Births
1944: Joe
Cocker (Singer)
1946: Cher (Cherilyn Sarkisian) (Singer)
1954: Guy Hoffman (Drummer & Vocals for The
Violent Femmes)
1955: Steve George (Keyboards for Mr Mister)
1958: Jane Wiedlin (Guitar & Vocals for The
Go-Go's)
1959: Israel Kamakawiwo'ole (Hawaiian Singer)
1961: Nick Heyward (Guitar & Vocals for
Haircut 100 & Solo)
1961: Dan Wilson (Guitarist & Vocals with
Semisonic)
1963: Brian Nash (Guitar for Frankie Goes To
Hollywood)
1964: Patti Russo (Singer with Meat Loaf)
1966: Thomas Gorman (Guitarist for Belly)
1972: Busta Rhymes (Trevor Tahiem Smith) (Rapper)
1984: Naturi Naughton (Singer in 3LW)
1984: Kenny Vasoli (Lead Vocals and Bass for The
Starting Line)
Events
1942:
"I've Got A Gal in Kalamazoo" was recorded by Glenn Miller and His
Orchestra.
1954:
Bill Haley and the Comets' "Rock Around the Clock" was released. It
was not successful until it was released in 1955 on the soundtrack to
"Blackboard Jungle."
1957: Frank
Sinatra recorded the song "Witchcraft".
1964: Elvis'
15th movie, Viva Las Vegas, co-starring Ann-Margret, premieres in
Hollywood.
1964: Rudy Lewis of The Drifters died aged 28
under mysterious circumstances the night before the group was set to record
'Under the Boardwalk'. Former Drifters backup singer Johnny Moore was brought
back to perform lead vocals for the recording session.
1966: At
tonight's Who gig in Windsor, England, Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey perform
with the rhythm section of the opening act when John Entwistle and Keith Moon
are late for the show. When the duo finally arrive, with the show half over,
Townshend hits Moon over the head with his guitar. Keith and John quit the
band, but are convinced to return within the week.
1966: Captain
Beefheart and his Magic Band play their first gig at the Avalon Ballroom in San
Francisco.
1967: The
Beatles premiere their new album, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band,
on Kenny Everett's BBC radio program Where It's At. All the tracks are
played save "A Day In The Life," which the "Beeb" has
banned the day before for its seemingly positive attitude towards drug use.
Paul and John give live interviews about the making of the album.
1967: Jimi
Hendrix signs with the Reprise label.
1968: John
Lennon and Paul McCartney, fresh off their trip to India to study with the
Maharishi, arrive at George Harrison's home in Esher, Surrey, to demo 28 new songs,
all but a handful of which will turn up in some form on the band's next LP, The
Beatles (a/k/a "The White Album").
1968: Pete
Townshend of the Who marries his first and only wife, Karen Astley, daughter of
composer Ted Astley. The couple would divorce in 2000.
1971: Chicago
singer and bassist Peter Cetera attends a Chicago Cubs game, where four Marines
who notice his long hair beat him so badly he breaks his jaw and loses four
teeth. He spends five hours in surgery and two days in intensive care.
1985: After
extensive renovations, the historic Apollo Theatre in Harlem reopens with a
concert that features Hall and Oates performing with Temptations Eddie Kendrick
and David Ruffin. The concert is later released as Live At The Apollo.
1988: At the
height of the "Is Elvis Dead" phenomenon, Priscilla Presley holds a
press conference to confirm that the King did, indeed, pass on in 1977.
1995: The
Eagles' Don Henley marries his first and only wife, model Sharon Summerall, in
Malibu, with Glenn Frey, Joe Walsh, Randy Newman, Jackson Browne, David Crosby,
Jimmy Buffett, Sheryl Crow, and other celebs attending. At the reception, live
music is provided by Tony Bennett, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, and Sting.
1997: U2 caused traffic chaos in Kansas City, Missouri
after they paid for traffic control to close down five lanes so they could
shoot the video for 'Last Night On Earth'. Apart form major traffic jams a
passing Cadillac crashed into a plate glass window trying to avoid a cameraman.
1998: Tommy Lee from Motley Crue was sentenced to
six months jail after being found guilty of spousal abuse.
1998: Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward was taken
to hospital in London after suffering a heart attack during a band rehearsal.
1998: Frank
Sinatra's funeral is held at the Beverly Hills' Church of the Good Shepherd,
with attendees including Tony Bennett, Bob Dylan, Liza Minnelli, Jack
Nicholson, Tony Curtis, Kirk Douglas, Sophia Loren, Bob Newhart, Faye Dunaway,
Angie Dickinson, and ex Mia Farrow. Dylan's statement reads, in part,
"Right from the beginning, he was there with the truth of things in his
voice... He was one of the very few singers who sang without a mask." Ten
years later to the day, May 13th is declared Frank Sinatra Day by the Congress
of the United States.
2003: South
Carolina's parole board pardons James Brown of all past offenses committed in
the state, even the felonies, spurring James to spontaneously sing "God
Bless America" at the conclusion of the hearing.
2005: Kylie Minogue had a cancerous lump removed
from her breast at St Frances Xavier Cabrini Hospital in Melbourne, Australia.
The singer had been due to begin the 20-date Australian leg of her current
worldwide Showgirl tour in Sydney.
2006: Their
hometown of Hawthorne, CA dedicates a monument to the three Wilson brothers in
the Beach Boys.
2007: Rihanna featuring Jay-Z started a 10 week
run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Umbrella' which spent 10 consecutive
weeks at No.1 in the UK making it the longest running No.1 single since Wet Wet
Wet's ‘Love Is All Around'. Rihanna and Jay-Z won a Grammy Award for Best
Rap/Sung Collaboration for the track.
2011: Singer Darius Rucker of Hootie & The
Blowfish receives an honorary doctorate and delivers the commencement speech at
the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston.
