May 17th

Musical birthdays today include bluesman Henry 'Taj Mahal' Fredericks (82), Passport drummer Udo Lindenberg (78), Camel guitarist Andrew Latimer (75), former Yes and King Crimson drummer Bill Bruford (75), original Iron Maiden lead singer Paul Di'Anno (66), Enya Brennan (63), Phish keyboardist Page McConnell (61), Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor (59), original Tool bassist Paul D'Amour (57), New Kids on the Block lead singer Jordan Knight (54), Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme (51), and Maylene & the Sons of Disaster lead singer Dallas Taylor (44).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for composer Erik Satie, born on this day in 1866... for operatic soprano Birgit Nilsson, born in 1918... for French horn virtuoso Dennis Brain, born in 1921... for free jazz saxophonist Dewey Redman, born in 1931... for Spinners bass vocalist Pervis Jackson, who would have been 86... for singer-songwriter Jesse Winchester, who would have been 80... for Surface lead guitarist David Townsend, who would have been 69... for violin virtuoso Nicolo Paganini, who died on this date in 1840... for Lawrence Welk, who died in 1992... for Johnny 'Guitar' Watson, who passed away in 1996... and for Donna Summer, who left us today in 2012.  

Also on May 17th: Pietro Mascagni's opera Cavalleria rusticana premieres at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome (1890)... The first Monterey Folk Festival opens in Monterey, CA (1963)... Bob Dylan makes his first headlining concert appearance in the UK when he plays an afternoon show at the Royal Festival Hall in London billed as a ‘Folksong Concert’. Dylan's 18-song set includes the live debut of Mr. Tambourine Man, and takes place on a Sunday afternoon. During an intermission, Dylan receives a telegram from John Lennon seeking a meeting which will not materialise until later in the year (1964)... On the UK leg of his current world tour, Dylan plays the Free Trade Hall in Manchester. A member of the audience unhappy with Dylan's move from an acoustic sound to rock shouts "Judas!" The star replies "I don't believe you... You're a liar" before turning to his backing musicians, who are leading into 'Like a Rolling Stone', and instructing them to "Play it fucking loud!" (1966)... Working at Abbey Road studios, The Beatles begin recording a new John Lennon song entitled ‘You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)’. The song was not finished until November 1969, and was not released until March 1970, as the B-side of the ‘Let it Be’ single (1967)... McCoy Tyner records the album Time for Tyner (1968)... Joni Mitchell appears on the cover of Rolling Stone for the first time... Leonard Bernstein conducts his final concert as director of the NY Philharmonic (1969)... Apple Records release Paul & Linda McCartney's album Ram... 'Godspell' premieres off- Broadway (1971)... Elton John is awarded a Platinum Record for sales of a million copies of the LP Captain Fantastic and The Brown Dirt Cowboy, the first album ever to be certified Platinum on the day of its release... Led Zeppelin play the first of five sold-out nights to 17,000 fans at Earls Court Arena, London (1975)... A fire destroys Tom Petty's house in Los Angeles (1987)... Bill Wyman's restaurant 'Sticky Fingers' opens in London (1989)... Nirvana play the last date of a North American tour at the Zoo in Boise, ID. It is Chad Channing's final gig with the band before being replaced as drummer by Dave Grohl (1990)... Paul McCartney and Heather Mills admit that they have given up the fight to save their marriage, saying that after four years together, they are going their separate ways (2006)... Amy Winehouse and Pete Doherty post a two-minute clip of themselves playing with newborn mice on YouTube. The video shows Doherty and Winehouse in a bare room making rambling comments whilst picking up the mice and talking to them (2008).

May 16th

Musical birthdays today include jazz drummer Billy Cobham (80), King Crimson lead guitarist Robert Fripp (78), Jonathan Richman (73), Heaven 17 singer Glenn Gregory (66), former Noir Désir guitarist Serge Teyssot-Gay (61), Dave Matthews Band violinist Boyd Tinsley (59), former Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic (59), Janet Jackson (58), R&B singer Ralph Tresvant (56), ex-Slowdive lead singer Rachel Goswell (52), and P.O.D. lead singer Sonny Sandoval (50).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for jazzman Woody Herman, born today in 1913... for Liberace, born in 1919... for jazz trombonist Eddie Bert, born in 1922... for jazz singer Betty Carter, born in 1929... for Django Reinhardt, who died on this date in 1953... for pianist and arranger Ernie Freeman, who died in 1981... for Sammy Davis Jr., who passed away in 1990... for soul singer Marvin Johnson [whose debut single was the first 45 RPM issued by Berry Gordy's proto-Motown label Tamla], who died in 1993... for heavy metal singer Ronnie James Dio, who died in 2010... and for 'Godfather of Go-go' Chuck Brown, who left us today in 2013.   

Also on May 16th: Jean-Baptiste Lully takes up the position of King's Master of Music at the court of Louis XIV (1661)... The first flat gramophone disc is demonstrated at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, PA by its inventor, Emile Berliner (1888)... Ethel Merman makes her Broadway debut in the opening of 'Annie Get Your Gun' (1946)... Mary Wells has the № 1 single in America with 'My Guy' (1964)... Driving  away after a gig at the Civic Hall in Long Beach, CA, the limo taking the Rolling Stones back to their hotel is besieged by fans who cave in the roof by standing on it. The band attempt to hold the roof up while their chauffeur drives off with bodies falling onto the road (1965)... The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds is released (1966)... Pete Townshend spends the night in a US jail for assaulting a man during a Who gig at The Fillmore East. Townshend, who claimed self-defence, was unaware that the man who jumped onto the stage was a plainclothes policeman trying to warn the audience that a fire had broken out. The Who guitarist is later fined $30 for the offence (1969)... Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young go to № 1 on the US album chart with Deja Vu (1970)... Neil Young makes an unannounced appearance at The Bottom Line in NYC and plays most of the songs from his forthcoming album On the Beach (1974)... Patti Smith makes her UK debut at The Roundhouse, London (1976)... The London Evening Standard reports that Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant has been arrested at the airport in Atlanta, GA for being drunk and pulling a knife. Plant was in fact at his home in Wales at the time of the incident, and the person arrested was a man impersonating the singer. The newspaper will run an apology the following night (1977)... U2 have their first US № 1 single with 'With or without You' (1987)... Keith Richards falls while reaching for a book on a high shelf of the library in his Connecticut home. The fall breaks several of his ribs, causing the Stones to postpone many dates on their Bridges To Babylon tour (1998)... Bob Dylan tops the US and UK album charts simultaneously for the only time in his career with Together through Life (2009).

