Births
1946: John
Lawton (Singer for Uriah Heep)
1947: Glenn Leonard (Vocals for The Temptations)
1948: Skip
Alan (Drummer for Them & The Pretty Things)
1949: Frank
Beard (Drummer for ZZ Top)
1952: Donnie
Van Zant (Singer in .38 Special)
1961: Robert Birch (Vocals for Stereo MC's)
1969: Steven Drozd (Drummer for The Flaming Lips)
1969: Dan Lavery (Bass for Tonic &
The Fray)
Events
1949: Hank
Williams shoots into superstardom overnight when he performs his new single,
"Lovesick Blues," at Nashville's "Grand Old Opry." He's
called back for a record six encores.
1958: Jerry
Lee Lewis finds that the marriage scandal involving his 14-year-old second
cousin has migrated back to the States when he is booed off a New York stage.
The second show is canceled due to poor ticket sales, and Lewis' career, for
the time being anyway, is ruined.
1964: The
Rolling Stones hold an attention-grabbing "press conference" in the
middle of Michigan Avenue in Chicago, just outside Chess Studios; it's promptly
broken up by the local police.
1964: Queen
Elizabeth orders Beatles to her birthday party, they attend.
1965:
Buckingham Palace announces that the Beatles are to be awarded the MBE (Members
of the British Empire) award by Queen Elizabeth II, an award traditionally only
presented to upper-crust members of the community. Several members immediately
return their awards, complaining that they have become "debased."
1966:
Britain's Melody Maker reports that one of the first
"supergroups," Cream, has formed from former members of John Mayall's
Bluesbreakers, Manfred Mann, and the Graham Bond Organization.
1966:
European radio is abuzz with rumors that Roger Daltrey, lead singer of The Who,
has been killed in an auto accident days earlier. In fact, guitarist Pete
Townshend was in the wreck, but survived with minor injuries.
1968: During
the recording of the Rolling Stones' new song, "Sympathy For The
Devil," London's Olympic Studio mysteriously catches fire.
1969: David
Bowie releases the single "Space Oddity" to
coincide with the first lunar landing.
1971: A
drunken Dennis Wilson, drummer for the Beach Boys, accidentally puts his hand
through the glass door of his home, severing nerves that keep him from his
instrument for the better part of three years.
1976: Wild
Cherry releases the single "Play That Funky Music".
1977: Joe Strummer and Topper
Headon were detained overnight in prison in Newcastle upon Tyne having failed
to appear at Morpeth Magistrates on May 21st. Both Clash members were to answer a charge
relating to the theft of a Holiday Inn pillowcase. They were both fined $170.
1977: KC and the Sunshine Band
became only the second group after The Jackson Five to achieve four US No.1's
when 'I'm Your Boogie Man' went to the top of the charts.
1978: The Rolling Stones released
the Album "Some Girls."
1983: Drummer Alex Van Halen
married Valeri Kendall in Los Angeles, California. Brother Eddie Van Halen was
best man.
1988: Nelson Mandellas 70th
birthday tribute took place at Wembley Stadium, London, featuring Whitney
Houston, Phil Collins, Dire Straits, Stevie Wonder, Tracy Chapman, George
Michael, Eric Clapton, UB40, The Eurythmics and Simple Minds. The event was
broadcast live on BBC 2 to 40 different countries with an estimated audience of
1 billion.
1990: The
United Nations appoints Olivia Newton-John as its first Goodwill Ambassador to
the environment.
1992: U2 has
ABBA's Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Anderson join them onstage at their concert in
Stockholm for a rendition of ABBA's 1975 smash "Dancing Queen."
1998: Scott Weiland (Singer for Stone Temple
Pilots) skipped a scheduled court date and checked himself into a drug
treatment facility.
2000: Aaliyah went to No.1 on the US singles
chart with 'Try Again'. It became the first "airplay-only" song to
reach No.1 on the US singles chart (no points from a commercial single
release).
2002: Three
hundred guests, including Elton John, David Gilmour, Chrissie Hynde, and former
bandmate Ringo Starr, attend the wedding of Paul McCartney to former model and
current activist Heather Mills at St. Salvator Church in Glaslough, Ireland.
Paul's three children from his first marriage all attend; Mills walks down the
aisle holding eleven "McCartney" roses specially developed for the
occasion. The couple would divorce in 2008.
2003: Adam Ant was arrested after going berserk
and stripping off in a London cafe. The former 1980's pop star had thrown
stones at neighbour's homes smashing windows before going to the nearby cafe.
2004: Courtney Love surrendered to US police
after allegedly assaulting a woman at the home of her former manager and
ex-boyfriend. Ms Love was charged with assault with a deadly weapon. She was
later released on bail. The charges related to an incident on 25 April 2004,
when Ms Love allegedly assaulted a woman with a bottle and a torch at the LA
home of Jim Barber.
2008: Nancy
Sinatra appears before the US Congress pleading for legislation that would
require all performers, not just songwriters, to get paid for songs played on
commercial analog radio.
2009: Pete Doherty was released on $80,000 bail
to await trial accused of driving dangerously after a gig. The Babyshambles
frontman was stopped after police saw a car being driven erratically in
Gloucester. The 30-year-old appeared at Stroud Magistrates' Court and pleaded
guilty to possessing heroin and to having no driving license or insurance.
2011: Singer Lily Allen marries long time fiancé
Sam Cooper in Gloucestershire, England.
