May 13

Births

1911: Maxine Sullivan (Blues & Jazz Singer)

1912: Gil Evans (Jazz Pianist)

1914: Johnnie Wright (Johnnie and Jack)

1933: Mike Stoller (Writer)

1941: Ritchie Valens (Guitarist & Singer)

1943: Mary Wells (R&B Singer)

1945: Magic Dick (Harmonica for J. Geils Band)

1949: Overend Watts (Bass for Mott The Hoople)

1950: Danny Kirwan (Guitarist for Fleetwood Mac)

1950: Stevie Wonder (R&B Singer & Piano Player)

1951: Paul Thompson (Drummer for Roxy Music)

1966: Darius Rucker (Singer & Guitar for Hootie & The Blowfish)

1979: Michael Madden (Bass for Maroon 5)

Events

1938: Louis Armstrong recorded "When The Saints Go Marching In".

1955: At tonight's show in Jacksonville, FL, Elvis Presley tells the girls who make up the majority of the 14,000-plus crowd that he'll "see (them) backstage." The crowd proceeds to do just that, ripping the King's clothes, causing Elvis' first-ever riot and, reportedly, convincing Tom Parker about Elvis' popularity once and for all.

1957: Elvis begins filming his third movie, Jailhouse Rock, in Hollywood.

1960: The juvenile delinquent movie Platinum High School, starring Conway Twitty, opens in New York.

1965: Elvis Presley's sixteenth movie, Tickle Me, premieres in Hollywood.

1966: The Kinks recorded the single "Sunny Afternoon".

1966: The Rolling Stones release "Paint It Black".

1967: The Supremes scored their 10th US No.1 single with 'The Happening'.  It was the last single to be released as the Supremes, from now on they were known as Diana Ross and the Supremes.

1969: The Beatles meet at EMI House in London to replicate the cover of their first LP, Please Please Me, now with beards and long hair, for the cover of their next project, Get Back. When that project morphs into Let It Be, the photo is eventually used for the cover of their "blue album," The Beatles 1967-1970.

1970: The Beatles' last film, the misbegotten documentary Let It Be, premieres in New York.

1970: Badfinger recorded "No Matter What".

1971: Jefferson Airplane's Grace Slick accidentally wrecks her Mercedes on a wall near the Golden Gate Bridge, forcing the band to put off recording its new album until the singer recovers from her injuries.

1971: Motown child prodigy Stevie Wonder turns 21, and is by law released from his recording contract and given $1 million of the $30 million he has earned while at the label. Nevertheless, after gaining complete artistic control, Wonder resigns to Tamla.

1971: James Brown recorded the single "Hot Pants".

1974: An unlikely riot occurs at tonight's Jackson 5 concert at RFK Stadium in Washington DC when impatient fans begin smashing bottles in the parking lot. Fifty fans are injured; forty-three are brought to jail.

1975: Bob Wills (Country Artist) died of pneumonia.

1977: Linda Ronstadt indirectly declines an offer placed in Hustler magazine, promising a million dollars to any of ten female celebrities (including Ronstadt) willing to pose for a nude photo shoot.

1978: With Yvonne Elliman's version of "If I Can't Have You" reaching the top of Billboard's pop chart, the Bee Gees' Barry Gibb becomes the first songwriter in history to have written four consecutive Number One US singles.

1981: Joan Weber (Pop Singer) died of heart failure at a mental institution.

1985: Bruce Springsteen marries his first wife, model and actress Julianne Phillips, in Lake Oswego, OR, with Little Richard officiating and Percy Sledge singing "When A Man Loves A Woman." The couple would divorce in 1989.

1988: Chet Baker was found dead on Prins Hendrikkade, near Zeedijk, on the street below his second-story room (Room 210) of Hotel Prins Hendrik in Amsterdam, Netherlands, with serious wounds to his head. Heroin and cocaine were found in his hotel room, and an autopsy also found these drugs in his body. There was no evidence of a struggle, and the death was ruled an accident.

1993: The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bette Midler and Barry White were guest voices on the season finale of the "The Simpsons." The episode was entitled "Krusty Gets Kancelled."

2003: Michael Jackson sues Motown records for alleged nonpayment of Jackson 5 royalties and unauthorized usage of the group's music in TV commercials.