May 15th

Musical birthdays today include Original Little River Band lead singer Graeham Goble (77), Brian Eno (76), Mike Oldfield (71) Sisters of Mercy frontman Andrew Eldritch (64), former  Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five lead rapper Melvin 'Melle Mel' Glover (63), Saint Etienne keyboardist Pete Wiggs (58), classical violinist Anne Akiko Meyers (54), Trail of Dead lead singer Conrad Keely (52), Ahmet Zappa (50), Deerhunter frontman Bradford Cox (42), and Pussycat Dolls vocalist Jessica Sutta (42). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for composer Claudio Monteverdi, born on this day in 1567... for ragtime pianist Eddie Morton, born in 1870... for Eddy Arnold, born in 1918... fort British jazzman John Barnes, born in 1932... for folk singer Bruce 'Utah' Phillips, who would have been 88 today... for Trini Lopez, who would have been 87... for former Chiffons vocalist Barbara Lee, who died on this date in 1992... for June Carter Cash, who passed away in 2003... and for film & TV score composer Alexander Courage [best remembered for the original Star Trek theme], who left us today in 2008. 

Also on May 15th: The Royal Opera House at Covent Garden reopens two years after being badly damaged in a fire (1858)... Charlie Parker records the live album One Night in Birdland (1950)... John Cage's Piano Concerto premieres at Carnegie Hall (1958)... Bob Dylan’s single 'Subterranean Homesick Blues' peaks at No.39 on the Billboard chart, giving Dylan his first US top 40 hit. John Lennon reportedly finds the song so captivating that he has been quoted as saying he doesn't know how he'd be able to write a song that could compete with it (1965)... Paul McCartney meets American photographer Linda Eastman for the first time, during a Georgie Fame concert at the Bag O'Nails nightclub in London (1967)... George Harrison and Ringo Starr attend the premiere of 'Wonderwall' at the Cannes Film Festival. The film by first-time director Joe Massot stars Jack MacGowran and Jane Birkin, and features a cameo by Anita Pallenberg. The soundtrack was composed by Harrison. The film also provides the name for the Oasis track 'Wonderwall', which was inspired by George Harrison's score (1968)... John  Lennon's Life With The Lions is released on Apple's avant-garde imprint Zapple. One side of the album was recorded on a cassette player at London's Queen Charlotte Hospital during Yoko Ono's pregnancy which ended in a miscarriage (1969)...  EG Records release King Crimson's second album In the Wake of Poseidon (1970)... Crosby Stills Nash & Young score their second US № 1 LP with 4 Way Street. The live album features recordings from shows at the Fillmore East and The L.A. Forum (1971)... The Rolling Stones go to № 1 on the Billboard album chart with Black and Blue, their first release since the replacement of Mick Taylor with Ron Wood (1976)... Former Sex Pistol John Lydon's band Public Image Ltd performs a show at the Ritz Club in NYC posing behind a video screen while the music is played from tapes. The band are showered with missiles and eventually booed off stage (1981)... Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney start a seven week run at № 1 on the US singles chart with 'Ebony and Ivory' (1982)... Manic Street Preachers guitarist Richey Edwards carves '4 real' into his arm with a razor blade while being interviewed by music paper The NME (1991)... Oasis become one of the first bands to attempt to exert censorship over the Internet when the group announce that they are working with Sony to close down unofficial websites carrying lyrics, sound files and photographs of the band (1997)... It is reported that Britney Spears has been crowned the queen of America's fastest growing youth movement, the teenage celibates. Spears told the German magazine Bravo that she intended to abstain from sex until her wedding night (2000).

May 14th

Musical birthdays today include early rocker Charlie Gracie (88), Rascals guitarist Gene Cornish (80), David Byrne (72), former Red Rider frontman Tom Cochrane (71), French pop singer Patrick Bruel (65), Marillion lead singer Steve Hogarth (65), Irish tenor Ronan Tynan (64), former The Cult lead singer Ian Astbury (62), Poison guitarist C.C. DeVille (62), Testament guitarist Eric Peterson (60), Alice in Chains bassist Mike Inez (58), New Kids on the Block vocalist Danny Wood (55), AFI bassist Hunter Burgan (48), rapper Terrence Thornton AKA Pusha T (47), Black Keys frontman Dan Auberbach (45), Thirteen Senses lead guitarist Tom Welham (41), and Miranda Cosgrove (31). 
 
Shoutout to the Great Beyond for conductor Otto Klemperer, born on this day in 1885... for Sidney Bechet, born in 1897 [and who died in 1959 on his 62nd birthday]... for original Coasters vocalist Will 'Dub' Jones, born in 1928... for Bobby Darin, who would have been 88... for Jack Bruce, and for Herman's Hermits lead guitarist Derek Leckenby, both of whom would have been 81...  for former Yardbirds lead singer Keith Relf, who was electrocuted whilst  playing an improperly grounded guitar on this date in 1976 at the age of 33... and for Frank Sinatra, who left us today in 1998. 

Also on May 14th: Vienna's Burgtheater opens for the first time (1741)... John Philip Sousa's 'The Stars and Stripes Forever' is performed in public for the first time in Willow Grove Park in Philadelphia, PA (1897)... Enrico Caruso makes his Covent Garden debut in 'Rigoletto' (1902)... Elvis is rushed to a Los Angeles hospital after swallowing a porcelain cap from one of his front teeth, which then became lodged in one of his lungs (1957)... The Silver Beats (John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Stu Sutcliffe and Tommy Moore) perform at Lathom Hall, Seaforth, Liverpool. They play a few songs during the 'interval' to audition for promoter Brian Kelly. Also appearing are Cliff Roberts & the Rockers, The Deltones, and Kingsize Taylor & the Dominoes. This is the only occasion on which the group uses the name Silver Beats, quickly changing it back to Silver Beetles (1960)... In NYC, Miles Davis finishes recording the album Seven Steps to Heaven (1963)... Pye Records release Donovan's debut album What's Been Did and  What's Been Hid (1965)... John Lennon and Paul McCartney appeared on NBC-TV's Tonight Show with guest host Joe Garagiola sitting in for Johnny Carson. The topics of conversation include transcendental meditation, the forming of Apple Corps, and song writing (1968)... Reprise Records release Everybody Knows This Us Nowhere by Neil Young & Crazy Horse... During a UK tour, Fairport Convention's van crashes on the M1 motorway on the way home from a gig in Birmingham. The group's 19 year-old drummer Martin Lamble is killed, along with Richard Thompson's girlfriend Jeannie Franklyn (1969)... ATCO Records release High Voltage, AC/DC's first album available outside Australia (1976)... During a UK tour, Talking Heads play a gig at The Rock Garden in London. Brian Eno is in the audience, and approaches the band after the show with an offer to produce them (1977)... Led Zeppelin reunite for  Atlantic Records' 40th anniversary party at Madison Square Garden, appearing with John Bonham's son Jason on drums. Other acts performing included Foreigner, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Genesis, Emerson Lake & Palmer, Wilson Pickett and Ben E. King (1988)... At an auction at Christies of London, the acoustic guitar that Elvis used to make his first recordings in 1954, 'That's All Right Mama' and 'Blue Moon of Kentucky', sells for £130,285. Also on the block are four 'Super Hero' costumes worn by the group Kiss, which go for £20,000 (1993)... George Michael is fined $750 after being convicted of a 'lewd act' in a Los Angeles public lavatory. The court also orders him to undergo psychological counselling and carry out 80 hours community service (1998)... Tom Jones is at № 1 on the UK album chart with Reload, making the singer the oldest artist to top the British album chart with new material (2001).

