May 12

Births

1928: Burt Bacharach (Writer & Singer)

1940: Norman Whitfield (Songwriter and Producer)

1942: Ian Dury (Singer & songwriter)

1943: David Walkes (Gary Lewis and the Playboys)

1945: Jayotis Washington (Singer for The Persuasions)

1946: Ian McLagan (Keyboards for Small Faces)

1948: Steve Winwood (Vocals & Keyboards for Spencer Davis Group, Traffic & Solo)

1950: Billy Squier (Guitarist & Singer)

1954: Barry Borden (Drums for Mothers Finest & Molly Hatchet)

1958: Eric Singer (Drummer for Kiss)

1972: Mark Morrison (R&B Singer)

Events

1908: Wireless Radio Broadcasting is patented by Nathan B Stubblefield

1958: The Everly Brothers started a four-week run at No.1 in the US with 'All I Have To Do Is Dream', (the song was written in 15 minutes).

1960: Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley appeared on the same TV special and performed the other's hit. Elvis sang "Witchcraft" and Sinatra sang "Love Me Tender."

1961: The Beatles, in Hamburg, West Germany, signed a recording contract with producer Bert Kaempfert. That evening they played at The Top Ten Club, Reeperbahn, Hamburg.

1962: Billboard Magazine reported that last year's most-played jukebox record was ‘Big Bad John’ by Jimmy Dean. The second most-played was Chubby Checker's ‘The Twist’.

1963: Bob Dylan walked out of rehearsals for the US TV Ed Sullivan show after being told he couldn't perform 'Talking John Birch Society Blues' due to it mocking the US military.

1964: The Beach Boys started a four week run at No.1 on the US album chart with 'Beach Boys Concert', the group's first US No.1.

1965: "Satisfaction" was recorded by The Rolling Stones.

  

1967: 'Are You Experienced', the debut album by Jimi Hendrix was released in the UK. Hendrix also played a gig at the Bluesville Club, Manor House in London on this day.

1967: Archie Bell (Drells) was drafted into the U.S. military for a tour of Vietnam.

1968: Jimi Hendrix was arrested by police on his way to Toronto for possession of hashish and heroin. Hendrix claimed the drugs had been planted on him.

1968: Brian Jones (Guitar and was replaced by Mick Taylor) made his final live appearance with The Rolling Stones when they appeared at the New Musical Express Poll Winners Concert at the Empire Pool, Wembley, England.

1971: Rolling Stone Mick Jagger married Bianca Macias at St Tropez Town Hall. The guest list included the other members of the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton and Stephen Stills. The couple separated in 1977.

1971: Jerry Lee Lewis was granted a divorce from his cousin Myra.

1973: Led Zeppelin started a three week run at No.1 on the US album chart with 'Houses Of The Holy', the group's third US No.1.

1975: Jefferson Starship gave a free concert in New York's Central Park in front of 60,000 fans. The band and concert sponsor, WNEW-FM, were forced to pay $14,000 for cleaning up and damage done to the park after the event.

1977: After being dropped by both EMI and A&M records in less than 6 months, Virgin records announced they had signed The Sex Pistols.

1977: Led Zeppelin received the outstanding contribution to British music at the second Ivor Novello Awards held at the Grosvenor Hotel, London.

1981: Meat Loaf filed for bankruptcy with debts of over $1 million.

1985: An honorary Doctor of Music degree was given to Lionel Richie from his alma mater Tuskegee Institute in Alabama.

1986: Joe Strummer of The Clash was banned from driving after being convicted of drink driving.

1996: 17-year-old Bernadette O'Brien died the day after being injured 'body surfing' at a Smashing Pumpkins gig at The Point, Dublin.

1999: George Jones pled guilty to driving while impaired and violating the Tennessee's open-container law in Franklin. He was fined $550.

2000: Thieves stole the gates to Strawberry Fields the Merseyside landmark immortalised by The Beatles song. The 10' high iron gates were later found at local scrap metal dealers in Liverpool.

2001: American singer and TV presenter Perry Como died aged 88. He scored fourteen US No.1 singles, from 150 US chart hits and over 25 UK chart hits, including the single 'Magic Moments' and 'Catch A Falling Star.' Como was once the highest-paid performer in the history of television.

2002: At Miami International Airport, Dionne Warwick was arrested when baggage screeners found 11 marijuana cigarettes inside her lipstick container.

2002: Tom Hamilton's (Bass for Aerosmith) home in Cape Cod was destroyed by a fire. The house was under construction at the time.

2004: Barry and Robin Gibb were both presented with honorary degrees from Manchester University. They also picked up a posthumous award for their brother Barry. The brothers had once lived in Manchester, England.

2008: Singer-songwriter Neil Young had a spider named after him. US university biologist 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.