2004: In an Australian radio interview, Gene Simmons of KISS states of Islam: "This is a vile culture, and if you think for a second that it's willing to just live in the sands of God's armpit you've got another thing coming... they want to come and live right where you live and they think that you're evil." After a flood of angry calls from Muslims, Simmons claims he was speaking only of extremists.

2007: Queen's Brian May is put on a round-the-clock watch after a schizophrenic leaves a letter at the guitarist's home blaming him for his mental illness, claiming himself as the real Brian May, and marking the guitarist for death.

2007: After complaining of not feeling well during a gig in Council Bluffs, Iowa, the day before, and after becoming notably disoriented at the airport the next day, Bo Diddley is found to have suffered a mild stroke and is hospitalized at Crieghton University Medical Center in nearby Omaha, NE.

2008: The Turtles' Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman, better known as "Flo and Eddie," sue Capitol Records for allowing the Ice Cube to sample the group's 1972 song "Buzzsaw" for Cube's 1992 hit "Jackin' For Beats."

2008: The US Postal Service issued a 42-cent postage stamp in honor of Frank Sinatra. The design showed a 1950s-vintage image of Sinatra, wearing a hat.

May 12

Births

1928: Burt Bacharach (Writer & Singer)

1940: Norman Whitfield (Songwriter and Producer)

1942: Ian Dury (Singer & songwriter)

1943: David Walkes (Gary Lewis and the Playboys)

1945: Jayotis Washington (Singer for The Persuasions)

1946: Ian McLagan (Keyboards for Small Faces)

1948: Steve Winwood (Vocals & Keyboards for Spencer Davis Group, Traffic & Solo)

1950: Billy Squier (Guitarist & Singer)

1954: Barry Borden (Drums for Mothers Finest & Molly Hatchet)

1958: Eric Singer (Drummer for Kiss)

1972: Mark Morrison (R&B Singer)

Events

1908: Wireless Radio Broadcasting is patented by Nathan B Stubblefield

1958: The Everly Brothers started a four-week run at No.1 in the US with 'All I Have To Do Is Dream', (the song was written in 15 minutes).

1960: Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley appeared on the same TV special and performed the other's hit. Elvis sang "Witchcraft" and Sinatra sang "Love Me Tender."

1961: The Beatles, in Hamburg, West Germany, signed a recording contract with producer Bert Kaempfert. That evening they played at The Top Ten Club, Reeperbahn, Hamburg.

1962: Billboard Magazine reported that last year's most-played jukebox record was ‘Big Bad John’ by Jimmy Dean. The second most-played was Chubby Checker's ‘The Twist’.

1963: Bob Dylan walked out of rehearsals for the US TV Ed Sullivan show after being told he couldn't perform 'Talking John Birch Society Blues' due to it mocking the US military.

1964: The Beach Boys started a four week run at No.1 on the US album chart with 'Beach Boys Concert', the group's first US No.1.

1965: "Satisfaction" was recorded by The Rolling Stones.

  

1967: 'Are You Experienced', the debut album by Jimi Hendrix was released in the UK. Hendrix also played a gig at the Bluesville Club, Manor House in London on this day.

1967: Archie Bell (Drells) was drafted into the U.S. military for a tour of Vietnam.

1968: Jimi Hendrix was arrested by police on his way to Toronto for possession of hashish and heroin. Hendrix claimed the drugs had been planted on him.

1968: Brian Jones (Guitar and was replaced by Mick Taylor) made his final live appearance with The Rolling Stones when they appeared at the New Musical Express Poll Winners Concert at the Empire Pool, Wembley, England.

1971: Rolling Stone Mick Jagger married Bianca Macias at St Tropez Town Hall. The guest list included the other members of the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton and Stephen Stills. The couple separated in 1977.

1971: Jerry Lee Lewis was granted a divorce from his cousin Myra.

1973: Led Zeppelin started a three week run at No.1 on the US album chart with 'Houses Of The Holy', the group's third US No.1.

1975: Jefferson Starship gave a free concert in New York's Central Park in front of 60,000 fans. The band and concert sponsor, WNEW-FM, were forced to pay $14,000 for cleaning up and damage done to the park after the event.

1977: After being dropped by both EMI and A&M records in less than 6 months, Virgin records announced they had signed The Sex Pistols.

1977: Led Zeppelin received the outstanding contribution to British music at the second Ivor Novello Awards held at the Grosvenor Hotel, London.

1981: Meat Loaf filed for bankruptcy with debts of over $1 million.