May 13th

Musical birthdays today include harmonica player Richard 'Magic Dick' Salwitz (79), original Fleetwood Mac guitarist & co-lead singer Danny Kirwan (74), Stevie Wonder (74), Roxy Music drummer Paul Thompson (73), ex-Porcupine Tree drummer Chris Maitland (60), Alison Goldfrapp (58), Hootie & the Blowfish frontman Darius Rucker (58), rapper Parrish 'PMDE' Smith (56), guitarist & multi-instrumentalist Brian ' Buckethead' Carroll (56), and Maroon Five bassist Mickey Madden (45).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for composer Arthur Sullivan, born on this day in 1842... for Gil Evans, born in 1912... for country singer Johnnie Wright, born in 1914... for jazz pianist & frequent Miles Davis and John Coltrane sideman Red Garland, born in 1923... for Ritchie Valens, who would have been 83 today... for Mary Wells, who would have been 80... for jazz drummer Alfred 'Tubby' Hall, who died on this date in 1945... for country & western swing singer Bob Wills, who died in 1975... for Chet Baker, who passed away in 1988... for producer & record company executive Eddie Barclay, who died in 2005... for Booker T & the M.G.'s bassist Donald 'Duck' Dunn, who passed away in 2012... and for Doris Day, who left us five years ago today.

Also on May 13th: The first commercial FM radio station goes on the air in Bloomfield, CT as WDRC (1939)... 'The Pajama Game' opens on Broadway. It will go on to have a run of 1,063 performances (1954)... The Monkees' second album More of the Monkees goes to № 1 on the UK charts. In 1967, only four albums reached № 1 in Britain: The Sound Of Music soundtrack, which spends 17 weeks at the top; Sgt Pepper, 25 weeks; and The Monkees first and second albums, which spend a total of 10 weeks at № 1... The Supremes score their 10th US № 1 single with 'The Happening'; it reaches № 6 in the UK. It is the group's last single to be released under the name of The Supremes; henceforth they will be known as Diana Ross and the Supremes (1967)... John Lennon and Paul McCartney arrive in NYC for a press junket to help launch Apple Corps in the US (1968)... Led Zeppelin become the first British rock group to appear in Hawaii, when  they play the Civic Auditorium in Honolulu. A review in the Honolulu Advertiser states 'The showmanship exceeded any rock performance here to date. I wondered before the concert if Led Zeppelin could sound as good as their Atlantic album – they sounded better' (1969)... The Beatles final original release of any kind takes place with the world premiere of the film 'Let It Be' in New York (1970)... Grace Slick crashes her Mercedes into a wall near the Golden Gate Bridge and is hospitalised (1971)... Boney M top the UK singles chart with 'By the Rivers of Babylon' (1978)... Warner Bros. Records release Dire Straits' Brothers in Arms (1984)... Bruce Springsteen marries Julianne Phillips in Lake Oswego, OR (1985)...  Oasis become the fastest selling group in UK history after all 330,000 tickets for their summer shows sell out in just nine hours. The tickets for shows at Knebworth and Loch Lomond were priced at £22.50 (1996)... Dionne Warwick is arrested at Miami International Airport for possession of marijuana after authorities find 11 joints in a lipstick case in the singer's hand luggage. The charges are dropped after Warwick completes a drug program and makes a contribution in an undisclosed amount to charity (2002)... Brian May is placed under 24-hour security watch after a deranged man announced he was setting off to murder him, and then disappeared. Police are hunting for a schizophrenic who left a letter behind at his home blaming the Queen guitarist for his illness. In it the man said May was an 'impostor', and that he was the real rock star. He signed the letter 'Brian May' (2007)... The US Postal Service issued a 42-cent postage stamp in honour of Frank Sinatra. The design shows a '50s-vintage image of Sinatra, wearing a fedora (2008)... Like A Rolling Stone has been voted as Bob Dylan’s best-ever song by Rolling Stone Magazine, who asked the opinions of a panel of writers, academics and musicians to compile a poll to mark Dylan's 70th birthday on 24th May. 'Like A Rolling Stone' was described by U2's Bono as 'a black eye of a pop song', while Mick Jagger praised the simplicity of Desolation Row. Keith Richards argued that the original 1963 solo version of Girl from The North Country, ranked 30th, was superior to Dylan's 1969 duet of the same song with Johnny Cash (2011).

May 12th

Musical birthdays today include Billy Swan (82), Steve Winwood (76), Billy Squier (74), Kix Brooks [of Brooks & Dunn] (69), Kiss drummer Eric Singer (66), The Cult guitarist Billy Duffy (63), Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz (62), bossa nova singer Bebel Gilberto (56), rapper Jason Harrow AKA Kardinal Offishall (48), and Greek Cypriot pop singer Eleftheria Eleftheriou (35). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for composer Jules Massenet, born on this day in 1842... for composer Gabriel Fauré, born in 1845... for Burt Bacharach, born in 1928... for Motown songwriter Norman Whitfield, who would have been 84 today... for Ian Dury, who would have been 82... for former Small Faces keyboardist Ian McLagan, who would have been 79... for former Badlands lead singer Ray Gillen, who would have been 65... for R&B singer Charles Pettigrew, who would have been 61... for composer Bedřich Smetana, who died on this date in 1884... for Perry Como, who died in 2001... and for singer-songwriter Antonio Vega, who left us today in 2009. 

