May 24th

Musical birthdays today include jazzman Archie Shepp (89), Bob Dylan (85), Patti LaBelle (82), session guitarist Waddy Wachtel (79), Blue Öyster Cult drummer Albert Bouchard (79), Daniel Amos singer & songwriter Terry Scott Taylor (76), Roseanne Cash (71), Cameo frontman Larry Blackmon (69), Dire Straits keyboardist Guy Fletcher (66), Black Crowes lead guitarist Rich Robinson (57), and Nine Inch Nails keyboardist Alessandro Cortini (50). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for rockabilly pioneer Rusty York and for composer Harold Budd, both of whom would have been 90 today... for rapper Dwight 'Heavy D' Myers, who would have been 57... for bluesman Elmore James, who died on this date in 1963... for Duke Ellington, who passed away today in 1974... for Byrds founding member Gene Clark, who died in 1991... for Wilco co-founder & guitarist Jay Bennett, who died in 2009... for Slipknot bassist Paul Gray, who died of a drug overdose today in 2010 at the age of 38... for Congolese soukous singer Ndombe Opetum, passed away in 2012...and for jazz drummer Jimmy Cobb, who died in 2020... and for Tina Turner, who left us two years ago today.

Also on May 24th: At the Hofburg Theatre in Vienna, Beethoven's Egmont Overture is performed for the first time (1810)... Country pioneer Jimmie Rodgers, now terminally ill with tuberculosis, makes his final recordings in NYC. The 'Yodelin' Brakeman' is so weak that he has to lie down on a cot in the studio in between the takes of 'Mississippi Delta Blues' and 'Years Ago'. He will die two days later in his room at the Taft Hotel (1933)... The first Eurovision Song Contest is held in Lugano, Switzerland. The host country have the winning entry with Lys Assia's 'Refrain' (1956)... The Beatles record the first instalment of their own BBC radio program, 'Pop Go the Beatles'. The Fabs' guests for their inaugural show are The Lorne Gibson Trio (1963)... Captain Beefheart, The Buffalo Springfield and The Doors appear on the same bill at the Whiskey A Go Go in West Hollywood, CA (1966)... The Rolling Stones release the single 'Jumpin' Jack Flash'... The Small Faces release the album Ogdens Gone Nut  (1968)... The Beatles hit № 1 in America with 'Get Back'. The group's only single that credits another artist, ~ the label of the 45 says 'The Beatles with Billy Preston ~ it is also their first release in the US in true stereo (1969)... At the Bath Festival in Somerset, England, Peter Green plays his last gig with Fleetwood Mac (1970)... Genesis fans turning up at the Club Roxy box office in Los Angeles to buy tickets for a forthcoming gig are surprised to find the band members Phil Collins, Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford selling the tickets themselves (1980)... The Spice Girls go to № 1 on the Billboard album chart with their debut collection Spice, making them only the third all-female act to do so after the Supremes and The Go-Go's, and the first British girl group (1997)... Queen front man Freddie Mercury, who died in 1991, is honoured on a new set of millennium stamps issued by the Royal Mail. Mercury, who features on the 19p stamp, was a keen philatelist, and his collection was purchased by the Post Office in 1993. The stamp marks his contribution to the Live Aid charity concert in 1985, and causes controversy by showing Queen’s drummer, Roger Taylor, in the background - UK stamps by tradition only carry pictures of living persons who are members of the Royal Family (1999)... Paul McCartney performs live in Russia for the first time when he gives a concert for 20,000 fans on Moscow's Red Square (2003)... Billy Joel is served with a lawsuit filed by his former drummer for hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid royalties. Liberty Devitto claims that Joel hasn't paid him proper royalties for 10 years of his work. Devitto was Joel's drummer from 1975 until 2005, when he said he was abruptly sacked from the band. He says: "People get fired, they get severance or insurance for a certain period of time. I didn't even get a phone call. It was cold" (2009).

