Births
1929: Link
Wray (Guitar Player)
1936:
Engelbert Humperdinck (Singer)
1944: Bob
Henrit (Drummer for Argent)
1945: Goldy
McJohn (Keyboards for Steppenwolf)
1945: Randy
Cain (Singer in The Delfonics)
1945: Judge Dread (Reggae Artist)
1946: Lesley
Gore (Singer)
1948: Larry
Gatlin (The Gatlin Brothers)
1950: Lou
Gramm (Singer for Foreigner)
1951: Jo Callis (Synthesizer, Keyboards &
Guitar in Human League)
1954: Prescott Niles (Bass for The Knack)
1985: Lily Allen (Singer)
Events
1956: In a
definite sign of the times, five records -- Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak
Hotel," Little Richard's "Long Tall Sally," Carl Perkins'
"Blue Suede Shoes," The Platters' "(You've Got The) Magic
Touch," and Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers' "Why Do Fools Fall In
Love" -- occupy the Billboard R&B and Pop Top 10, the first
time so many records had "crossed over" at the same time.
1957: Elvis Presley recorded the Leiber and
Stoller song 'Jailhouse Rock' as featured in his third motion picture of the
same name.
1960: Ben E.
King, the Drifters' second lead singer, leaves the group to start a solo career
with Atco.
1963: The Beatles were at No.1 on the UK singles
chart with 'From Me To You', the group's first No.1 and the first of eleven
consecutive No.1's. The title of the song was inspired from a letters column
called From You To Us that ran in the British music newspaper, The New Musical
Express.
1964: After
51 weeks at the top, the Beatles finally relinquish the #1 album position in
the UK -- to the Rolling Stones' self-titled debut.
1965: Ed
Sullivan breaks a vow he made the year before and books The Rolling Stones back
on his long-running CBS variety show -- but not before keeping the band in the
studio all day, in order to keep from inciting the fans. The bands performs
four songs: "The Last Time," "Little Red Rooster,"
"Everybody Needs Somebody To Love," and the instrumental "2120
South Michigan Avenue."
1967: The
Beach Boys announce their intention to scrap their highly anticipated Pet
Sounds follow up, the album Smile. After decades of imagined Smile
albums, assembled from bootlegs and released recordings, founder and resident
genius Brian Wilson finally releases a finished version of the project in 2005.
1969: The Who
debut their much-discussed rock opera Tommy by playing the finished
album for the press in London at Ronnie's Jazz Club. Ten years later to the
day, they would premiere their new movie, Quadrophenia, in New York.
1969: Benny
Benjamin (Motown drummer in The Funk Brothers) died of a stroke at the age of
43.
1972: In New
York City, Bruce Springsteen auditions for Columbia Records A&R head John
Hammond, who is so impressed he immediately arranges a set that night at the
Gaslight Club for his fellow execs.
1975: Apple
Records officially ends its life as a record label, though it will be revived
as a Beatles-only label in 2004.
1979: The Who performed their first concert after
the death of Keith Moon. Kenney Jones, formerly of the Faces, was the new
drummer.
1980: Joy Division played what would be their
last gig with singer Ian Curtis when they appeared at Birmingham University,
England. Curtis committed suicide two weeks later.
1982: Adam and the Ants disbanded.
1991: The video for the R.E.M. song 'Losing My
Religion', was banned in Ireland because its religious imagery was seen as
unfit for broadcast.
1991: Nirvana booked into Sound City Studios in
Van Nuys, California for 16 days. On a budget of $65,000 and with Butch Vig
producing the band started recording what would become the ‘Nevermind’ album.
1992: Little known UK duo Nirvana filed a suit
against the American band of the same name claiming that they had been using
the name since 1968. The dispute was settled out of court in the British bands
favor.
1992: Bonnie Raitt received an honorary Doctor of
Music Degree from Berklee College of Music during commencement ceremonies in
Boston.
1992: The Cure scored their first UK No.1 album
with 'Wish', their 15th album release, featuring the top 10 single 'Friday I'm
In Love'.
1998: Japanese rock star Hideto Matsumoto was
found hanged in the bathroom at his Tokyo apartment and died in hospital a
short time later at the age of 33. His funeral, held on May 7th, was attended
by over 70,000 people and required 100 police officers, 170 security guards,
police boats and helicopters. 21 people were hospitalised for injuries caused
by the massive crowd at his funeral.
1998: Loretta Lynn made the announcement backstage
at the Grand Ole Opry, that she intended to return to college and get a degree.
1999: St Vincent and the Grenadines issued a
*NSYNC postage stamp in honor of the boy band.
2003: Kings Of Leon played their first ever UK
date when they appeared at The Empress Ballroom in Blackpool.
2004: Total Guitar magazine's readers voted Guns
N' Roses' anthem ‘Sweet Child O' Mine’ as the greatest guitar riff ever ahead
of Nirvana's grunge anthem ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’. Led Zeppelin's ‘Whole
Lotta Love’ came third, followed by Deep Purple's ‘Smoke On The Water’. Total
Guitar editor Scott Rowley said: "To a new generation of guitarist's, Guns
N' Roses are more thrilling than the Sex Pistols."
2005: After
36 years, Cream (Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker & Jack Bruce) reunites at
London's Royal Albert Hall for a four-night stint.
2006: Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards was
released from hospital in New Zealand after the 62 year-old suffered "mild
concussion" when he fell out of a coconut tree while on holiday in Fiji.
He was airlifted to Auckland's Ascot Hospital for observation, where he
underwent a brain scan.
2007: 1,876
guitarists gather in Wroclaw, Poland, to set a new Guinness World Record by
simultaneously performing "Hey Joe" by Jimi Hendrix.
2007: Britney Spears made her first appearance on
stage since she left a rehabilitation clinic. Spears performed five songs at
the House of Blues club in San Diego, California.
2008: Chad Kroeger was banned from driving for a
year after being convicted of drunk-driving in the Canadian city of Vancouver.
The 33-year-old Nickelback singer had almost twice the legal limit of alcohol
in his system when he was stopped by police speeding in his Lamborghini.
2009:
Motown's rarest 45, Frank Wilson's "Do I Love You (Indeed I Do),"
sets a world record by selling for nearly $40,000 at a London auction. The
unreleased single is one of only two known copies.
2009: LeAnn Rimes becomes the first major star to
sing the national anthem prior to the Kentucky Derby, won by Mine That Bird at
Churchill Downs in Louisville.
2009: Bob
Dylan takes the day off from his European tour and, along with 13 other
tourists, takes a bus trip to visit John Lennon's childhood home in Liverpool,
newly opened to the public. He is not recognized.
2011: Singer Rick Springfield was arrested on
suspicion of driving drunk through Malibu in his vintage Corvette. He had a blood alcohol level of .010. The legal limit in California is 0.08.