Also on May 12th: Needing just two takes, The Everly Brothers record 'All I Have to Do Is Dream' (1958)... Charles Mingus records Mingus Ah Um, his first LP for Columbia (1959)... Bob Dylan walks out of rehearsals for The Ed Sullivan show after being told he may not perform his song 'Talking John Birch Paranoid Blues' due to its mockery of the US military and segregation. CBS executives ask Dylan to replace it with another song, but the singer reportedly says: "No, this is what I want to do. If I can't play my song, I'd rather not appear on the show" (1963)... The Beach Boys have their first № 1 album in the US with Beach Boys Concert (1964)... Pink Floyd appear at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, giving a special concert called 'Games For May ~ Space Age Relaxation For The Climate Of Spring'. This is reportedly the first show to include loudspeakers placed at the back of the hall to give a 'sound in the round', or quadraphonic, effect. The sound system, developed by EMI technicians, is stolen after the show and will not be recovered for some years... Reprise Records release Are You Experienced?, the debut album from The Jimi Hendrix Experience (1967)... Brian Jones makes his final live appearance with The Rolling Stones when they appear at the New Musical Express Poll Winners Concert at the Empire Pool, Wembley (1968)... Mick Jagger marries Bianca Macias in Saint Tropez (1971)... The Rolling Stones release Exile on Main St. (1972)... Led Zeppelin go to № 1 on the US album chart with Houses of the Holy (1973)... Jefferson Starship give a free concert in NYC's Central Park in front of 60,000 fans. The band and concert sponsor WNEW-FM are forced to pay $14,000 for cleaning up and damage done to the park after the event (1975)... Virgin Records announce that they have signed The Sex Pistols, who have been dropped by both A&M and EMI in the last six months (1977)... Van Halen kick off their 82-date North American 'Fair Warning' tour at the Halifax Metro Centre in Halifax, NS (1981)... Lionel Richie's  'Hello' is at the top of the singles charts in both the US and the UK (1984)... 17-year-old Bernadette O'Brien dies the day after being severely injured whilst 'body surfing' at a Smashing Pumpkins gig at The Point, Dublin (1996)... Neil Young has a spider named after him. LSU biology professor Jason Bond discovered a new species of trapdoor spider and decided to name it after his favourite musician. Myrmekiaphila neilyoungi was found in Jefferson County, Alabama, in 2007 (2008).

May 11th

Musical birthdays today include free jazz pianist Carla Bley (88), Eric Burdon (83), former Gerry and the Pacemakers bassist Ken Chadwick (81), Allman Brothers Band drummer Butch Trucks (77), chansonnier Renaud Séchan (72), ex-Afghan Wigs guitarist Greg Dulli (59), Rammstein drummer Christoph Schneider (58), and Enation frontman Jonathan Jackson (42).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Irving Berlin, born on this day in 1888... for jazz saxophonist Johnny Hodges, who died on this date in 1970... for Bob Marley, who died in 1981... for Jimi Hendrix Experience bassist Noel Redding, who passed away in 2003... for singer-songwriter and producer John Whitehead, who was shot to death today in 2007 at the age of 57... and for original Rush drummer John Rutsey, who left us in 2008. 

Also on May 11th: Connie Francis tops the UK singles chart with a cover of the 1923 song 'Who's Sorry Now', making her Francis the first female rock 'n' roll star to reach № 1 in Britain (1958)... The Beatles start a 30 week run at № 1 on the UK album charts with their debut LP Please Please Me, making it the longest running chart-topping album by a group ever. The band's follow-up, With The Beatles, replaces it at the sales summit on the 7th of December 1963 and stays there for 21 weeks (1963)... During a UK tour, The Rolling Stones are refused lunch at The Grand Hotel, Bristol where they are staying because they are not wearing jackets and ties. The following day, the Daily Express run the story with the headline, 'The Rolling Stones Gather No Lunch' (1964)... The Rolling Stones record the first version of '(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction' at Chess Studios in Chicago (1965)... Small Faces release their eponymous debut album on the Decca label (1966)... The Bee Gees make their UK television debut performing 'New York Mining Disaster 1941' on Top of the Pops (1967)... The triple album of the soundtrack of Woodstock is released in the US, and goes gold within two weeks (1970)... John Lennon, appearing on The Dick Cavett Show, claims he is under surveillance by the FBI (1972)... Wings kick off their 15-date debut UK tour at the Bristol Hippodrome (1973)... Led Zeppelin attend an Elvis Presley show at the Los Angeles Forum. After a shaky start to the show, the King stops the band and jokingly says "Wait a minute, let's see if we can start together, fellas, because we’ve got Led Zeppelin out there. Let's try to look like we know what we're doing." All four members of Zeppelin meet with Elvis after the show, spending over 2 hours backstage. Elvis asks for all the group members' autographs for his daughter Lisa Marie (1974)... Bruce Springsteen and a small group of friends go for a boy’s night out in Lake Oswego, OR two nights before his wedding to Julianne Phillips. Drinking in the Gemini pub, Springsteen sings a number of songs, karaoke-style, to his own records in the jukebox (1985)... 
Over 500 Michael Jackson fans hold a demonstration outside the Sony records building in Berlin, complaining that the label has not sufficiently promoted the singer's latest album 'Invincible' (2002)... One of the rarest rock t-shirts in the world sells for $10,000, the largest sum ever paid for a vintage t. The record-setting sale of a 1979 Led Zeppelin shirt on eBay is made by Kyle Ermatinger of Stormcrow Vintage (2011).

May 10th

Musical birthdays today include composer Harold Budd (87), Spinners vocalist Henry Fambrough (86), Carl Douglas (82), Donovan (78), 10cc guitarist Graham Gouldman (78), Dave Mason (78), ex-Spirit keyboardist Jay Ferguson (77), session drummer Sly Dunbar (72), Bono (64), Tool drummer Danny Carey (63), rapper Marvin 'Young M.C.' Young (57), Mogwai lead guitarist Stuart Braithwaite (48), and We Are Scientists frontman Keith Murray (47). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle, composer of 'La Marseillaise', born on this day in 1760... for film score composer Max Steiner, born in 1888... for film score composer Dmitri Tiomkin, born in 1894... For Fred Astaire, born in 1899... for Maybelle Carter, born in 1909... for jazz guitarist Bert Wheedon, born in 1920... for R&B singer-songwriter Larry Williams, who would have been 88 today... for Danny & the Juniors leader Danny Frapp, who would have been 83... for Jackie Lomax, who would have been 80... for Sid Vicious, who would have been 67... for jazz singer Sylvia Syms, who died on this date in 1992... and for pop singer Soraya, who left us today in 2006. 