1985: An honorary Doctor of Music degree was given to Lionel Richie from his alma mater Tuskegee Institute in Alabama.

1986: Joe Strummer of The Clash was banned from driving after being convicted of drink driving.

1996: 17-year-old Bernadette O'Brien died the day after being injured 'body surfing' at a Smashing Pumpkins gig at The Point, Dublin.

1999: George Jones pled guilty to driving while impaired and violating the Tennessee's open-container law in Franklin. He was fined $550.

2000: Thieves stole the gates to Strawberry Fields the Merseyside landmark immortalised by The Beatles song. The 10' high iron gates were later found at local scrap metal dealers in Liverpool.

2001: American singer and TV presenter Perry Como died aged 88. He scored fourteen US No.1 singles, from 150 US chart hits and over 25 UK chart hits, including the single 'Magic Moments' and 'Catch A Falling Star.' Como was once the highest-paid performer in the history of television.

2002: At Miami International Airport, Dionne Warwick was arrested when baggage screeners found 11 marijuana cigarettes inside her lipstick container.

2002: Tom Hamilton's (Bass for Aerosmith) home in Cape Cod was destroyed by a fire. The house was under construction at the time.

2004: Barry and Robin Gibb were both presented with honorary degrees from Manchester University. They also picked up a posthumous award for their brother Barry. The brothers had once lived in Manchester, England.

2008: Singer-songwriter Neil Young had a spider named after him. US university biologist Jason Bond discovered a new species of trapdoor spider and decided to name it after his favourite musician. Myrmekiaphila neilyoungi was found in Jefferson County, Alabama, in 2007.

May 11

Births

1888: Irving Berlin (Composer)

1931: Dick Garcia (Jazz Guitarist)

1935: Kit Lambert (Producer and The Who’s Manager)

1941: Eric Burdon (Singer for The Animals)

1943: Arnie Satin (The Dovells)

1943: Les Chadwick (Bass for Gerry and the Pacemakers)

1947: Butch Trucks (Drummer for The Allman Brothers)

1955: Gary Langan (Art Of Noise)

1955: Susan Stenger (Bass & Vocals for Band Of Susans)

1965:Avtar Singh (Bass & Vocals for Cornershop)

1966: Christoph "Doom" Schneider (Drummer for Rammstein)

Events

1957: The Everly Brothers make their stage debut in Nashville at the Grand Ole Opry.

1957: Buddy Holly and the Crickets fail an audition to appear on CBS-TV's Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts.

1958: Connie Francis was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with a cover of the 1923 song 'Who's Sorry Now.' Francis was the first female rock 'n' roll star to reach No.1.

1959: Annette Funicello makes her first appearance as Gina Minelli on tonight's "Gina From Italy" episode of CBS-TV's sitcom Make Room For Daddy.

1963: The Beatles started a 30 week run at No.1 on the UK album charts with their debut album 'Please Please Me', making it the longest running No.1 album by a group ever. The bands follow up 'With The Beatles' replaced it at the top of the charts on 7th December 1963 and stayed there for 21 weeks.

1964: Britain's latest hot group, the Rolling Stones, are nonetheless refused service for lunch at Bristol, England's Grand Hotel because they're not properly attired in jackets and ties. The next day, the Daily Express calls them "the ugliest group in Britain" and remarks, "The Rolling Stones gather no lunch."

1965: The Byrds make their television debut, singing their cover of Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man" on NBC's musical variety show Hullabaloo.

1967: ABC-TV broadcasts its musical special ABC Stage 67: Rodgers and Hart Today, featuring the songwriting duo's classics being reinterpreted by the likes of Bobby Darin, The Supremes, The Mamas and the Papas, and Petula Clark.

1967: The Bee Gees make their first big splash on UK television. performing their new single, "New York Mining Disaster, 1941," on the BBC's Top Of The Pops.

1970: Sammy Davis, Jr. marries his third wife, Altovise Gore, a dancer in his current Broadway hit Golden Boy. The Rev. Jesse Jackson presides; the couple would remain married for the rest of Davis' life.

1970: The Beatles released the single "The Long And Winding Road".

1972: John Lennon makes another celebrated guest appearance on ABC-TV's Dick Cavett Show and casually tells Cavett that he believes the FBI is wiretapping his phone in order to gather evidence for his deportment. As it turns out, he's entirely correct.

1972: David Cassidy, then at the very peak of his career, appears in a controversial nearly-naked pose on the cover of Rolling Stone.