May 23rd

Musical birthdays today include Irish folk singer Luka Bloom (71), Radiohead drummer Philip Selway (59), session saxophonist Mindi Abair (57), Maroon 5 drummer Matt Flynn (56), Jewel (52), blink-182 drummer Scott Raynor (45), Pipettes vocalist Gwenno Saunders (45), Tristan Prettyman (43), ex-Sugababes vocalist Heidi Range (43), and singer-songwriter & mandolinist Sarah Jarosz (35). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for song & dance man Scatman Crothers and big band leader Artie Shaw, both born on this day in 1910... for jazz trumpeter Humphrey Lyttleton, born in 1921... for Foggy Mountain Boys singer & guitarist Mac Wiseman, born in 1925... for Rosemary Clooney, born in 1928... for electronic music pioneer Robert Moog, born in 1934... for producer & former Chairmen of the Board frontman General Johnson, who would have been 85... for classical pianist Wilhelm Kempff, who died on this date in 1991... for jazz guitarist Joe Pass, who died in 1994... for folk singer & activist Utah Phillips, who passed away in 2008... and for Franco-Egyptian singer-songwriter Georges Moustaki, who left us today in 2014. 

Also on May 23rd: Beethoven's only opera Fidelio premieres at the Kärntertor Theatre in Vienna (1814)... At the Park Theater in NYC, Don Giovanni is performed in America for the first time, with Mozart's librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte in attendance (1826)... Shuffle along, the first all-black musical in the US, opens on Broadway (1921)... The Everly Brothers hit № 1 in the US with 'Cathy's Clown' (1960)... John Coltrane & sidemen convene for the first of the Africa/Brass sessions (1961)... Roy Orbison and the Beatles kick off a joint tour of the UK in Nottingham (1963)... Ella Fitzgerald becomes the first artist to have a hit with a cover of a Beatles' song when her version of 'Can't Buy Me Love' enters the British Top 40 (1964)... The Who release their rock opera Tommy (1969)... Jefferson Airplane are prevented from giving a free concert in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco authorities having recently passed a resolution banning electric instruments in public. The group will later write the song ‘We Built this City’ in response to the incident (1973)... George Harrison announces the launch of his own label, Dark Horse Records (1974)... Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band launch their 117-date Darkness on the Edge of Town tour with a show in Buffalo, NY (1978)... Tom Petty files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The move is partly the result of a dispute with Petty’s record label, which was recently purchased by MCA (1979)... The UK Musicians Union moved a resolution to ban synthesizers and drum rhythm machines from sessions and live concerts fearing that their use would put musicians out of work (1982)... Photographer Michael Lavine takes what will be the publicity shots for Nirvana’s Nevermind album at Jay Aaron Studios in Los Angeles. The idea for the front cover shot of the baby swimming was adopted after Kurt Cobain and Dave Grohl saw a TV documentary on water babies, and was taken by Kirk Weddle. Several babies were used; five-month old Spencer Eldon’s photo came out best (1991)...   Hanson notch a sellout in less than 20 minutes in the Detroit market for a June 29 show at the Pine Knob Amphitheater (1998)... The musical ‘Up for Grabs’ opens at London’s Wyndham Theatre featuring Madonna in the lead role. The first night crowd complains that the singer is lacking in vocal power, and that they have to strain to hear her lines (2002)...  King Carl XVI Gustav of Sweden presents the surviving members of Led Zeppelin with the Polar Music Prize in Stockholm, recognising them as “great pioneers” of rock music. Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones are joined by the daughter of drummer John Bonham, who died in 1980. The Polar Music Prize was founded in 1989 by Stig Anderson, manager of Swedish pop group Abba, who named it after his record label, Polar Records previous winners include Sir Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen and producer Quincy Jones (2006). 