Also on May 10th: Wagner’s Centennial Inaugural March is performed for the first time at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, PA. The composer was paid $5,000 for the piece, conducted by Theodore Thomas (1876)... Bill Haley & His Comets release 'Rock around the Clock', an event that is often considered to be the beginning of the rock era (1954)... Bob Dylan arrives in Britain for his first major UK tour including a show at London's Royal Festival Hall on the 17th of this month (1964)... The Rolling Stones record a version of '(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction' at Chess Studios in Chicago, with Brian Jones on harmonica. The group re-record it two days later at RCA Studios in Hollywood, with a different beat and using the Gibson Maestro fuzzbox that Keith Richards recently acquired, adding sustain to the sound of the guitar riff. (1965)... At the request of presidential daughter Tricia Nixon, The Turtles give a special performance at the White House. Unconfirmed rumours continue to circulate that members of the group snorted cocaine off Abraham Lincoln's desk (1969)... Chrysalis Records release Jethro Tull's Thick as a Brick (1972)... The Go-Go's announce that they are disbanding (1986)... Falco is at № 1 on both sides of the Atlantic with 'Rock Me Amadeus' (1987)... The Apollo Theater begins installing bronze plaques dedicated to legends who had close ties to the establishment on the sidewalk in front of the building. Among the first to be so honoured are James Brown, Michael Jackson, Smokey Robinson and Ella Fitzgerald (2010)... The ornate iron gates of a children's home which inspired John Lennon's psychedelic Beatles anthem Strawberry Fields Forever are removed after the Salvation Army, which owns the former home, decides to put the red Victorian gates into storage. Beatles fans who pass the Liverpool site now are met with 10ft (3m) high replicas. The original gates are being taken to a secret location for storage, and will eventually be auctioned off (2011).

May 9th

Musical birthdays today include ex-Ventures guitarist Nokie Edwards (89), former Crickets frontman [replacing Buddy Holly after his death] Sonny Curtis (87), former Freddie & the Dreamers bassist Pete Birrell (83), Tommy Roe (82), Richie Furay (80), Blood, Sweat & Tears guitarist Steve Katz (79), Billy Joel (75), Cheap Trick bassist Tom Petersson (74), operatic mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter (69), Depeche Mode lead singer Dave Gahan (62), former Housemartins & Beautiful South lead singer Paul Heaton (62), pop singer Marie-Claire Cremers, AKA Amber (55), Wu Tang Clan rapper Dennis Coles AKA Ghostface Killah (54), Oasis bassist Paul McGuigan (53)), and Simple Plan lead singer Pierre Bouvier (44). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for composer Giovanni Pierluigi de Palestrina, born on this day in 1525... for country legend Hank Snow, born in 1914... for Soviet-era dissident bard Bulat Okudzhava, born in 1924... for Dave Prater [of Sam & Dave], who would have been 86... for composer & organ virtuoso Dieterich Buxtehude, who died on this date in 1707... for country singer Keith Whitley, who died in 1989 at the age of 34... for song & dance woman Alice Faye, who passed away in 1998... for chansonnier Pascal Sevran, who died in 2008... for Lena Horne, who died in 2010... and for the Rev. Richard Penniman, AKA Little Richard, who left us two years ago today.

Also on May 9th: In Linz, Austria, Anton Bruckner's 1st Symphony is performed for the first time, with the composer conducting (1868)... Vladimir Horowitz plays his first public concert in 12 years, returning to Carnegie Hall. When the pianist appears on stage, he receives a 30 minute standing ovation (1963)... Chuck Berry begins his first ever UK tour at the Astoria Theatre in London. Opening acts include The Animals, The Swinging Blue Jeans, and Karl Denver & the Nashville Teens... Louis Armstrong goes to № 1 on the US singles chart with 'Hello Dolly' making him at the age of 62 the oldest artist to hit the top (1964)... The Beatles attend their first Bob Dylan concert, the first of two sold out nights at the Royal Albert Hall (1965)... The Doors play the Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, auditioning for the position of the venue's house band (1966)... Sandie Shaw is at № 1 on the UK singles chart with 'Puppet On A String'. This week's two highest new entries are Jimi Hendrix with 'The Wind Cries Mary' and The Kinks with 'Waterloo Sunset' (1967)... Zapple Records releases George Harrison's debut solo album Electronic Sounds (1969)... The Guess Who start a three-week run at № 1 on the US singles chart with 'American Woman', the group's sixth Top 30 hit and only chart topper. The song was born by accident when guitarist Randy Bachman was playing a heavy riff on stage after he had broken a string, and the other members joined in on the jam. A fan in the audience who had bootlegged the show presented his tape to the group after the show and they developed the riff into a full song (1970)... Mick Jagger adds $150,000 of his own money to the $350,000 raised by a Rolling Stones benefit concert on January for victims of the recent Nicaraguan earthquake (1973)... Bonnie Raitt plays two shows at Harvard Square Theatre in Cambridge, MA; her opening act is Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. Rolling Stone critic Jon Landau is in the audience Springsteen and writes a review that includes the line 'I saw rock and roll future, and its name is Bruce Springsteen' (1974)... 'I Don't Like Mondays' by The Boomtown Rats wins in the Best Pop Song and Outstanding British Lyric categories at the 25th Ivor Novello Awards, while Supertramp's 'The Logical Song' wins Best Song Musically and Lyrically. Boomtown Rats lead singer Bob Geldoff was inspired to write  the song after reading about the tragic shooting spree of 16-year-old Brenda Spencer, who killed two people and wounded nine others when she fired from her house across the street at the entrance of San Diego's Grover Cleveland Elementary School (1980)... Bruce Springsteen makes his North American TV debut as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live (1992)... Jimmy Page appears on SNL with rapper Sean 'Puffy' Combs and performs 'Come With Me' from the 'Godzilla' movie soundtrack. The song samples the guitar riff from Led Zeppelin's 'Kashmir' (1998)... Country star Kenny Chesney marries Renee Zellweger (2005)... David Bowie's latest video, which stars Gary Oldman and Marion Cotillard, is temporarily pulled from YouTube because of its graphic content. 'The Next Day' features heavy religious imagery, including Cotillard bleeding from stigmata marks. The video sees Bowie performing in a basement bar, surrounded by religious figures, while Oldman, dressed as a priest, punches a beggar before dancing with a prostitute, played by Oscar-winner Cotillard. YouTube admitted making the 'wrong call' in removing the video, and reinstated it with an adult content warning (2013).

