July 3rd

Musical birthdays today include operatic mezzo-soprano Brigitte Fassbaender (85), French rocker Eddy Mitchell [né Claude Moine] (82), country singer Johnny Lee (78), original Yardbirds lead guitarist Anthony 'Top' Topham (77), Little Feat guitarist Paul Barrere (76), original Free bassist Andy Fraser (72), country singer Aaron Tippin (66), ex-Ratt lead singer Steven Pearcy (65), former Depeche Mode keyboardist Vince Clarke (64), Barenaked Ladies keyboardist Kevin Hearn (55), Audra McDonald (54), former Boyzone vocalist Shane Lynch (47), and rapper Kid Sister (44). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for composer Leoš Janáček, born on this day in 1854... for George M. Cohan, born in 1878... for Mississippi John Hurt, born in 1893... for former composer Ruth Crawford Seeger, born in 1901... for New Orleans jazz clarinetist Pete Fountain and for jazz guitarist Tommy Tedesco, both of whom were born in 1930... for Fontella Bass, who would have been 84... for Heatwave lead singer Johnnie Wilder, Jr., who would have been 74... for Laura Branigan, who would have been 66... for Brian Jones, who died on this date in 1969... for Jim Morrison, who died in 1971... for Rudy Valée, who passed away in 1986... for former Morphine lead singer and multi-instrumentalist Mark Sandman, who died in 1999... and for rock & country session saxophonist Homer 'Boots' Randolph, who left us today in 2007. 

Also on July 3rd: Victor Borge makes his American debut on NBC Radio (1945)... As the headline act at the festival, Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk record the album At Newport 1958, with John Coltrane sitting in (1958)... A private party is held at the Speakeasy Club in London, England for The Monkees. The guests include John Lennon, George Harrison, Paul McCartney, Dusty Springfield, Eric Clapton, Lulu and all the members from Manfred Mann, The Who and Procol Harum (1967)... At an impromptu gathering at Joni Mitchell's house in Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles, David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash play together for the very first time (1968)... On the last night of a 60 date tour, David Bowie announces he is about to retire from live performing, although it eventually transpires that it is 'Ziggy Stardust' the stage persona who is being retired, and not Bowie himself (1973)... Brian Wilson plays his first live show with The Beach Boys in seven years when they appear at Anaheim Stadium in CA... When rain stops play during the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships, Cliff Richard launches into a spontaneous concert in which he leads spectators through some of his old hits. It is later revealed that Sir Cliff had planned the moment as a publicity stunt (1976)... The Human League have the № 1 single in both the US and the UK with 'Don't You Want Me' (1982)... U2 road crew member Greg Carroll is killed in a motorcycle accident in Dublin while running an errand for Bono. The song 'One Tree Hill' on the Joshua Tree album is dedicated to Carroll... Mikhail Baryshnikov becomes a US citizen in a ceremony at Ellis Island (1986)... Harvard professor Ronald Ferguson accuses the culture of hip-hop and rap music of stalling academic progress among young American blacks. He claims that time spent learning intricate rhyming lyrics detracts from reading (2000)... Sir Elton John becomes the first pop/rock singer to receive an honorary doctorate from the Royal Academy of Music... Three diners at Britney Spears' newly opened restaurant in Manhattan suffer food poisoning. The trio of NYU students who had the striped bass at the pop diva's eatery file official complaints with the City Department of Health and vow never to eat there again (2002). 

July 2nd

Musical birthdays today include singer-songwriter Tom Springfield (90), E Street Band keyboardist Roy Bittan (75), Huey Lewis and the News guitarist Johnny Colla (72), bassist & Bob Geldof sideman Pete Briquette (70), Porcupine Tree bassist Colin Edwin (54), Monie Love (54) ex-Evanescence drummer Rocky Gray (50), and Michelle Branch (41).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for composer Christoph Willibald Gluck, born today in 1716... for Beach Boys patriarch, manager & publisher Murry Wilson, born in 1917... for country singer Marvin Rainwater, born in 1925... for jazz pianist Ahamd Jamal, born in 1930... for original Temptations vocalist Paul Williams, who would have been 82 today... for Mexican pop singer Jenni Rivera, who would have been 54... for Betty Grable, who died on this date in 1973... for bassist and Oscar Peterson sideman Ray Brown, who passed away in 2002... and for Beverly Sills, who left us today in 2007. 

