May 22

Births

1813: Wilhelm Richard Wagner (Composer )

1942: Calvin Simon (Funkadelic)

1950: Bernie Taupin (Elton John's long-time song writing partner)

1955: Jerry Dammers (Founder member and Keyboard with The Specials)

1955: Mary Black (Irish singer & songwriter)

1959:  Morrissey (Steven Morrissey) (vocals & songwriter for The Smiths & Solo)

1962: Jesse Valenzuela (Singer for The Gin Blossoms)

1966: Johnny Gill (R&B singer in New Edition & Solo)

1966: Kenny Hickey (Guitar for Type O Negative)

1967: Dan Roberts (Bass for Crash Test Dummies)

Events

1954: Bob Dylan (Robert Zimmerman) celebrated his bar mitzvah.

1958: Jerry Lee Lewis arrived at London's Heathrow Airport to begin his first British tour, along with his new bride, 14 year old third cousin, Myra. Although advised not to mention it, Lewis answered all questions about his private life. The public's shock over Lewis' marriage marks the start of a controversy leading to his British tour being cancelled after just 3 of the scheduled 37 performances.

1968: Frank Sinatra appeared at Oakland Coliseum, California backed by a full orchestra. The concert was a Democratic Party fundraiser.

1971: The Rolling Stones album 'Sticky Fingers' started a four-week run at No.1 on the US charts, the group's second US No.1 album. The artwork for Sticky Fingers, which, on the original vinyl release, featured a working zipper that opened to reveal cotton briefs was conceived by American pop artist Andy Warhol. The cover, a photo of Joe Dallesandro's crotch clad in tight blue jeans, was assumed by many fans to be an image of Mick Jagger. The album also features the first usage of the "Tongue and Lip Design" designed by John Pasche.  

1977: Television kicked off their first UK tour at the Apollo Theatre, Glasgow, Scotland, Blondie were the support act.

1989: Rap group Public Enemy fired one of its members, Professor Griff, after he made anti-Semitic remarks in the Washington Post.

1991: Wil Sinnott from The Shamen drowned while swimming off the coast of La Gomera when he was pulled under by strong currents. The Shamen were in Tenerife filming a video for their new single 'Move Any Mountain.'

1992: Michael Jackson financed the funeral of a 9-year-old boy that had been killed in a drive-by shooting.

2000: Robbie Williams set up a children's charity with the cash he earned from a deal with Pepsi. The trust, 'Give It Sum', boasted $4M seed money. Beneficiaries would include UNICEF and Jeans For Genes.

2000: Steely Dan received the Founders Award for a lifetime of songwriting at the ASCAP Pop Music Awards.

2002: Adam Ant appeared at The Old Bailey in London charged with possession of an imitation firearm.  Ant, (Stuart Goddard) had been arrested in January after an altercation at The Prince of Wales pub in London when a bouncer refused to let him in.

2002: All the members from Alien Ant Farm were hospitalised after their tour bus was involved in a crash in Spain. The bands driver 26-year-old Christopher Holland was killed in the accident.

2003: A new model of J.Lo was unveiled at Madame Tussauds in London. It was part of a new "A list" celebrity area that also featured Naomi Campbell and Samuel L Jackson. J.Lo's waxwork cost $80,000 to make.

2003: Soul singer Ruben Studdard won the second series of talent show American Idol after 24 million viewers voted in the final. Studdard beat fellow finalist Clay Aiken in a tense live showdown.

2004: Morrissey appeared at the M.E.N. arena Manchester, England on his 45th birthday. It was Morrissey's return to his home city Manchester after an absence of 12 years and the 18000 tickets sold out in only 90 minutes. During the set Morrissey performed five Smiths songs.

2009: White Stripes drummer Meg White married Jackson Smith at ex-husband and bandmate Jack White's Nashville home. Jack and Meg White were married for four years and divorced in 2000. The event was part of a double wedding, which also saw Jack Lawrence and Jo McCaughey marry. Lawrence plays bass in Jack White's other musical projects, The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather.