July 21st

Musical birthdays today include saxophonist Plas Johnson (92), Yusuf Islam, formerly Cat Stevens [né Steven Georgiou] (75), ex-Christians keyboardist Henry Priestman (68), former Faith No More guitarist Jim Martin (62), Cox Family banjoist & singer Sidney Cox (58), Tonic frontman Emerson Hart (54), Irish folk singer Cara Dillon (48), and rapper Really Doe (43).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Sara Carter, born on this day in 1898... for violinist Isaac Stern [of whom Yo-Yo Ma once said "He leaves no tune un-Sterned"], born in 1920... for  jazz singer Kay Starr, born in 1922... for Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers bassist Howie Epstein, who would have been 68 today... for film score composer Jerry Goldsmith, who died in 2004... and for bluesman and Dylanologist Long John Baldry, who left us on this day in 2005. 

Also on July 21st: Jimi Hendrix plays his first NYC gig since his star-making appearance at the Monterey Pop Festival, as he and the Experience open a three-night stand at the Cafe au Go Go in Greenwich Village (1967)... The Beatles begin work on John's song 'Come Together' at Abbey Road Studios (1969)... Jim Croce goes to № 1 on the Billboard chart with 'Bad Bad Leroy Brown'... Canned Heat, Chuck Berry, Nazareth, The Edgar Broughton Band, Groundhogs, The Sensational Alex Harvey Band and Medicine Head all appeared at this year's Buxton Festival in Derbyshire. The Hell's Angels arrive in force and proceeded to drink the site dry. They payed for the booze on hand, but when reinforcements are required, a deputation is sent into the audience to collect donations of 10p per person. About 20 minutes into his set, Chuck Berry shows one of the Angels how to do his duck-walk properly. He does a magnificent example from one end of the stage to the other and disappears into the wings. The band plays on, the Angels bop to the beat, and Chuck legs it to his car, drives off at high speed, and will not play in Britain for another two years (1973)... Despite vehement protests to the BBC by phone, letter and telegram, The Sex Pistols make their debut appearance on Top Of The Pops, where they lip-synch to their third single, 'Pretty Vacant'. The performance helps push the song up the charts into the top ten (1977)... Guns N’ Roses released their first album on Geffen Records. Appetite for Destruction features the singles 'Welcome to the Jungle', 'Sweet Child o' Mine', and 'Paradise City'. To date, the album has worldwide sales in excess of 28 million, including 18 million in the US, making it the best-selling stateside debut album of all time (1987).. Roger Waters' 'The Wall' takes place at the Berlin Wall in the Potzdamerplatz. Over 350,000 people attend [including me ~ ed. note] and the event is broadcast live throughout the world. Van Morrison, Bryan Adams, Joni Mitchell, The Scorpions, Cyndi Lauper, Sinead O'Connor and others participate (1990)... At the Wetlands in NYC's TriBeCa, Oasis make their live American debut as part of the New Music Seminar (1994)... In Philadelphia, Madonna kicks off the North American leg of her 47-date Drowned World tour, her first major tour in 8 years (2001)... Never-before seen photographs of the Beatles' first US concert in Washington, DC sell in NYC for more than $360,000. The Fab Four played their first US concert on February 11, 1964, at the Washington Coliseum, two days after their debut on The Ed Sullivan Show. DC resident Mike Mitchell was 18 at the time and took photographs from just a few feet away. Among the highlights is a backlit photograph Mitchell snapped while standing directly behind the Fab Four which sells for more than $68,000 (2011).