May 22nd

Musical birthdays today include former Parliament-Funkadelic vocalist Calvin Simon (84), Elton John collaborator Bernie Taupin (76), Specials keyboardist & songwriter Jerry Dammers (71), Icehouse frontman Iva Davies (71), Morrissey (67), Type O Negative lead guitarist Kenny Hickey (), producer & former MK Ultra lead singer John Vanderslice (59), R&B singer and producer Donell Jones (53), and Project Dirty lead singer Rhett Fisher (46). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Richard Wagner, born on this day in 1813... for Original Dixieland Jass band trombonist Eddie Edwards, born in 1891... for Sun Ra, born in 1914... for Persian classical musician Jalil Shahnaz, born in 1921... for chansonnier Charles Aznavour, born in 1924... for jazz trumpeter Kenny Ball, born in 1930... for jazz multi-instrumentalist John Grimaldi, who would have been 70... for former Eleven keyboardist & singer Natasha Schneider, who would have been 70... and for classical pianist Steven DeGroote, who left us today in 1989. 

Also on May 22nd: On his 59th birthday, Wagner lays the cornerstone of his Festival Theatre Hall in Bayreuth (1872)... In Milan, Verdi conducts the premiere performance of his Requiem (1874)... In Hibbing, MN, Robert Allen Zimmerman, the future Bob Dylan, has his bar mitzvah at the Agudath Achim synagogue, even though he will not be 13 for another two days (1954)... Jerry Lee Lewis arrives in London to begin a UK tour. He and his new 14-year-old bride are besieged by reporters at Heathrow Airport (1958)... Ornette Coleman and sidemen record The Shape of Jazz to Come at Radio Recorders studio in Los Angeles (1959)... Frank Zappa opens his 'Studio Z' in Cucamonga, CA (1963)... The Beatles have the № 1 single on both sides of the Atlantic with 'Ticket to Ride' (1965)... Percy Sledge goes to № 1 in the US with 'When a Man Loves a Woman' (1966)... Florence Ballard makes what will prove to be her last public appearance with The Supremes, as they perform 'The Happening' on the Tonight Show (1967)... Frank Sinatra performs with a full orchestra at Oakland-Alameda Coliseum as a fundraiser for US presidential candidate Hubert Humphrey (1968)... Paul McCartney & Wings top the Billboard singles chart with 'Silly Love Songs' (1976)... Nearly 30 years after the 'payola' law destroyed the career of DJ Alan Freed, it is finally used to convict someone in the record industry: promo man Ralph Tashjian is found guilty of distributing cocaine and money to radio stations to get more airplay for, among others, Bruce Springsteen (1989)... Fleetwood Mac reunite with their classic late-70s lineup for the first time in a decade, performing the first of two specials for the show MTV Unplugged. The experience convinces the group to tour together again (1997)... At the ASCAP Pop Music Awards, Steely Dan receive the lifetime songwriting achievement Founders Award (2000)... White Stripes drummer Meg White marries Jackson Smith, tying the knot in a small ceremony at ex-husband and bandmate Jack White’s Nashville home (2009).

May 21st

Musical birthdays today include British folksinger Martin Carthy (85), Ronald Isley (85), original Animals guitarist Hilton Valentine (84), session guitarist Bill Champlin (79), Leo Sayer (78), guitarist Marc Ribot (72), Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers drummer Stan Lynch (71), My Bloody Valentine frontman Kevin Shields (63), Forgetters frontman Blake Schwarzenbach (59), Mob Deep rapper Kejuan 'Havoc' Muchita (52), CKY frontman Deron Miller (50), ex-Three Days Grace frontman Adam Gontier (50), Suburban Legends guitarist Brian Klemm (44), former Sugababes vocalist Mutya Buena (41), and Honor Society drummer Alexander Noyes (39). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for radio bandleader Horace Heidt, born on this day in 1901... for Fats Waller, born in 1904... for jazz bassist Tommy Bryant, boen in 1930... for Atomic Rooster organist Vincent Crane, who would have been 83... for Chris 'The Notorious B.I.G.' Wallace, who would have been 54... for Russian pianist and popular singer Alexander Vertinsky, who died on this date in 1957... for big band singer Vaughn Monroe, who died in 1973... for studio musician & producer Paul Delph, who passed away in 1996... and for former Uriah Heep bassist Trevor Bolder, jazz trombonist Frank Comstock, and TV & film score composer Bob Thompson, all of whom left us today in 2014. 

