May 18

Births

1911: Big Joe Turner (Blues Singer & Pianist)

1912: Perry Como (Pop Singer)

1946: Bruce Gilbert (Guitar for Wire)

1948: Joe Bonsall (The Oak Ridge Boys)

1949: Bill Wallace (Bass for The Guess Who)

1949: Rick Wakeman (Keyboards for Yes)

1952: George Strait (Country Singer)

1957: Michael Cretu (Enigma)

1961: Russell Senior (Guitar for Pulp)

1967: Rob Base (Robert Ginyard) (Rapper)

1975: Jack Johnson (Singer & Guitarist)

Events

1963: At the first annual Monterey Folk Festival, Bob Dylan joins Joan Baez onstage to duet on his antiwar song "With God On Our Side."

1964: Yet another riot erupts at a Rolling Stones show, this time at the Chantinghall Hotel in Hamilton, Scotland, where 4,000 fake tickets create pandemonium.

1964: The Animals recorded "House Of The Rising Sun".

1966: Bruce Springsteen steps into a recording studio for the first time, recording with his garage band The Castiles in Brick Town, NJ.

1967: John Lennon and Paul McCartney sang backing vocals on The Rolling Stones track 'We Love You' during a session at Olympic Studios, London.

1967: The Beatles, it is announced, have been selected to represent the UK in the first global satellite broadcast, which will be called One World and broadcast on June 25. The band is commissioned to write a song for the event; Paul comes up with "Your Mother Should Know," but John comes up with the winning global anthem in "All You Need Is Love."

1968: Tiny Tim released the single "Tiptoe Through The Tulips".

1968: Archie Bell and The Drells started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Tighten Up', a huge beach music song.

1970: The Beatles release the Album Let It Be.

1971: The Band start their first-ever tour outside of North America, playing De Doelen in Rotterdam, Holland.

1974: Ray Stevens started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with the novelty song 'The Streak' which capitalized on the then popular craze of streaking.

1975: Chaos ensues when the BBC stages a "Fun Day" concert in London featuring teen heartthrobs The Bay City Rollers; the crowd is so manic that 44 are injured, four of them seriously.

1978: The controversial but highly-regarded biopic The Buddy Holly Story, starring Gary Busey performing Buddy's songs himself, premiere in Dallas, TX. Busey's performance is so natural he is nominated for Best Actor at the Oscars the next year (losing out to Jon Voight in Coming Home.)

1980: Joy Division singer and guitarist Ian Curtis hanged himself in the kitchen of his house in Macclesfield, England at the age of 23. Curtis had the Iggy Pop album 'The Idiot', playing on his stereo and left a note that said, 'At this very moment, I wish I were dead. I Just can't cope anymore.' Joy Division released the critically acclaimed debut album Unknown Pleasures in 1979, and recorded their follow-up Closer in 1980. Suffering from epilepsy, a failing marriage, and bouts of depression, Curtis committed suicide on the eve of Joy Division's debut North American tour.

1981: Diana Ross shocks the music industry by leaving Motown Records after 20 years for a new home on RCA. The $20 million contract sets a new record.

1988: In a Tampa courtroom, original drummer for the Byrds, Michael Clarke, is given permission to use the band name for his own touring group.

1994: Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley are married in the Dominican Republic in a private ceremony, one so private that the press doesn't find out about the wedding for two months.

1996: Bone Thugs-N-Harmony started an 8 week run at No.1 on the singles chart with 'Tha Crossroads”.

2000: Madonna's boyfriend Guy Ritchie was arrested after attacking a fan outside the superstar's London home. Ritchie was said to have kicked and punched a male fan after the couple returned home from a night out.

2002: Barry Manilow's TV special Ultimate Manilow, a concert filmed at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, airs on CBS.

2003: The Isley Brothers set a record for the longest period between #1 albums when Body Kiss reaches the top of the Billboard charts.  Their first #1 in over 30 years.

2004: Clint Warwick (Bass for The Moody Blues) died of Liver Cancer at age 63.

2004: It was announced that the Country Cow Creamery would be producing the ice cream flavors Ozzy's Carnivorous Carrot Cake and Death by Sharon in honor of Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne.

2005: Two years after the abdominal aneurysm which nearly killed him, Gordon Lightfoot returns to performing with a triumphant concert in Toronto's Massey Hall.