Also on July 2nd: Vivaldi is hired by the Pieta School for Girls in Venice to compose and perform two concertos each month (1723)... The George & Ira Gershwin musical 'Show Girl' opens on Broadway with Duke Ellington conducting the orchestra (1929)... Elvis records 'Hound Dog' at RCA Studios in NYC. It is his first session with The Jordanaires, and produces the definitive version on the 31st take (1956)... Jimi Hendrix is honourably discharged from the U.S. Army after the broken ankle that he suffered in his final training jump with the 101st Airborne division is ruled a disqualifying injury (1962)... Frank Sinatra is at № 1 on both sides of the Atlantic with 'Strangers in the Night'... David Bowie and The Lower Third appear at The Lion Hotel in Warrington, Merseyside ~ they are paid £30 for the gig ~ as the opening act for Eric Clapton Jack Bruce, Steve Winwood and harmonica player Paul Jones, who are billing themselves as The Powerhouse (1966)... As work on Abbey Road continues, Paul records ‘Her Majesty’ by himself, and then goes through 15 takes of ‘Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight’ with George and Ringo . John is absent, still in hospital in Scotland following his car accident yesterday... Bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell quit the Jimi Hendrix Experience after the conclusion of the three-day Denver Pop Festival. Mitchell would return to team with Hendrix and bassist Billy Cox to form the short-lived Gypsy Sun and Rainbows, who play the Woodstock Festival (1969)... Queen appear at Surrey College just outside of London. It is the group's first gig with the line-up of Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon (1971)... Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band play the first of six sold out nights, inaugurating the brand new Brendan Byrne Arena [now the Izod Center] in E. Rutherford, NJ (1981)... Michael Jackson becomes the first artist to have five № 1 singles from one album when ‘Dirty Diana’ goes to the top of the US charts. The other four chart-toppers from the LP Bad were the title track, ‘I Just Can't Stop Loving You’, ‘The Way You Make Me Feel’ and ‘Man in the Mirror'... Boosted by her performance at the 'Nelson Mandela's 70th Birthday Tribute Concert' at Wembley Stadium, Tracy Chapman's eponymous debut album goes to № 1 on the UK album chart, matching its stateside performance (1988)... Axl Rose causes a riot to break out during a Guns N' Roses gig after leaping into the crowd to take a camera away from a fan who is photgraphing the concert at the Riverpoint Amphitheater in Maryland Heights, MO. Over 50 people were injured in the ensuing melee, and 15 fans were arrested (1991)... Liverpool Airport in the suburb of Speke is renamed John Lennon Airport. Yoko Ono is present to unveil a new logo that includes her late husband's famous self- portrait and the words, 'Above Us Only Sky' taken from his song 'Imagine' (2001)... Some of the world's biggest music stars united in concerts around the globe to put pressure on political leaders ahead of the G8 summit to tackle poverty in Africa. Concerts in 10 cities, including London, Philadelphia, Paris, Berlin, Johannesburg, Rome and Moscow take place before hundreds of thousands of people. A TV audience of several hundred million also watch the gigs. In London, Pink Floyd, The Who, Madonna, U2, Coldplay, Sting, The Scissor Sisters, Keane, and Paul McCartney perform; Philadelphia fans see Destiny's Child, Jay-Z and Bon Jovi; in Vancouver, Bryan Adams and Neil Young headline, while Björk sings in Tokyo and Green Day play in Berlin (2005)... The gravestone of the late Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis is stolen. Cheshire Police say his memorial stone was taken from the plot where he is buried in Macclesfield Cemetery. Officers are appealing for anyone with information on its whereabouts, detectives say. The stone has the inscription ‘Ian Curtis 18-5-80’ and the words ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ (2008). 
 