Also on May 21st: The Mendelssohn Glee Club, the oldest surviving independent musical group in the United States after the New York Philharmonic, is founded in NYC (1876)... The Castiles, with Bruce Springsteen on vocals, appear at Freehold Regional High School in New Jersey. They are performing at their own school for the first time ~ all five members of the band are juniors at Freehold HS (1966)... Jimi Hendrix signs with Warner Brothers' Reprise Records, the label on which the three Experience albums will be released (1967)... Atlantic Records release the CSN&Y single 'Ohio', Neil Young's reaction to the Kent State shootings on the 4th of this month (1970)... Motown records release Marvin Gaye's album What's Going on (1971)... Two would-be concert promoters are arrested by police in Dover, DE on fraud charges in connection with selling mail order tickets for a forthcoming 'Elten John' show. The alternative spelling of the singer's stage name proves to be the giveaway as police take away over $12,000 in cheques (1974)... Stevie Wonder hits № 1 in the US with the single 'Sir Duke' (1977)... In Moscow, Elton John plays the opening date of a 10-show campaign in the USSR, making him the first western pop star to headline a solo tour in the Evil Empire (1979)... Joe Strummer is arrested at a particularly tempestuous Clash gig in Hamburg, Germany after smashing his guitar over the head of a member of the audience; he is released after an alcohol & drug test prove negative (1980)... David Bowie goes to № 1 on the US & UK singles chart with 'Let's Dance', featuring Stevie Ray Vaughan on guitar. It is Bowie's first single to reach number one on both sides of the Atlantic (1983)... Mariah Carey hits back at Eminem's threats to sample the mushy voicemail messages she left on his mobile. Carey described the rapper as 'a little girl', saying it's "like dealing with a girlfriend in 7th grade, and he shouldn't do it because it'll get him in a bit of trouble with my lawyers" (2003)... Lou Pearlman, the impresario who created the Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync, is sentenced to 25 years in federal prison on charges involving a decades-long scam that swindled thousands of investors out of their life savings. Many victims were Pearlman's relatives, friends, and retirees who lost everything (2008)... Bono has emergency spinal surgery after suffering an injury whilst preparing for upcoming tour dates. The 50-year-old singer is treated at a specialist neurosurgery clinic in Munich and is expected to stay there for a number of days (2010)... Bob Dylan comes out on top as both the most inspirational individual for poets and the dream collaborative partner in a survey carried out by The Foyle Poetry Society. The extensive survey questioned poets asking which musician and which genre of music most inspired their writing. The young people, aged between 11 and 17 and from countries throughout the world, also voted for Regina Spektor, David Bowie, Florence and the Machine, Leonard Cohen, Morrissey and Pete Doherty (2011).

May 20th

Musical birthdays today include former Paul & Paula vocalist Jill Jackson (84), Cher (80), former Violent Femmes drummer Guy Hoffman (72), film score composer Zbigniew Preisner (71), Go-Go's guitarist Jane Wiedlin (68), Susan Cowsill (67), ex-Haircut 100 frontman Nick Heyward (65), Busta Rhymes (54), ex-3LW vocalist Naturi Naughton (42), and Starting Line lead singer Kenny Vasoli (42). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for jazz arranger & pianist Bob Florence, born on this day in 1932... for Motown producer Fred 'Shorty' Long, who would have been 86... for Joe Cocker, who would have been 82... for producer Andy Johns, who would have been 76... for composer & pianist Clara Schumann, who died on this date in 1896... for original Drifters vocalist Rudy Lewis, who died of a probable drug overdose today in 1964 at the age of 27... for flautist Jean-Pierre Rampal, who passed away in 2000... for Robin Gibb, who died in 2012... and for Ray Manzarek, who left us today in 2014. 

