October 16th

Musical birthdays today include former BTO bassist Fred Turner (80), Grateful Dead founding member Bob Weir (76), Greek pop singer Eleftheria Arvanitaki (65), Spandau Ballet guitarist Gary Kemp (64), Hüsker Dü leader Bob Mould (63), Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Michael 'Flea' Balzary (61), Wilson Phillips vocalist Wendy Wilson (54) and John Mayer (46). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Christa Päffgen, AKA Nico, who would have been 85 today... for former Parliament-Funkadelic bassist Cordell 'Boogie' Mosson, who would have been 82... for Leonard Chess, founder of the pioneering rock and R&B label of the same name, who died on this date in 1969... for swing drummer Gene Krupa, who passed  away in 1973... and for Art Blakey, who left us today in 1990. 

Also on October 16: Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire for speaking voices and chamber orchestra premieres in Berlin after six weeks of daily rehearsals (1912)... Concert pianist Paul Wittgenstein, who lost his right arm in WW I, premieres Richard Strauss' Parergon to the Symphonia Domestica for left hand alone and orchestra in Dresden (1925)... 18-year-old Richard Penniman, who is already using the stage name Little Richard, makes his first recordings for the RCA Camden label in the studios of Atlanta radio station WGST (1951)... The Beatles record 'Day Tripper' (1965)... At San Francisco's Fillmore West, Grace Slick performs publicly as lead singer of Jefferson Airplane for the first time (1966)... Creedence Clearwater Revival announce that they have disbanded (1972)... The № 1 song in the US today is 'Disco Duck' by Rick Dees & His Cast of Idiots (1976)... Culture Club perform 'Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?' on Top of the Pops, where they are a last-minute replacement for Shakin' Stevens, who had suddenly fallen ill on the day of the taping (1982)... Eric Clapton, Keith Richards and Robert Cray join Chuck Berry on stage in St. Louis for the concert that will be filmed for the documentary 'Hail Hail! Rock & Roll' (1986)... A tribute concert to Bob Dylan on the 30th anniversary of the release of his first Columbia album takes place at Madison Square Garden. Guest performers include Neil Young, Roger McGuinn, George Harrison, Tom Petty, Ron Wood and Eric Clapton. Dylan himself appears for group renditions of 'My Back Pages' and 'Knockin' on Heaven's Door' before closing the proceedings with a solo 'Girl from the North Country' (1992)... Simon & Garfunkel kick off their Old Friends reunion tour with a show in Wilkes-Barre, PA (2003)... Legendary NYC club CBGB closes with a performance by Patti Smith, one of many artists who first came to fame on its stage. The venue was opened in 1973 with the full name CBGB-OMFUG, standing for 'Country, Bluegrass, Blues and Other Music for Uplifting Gormandizers' (2006).