July 1st

Musical birthdays today include soul singer & producer Syl Johnson (88), Twyla Tharp (83), Debbie Harry (79), Strawbs bassist John Ford (76), singer-songwriter & activist Anne Feeney (73), B-52's frontman Fred Schneider (73), classical pianist Nikolai Demidenko (69), Evelyn 'Champagne' King (64), Faith No More keyboardist Roddy Bottum (61), Brazilian pop singer Marisa Monte (57), Missy Elliott (53), Sufjan Stevens (49), and Bianca 'Young B' Dupree (33).  

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for saxophonist & Count Basie sideman Earle Warren, born today in 1914... for Willie Dixon, born in 1915... for bluesman James Cotton, who would have been 89 today... for Delaney Bramlett, who would have been 85... for country singer Keith Whitley, who would have been 70... for composer Erik Satie, who died on this date in 1925... for Steppenwolf bassist Rushton Moreve, killed in a motorcycle accident today in 1981 at the age of 32... for Residents guitarist Philip 'Snakefinger' Lithman, who died in 1987... for original Be-Bop Deluxe guitarist Ian Parkin and DJ Wolfman Jack [né Robert Smith], both of whom died in 1995... for jazz flautist Herbie Mann, who passed away in 2003... for Luther Vandross, who died in 2005... and for operatic soprano Evelyn Lear, who left us today in 2012. 

Also on July 1st: Johann Strauss' Blue Danube Waltz is performed in America for the first time at a summer concert of the Theodore Thomas Orchestra in NYC's Reservoir Square [today's Bryant Park] (1869)... The music division of the Library of Congress in Washington DC is founded (1897)... Arabella, the final collaboration between Richard Strauss and librettist Hugo von Hoffmansthal, premieres at the Dresden Opera (1933)... Elvis appears on NBC- TV's 'The Steve Allen Show' and performs 'Hound Dog', to a live member of the species. TV critic John Crosby slams Presley's performance, calling him an 'unspeakable, untalented and vulgar young entertainer' (1956)... The Dave Brubeck Quartet continue the Time Out sessions, and record the group's signature tune 'Take Five' (1959)... The Beatles record their new single 'She Loves You'/'I'll Get You' at EMI Studios in London in less than four hours (1963)... The Band release their debut album Music from Big Pink (1968)... John & Yoko and family are involved in a car accident in Golspie in the Scottish Highlands that lands both parents in hospital. Lennon will later have the car crushed into a cube and exhibited on his lawn at Tittenhurst Park (1969)... Neil Diamond has the № 1 song on the US singles chart with 'Song Sung Blue' (1972)... 10cc have the № 1 song in Britain with 'I'm Not in Love'. The instrumental break features the repeated spoken phrase: "Be quiet, big boys don't cry...", which was spoken by Kathy Warren, the receptionist at Strawberry Studios in Stockport, where the track was recorded (1975)... Sony introduce the Walkman cassette player (1979)... 'O Canada' is officially adopted as the Canadian national anthem (1980)... A New Jersey-based quintet consider but reject the idea of changing their name to 'Johnny Electric' just before signing their first contract with Phonogram Mercury Records ~ they decided to stick with 'Bon Jovi' (1983)... Rolling Stone Ron Wood is commissioned to paint a group portrait of diners who are regulars at the restaurant The Ivy in London's West End. Elton John and Pet Shop Boy Neil Tennant are two pop stars to be included in the canvas (2001)... One week after Michael Jackson's death, The King of Pop occupies the top 9 positions on the Billboard album chart with both originals from his back catalogue, and greatest hits collections in various guises (2009).