Also on May 20th: As an event to raise funds for a permanent home, the NY Philarmonic gives the first performance of Beethoven's 9th Symphony in the US, in Battery Park's Castle Gardens. The chorus was sung in translation, making it the first time it was performed in English anywhere (1846)... Cliff Richard makes his TV debut on the UK show 'Thank Your Lucky Stars' (1961)... Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey grow tired of waiting for John Entwistle and Keith Moon to arrive for The Who's  gig at the Ricky Tick Club in Windsor, UK, so they take to the stage with the bass player and drummer of the local band that opened the show. When Moon and Entwistle finally arrive in the middle of the set, a fight breaks out on stage, with Townshend clubbing Moon over the head with his guitar. Moon and Entwistle announce that they are quitting the band [and rejoin a week later]... Yet another one of the shows on Bob Dylan's current UK tour turns raucous, as members of the audience at the ABC Theatre in Edinburgh unhappy with the electric portion of the concert boo and slow-clap between numbers, and blast on their own harmonicas (1966)... The Beatles new album Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band receives its first radio airplay anywhere, with a special preview on the Kenny Everett BBC Light program 'Where It's At'. The DJ plays every track from the album except 'A Day In The Life', which the BBC has banned saying it could promote drug use... The Young Rascals go to № 1 on the US singles chart with 'Groovin'' (1967)... The Beatles, armed with a batch of new songs after their visit to India, convene at George Harrison's home in Esher, Surrey. They tape 23 new songs on George's 4-track recorder, many of which will end up on the group's next two albums, the White Album and Abbey Road. The demos include ‘Cry Baby Cry’, Revolution’, ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’, ‘Blackbird’ and ‘Child of Nature’ [a Lennon song that will later become ‘Jealous Guy’] (1968)... While watching a baseball game in Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, Peter Cetera gets into an altercation with four Marines who object to the length of his hair. The Chicago lead singer ends up with a broken jaw and will spend two days in intensive care... Led Zeppelin begin three days of recording and mixing sessions at A&R Studios in NYC,  laying down 'Heartbreaker' and various other parts for new tracks for the group's forthcoming second album. The band are under pressure to finish the sessions so the album can be released in time for the autumn market (1969)... The Beatles' final film 'Let It Be' opens simultaneously in London and Liverpool one week after its world premiere in NYC (1970)... Polydor Records release In the City, the debut album from The Jam (1977)... Paul McCartney & Wings' 'With a Little Luck' is the № 1 single in the US... 'The Buddy Holly Story', a biopic with Gary Busey in the title role, has its world premiere in the late singer's hometown of Lubbock, TX (1978)... U2 cause traffic chaos in Kansas City, MO after they pay for traffic control to close down five lanes of a downtown thoroughfare so that they can shoot the video for 'Last Night On Earth'. Apart from major traffic jams, a Cadillac crashes into a plate glass window trying to avoid a cameraman... Foo Fighters release their second album The Colour And The Shape. Even though the band are American, they chose the alternative spelling of 'colour' as a nod to the record's British producer Gil Norton (1997)... Frank Sinatra's funeral, with numerous celebrities in attendance, is held at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills (1998)... R.E.M. have their final US № 1 album with Reveal (2001)... James Brown is pardoned for his past crimes in South Carolina. Brown served a two-and-a-half-year prison term after an arrest on drug and assault charges in 1988, and is now granted a full pardon by the State Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services. The Godfather of Soul, who appears before the board, sings 'God Bless America' to them after the decision (2003).

March 19th

Musical birthdays today include Pete Townshend (81), Irish singer-songwriter Paul Brady (79), Grace Jones (78), ZZ Top bassist Dusty Hill (77), AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd (72), producer & former Human League keyboardist Martin Ware (70), ex-Ace of Base lead singer Jenny Berggren (54), rapper Mario 'Yo Gotti' Mims (45), and Franco-Malian pop singer Inna Modja (42). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for operatic soprano Nellie Melba, born in this day in 1861... for saxophonist & bandleader Georgie Auld, born in 1919... for West End musicals composer Sandy Wilson, born in 1924... for British traditional pop singer Alma Cogan, born in 1934... for country singer-songwriter Mickey Newbury, who would have been 86... for former T Rex bassist Steve Currie, who would have been 77... for Joey Ramone, who would have been 75... for composer Charles Ives, who died on this date in 1954... for Coleman Hawkins, who passed away in 1969... for jazz singer Susannah McCorkle, who took her own life today in 2001 at the age of 55... and for former Freddie and the Dreamers frontman Freddie Garrity, who left us today in 2006. 

