April 22nd

Musical birthdays today include conductor & musicologist Joshua Rifkin (80), singer-songwriter & radio host Larry Groce (76), Peter Frampton (74), Paul Carrack (73), Pennywise lead guitarist Fletcher Dragge (58), rapper Opio Lindsey (50), System of a Down bassist Shavo Odadjian (50), Gentlemen East lead guitarist Aaron Fincke (46), Hounds Below frontman Jason Stollsteimer (46), ex-Silverchair frontman Daniel Johns (45), former Sugababes vocalist Amelle Berrabah (40), Dream Street vocalist Matt Ballinger (39), and rapper Richard Baker AKA Machine Gun Kelly (34). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for violinist & conductor Yehudi Menuhin, born on this day in 1916... for Charles Mingus, born today in 1922... for jazz bassist & composer Paul Chambers, and for Glen Campbell, both of whom would have been 86 today... for film score composer and Neil Young sideman Jack Nitzsche, who would have been 86... for composer Édouard Lalo, who died on this date in 1892... for jazz pianist Earl 'Fatha' Hines, who died in 1983... for songwriter Felice Bryant, who passed away in 2003... and for Richie Havens, who left us today in 2014.

Also on April 22nd: Bach is hired as Kapellmeister at the Thomaskirche in Leipzig, after two other candidates turned the job down (1723)... At Columbia's 30th St. Studio in NYC, Miles Davis and his ensemble sextet convene for the second and final recording session for Kind of Blue (1959)... The President of Britain's National Federation Of Hairdressers offers a free haircut to The Beatles' chief rivals for № 1 group in the UK pop charts. He says "The Rolling Stones are the worst ~ one of them looks as if he's got a feather duster on his head" (1964)... The Troggs' new single 'Wild Thing' is released in the US... Two dozen local groups appear at a ‘battle of the bands’ gig at the Matawan, NJ Keyport Roller Drome. All acts performed three songs each. The Rogues win first place, second are Sonny & The Starfires, and third place goes to The Castilles, with 16-year-old Bruce Springsteen on lead guitar and vocals. The three winners are given an opportunity to perform at the Roller Drome the following week as part of a major concert headlined by The Crystals (1966)... Deep Purple have the № 1 album in the UK with Machine Head (1972)... Bob Marley and the Wailers perform at the 'One Love Peace Concert' in Jamaica. It is Marley's first public appearance in Jamaica since being wounded in an assassination attempt a year and a half earlier... John Belushi and Dan Ackroyd perform as The Blues Brothers on Saturday Night Live for the first time (1978)... Warner Bros. Records release Around the World in a Day by Prince (1985)... The Dave Matthews Band make their live debut at an Earth Day Festival in Charlottesville, VA (1991)... Destiny's Child go to № 1 on the UK singles chart with 'Survivor.' Their second chart topper, they are the first US all-female band to achieve the feat in Britain more than once (2001)... '60s pop singer Tommy Steele reveals that he took Elvis Presley on a secret tour of London in 1958 after Presley struck up a friendship with him. When the rock legend flew into London for a day, Steele tells the Times that he took him round the city, showing him famous landmarks such as the Houses of Parliament and Nelson's column. For more than 50 years, fans of the King had believed that the only time he ever set foot in the UK was during a stop-over at Prestwick Airport in Scotland in March 1960 on his way back from US Army service in Germany (2008).