May 8th

Musical birthdays today include Toni Tenille (84), original Yardbirds bassist Paul Samwell-Smith (81), Gary Glitter (80), former T-Rex drummer Bill Legend (80), pianist Keith Jarrett (79), Philip Bailey (73), Talking Heads drummer Chris Frantz (73), ex-Fleetwood Mac guitarist Billy Burnett (71), Alex Van Halen (71), Blur drummer Dave Rowntree (60), former Savage Garden frontman Darren Hayes (52), Enrique Iglesias (49), Martha Wainwright (48), bluesman Joe Bonamassa (47), and former Busted guitarist Matt Willis (41). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for jazz cornettist & bandleader Ernie 'Red' Nichols, born on this day in 1905... for Robert Johnson, born in 1911... for Ricky Nelson, who would have been 84 today... for John Fred, who would have been 83.. for hip hop artist Paul 'Bad News Brown' Frappier, who would have been 47... for composer Dame Ethel Smyth, who died on  this date in 1944...  for Andrews Sister Laverne, who died in 1967... for Graham Bond, who took his own life today in 1974 at the age of 36... for producer and Casablanca Records founder Neil Bogart, who died in 1982... for classical pianist Rudolf Serkin, who passed away in 1991... for country legend Eddy Arnold, who died in 2008... and for Help Yourself bassist Ken Whaley, who left us today in 2014.

Also on May 8th: Aaron Copland wins the Pulitzer Prize for music for his Appalachian Spring ballet score (1945)... BBC radio bans the Johnny Ray song ‘Such a Night’ after listeners complain about its 'suggestiveness'. Ray was famous for his emotional stage act, which included beating up his piano, and writhing on the floor (1954)...  The Beatles have now held the № 1 position on the US singles chart for fourteen weeks with three chart-toppers in succession: 'I Want To Hold Your Hand' for seven weeks, 'She Loves You' for two weeks and 'Can't Buy Me Love' for five weeks (1964)... The promotional clip for Bob Dylan’s 'Subterranean Homesick Blues' is filmed in an alley behind the Savoy Hotel in London. Allen Ginsberg and Dylan sidekick Bob Neuwirth can be seen in the background. The short film is considered one of the forerunners of the modern music video. The original clip was actually the opening segment of D. A. Pennebaker's film 'Don't Look Back' a documentary of Dylan's 1965 tour of England. The cue cards that Bob holds up were written by Donovan, Ginsberg, Neuwirth and Dylan himself (1965)... John, George and Ringo sign a management contract with Allen Klein and his company ABKCO, while Paul refuses, preferring to let the Eastmans represent his interests (1969)... Let It Be is released (1970)... Vangelis is at № 1 on the US singles chart with 'Chariots of Fire' (1982)... Roger Waters releases his first solo album, The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking (1984)... Mark Knopfler receives an honorary music doctorate from Newcastle University (1993)... Bruce Springsteen has the № 1 album in America for the 13th time with Devils & Dust (2005)... The Rolling Stones call off their forthcoming European tour after guitarist Keith Richards undergoes neurosurgery. The 62 year-old guitarist suffered what his publicist described as a 'mild concussion' when he fell out of a coconut tree whilst on holiday in Fiji (2006).

May 7th

Musical birthdays today include soul singer Jimmy Ruffin (84), Christy Moore (78), Thelma Houston (77), former Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann (77), ex-Whitesnake guitarist Bernie Marsden (72), former Art of Noise keyboardist Anne Dudley (67), Motörhead lead guitarist Phil Campbell (62), Trans-Siberian Orchestra Johnny Lee Middleton (60), trip hop singer Martin Topley-Bird (48), Arctic Monkeys drummer Matt Helden (37), and Natalie Mejia (35). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Johannes Brahms, born on this day in 1833... for Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, born in 1840... for DJ & early rock singer Jim Lowe, born in 1924... for jazz & pop singer Teresa Brewer, born in 1932 today... for Johnny Maestro, who would have been 84... for former New York Dolls drummer Jerry Nolan, who would have been 78... for composer Antonio Salieri, who died on this date in 1825... for big band drummer & Glenn Miller sideman Ray McKinley, who died in 1995... for country singer Eddie Rabbitt, who passed away in 1998... and for pop singer Teri Moïse, who took her own life today in 2018 at the age of 43. 

Also on May 7th: Beethoven's Choral 9th Symphony has its premieres at the Kärntnertor Theatre in Vienna. The composer himself, by now totally deaf, keeps time, but the musicians follow the assistant conductor (1824)... RKO Pictures release the film 'Shall We Dance' with a complete George Gershwin score (1937)... Van Cliburn signs his first recording contract with RCA (1958)... The Mamas and the Papas go to № 1 on the Billboard singles chart with 'Monday Monday'. Reportedly, John Phillips was the only member of the group who liked the song (1966)... Jimi Hendrix plays London's Saville Theatre with Ringo Star, Brian Jones and members of The Beach Boys and The Moody Blues in attendance... Pearls Before Swine begin recording an album called One Nation Underground. The LP includes a song called 'Miss Morse', which would be banned in New York when it was discovered that lead singer Tom Rapp was singing F-U-C-K in Morse code. After disc jockey Murray The K played the record on the air, local Boy Scouts correctly interpreted the chorus and phoned in a complaint... In Baltimore, MD, John Coltrane plays his final live gig (1967)... Reginald Dwight legally changes his name to Elton Hercules John (1972)... Led Zeppelin hold a launch party at the Four Seasons Hotel in NYC for their own label, Swan Song Records (1974)... The Eagles have the № 1 single in America with 'Hotel California' (1977)... 90,000 tickets are sold in eight hours for Bob Dylan's forthcoming London dates at Earls Court (1978)... Paul Weller unveils his new group Style Council at an anti-nuclear benefit gig in London (1983)...  Wilson Pickett is arrested after running into an 86 year old man, and for yelling death threats whilst driving his car over the mayor's front lawn in Englewood, NJ. Pickett is also charged with driving with open containers of alcohol in his car (1991)... A leather Jacket worn by John Lennon in the years 1960 to 1963, sells at Christies of London for £24,200 (1992)... A Los Angeles federal jury recommend a $1.5 million award to a British record company that sued rapper-producer Dr Dre for song plagiarism. London-based Minder Music Ltd. sued Dre in 2000, claiming his 1999 song, 'Let's Get High,' used the bass line of The Fatback's 1980 song, 'Backstroking' that was featured on Dre's successful '2001' album, which sold 9 million copies worldwide (2003).