Also on May 19th: Bach's Mass in B Minor is performed in America for the first time, at the May Festival in Cincinnati, OH (1886)... A Denver Opera Company production of Friedrich von Flotow's Martha is the first opera to be broadcast on radio in its entirety, on local station 9ZAF (1921)... Alan Freed is indicted along with seven other DJs for accepting $30,650 in payola from six record companies (1960)... The Beatles hold a launch party at manager Brian Epstein's house in London for the Sgt Pepper album. Linda Eastman is present as the official press photographer (1967)... Paul Simon releases the single 'Kodachrome', named after the Kodak 35mm film. It will become a № 2 hit in the US, but is not released as a single in Britain because the BBC refuses to play a song with a trademarked name (1973)... Keith Richards crashes his car near Newport Pagnell in Buckinghamshire after falling asleep at the wheel; marijuana and cocaine are found in the vehicle by the police, resulting in another court date for the guitarist (1976)... Dire Straits release 'Sultans of Swing' for the first time on the Vertigo label in Britain. The single fails to chart, but will be re-released several months later to considerably greater success (1978)... Eric Clapton holds a party at his Surrey house celebrating his recent marriage to Patti Boyd. Clapton has set up a small stage in the garden, and as the evening progresses, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr ended up jamming together along with Clapton, Ginger Baker and Mick Jagger. The all-star band runs through a selection of Little Richard and Eddie Cochran songs (1979)... Ringo Starr and his future wife Barbara Bach are involved in a car crash less than half a mile from where Marc Bolan was killed; the car is a write-off but neither Starr nor Bach is seriously injured (1980)... Sire Records release The Ramones' album Animal Boy (1986)... James Brown is arrested for the fifth time in 12 months. Following a car chase with police near his home, he is charged with assault, resisting arrest and possession of illegal weapons. He will eventually receive a 6 year jail sentence (1988)... A guitar played by both John Lennon and George Harrison sells for $408,000 at auction. The custom-made instrument, built in 1966 by VOX, was bought by an unidentified US buyer in New York. Harrison played 'I Am The Walrus' on the guitar in a scene from Magical Mystery Tour in 1967. Lennon used it in the video for 'Hello, Goodbye' later that year. After playing the guitar, Lennon gave it as a 25th birthday present to Alexis 'Magic Alex' Mardas, a member of The Beatles' inner circle in the late '60s (2013).

May 18th

Musical birthdays today include Albert Hammond (82), former Wire guitarist Bruce Gilbert (80), Rick Wakeman (77), Devo lead singer Mark Mothersbaugh (76), country singer George Strait (74), 'Wreckless' Eric Goulden (72), Toyah Willcox (68), proto-rapper Robert Ginyard AKA Rob Base (59), Marta 'Martika' Marrero (57), A Perfect Circle frontman Billy Howerdel (56), Chantal Kreviazuk (52), Jack Johnson (51), country singer David Nail (47), and former Underminded drummer Tanner Wayne (38).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Broadway musicals composer Meredith Willson, born on this day in 1902... for blues shouter Big Joe Turner, born in 1911... for Perry Como, born in 1912... for chansonnier Charles Trenet, born in 1913... for song & dance man Robert Morse, born today in 1931... for country singer Leon Ashley, who would have been 87 today... for operatic soprano Pauline Viardot, who died on this date in 1910... for composer Gustav Mahler, who died in 1911... for Ian Curtis, who took his own life today in 1980 at the age of 26... and for Elvin Jones, who passed away today in 2007... and for Crowded House drummer Peter Jones, who left us in 2012. 

