May 10

Births

1899: Fred Astaire (Singer)

1909: Mother Maybelle Carter (Country Singer in Carter Family)

1946: Dave Mason (Singer & Guitar for Traffic & Solo)

1946: Donovan (Donovan Philips Leitch) (Singer)

1947: Jay Ferguson (Lead Vocals & Percussion for Spirit & Solo)

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

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

1957: Karl Hyde (Vocals & Guitar for Underworld)

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

1967: Young MC (Marvin Young) Rapper

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

1980: Jason Dalyrimple (Singer in Soul For Real)

Events

1960: A group from Liverpool named the Beatals (sic) 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."

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.

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 their debut 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.

1991: Rapper 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.

1994: Willie Nelson is found by police in Hewitt, Texas, asleep at the side of a road. He's arrested on drug charges when they discover the butt from a doobie in his ashtray.

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 Berkley 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: Singer 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 apologized 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.” 

May 9

Births

1914: Hank Snow (Country Singer)

1937: Dave Prater (Singer in Sam and Dave)

1937: Sonny Curtis (Guitar in The Crickets)

1939: Nokie Edwards (Noel Floyd Edwards)(Bass for The Ventures)

1941: Danny Rapp (Singer for Danny and the Juniors)

1942: Tommy Roe (Singer)

1944: Don Dannemann (The Cyrkle)

1944: Richie Furay (Singer for Buffalo Springfield & Poco)

1945: Steve Katz (Guitar in Blood Sweat and Tears)

1946: Clint Holmes (Singer)

1949: Billy Joel (Singer & Piano Player)

1949: Bob Margolin (Blues Guitarist)

1950: Tom Petersson (Bass for Cheap Trick)

1953: John Edwards (Bass for Status Quo)

1962: Dave Gahan (Vocals for Depeche Mode)

1962: Paul Heaton (Vocals for Housemartins)

1971: Paul 'Guigsy' McGuigan (Bass for Oasis)

1975: Ryan 'Nik' Vikedal, (Drums for Nickelback)

1979: Pierre Bouvier (Singer for Simple Plan)

Events

1944: Jimmie Davis became the Governor of Louisiana. He wrote the song "You Are My Sunshine.

1958: Still angry that his employers refuse to back him in his defense of recent charges of inciting a riot at a Boston show, DJ Alan Freed quits New York radio station WINS, claiming they refused to "stand by my policies and principles." The same day, Freed debuts his new package tour in Hershey, PA, starring Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, Danny and the Juniors, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Larry Williams, and the Chantels.

1959: A sixteen-year-old singer named Wayne Newton, long ridiculed for his girlish voice, begins a two-week engagement at Vegas' Freemont Hotel, and proves so popular that he would headline at the location for over three years. He would go on to earn $20 million annually.

1962: Brian Epstein met with EMI producer George Martin. Martin signed the Beatles to record demos on June 4, 1962. It was their first recording contract.

1963: The Rolling Stones sign their first management contract with Andrew Loog Oldham's management company Impact, agreeing to license their UK output to Decca.

1964: Chuck Berry makes his UK stage debut at London's Astoria Theatre, with The Animals, The Nashville Teens, and The Swinging Blue Jeans opening for him.

1964: Louis Armstrong went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Hello Dolly' making him the oldest artist to hit No.1 one at the age of 62.

1965: Bob Dylan gives his first major performance in the UK, opening at London's Royal Albert Hall for an audience that includes the Beatles, the Stones, Donovan, and Marianne Faithfull.

1966: The Doors played at the Whisky A Go Go, West Hollywood, California auditioning for the position of the venues house band.

1973: Mick Jagger adds $150,000 to the Rolling Stones' contribution of $350,000 for victims of a recent Nicaraguan earthquake. (Jagger's then-wife Bianca was born in Nicaragua.)

1974: A folk supergroup performs at New York's Felt Forum when Bob Dylan, Phil Ochs, Pete Seeger, and Arlo Guthrie perform "Blowin' In The Wind" and the standard "Spanish Is The Loving Tongue" for a Chilean benefit group. Unfortunately, a reportedly inebriated Dylan does not give his best performance.

