May 27

Births

1932: Junior Parker (Blues Singer & Harmonica)

1935: Ramsey Lewis (Jazz Pianist)

1939: Don Williams (Country Singer & Songwriter)

1945: Bruce Cockburn (Singer / Songwriter)

1948: Pete Sears (Bass Guitar in Jefferson Starship)

1957: Siouxsie Sioux (Susan Dallion) (Vocals for Siouxsie And The Banshees)

1958: Neil Finn (Guitar & Vocals for Split Enz & Crowded House)

1966: Sean Kinney (Drummer for Alice In Chains)

1971: Lisa Left-Eye Lopes (Vocals for TLC)

1975: Andre 3000 (Andre Benjamin) (Rapper in Outkast)

1975: Jadakiss (Rapper)

Events

1957: Buddy Holly and the Crickets released their first single "That’ll Be The Day".

1957: Buddy Holly recorded the singles "Not Fade Away" & "Everyday".

1961: Johnny Cash guest stars on tonight's "The Deathly Quiet" episode of NBC-TV's little-remembered Henry Fonda Western The Deputy.

1962: At the Grammy Awards in New York, Andy Williams' "Moon River," from the movie Breakfast at Tiffany's, is named both Record and Song of the Year.

1964: Eleven schoolboys are suspended from a grammar school in Coventry, England, for showing up with Mick Jagger-style haircuts.

1966: The Exploding Plastic Inevitable show, featuring the Velvet Underground and the Mothers of Invention, plays its first gig on the West Coast, at San Francisco's Fillmore Auditorium.

1966: Before his concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London, Bob Dylan welcomes the Beatles again in his dressing room; Paul, anxious to impress the singer, plays him an early, electronic version of a track that would later become "Tomorrow Never Knows." "Oh, I get it, you don't want to be cute anymore," Dylan laughs, and leaves the room.

1967: Columbia and RCA announce plans to raise the price of long-playing LP (33 rpm) records one dollar to a high of $4.98.  It’s first increase since 1953.

1974: Lisa Marie Presley, then five, meets an 11-year-old Michael Jackson for the first time when Elvis brings her to the Jackson 5 show at the Sahara in Vegas.

1977: Declan McManus made his 'live' debut at the Nashville in London as Elvis Costello.

1977: The Sex Pistols single 'God Save The Queen' was released in the UK. Banned by TV and radio, high street shops and pressing plant workers refused to handle the record. It sold 200,000 copies in one week and peaked at No.2 on the UK charts behind Rod Stewart's 'I Don't Want to Talk About It'. There have been persistent rumors, (never confirmed or denied), that it was actually the biggest-selling single in the UK at the time, and the British Phonographic Industry conspired to keep it off the No.1 slot.

1983: The Smiths were at No.1 on the UK independent chart with their debut single 'Hand In Glove.'

1987: During a show in Rome's Flaminio Stadio, U2's sound system set off earthquake alarms in two neighborhoods.

1989: Celebrated anti-communist labor leader Lech Walesa presents Stevie Wonder with a "Badge of Solidarity" from his native Poland.

1989: For the first time since 1975, Chicago and the Beach Boys begin a joint headlining tour of the US, with Brian Wilson joining his old group on some of the dates.

1994: The Eagles reunite after 14 years, giving a two-and-a-half-hour performance in Burbank, CA, including two encores and a finale of "Desperado."

1997: Oasis singer Liam Gallagher was left with cuts and bruises after a scuffle with a youth at the Tower Thistle Hotel in east London. Members of the band had been drinking at the bar when the fight broke out.

1999: Lionel Richie and wife Diane Alexander become the proud parents of their first child, Miles Brockman.

2000: Paula Yates was awarded $680,000 in an out-of-court settlement from her boyfriend Michael Hutchence fortune. The INXS singer Hutchence was found dead in his hotel suite in Sydney in 1997 aged 37.

2004: The Bee Gees are made Commanders of the Order of the British Empire by Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace; Maurice's son Adam accepts on behalf of his father, who'd just died six months earlier.

2007: Saatchi & Saatchi were fired by Dr Martens for running an advertising campaign featuring dead rock stars such as Kurt Cobain and Sid Vicious wearing the brand's boots in heaven. David Suddens, the chief executive of Dr Martens parent company Airwear, said the brand had not commissioned the series of four print ads. "Dr Martens are very sorry for any offence that has been caused by the publication of images showing dead rock icons wearing Dr Martens boots."

2009: A credit card company sued Courtney Love, claiming she owed more than $350,000. In court papers filed in Los Angeles, American Express said it had suspended Love's Amex Gold card after she "failed and refused" to make payments.