Also on May 18th: Gluck's opera Iphegenie en Tauride premieres in Paris (1778)... The first National Irish Music Festival opens in Dublin (1897)... The Castiles, with 16-year-old Bruce Springsteen on lead vocals, make their first recordings at Mr Music Inc in Brick Town, NJ. They cut two Springsteen songs, ‘Baby I’ and ‘That’s What You Get’. The songs are cut directly to disc, after which several test pressings of the studio takes are made... As his '66 tour continues, Bob Dylan and Robbie Robertson are filmed singing several songs in a hotel room in Glasgow, Scotland. The footage will turn up in the film 'Eat The Document', which was originally commissioned for the ABC television series 'Stage '66'. After Dylan edits the film himself, however, the network will reject it as 'incomprehensible for a mainstream audience' (1966)... John Lennon and Paul McCartney sing backing vocals on The Rolling Stones track 'We Love You' during a session at Olympic Studios, London... The Beatles are selected to represent the UK for the first-ever global-wide satellite broadcast. The group agree to be shown in the studio recording a song written especially for the occasion, scheduled for June 25. John Lennon will write ‘All You Need is Love’, which was thought to sum up the 1967 'Summer of Love' and The Beatles' sympathies. With the satellite broadcast being broadcast to many non-English-speaking countries, the BBC asked The Beatles to 'keep it simple'... Pink Floyd begin recording their forthcoming single 'See Emily Play' at Sound Techniques Studios, Chelsea, London (1967)... The first Miami Pop event takes place with an estimated 100,000 people attending the concert, organised by Richard O'Barry and Michael Lang [later famous as the promoter of Woodstock]. Bands featured at the  festival include Steppenwolf, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Mothers of Invention, Blue Cheer, Chuck Berry, The Blues Image, Pacific Gas and Electric, Three Dog Night and the Crazy World of Arthur Brown (1968)... Seven years after topping the charts in the US, Tammy Wynette's 'Stand by Your Man' goes to № 1 in Britain (1975)... RCA Records release David Bowie's album Lodger (1979)... Simple Minds have the № 1 single in America with 'Don't You Forget about Me' from the soundtrack to 'The Breakfast Club' (1985)... Sister Lovers, 18 Wheeler, Boyfriend and Oasis appear at the club King Tuts in Glasgow. Creation Records boss Alan McGee, who is in the audience, declares after seeing Oasis' set, "I've found the greatest rock 'n' roll band since The Beatles". McGee had missed a train at nearby Queen Street station, and decided to head to Tuts to kill time before the next one. He signs Oasis to his Creation label on the spot (1993)... The Isley Brothers have the № 1 album in the US with Body Kiss, their first American chart-topper since 1971 (2003)... John Lennon's handwritten lyrics for 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds' sell for $237,132  at an auction in the US. The sale of the sheet, which includes the opening words to 'She's Leaving Home', takes place at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills, CA (2011).

May 17th

Musical birthdays today include bluesman Henry 'Taj Mahal' Fredericks (84), Passport drummer Udo Lindenberg (80), Camel guitarist Andrew Latimer (77), former Yes and King Crimson drummer Bill Bruford (77), original Iron Maiden lead singer Paul Di'Anno (68), Enya Brennan (65), Phish keyboardist Page McConnell (63), Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor (61), original Tool bassist Paul D'Amour (59), New Kids on the Block lead singer Jordan Knight (56), Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme (53), and Maylene & the Sons of Disaster lead singer Dallas Taylor (46).

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 88... for singer-songwriter Jesse Winchester, who would have been 82... for Surface lead guitarist David Townsend, who would have been 10... 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 (82), King Crimson co-founder and guitarist Robert Fripp (80), Jonathan Richman (75), Heaven 17 singer Glenn Gregory (68), former Noir Désir guitarist Serge Teyssot-Gay (63), Dave Matthews Band violinist Boyd Tinsley (61), former Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic (61), Janet Jackson (60), R&B singer Ralph Tresvant (58), ex-Slowdive lead singer Rachel Goswell (54), and P.O.D. lead singer Sonny Sandoval (52).