1974: Bruce Springsteen gives the most important performance of his career, opening for Bonnie Raitt at her Boston Arena show. Playing his full two-hour set at Raitt's insistence, Bruce delivers a show so impressive that Rolling Stone's Jon Landau later wrote in Boston's The Real Paper, "I saw rock and roll future, and its name is Bruce Springsteen. And on a night when I needed to feel young, he made me feel like I was hearing music for the very first time." Landau would later become Springsteen's manager and producer.

1978: Fee Waybill of The Tubes, broke a leg after falling from the stage at the Hammersmith Odeon, London whilst wielding a chainsaw during the bands set.

1979: Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr attend Eric Clapton's marriage to George's ex-wife, Patti (whom a lovestruck Clapton wrote "Layla" for), with the "Threetles" performing some old rock and roll songs at Clapton's country manor. Mick Jagger, Elton John, Denny Laine, David Bowie, and Lonnie Donegan also attend. The couple would divorce in 1988.

1979: Jazz singer Eddie Jefferson was shot and killed at Baker's Keyboard Lounge on May 8, 1979, aged 60. He had left the club with fellow bandleader Cole around 1:35 a.m. and was shot while walking out of the building. A late-model Lincoln Continental was spotted speeding away from the scene. The driver was later picked up by Detroit police and identified as a disgruntled dancer with whom Jefferson once worked and had fired from a gig. The suspect was charged with murder, but was later acquitted in a Detroit trial.

1987: Starship started a four-week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with a song co-written by Albert Hammond and Diane Warren, 'Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now.' At 48, it made lead singer Grace Slick the oldest female to reach No.1 on the UK chart, (later broken by Cher's 'Believe' in 1999).

1988: Prince's 10th album was released entitled "Lovesexy." Some stores refused to sell the album due to the nude portrait that was on the cover.

1990: Sinead O'Connor refused to perform on "Saturday Night Live" after Andrew Dice Clay was named as host.

1992: Bruce Springsteen finally makes his debut on US television, performing "Lucky Town" on NBC's Saturday Night Live.

1998: The Beach Boys' Brian Wilson performs his first-ever solo concert in St. Charles, IL.

1998: Blues harmonica player Lester Butler died at the age of 39 of a drug overdose.

1998: Jimmy Page appeared on US TV's 'Saturday Night Live' with rapper Sean 'Puffy' Combs and performed 'Come With Me' from the 'Godzilla' movie soundtrack. The song sampled the guitar riff from Led Zeppelin's song 'Kashmir'.

2000: A U.S. federal appeals court upheld a $5.4 million jury decision that Michael Bolton had plagiarized parts of the song "Love is a Wonderful Thing." The original song, of the same name, was released in 1966 by the Isley Brothers.

2005: Country singer Kenny Chesney married Bridget Jones and Chicago actress Renee Zellweger in the Caribbean.

2008: Foxy Brown avoided a further spell in prison after pleading guilty in a New York court to menacing her neighbour with a BlackBerry phone. The 28-year-old rapper admitted hitting Arlene Raymond during an argument over the volume of her car stereo last July. The incident landed the star in prison for violating the terms of her probation on a separate assault charge.

May 8

Births

1911: Robert Johnson (Blues Guitarist)

1917: Papa John Creach (Violin for Jefferson Airplane)

1940: Toni Tennille (Singer in The Captain and Tennille)

1940: Ricky Nelson (Pop Singer)

1940: Gary Glitter (Paul Gadd) (Guitarist & Singer)

1943: Paul Samwell-Smith (Bass for The Yardbirds)

1943: Danny Whitten (Guitar for Crazy Horse)

1944: Bill Legend (Drums for T. Rex)

1947: Rick Derringer (Guitar for The McCoys, Edgar Winter Group & Solo)

1947: Billy Burnette (Guitar in Fleetwood Mac)

1951: Philip Bailey (Singer for Earth, Wind and Fire)

1951: Chris Frantz (Drummer for The Talking Heads)

1955: Alex Van Halen (Drummer for Van Halen)

1964: Dave Rowntree (Drummer for Blur)

1972: Darren Hayes (Singer for Savage Garden)

1975: Enrique Iglesias (Singer)

1976: Martha Wainwright (Singer-Songwriter)

Events

1954: The BBC bans Johnnie Ray's latest single, "Such A Night," from airplay due to its somewhat suggestive lyrics. It would later become a hit for Elvis Presley.