1973: Stevie Wonder recorded "Higher Ground".

1974: Elvis Presley plays a show at the Los Angeles Forum, attended by members of Led Zeppelin who were also in town for a gig. Upon learning of his famous fans, Elvis turns to his backup band after a somewhat sloppy opening number and jokingly admonishes them: "Wait a minute. Let's see if we can start together, fellas, because we’ve got Led Zeppelin out there. Let's try to look like we know what we’re doing." Afterwards, the band meets Elvis backstage and is more than a little starstruck; Zeppelin manager Peter Grant and Elvis spontaneously swap their expensive watches, and then Robert Plant, just before the meeting breaks up, finally summons up the courage to sing Elvis' 1956 hit "Love Me." Elvis joins in for a few bars.

1975: Cher's new boyfriend, rocker Gregg Allman of the Allman Brothers, appears as a guest on her CBS-TV show Cher.

1979: Lester Flatt (Flatt & Scruggs) dies of hear failure.

1981: In July 1977, Bob Marley was found to have acral lentiginous melanoma, a form of malignant melanoma from a wounded toe playing football. The spread of melanoma to his lungs and brain caused his death on this day. He was 36.

1988: On the occasion of his 100th birthday, legendary Tin Pan Alley songwriter Irving Berlin is serenaded by a crowd of fans singing his standards outside his New York apartment. That night, Carnegie Hall presents a program of the composer's hits.

1989: The late Roy Orbison is posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in New York, with Eric Clapton presenting the award to Orbison's widow.

1990: The late Ritchie Valens is finally awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6733 Hollywood Blvd.

1995: Jimmy Vaughn, Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Buddy Guy and Robert Cray reunited for a tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughn. All five had played with Vaughan at his last show on August 26, 1990, before he was killed in a helicopter crash.

2002: Over 500 Michael Jackson fans held a demonstration outside the Sony records building in Berlin complaining that the label hadn’t promoted the singer's latest album ‘Invincible.’

2003: Jackson Browne is the guest star (as himself) on tonight's "Brake My Wife, Please" episode of Fox-TV's The Simpsons.

2003: Noel Redding (Guitarist for The Jimi Hendrix Experience) died from "shock haemorrhage due to oesophageal varices in reaction to cirrhosis of the liver".

2004: John Whitehead (McFadden and Whitehead) was murdered by two unknown gunmen while fixing his car on the street outside his Philadelphia home with his nephew.

2004: Willie Nelson cancels ten upcoming concerts in order to get some much-needed carpal tunnel surgery.

2006: George Michael was involved in his second minor car crash in a month after a tabloid photographer found Michael asleep in his parked car in central London. The singer crashed into a bollard after he woke up and was driving away.

2007: Rapper, The Game ,was arrested at his home in connection with an incident at a basketball game in South Los Angeles in February 2007. He was alleged to have threatened a person with a gun. The rapper was released the next day, after posting $50,000 bail.

2008: John Rutsey (Original Drummer for Rush) died in his sleep of an apparent heart attack, related to complications from diabetes.

May 10

Births

1899: Fred Astaire (Singer)

1909: Mother Maybelle Carter (Country Singer)

1935: Larry Williams (R&B Singer)

1938: Henry Fambrough (Singer in The Spinners)

1940: Arthur Alexander )Country Singer)

1941: Danny Rapp (Danny and the Juniors)

1944: Jackie Lomax (Singern& Guitarist)

1946: Dave Mason (Singer & Guitar for Traffic)

1946: Donovan (Singer)

1946: Graham Gouldman (10cc)

1947: Jay Ferguson (Spirit)

1951: Ron Banks (The Dramatics)

1952: Sly Dunbar (Reggae Drummer in Sly & Robbie)

1957: John Ritchie (Sid Vicious) (Bass & Vocals for The Sex Pistols)

1957: Karl Hyde (Vocals & Guitar for Underworld)

1960: Paul Hewson (Bono) (Vocals & Guitar for U2)

1967: Young MC (Marvin Young) Rapper

1968: Richard Patrick (Guitarist for Filter & Nine Inch Nails)

Events

1940: Jimmy Dorsey recorded "Perfidia".

1960: A group from Liverpool named the Beatals changes its name to the Silver Beatles after local scenester Brian Casser declares the first name ridiculous. The five-piece (which at this point includes Stu Sutcliffe on bass and Tommy Moore on drums) audition to become singer Billy Fury's backing group. Though they don't get the main gig, they do score a gig backing up fellow Liverpudlian Tommy Quickly on a Scottish tour.

