February 18th

Musical birthdays today include Yoko Ono (91), former Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers vocalist Herman Santiago (83), Irma Thomas (83), ex-Styx lead singer Dennis DeYoung (77), jazz and R&B singer Veronica 'Randy' Crawford (72), Juice Newton (72), Robbie Bachman (71), ex-Little River Band drummer Derek Pellicci (71), former The Fall drummer Paul Hanley (60), Andy and Jez Williams of The Doves (54), Nickel Creek guitarist & singer Sean Watkins (47), and Regina Spektor (44) *** *** Shoutout to the Great Beyond for country singer [and co-author of 'The Tennessee Waltz'] Pee Wee King, born on this day in 1914... for Doobie Brothers drummer Keith Knudsen, who would have been 75 today... for Megadeath drummer Gar Samuelson, who would have been 66... for original Replacements lead guitarist Bob Stinson, who died on this date in 1995... and for Soft Machine guitarist Kevin Ayers and former Temptations vocalist Martin Harris, both of whom left us today in 2013 *** *** Also on February 18: The 18th century popular English opera Flora becomes the first opera produced in the American colonies when it premieres in Charleston, SC (1735)... Gian Carlo Menotti's Telephone premieres at the Met (1947)... The Platters have the № 1 single in the UK with 'The Great Pretender' (1956)... Ray Charles records 'What'd I Say' at Columbia Studios in NYC (1959)... On a weekend pass from a stint in the Marine reserves, The Everly Brothers appear in full uniform and with regulation crewcuts on The Ed Sullivan Show to perform their new single 'Cryin' in the Rain' (1962)... The Beatles record John's new song 'You've Got to Hide Your Love Away'. They are aided by flautist John Scott, the first musician other than the four members of the group or George Martin to play on a Beatles track (1965)... Brian Wilson and the L.A. session musicians informally known as The Wrecking Crew finish the first mix of the instrumental track to 'Good Vibrations' (1966)... One-hit wonders The Buckinghams go to № 1 in the US with 'Kind of a Drag' (1967)... David Gilmour officially becomes a member of Pink Floyd (1968)... Johnny Cash drops in on Bob Dylan's sessions for the Nashville Skyline album. The two spend several hours jamming together and record some 18 tracks, both their own material and country standards, but only their duet on Dylan's 'Girl from the North Country' will be considered worthy of release (1969)... Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band make their New York debut at Ungano's (1971)... 12-year-old Neil Reid becomes the youngest person ever to have a № 1 album in Britain when his self-titled debut offering tops the charts (1972)... Kiss release their eponymous debut album (1974)... In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Bill Wyman says that he intends to quit the Stones on the group's 20th anniversary in 1982. In fact, he will stay with the band until 1993 (1980)... Bon Jovi are at № 1 on the US singles chart with 'Livin' on a Prayer' (1987)... Freddie Mercury makes his final on stage public appearance when he and the other members of Queen collect an award for their 'outstanding contribution to music' at London's Dominion Theatre (1990)... An American court orders the release of John Lennon's FBI file. The British government was opposed to the move, having passed on MI5 files on the ex-Beatle to the US government in the '70s (2000)... Carpenters fans gather in front of the Los Angeles City Hall to protest plans to have the pop duo's former family home in the suburb of Downey torn down. The current owners of the house object to fans looking in the windows and leaving floral tributes. The 5-bedroom house was immortalized when it appeared on the cover of the siblings' 1973 hit album Now & Then (2008)... Whitney Houston's by invitation only funeral is held at the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, NJ (2012).