1961: Teen idol Ricky Nelson turns 21 and, eager to shed his teenybop image, changes his professional first name to "Rick," which he would insist upon being called for the rest of his career.

1962: Beatles manager Brian Epstein, already somewhat discouraged by the Decca label rejecting them, runs into engineer Ted Huntly while at HMV Record Store in London. Huntly suggests sending the band demo to a producer at EMI named George Martin.

1967: During filming of what would become the documentary Dont Look Back Bob Dylan gets the idea to make a short film of his single "Subterranean Homesick Blues," featuring him standing in an alley next to London's Savoy Hotel. Featuring nothing but Dylan surrounded by friends Allen Ginsberg and Bob Neuwirth, flipping giant cue cards with the lyrics of the song on them, the clip -- one of the first "music videos" -- becomes an iconic rock moment.

1967: Gerry and the Pacemakers, increasingly out of step with changing rock trends, announce their disbandment.

1969: The Beatles sign a contract making Allen Klein their manager (through his company ABKCO). Paul, pointedly, refuses to show up and sign the agreement, a decision that will lead to the group's eventual dissolution.

1970: The Beatles twelfth and final album, Let It Be was released, (it was recorded before ‘Abbey Road’ and originally to be called Get Back).

1972: Following promoter Sid Bernstein's decision to reinvent Radio City Music Hall in New York as a rock venue, Billy Preston becomes the first rock performer to headline at the famous landmark.

1974: UK keyboard player Graham Bond committed suicide after throwing himself under a London tube train at Finsbury Park station, aged 36. It took police two days to identify his body which was crushed beyond all recognition. Briefly a member of Blues Incorporated, a group led by Alexis Korner, before forming the Graham Bond Quartet, with a lineup of Bond on vocals and organ, Ginger Baker on drums and Jack Bruce on bass.

1976: On stage during Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue in Houston, Willie Nelson joins Bob for a stirring rendition of the country standard "Will The Circle Be Unbroken," dedicated (as is the concert itself) to freeing wrongfully convicted ex-boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter from his murder sentence.

1976: Former lead singer of the Lovin Spoonful John Sebastian went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Welcome Back', taken from the US TV show 'Welcome Back Kotter'.

1976: BBC's Radio One fires DJ Johnny Walker after he refuses to promote teenybop phenoms The Bay City Rollers on the station.

1982: Neil Bogart died of cancer at the age of 39. Bogart was the founder of Casablanca Records, with Peter Guber, home of Donna Summer, The Village People, Kiss, T.Rex and Joan Jett.

1990: Tom Waits wins his $2.5 million suit against snack kings Frito-Lay for using a Waits "soundalike" in a commercial.

1991: 55-year-old Rolling Stone bassist Bill Wyman divorces his second wife, 21-year-old model Mandy Smith, after three years of marriage.

1992: Will Smith (the Fresh Prince) and songwriter Sheree Zampino were married.

1996: A Los Angeles judge ruled against Tommy Lee and wife Pamela Anderson in their bid to keep Penthouse magazine from publishing still photos from an X-rated home movie that was stolen from their home.

1998: The three former Beatles, along with Yoko Ono, win an injunction stopping the re-release of the band's live 1962 "Star Club" tapes, recorded in Hamburg at the famous venue.

1998: The Smashing Pumpkins filed a suit against Westwood One. The claim was that the radio syndicator had breached an oral and implied agreement when they licensed a 1991 interview with the band.

1999: Ricky Martin went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Livin' La Vida Loca'. The song spent 5 weeks at No.1.

2006: Former MC5 bassist Michael Davis is badly injured in a motorcycle accident while riding in his hometown of Detroit.

2006: The Rolling Stones called off their forthcoming European tour after guitarist Keith Richards underwent emergency brain surgery. The 62 year-old guitarist suffered "mild concussion" when he fell out of a coconut tree on holiday in Fiji.

2006: Apple Computers wins a long, long legal battle over rights to sell music over the internet without violating the trademark of the Beatles' Apple label.

2008: Earth Wind and Fire vocalists Maurice White and Philip Bailey, along with Steve Winwood, are all granted honorary doctorates in music from Boston's famous Berklee College of Music.

2008: American Country artist Eddy Arnold died of natural causes, one week before his 90th birthday. He sold more than 85 million records and had 147 songs on the US charts, including 28 number one hits on Billboard's Country Singles chart.