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 (79), Brian Eno (78), Mike Oldfield (73) Sisters of Mercy frontman Andrew Eldritch (66), former  Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five lead rapper Melvin 'Melle Mel' Glover (65), Saint Etienne keyboardist Pete Wiggs (60), classical violinist Anne Akiko Meyers (56), Trail of Dead lead singer Conrad Keely (54), Ahmet Zappa (52), Deerhunter frontman Bradford Cox (44), and Pussycat Dolls vocalist Jessica Sutta (44). 

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 90 today... for Trini Lopez, who would have been 89... 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 one 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 Rascals guitarist Gene Cornish (82), David Byrne (74), former Red Rider frontman Tom Cochrane (73), French pop singer Patrick Bruel (67), Marillion lead singer Steve Hogarth (67), Irish tenor Ronan Tynan (66), former The Cult lead singer Ian Astbury (64), Poison guitarist C.C. DeVille (64), Testament guitarist Eric Peterson (62), Alice in Chains bassist Mike Inez (60), New Kids on the Block vocalist Danny Wood (57), AFI bassist Hunter Burgan (49), rapper Terrence Thornton AKA Pusha T (49), Black Keys frontman Dan Auberbach (47), Thirteen Senses lead guitarist Tom Welham (43), and Miranda Cosgrove (33). 
 
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, and for early rocker Charlie Gracie, both of whom would have been 90 today... for Jack Bruce, and for Herman's Hermits lead guitarist Derek Leckenby, both of whom would have been 83...  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 (81), original Fleetwood Mac guitarist & co-lead singer Danny Kirwan (76), Stevie Wonder (76), Roxy Music drummer Paul Thompson (75), ex-Porcupine Tree drummer Chris Maitland (62), Alison Goldfrapp (60), Hootie & the Blowfish frontman Darius Rucker (60), rapper Parrish 'PMDE' Smith (58), guitarist & multi-instrumentalist Brian ' Buckethead' Carroll (58), and Maroon Five bassist Mickey Madden (47).

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 85 today... for Mary Wells, who would have been 82... 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 today in 2019.

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 (84), Steve Winwood (78), Billy Squier (76), Kix Brooks [of Brooks & Dunn] (71), Kiss drummer Eric Singer (68), The Cult guitarist Billy Duffy (65), Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz (64), bossa nova singer Bebel Gilberto (58), rapper Jason Harrow AKA Kardinal Offishall (50), and Greek Cypriot pop singer Eleftheria Eleftheriou (37). 

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 86 today... for Ian Dury, who would have been 84... for former Small Faces keyboardist Ian McLagan, who would have been 81... for former Badlands lead singer Ray Gillen, who would have been 67... for R&B singer Charles Pettigrew, who would have been 63... 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)... After moving the sessions to record (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction from Chess Studios in Chicago to RCA Studios in Hollywood, the Rolling Stones produce the master take (1965)... 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 Eric Burdon (85), former Gerry and the Pacemakers bassist Ken Chadwick (83), Allman Brothers Band drummer Butch Trucks (79), chansonnier Renaud Séchan (74), ex-Afghan Wigs guitarist Greg Dulli (61), Rammstein drummer Christoph Schneider (60/span>), and Enation frontman Jonathan Jackson (44).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Irving Berlin, born on this day in 1888... for free jazz pianist Carla Bley, who would have been 89 today... 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 in 2007 at the age of 57... and for original Rush drummer John Rutsey, who left us today 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)... 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 includeSpinners vocalist Henry Fambrough (88), Carl Douglas (84), Donovan (80), 10cc guitarist Graham Gouldman (80), Dave Mason (80), ex-Spirit keyboardist Jay Ferguson (79/span>), session drummer Sly Dunbar (74), Bono (66), Tool drummer Danny Carey (65), rapper Marvin 'Young M.C.' Young (59), Mogwai lead guitarist Stuart Braithwaite (50), and We Are Scientists frontman Keith Murray (49). 

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 and for composer Harold Budd,both of whom would have been 90 today... for Danny & the Juniors leader Danny Frapp, who would have been 85. for Jackie Lomax, who would have been 82... for Sid Vicious, who would have been 69... 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).