983... for Smashing Pumpkins keyboardist Jonathan Melvoin, who died of a drug overdose on this day in 1996 at the age of 34... for American singer-songwriter & banjo player Jimmy Driftwood [né James Morris], who passed on in 1998... and for jazzman Benny Carter, who left us today in 2003. 

Also on July 12th: At the Paris World's Fair, Fauré's Requiem is performed for the first time (1900)... 19 year old Elvis Presley signs a recording contract with Sam Phillips' Sun Records. He also gives his notice at his day job as a truck driver at the Crown Electric Company (1954)... Sun Ra records his debut album Sun Ra Jazz [later re-titled Sun Song] at Universal Studios in Chicago, with future Bob Dylan collaborator Tom Wilson as producer (1956)... Ray Charles has his only UK № 1 single with his version of 'I Can't Stop Loving You' from the Modern Sounds in Country & Western Music LP... The Rolling Stones make their live debut at Marquee Jazz Club in London with Dick Taylor [later of The Pretty Things] on bass and Mick Avory [later of The Kinks] on drums. Billed as The Rollin' Stones, the band are paid £20 for the gig (1962)... On the way to tonight's Beatles concert at the Hippodrome, Brighton, George Harrison is involved in a minor accident in his brand new E-Type Jaguar in Kings Road, Fulham, London. Passing pedestrians create a traffic jam by collecting bits of broken glass as souvenirs (1964)... Zager and Evans become the only one hit wonders ever to top the singles charts both in the US and in the UK, as 'In the Year 2525' goes to № 1 on both sides of the Atlantic (1969)... Michael Jackson arrives in the UK for his first ever solo appearances in the country. He will perform a total of eight nights to approximately 800,000 people (1988)... Portrait of an American Family, the first full-length studio album by Marilyn Manson, is released (1994)... A statue erected in the memory of John Lennon is unveiled in London's Trafalgar Square. The sculpture features a revolver with a knotted barrel created by Swedish artist Carl Fredrik Reutersward (2000).