1963: The Rolling Stones make their first recordings for Decca Records, including the Chuck Berry cover "Come On," but all are rejected by the label as "dreadful."

1964: Dusty Springfield makes her television debut on CBS' Ed Sullivan Show, singing "I Only Want To Be With You."

1965: The Rolling Stones recorded "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction".

1966: Struggling singer Janis Joplin, back home in her native Texas, is invited back out to San Francisco by her friend Chet Helms, who invites her to audition with a group he's managing called Big Brother and the Holding Company.

1967: Mick Jagger and Keith Richards appeared at Chichester Crown Court, Sussex, charged with being in possession of drugs, they elect to go to trial pleading not guilty and were both granted $180 bail.

1968: Reacting to alleged abuse of audience members by policemen, Jim Morrison incites a riot at a Doors concert at the Chicago Coliseum.

1969: Tricia Nixon, daughter of the US President, invites The Temptations and the Turtles to perform at a White House ball. For some reason, Turtles guitarist Mark Volman keeps falling off the stage; rumors persist later that he and the band had prepared for the gig by snorting cocaine off of Abraham Lincoln's desk.

1969: Frank Sinatra's version of 'My Way' made the British Top ten for the first time. Over the next three years it re-entered the Top 50 singles chart on eight different occasions. Paul Anka re-wrote the original French song for Sinatra, after he told Anka he was quitting the music business. Anka changed the melodic structure and lyrics to the song with Sinatra in mind.

1974: Eric Clapton recorded "I Shot the Sheriff."

1974: Led Zeppelin launches its new record label, Swan Song, with a swank dinner at the Bel Air Hotel in Los Angeles that quickly devolves into a food fight.

1977: Adam And The Ants made their live debut when they played at the ICA, London.

1983: Metallica began recording the album "Kill 'Em All" in New York. They finished on May 27, 1983.

1985: All girl group The Go-Go's announced they were breaking up. The members went on to enjoy solo success, (Belinda Carlisle and Jane Wiedlin) and the group reformed in the late 90's.

1986: Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee married TV star Heather Locklear in a courtyard in Santa Barbara California with five hundred guests. Tommy wore a white leather tuxedo.

1986: The Pet Shop Boys went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'West End Girls', the duo's first US No.1, also a No.1 in the UK.

1991: Bushwick Bill (Geto Boys) lost his right eye after being shot by his girlfriend.

1994: Rapper Tupac Shakur began serving a 15-day county jail term for attacking director Allen Hughes on a video set.

1994: Barbra Striesand begins her 1st concert tour in 30 years.

1999: American singer, songwriter poet, cartoonist, screenwriter, and author of children's books Shel Silverstein died of a heart attack aged 57. Wrote, 'A Boy Named Sue' for Johnny Cash (which Silverstein won a Grammy for in 1970) and many songs for Dr Hook including 'Sylvia's Mother' and 'The Cover of the Rolling Stone.'

2000: Bobby Brown was arrested at Newark airport, New Jersey for breaking his probation order. He had been wanted in Florida since 1999 when his probation officer reported that a urine test proved positive for cocaine use.

2003: Steven Tyler (Aerosmith) was given an honorary doctorate degree in music by the Berklee College of Music.

2004: Glen Campbell is sentenced to 10 days in a jail after he pleads guilty to driving under the influence (and leaving the scene of the ensuing car wreck) the previous November in Phoenix.

2005: Seal married German supermodel Heidi Klum in a low-key ceremony on a beach in Mexico near the singer's home on the luxurious Costa Careyes.

2007: Pink Floyd's original members gather for the first time since 1980 to perform a concert at Barbican Centre, in London, a tribute to their recently deceased ex-frontman Syd Barrett.

2007: US hip-hop artist Akon apologised after footage of him dancing provocatively on stage with a teenage girl was posted on the internet. It led to telecommunications company Verizon pulling out as a sponsor of his US tour with Gwen Stefani. The incident took place on 12 April in Trinidad, where Akon was performing at a nightclub. It was later reported that the girl was just 14. In a statement Akon said he didn't know the girl was underage. He said: "I want to sincerely apologise for the embarrassment and any pain I've caused to the young woman who joined me on stage, her family and the Trinidad community for the events at my concert.”