May 26

Births

1886: Al Jolson (Singer)

1920: Peggy Lee (Norma Dolores Egstrom) (Singer)

1926: Miles Davis (Jazz Trumpeter)

1940: Levon Helm (Drums & Vocals for The Band)

1945: Verden Allen (Keyboards for Mott The Hoople)

1946: Mick Ronson (Guitarist & Producer, member of The Rats, then worked with David Bowie)

1948: Stevie Nicks (Singer for Fleetwood Mac and Solo)

1949: Hank Williams Jr. (Country Singer)

1964: Lenny Kravitz (Singer & Guitarist)

1972: Alan White (Drums for Oasis)

1978: Jaheim (Jaheim Hoagland) (R&B Singer)

1981: Isaac Slade (lead singer and pianist for The Fray)

Events

1933: Country singer Jimmie Rodgers, suffering from tuberculosis, dies of a massive hemorrhage at the Hotel Taft in New York.

1955: Decca Records, home to Bill Haley and His Comets, announces that the group has sold three million records in the past year, due mostly to "Rock Around The Clock" and "Shake, Rattle And Roll."

1963: After a Beatles performance at the Majestic Ballroom, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England, John Lennon and Paul McCartney write "She Loves You" in their hotel room, originally an answer song of sorts to the Bobby Rydell hit "Forget Him."

1964: Marianne Faithful recorded the Mick Jagger and Keith Richards song ‘As Tears Go By’, accompanied by future Led Zeppelin members Jimmy Page on guitar and John Paul Jones on bass.

1966: The Beatles recorded ‘Yellow Submarine’ at Abbey Road studios in London. Recovering from a case of food poisoning, producer George Martin missed this recording, EMI engineer Geoff Emerick worked on the session.

1968: Blues artist Little Willie John died in prison after being convicted of manslaughter. Co-wrote and was the first to record 'Fever' (covered by Peggy Lee in 1958), and 'Need Your Love So Bad' covered by Fleetwood Mac.

1969: John and Yoko began an eight-day 'bed in', in room 1742 of The Hotel La Reine Elizabeth, Montreal, Canada, to promote world peace. They recorded ‘Give Peace a Chance’ in the hotel room (Petula Clark can be heard on the chorus). The song was credited to Lennon & McCartney, even though Paul had nothing to do with the record.

1971: WNEW-FM in New York becomes the first radio station to play Don McLean's new single, "American Pie," which it features in its 8:36 entirety.

1972: With Mott The Hoople threatening to disband due to public indifference, David Bowie gives the band two of his new, unrecorded songs. The band passes on "Suffragette City" but decides to cut a song called "All The Young Dudes," a massive hit that revives the group's career.

1973: Model and singer Marsha Hunt, inspiration for the Rolling Stones song "Brown Sugar," names Mick Jagger in a paternity suit, claiming the singer fathered her two-year-old daughter Karis. That same day, Stones guitarist Keith Richards is busted, along with girlfriend Anita Pallenberg, in his Chelsea home for possession of heroin, illegal pharmaceuticals, guns, and ammo.

1973: Deep Purple's single "Smoke On The Water" was released.

1973, The Edgar Winter Group went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Frankenstein', the bands only US No. 1. The group featured ex McCoys guitarist Rick Derringer.

1974: Tragedy struck at a David Cassidy concert at London's White City when over 1,000 fans had to be treated by first aid workers due to the frenzied excitement. One fan Bernadette Whelan died from heart failure four days later.

1975: Cher's divorce from Sonny Bono becomes final, leaving her free to marry Gregg Allman of the Allman Brothers just four days later.

1977: The rock group KISS provides Marvel Comics with a small vial of their blood to be mixed with printers' ink for their upcoming faux-autobiographical comic.

1977: Elvis Presley performs what would be his last concert, performing at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis, IN for a crowd of 18,000. Although Elvis appears pale, weak, and overweight, as he had with increasing regularity, there is nothing to suggest his impending death -- indeed, there is nothing unusual about this show on the tour, except that Elvis for some reason introduces practically everyone from his life while on stage. Some take this as "proof" Elvis knew he was in his final days; others maintain that he was worried about the imminent publication of Elvis: What Happened?, a tell-all biography by former bodyguards Sonny and Red West that publicly broke the story of his drug abuse, and what those revelations might do to his image. The last song he performs from the stage is "Can't Help Falling In Love." Footage of the final concert is taken but has not been widely seen since; the audio portion can be heard on the LP The Last Farewell.  Presley's father, Vernon, will pass away two years later to the day.

1977: Billy Powell singer with The O'Jays died of cancer.

1982: Roxy Music leader Bryan Ferry marries his first wife, model Lucy Helmore. The same day, Marie Osmond marries her first husband, Brigham Young University basketball player Steve Craig.

1990: David Bowie was sued by his ex wife Angie for $56 million.

1990: For the first time ever the Top five positions on the US singles chart were held by female artists; Madonna was at No.1 with 'Vogue', Heart were at No.2, Sinead O'Connor No.3, Wilson Phillips at No.4 and Janet Jackson was at No.5

1993: Ron Isley of the Isley Brothers marries his first wife, R&B singer Angela Winbush.

1994: Michael Jackson marries his first wife, Lisa Marie Presley, only daughter of Elvis, in a secret ceremony held in the Dominican Republican. The couple would divorce twenty months later.

1995: Flavor Flav (Public Enemy) was sentenced to three months in jail for firing a gun at a neighbor in his New York apartment.

1996: A fire at the home of Eric Clapton caused over two and a half million dollars worth of damage. Firemen arrived on the scene to find Clapton braving the blaze to save his collection of guitars.

1997: Bob Dylan was admitted to a Malibu Hospital with chest pains, causing all his summer tour to be cancelled.

1999: The Manic Street Preachers refused to play a concert because Queen Elizabeth II was present. The group had vowed to never perform for the monarchy because they considered it an outdated institution.

2000: Drummer Tommy Lee was jailed for five days for drinking alcohol. Lee appeared in front of a LA court charged with violating his probation by consuming alcohol, an act that directly contravenes the terms of his parole.

2002: The first episode of 'At Home With The Osbournes' was shown on MTV in the UK.

2006: Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale became parents when their baby boy Kingston James McGregor Rossdale was born.

2008: Yale awards Paul McCartney an honorary Doctorate of Music.

2009: A US judge ended a bitter two-year battle over the late soul singer James Brown's estate. Judge Jack Early ruled half of his assets will go to a charitable trust, a quarter to his wife and young son, and the rest to his six adult children. Brown's family and wife Tomi Rae Hynie Brown had fought over his fortune since he died of heart failure in 2006.