October 18th

 Musical birthdays today include Stealer's Wheel founding member Joe Egan (75), former Pylon lead singer Vanessa Briscoe Hay (69), Les Rita Mitsouko lead singer Catherine Ringer (67), Wynton Marsalis (63), Curtis Stigers (59), and Cardigans lead guitarist Peter Svensson (49). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for jazz pianist & songwriter Bobby Troup [best remembered for 'Get Your Kicks on Route 66'], born on this date in 1918... for jazz singer Anita O'Day, born in 1919... for blueswoman Jessie Mae Hemphill, born in 1923... for Canadian fiddler Buddy McMaster, born in 1924... for Chuck Berry, born in 1926... for Laura Nyro, who would have been 77... for REO Speedwagon lead guitarist Gary Richrath, who would have been 75... for Van Der Graaf Generator bassist Nic Potter, who would have been 73... for composer Charles Gounod, who died on this date in 1893... and for saxophonist David S. Ware, who left us today in 2013.

Also on October 18: Mahler conducts the first performance of his own 5th Symphony in Cologne (1904)... The BBC is formed to bring news, cultural programming, arts and music to homes in the UK (1922)... 21-year-old Elvis Presley pulls into a Memphis gas station, where he attracts a crowd of autograph seekers. After repeatedly asking Elvis to move on so that he can resume normal business, station manager Ed Hopper slaps the singer, who responds with a punch to the face that knocks Hopper to the ground. After police are called, the manager and one of his employees ~ who had also tried to take on the King ~ are arrested for assault (1956)... Taking a day off from their current British tour, the Beatles go into the studio and record six tracks to complete the Beatles for Sale LP (1964)... The Jimi Hendrix Experience play their first gig as a band, opening for French pop star Johnny Hallyday at L'Olympia in Paris (1966)... The Bee Gees have their first UK № 1 with 'Massachusetts' (1967)... John and Yoko are taken to Paddington Green police station after cannabis is discovered in the flat that they are staying in. Lennon will plead guilty next month and pay a fine of £150 ~ the seemingly minor conviction will assume much greater significance when the Beatle fights his battle to stay in the US in the '70s (1968)... The Rolling Stones release It's Only Rock 'N'Roll... Al Green's ex-girlfriend Mary Woodson pours a pot of boiling grits on the soul singer while he is in the shower in his Memphis home. Green suffers second-degree burns on his back, neck and arms and will undergo a religious conversion whilst recovering (1974)... The Buggles go to № 1 in Britain with 'Video Killed the Radio Star'. In two years' time, the video for the song will become the first ever played on MTV (1979)... Sonic Youth release Daydream Nation (1988)... After a 15-year court battle, the New York State Supreme Court rules that the Ronettes do not have the right to share the money earned by their producer Phil Spector through the use of the group's songs in movies, TV and advertising. Citing a 1963 contract signed by the group, the court also substantially reduces the amount they stand to gain from royalties on vinyl and CD sales (2002).