2010: Dozens of AC/DC fans needed treatment after complaining of burning eyes during a concert on the runway of Wels Airport, Wels, Austria. Around 150 fans had to be treated. Doctors found that the fans showed allergic reactions to bark mulch spread at the venue – the runway of Wels Airport – to avoid the soil getting too muddy after hours of massive rainfall.

2011: Soul & Jazz poet Gill Scott- Heron dies.  He had been HIV-positive for several years and been previously hospitalized for pneumonia.

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.

May 25

Births

1936: Tom T. Hall (Country Singer)

1948: Klaus Meine (Singer for The Scorpions)

1950: Robby Steinhardt (Violin & Singer for Kansas)

1958: Paul Weller (Guitarist & Singer for The Jam & Solo)

1969: Glen Drover (Guitar for Megadeth & King Diamond)

1975: Lauryn Hill (Singer & Rapper The Fugees & Solo)

1980: Joe King (Guitarist & vocals for The Fray)

Events

1962: The Isley Brothers release the single "Twist And Shout".

1965: While onstage at a concert in Cardiff, Wales, Kinks guitarist Dave Davies slips and falls into Mick Avory's drum kit, knocking himself unconscious and forcing the group to cancel their current tour.

1965: Blues artist Sonny Boy Williamson (II) was discovered in bed at the rooming house where he had been staying, dead of an apparent heart attack suffered in his sleep the night before.  According to the Led Zeppelin biography Hammer of the Gods, touring the UK in the 60's, Sonny Boy set his hotel room on fire while trying to cook a rabbit in a coffee percolator.

1966: Felton Jarvis takes over for Chet Atkins as Elvis Presley's producer. Jarvis, a fan from the early days, will be instrumental in moving the singer back to blues, gospel, and R&B-based material.

1969: Folk group Fairport Convention holds a benefit at London's Roundhouse for recently deceased drummer Martin Lamble, who was killed in a car accident along with guitarist Richard Thompson's girlfriend and the band's clothes designer.

1973: Carole King holds a free concert in Central Park which draws a then-record 100,000 fans.

1974: Rick Wakeman became the first member of the group Yes to have a No.1 album when 'Journey To The Centre Of The Earth' went to the top of the charts.

1974: Pam Morrison, Jim Morrison's widow, died of a drug overdose.

1978: The Who perform a concert at London's Shepperton Film Studios specifically for use in the upcoming documentary The Kids Are Alright. It will sadly prove to be the group's last performance with original drummer Keith Moon.

1985: Dire Straits scored their second No.1 album with 'Brothers In Arms', also No.1 in 25 other countries. It went on to sell over 20 million copies worldwide.

1988 : Debbie Gibson's "Foolish Beat" hit #1, making her the youngest artist to write, sing and produce a #1 hit. She was 17 years old at the time.

1991: Randy Travis and Lib Hatcher were married.

1992: Khalil Rountree, tour manager of Boyz II Men was killed by gunfire after a scuffle in an elevator on the 26th floor of a hotel in Chicago; their assistant tour manager was also injured.

1994: Barbra Streisand postponed the first night of a six-night stand in Anaheim, CA. She had come down with viral laryngitis.

1995: The earliest known recording of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, dating all the way back to 1961, is sold at a London auction for over $85,000.

1996: Bradley Nowell (Singer for Sublime) was found dead in his San Francisco motel room of a drug overdose at the age of 26.

1997: Bob Dylan is admitted into a Los Angeles hospital suffering from chest pains and is eventually diagnosed as suffering from histoplasmosis, an inflammation of the cardial sac. As a result, his tour was canceled.

1997: Elvis Presley officially tops the list of dead entertainers with sales of over one billion records.

1998: Chicago mayor Richard Daley declares this Ramsey Lewis Week in honor of the native pop-jazz pianist.

2001: Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher won a damages settlement from The Daily Mirror after they claimed he lied in court during divorce proceedings with Meg Matthews.

2002: 30 Eminem fans were hurt after a crowd surge at a gig in Washington DC. Five people were taken to hospital, one man suffered a heart attack.

2004: Madonna canceled three shows in Israel after terrorists threatened to kill her and her kids. A spokesperson said she was targeted because she symbolizes the West and not because she practices the Jewish faith Kabbalah.

2005: Domenic Troiano (Guitar for The Guess Who, The James Gang) died of prostate cancer. His condition was first diagnosed about ten years earlier.

2005: Carrie Underwood wins FOX-TV's "American Idol" competition with a performance of the Martina McBride hit "Independence Day."

2006: Ska & Reggae legend Desmond Dekker died of a heart attack at his home in Thornton Heath in the London Borough of Croydon, England, aged 64.

2011: Scotty McCreery wins FOX's "American Idol," singing "Live Like You Were Dying" on the episode with Tim McGraw.