May 6th

Musical birthdays today include bluesman Eddie C. Campbell (85), jazz bassist David Friesen (82), Bob Seger (79), Mary MacGregor (76), They Might Be Giants co-frontman John Flansburgh (74), Fastball lead singer Tony Scalzo (60), Stereolab lead singer Laetitia Sadier (56), Foo Fighters lead guitarist Chris Shiflett (53), and Evile lead singer Matt Drake (43).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for dance band leader Billy Cotton, born on this day in 1899... for jazz & skiffle guitarist Denny Wright, born in 1924... for former Average White Band drummer Robbie McIntosh, who would have been 74... for jazz violinist & bandleader Ted Weems, who died on this date in 1963... for jazz trombonist Kai Winding, who died in 1983... for Marlene Dietrich, who passed away in 1992... for songwriter Otis Blackwell [best remembered for 'Great Balls of Fire' and 'Don't Be Cruel'], who died in 2002... for Go-Betweens frontman Grant McLennan, who passed away in 2006... and for Kraftwerk co-founder Florian Schneider, who left us one year ago today.

Also on May 6th: At Rudy Van Gelder's studio, Dexter Gordon records Doin' Allright, his first album for Blue Note (1961)... In their Clearwater, Florida hotel room, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards work out the opening guitar riff of 'Satisfaction', following Richard's purchase of a Gibson fuzz-box earlier that day (1965)... At Abbey Road, The Beatles record overdubs for 'I'm Only Sleeping' and experiment with the mixing. The song features then then-unique sound of a reversed guitar duet, with both parts played by George Harrison... Bob Dylan opens the UK leg of his world tour at the ABC Club in Belfast (1966)... Atlantic Records release Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway's eponymous duet album (1972)... Paul Simon sets out on his first tour without partner Art Garfunkel since 1964, using The Jesse Dixon Singers as a back- up group on stage. Simon's tour of America and Europe will be recorded and released as the album Live Rhymin' (1973)...The Boomtown Rats play their first gig in England, appearing at London's Club 51 (1977)... Oasis score their first UK № 1 single with 'Some Might Say' (1995)... In the wake of the generated by Dixie Chicks member Natalie Maines’ comments about President George W. Bush and the Iraq war, a Pueblo, CO radio station suspends two of its disc jockeys for playing music by the group (2003)... Starbucks bans the sale of Bruce Springsteen's latest album Devils and Dust over concerns about its adult content. A spokesman for the the retailer - which stocks CDs at its branches in the US - says that they will be promoting other albums instead (2006).

May 5th

Musical birthdays today include early rock saxophonist John 'Ace' Cannon (90), session guitarist Steve Stevens (78), 
original Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward (76), Echo & the Bunnymen frontman Ian McCulloch (65), Dream Theater lead singer James LaBrie (61), Megadeath drummer Shawn Drover (58), Gallows frontman Wade MacNeil (40), and Adele (36). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for bluesman Blind Willie McTell, born on this day in 1901... for Buena Vista Social Club singer Pío Leyva, born in 1917... for soul singer Johnnie Taylor, who would have been 90 today... for electronic musician & composer Delia Derbyshire, who would have been 87... for Tammy Wynette, who would have been 81... for the Reverend Gary Davis, who died on this date in 1972... for country singer Jerry Wallace, who passed away in 2008, and for singer & music journalist Greg Quill, who left us today in 2014.  

Also on May 5th: Carnegie Hall opens its doors for the first time, with Tchaikovsky leading the NY Philharmonic in a rendition of his own Marche solenelle. Also on the program is Beethoven's Leonore overture, under the baton of Walter Damrosch, the regular conductor of the Philharmonic (1891)... In Paris, composer Claude Debussy performs in public for the last time, playing the piano for the premiere of his own 1st Violin Sonata (1918)... Elvis scores his first US № 1 single with 'Heartbreak Hotel' (1956)... John Coltrane and bandmates finish recording the Giant Steps album, including 'Naima' (1959)... On a recommendation by George Harrison, Dick Rowe, head of A&R at Decca records (and the man who turned down The Beatles), goes to see The Rolling Stones play at the Crawdaddy Club in London. The band will be signed to the label within a week (1963)... Manfred Mann are at № 1 on the UK singles chart with 'Pretty Flamingo'. The recording features future Cream bassist Jack Bruce, who briefly joined the band in 1965. On their Top Of The Pops appearance, singer Paul Jones performs whilst standing on one leg (1966)... Buffalo Springfield announce that they have disbanded (1968)... The Beatles' single 'Get Back' is released in the US. John will claim in 1980 that "there's some underlying thing about Yoko in there", adding that Paul looked at Yoko in the studio every time he sang the line 'Get back to where you once belonged' (1969)... Columbia records release Paul Simon's second solo album There Goes Rhymin' Simon... David Bowie has first UK № 1 album with Aladdin Sane. Across the Atlantic, Elvis' Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite is the top-selling LP (1973)... Television appear at CBGB with The Stilettoes ~ soon to change their name to Blondie ~ as their opening act (1974)... Simple Minds lead singer Jim Kerr marries Chrissie Hynde in a horse-drawn carriage in NYC's Central Park... Duran Duran have the № 1 single in the US and the UK with 'The Reflex' (1984)... 
Radiohead release 'The Drill EP', their first record in the UK. The band are still called 'On a Friday', the day when the songs on this EP were recorded; they will change their name to Radiohead the following month (1992)... Cranberries singer Dolores O'Riordan receives both a public apology and a donation of £7,500 to the Warchild charity from the German tabloid 'Sport' after they ran a story claiming she had performed a gig in Hamburg whilst wearing no underwear... 
Rage against the Machine have the № 1 album in the US with Evil Empire (1996)... Two disc jockeys from Denver's KRFX-FM, Rick Lewis and Michael Floorwax, stop a live interview with Ted Nugent after the Detroit rocker uses racial slurs against Asians and Blacks. The station receives scores of complaints from listeners (2002)... Justin Timberlake undergoes an operation at Los Angeles' Cedars Sinai Hospital to remove nodules from his vocal chords (2005).

May 4th

Musical birthdays today include jazz double bassist Ron Carter (87), country singer Stella Parton (75), The Pogues bassist Darryl Hunt (74), Camel bassist Colin Bass (71), soul singer Oleta Adams (71), Pia Zadora (71), singer-songwriter Marilyn Martin (70), Mötley Crüe lead guitarist Mick Mars (69), Sharon Jones (68), Randy Travis (65), New Radicals frontman Gregg Alexander (54), Green Day bassist Mike Dirnt (52), 'N Sync vocalist Lance Bass (45), and Panic! at the Disco bassist Dallon Weekes (43).  

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Italian instrument maker Bartolomeo Cristofori [credited with the invention of the piano], born on this day in 1655... for former Spirit drummer Ed Cassidy, born in 1923... for jazz trumpeter Maynard Ferguson, born in 1926... for operatic soprano Roberta Peters, born in 1930... for guitarist Dick Dale, who would have been 87... for soul singer Tyrone Davis, who would have been 86... for Nickolas Ashford, who would have been 81... and for Paul Butterfield, who left us today in 1987. 

Also on May 4th: Haydn conducts the premiere performance of his 104th and final symphony at the King's Theatre, London (1795)... At the Opéra Garnier in Paris, the Symphony Society of New York opens the first tour of Europe by an full American symphony orchestra (1923)... Gene Vincent records 'Be Bop-A-Lula' at Owen Bradley's studio in Nashville (1956)... John Coltrane records 'Giant Steps' and other material for the album of the same name (1959)... The Young Rascals go to № 1 in the US with 'Groovin''. Atlantic Records Jerry Wexler was originally opposed to releasing the song as a single, but DJ Murray the K talked him into it (1967)... Neil Young writes 'Ohio' on hearing the news of the Kent State shootings, and immediately records the song with Crosby, Stills & Nash (1970)... Led Zeppelin land in NYC to open their 1973 North American tour, which would be reported by campaign's end as the 'biggest and most profitable rock & roll tour in the history of the United States'. The group would gross over $4 million from the dates, flying between gigs in 'The Starship', a Boeing 720 passenger jet complete with bar, shower room, TV and video in a 30' lounge and a white fur bedroom (1973)... Grand Funk Railroad have the № 1 single in America with 'The Loco-Motion.' It is only the second time ever that a cover version of a former № 1 [the original version by Little Eva in 1962] has also topped the charts (1974)... The Patti Smith Group, David Johansen, Dead Boys, Blondie, Suicide and Richard Hell & the Voidoids all appear at a Punk Benefit for the Poor show at CBGB (1978)... Korova Records release Echo & the Bunnymen's Ocean Rain (1984)... Stevie Ray Vaughn plays the Orpheum Theatre in Vancouver, BC, the opening gig on what will prove to be his final tour (1989)... Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill is the № 1 album in Britain (1996)... Metallica publish a demand that online music service Napster cut off 335,000 users who they claim have been illegally trading their songs. The band passed on the names of all those they considered to be stealing their material over the internet in the latest development in an ongoing battle over the protection of music copyright on the web (2000)...  Thieves break into the childhood home of Motown star Martha Reeves and steal approximately $1 million worth of uninsured recording equipment, including speakers, microphones and karaoke machines. A suspect is arrested at his home later in the day after trying to sell the goods to a pawnshop for $400 (2008).

May 3rd

Musical birthdays today include Frankie Valli (90), former Troggs bassist Pete Staples (80), Mary Hopkin (74), music biographer Alan Clayton (73), original Pavement drummer Gary Young (71), Angela Bofill (70), former Soft Cell keyboardist Dave Ball (65), country singer Shane Minor (55), ex-Reamonn frontman Rea Garvey (51), Interpol frontman Paul Banks (46), and former Destiny's Child vocalist Farrah Franklin (43).  

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for impresario and opera producer Richard D'Oyly Carte, born on this day in 1844... for Bing Crosby, born in 1903... for Pete Seeger, born in 1919...  for jazz pianist John Lewis, born in 1920... for country singer Dave Dudley, born in 1928... for James Brown, born in 1933... for chansonnier Georges Moustaki, who would have been 90... for Stone the Crows guitarist Alex Harvey, who was electrocuted on this day in 1972 at the age of 27 when he touched an improperly grounded microphone during a  gig in Swansea, Wales... for Franco-Italian pop singer Iolanda Gigliotti AKA Dalida, who took her own life today in 1987 at the age of 54... and for Jamaican saxophonist & flautist Cedric Brooks, who left us today in 2013.  

Also on May 3rd: Kitty Wells records 'It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels'. Wells was disenchanted with her career prospects and was considering retirement, but agreed to the session at Owen Bradley’s Nashville studio because of the $125 union scale recording payment. The song goes on to become the first Billboard № 1 single by a solo female country singer (1952)... 'The Fantasticks' opens off Broadway (1960)... The Beatles spend the day filming for their forthcoming film Help! on Salisbury Plain with the British Army's Third Tank Division (1965)... The Beach Boys open their US tour on which the co-headliner is Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The second half of the concert, which features the Maharishi, consists of a lecture to the audience on 'spiritual regeneration.' The overwhelmingly negative reaction causes more than half of the remaining tour dates to be cancelled... The Jimi Hendrix Experience record 'Voodoo Chile' (1968)... Epic Records release Sly & the Family Stone's Stand!, the group's breakout album (1969)... In Copenhagen, at the opening gig of their current European tour, Led Zeppelin give the only known performance of a Page-Plant composition entitled 'Four Sticks', and also play 'Misty Mountain Hop' live for the first time (1971)... David Bowie opens a sold out six-night stand at Wembley Stadium, his first UK gigs since announcing his retirement from live performance three years previously... Paul McCartney makes his first live concert appearance in the US since 1966 when he and Wings kick off their 'Wings over America' tour at the Tarrant County Convention Center in Fort Worth, TX (1976)... The Police make their British TV debut, performing 'Roxanne' on the BBC's 'Top of the Pops'(1979)...  Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band start a six week run at № 1 on the US album chart with 'Against The Wind' (1980)... Robert Palmer goes to № 1 on the Billboard singles chart with 'Addicted To Love'. Palmer originally recorded the song as a duet with Chaka Khan, but her vocal track had to be removed owing to contractual difficulties (1986)... In Dublin, Katrina and the Waves become the first British winners of the Eurovision song contest in 16 years with 'Love Shine a Light'...  The Notorious B.I.G. starts a three week run at № 1 on the US singles chart with his posthumous hit 'Hypnotize', released as a single shortly after the rapper's murder in March (1997)... The first Bob Dylan radio program is aired on XM Satellite Radio. Artists played on the show included Blur, Prince, Billy Bragg, Wilco, Mary Gauthier, L.L. Cool J and The Streets (2006)... Sean 'Diddy' Combs is honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The 38-year-old singer dedicates the star to his father, who was shot dead in 1972 (2008)... Bob Dylan goes to № 1 on the UK album chart with Together Through Life, his seventh LP to top the British charts. Dylan's 33rd studio album is the first to reign on the UK chart with since 1970. His first № 1 in 1964, was ‘The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan'. Bob now holds the record, previously held by Tom Jones, for the longest gap between solo № 1 albums (2009).