April 24

Births

1918: Ella Fitzgerald (Jazz Singer)

1923: Albert King (Blues Guitarist)

1928: Johnny Griffin (Jazz Saxophonist)

1942: Barbra Streisand (Singer)

1943: Richard Sterban (Bass Singer in The Oak Ridge Boys)

1945: Doug Clifford (Drums in Creedence Clearwater Revival)

1945: Bjorn Ulvaeus (Guitar & Vocals for Abba)

1947: Ann Kelly (The Hues Corporation)

1948: Steve York (Manfred Mann)

1950: Steve Ferrone (Drummer for Average White Band)

1958: Fish (Derek Dick) (Vocals for Marillion and Solo Artist)

1964: Andy Bell (Erasure)

1965: Eric Avery (Jane's Addiction)

1965: Simon Fowler (Vocals for Ocean Colour Scene)

1982: Kelly Clarkson (Pop Singer)

Events

1954: Keeping an eye on the new trends, an article in this week's Billboard is entitled "Teenagers Demand Music With A Beat - Spur Rhythm And Blues."

1959: After running on Saturday nights on radio for 24 years and TV for the last nine, the final installment of the musical countdown show Your Hit Parade airs on NBC. The final Top Five: Elvis Presley, "I Need Your Love Tonight" (#5), Brook Benton, "It's Just A Matter Of Time" (#4), Ricky Nelson, "Never Be Anyone Else But You" (#3), Dodie Stevens, "Pink Shoe Laces" (#2), and the Fleetwoods at #1 with "Come Softly To Me."

1961: Bob Dylan makes his first recording -- playing harmonica on Harry Belafonte's song "Calypso King." He's paid fifty dollars.

1963: An 18-year-old Brenda Lee marries Ronnie Shacklett, one year her senior, in Nashville a mere six months after meeting him at a Jackie Wilson concert. 48 years later, the two are still together.

1968: The newly-formed Apple Records decides not to sign a young talent named David Bowie.

1969: Paul McCartney says their is no truth to rumors he is dead

1970: Having been invited to a White House dinner by Tricia Nixon, daughter of US President Richard Nixon, the Jefferson Airplane's Grace Slick brings radical Abbie Hoffman with her, in an attempt to secretly dose Tricia with LSD during the meal. Hoffman is turned away at the door by Secret Service agents, causing Slick to leave as well.

1974: Pamela Courson the long-term companion of the late Jim Morrison died of a drugs overdose. It was Courson who found the Doors singer dead on July 3, 1971 in the bathtub of their apartment in Paris, France.

1976: In a parody of recent public offers, Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels goes on air and offers the Beatles the whopping sum of $3,000 if they agree to reunite on the hits NBC-TV show. And it almost happens: Paul, visiting John in his New York apartment for what would turn out to be the last time, is watching the skit with John, and both consider going across town to the studio live. However, the duo decide they're too tired.

1977: Elvis Presley made the last recordings of his life during a concert at the Saginaw, Michigan Civic Centre. Three songs from the show appeared on the posthumously released Presley album, 'Moody Blue'.

1977: Talking Heads began its first European tour, supporting the Ramones.

1979: The Police made their debut on BBC TV's 'Top Of The Pops' performing 'Roxanne'.

1979: Governor George Busbee of Georgia issues a proclamation declaring Hoagy Carmichael's "Georgia On My Mind" the new official state song. Ray Charles sings his famous version at the ceremony.

1982: Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Ebony And Ivory.' This was McCartney's 24th No.1 hit single as a songwriter. The title was inspired by McCartney hearing Spike Milligan say "black notes, white notes, and you need to play the two to make harmony folks!". It was later named as the tenth worst song of all time by Blender magazine and in 2007 was named the worst duet in history by BBC 6 Music listeners.

1984: With questions still lingering about the death of his fifth wife, Shawn Stephens, Jerry Lee Lewis marries his sixth, Kerrie McCarver, the 22-year-old president of his fan club.

1987: U2 started a five-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with 'The Joshua Tree.'

1988: Bon Jovi's manager Doc Mcgee was convicted on drug offences arising from the 1982 seizure of 40,000lb of marijuana smuggled into north Carolina from Colombia. McGee was sentenced to a five year suspended prison term and a $15,000 fine.

1990: The Fender Stratocaster that Jimi Hendrix played at the Woodstock festival was auctioned off for a record $295,000.

1990: The road crew for Roger Waters discovered an unexploded World War II era bomb while constructing the set for "The Wall" concert in Potsdamer Platz, Germany.

1992: The Cleveland Orchestra sues Michael Jackson for $7 million after it discovers the singer used part of their recording of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony on his hit album Dangerous.

1992: Kris Kross started an eight week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Jump', a No.2 hit in the UK. The duo of Chris Smith and Chris Kelly were 12 and 13 when they recorded the song.

1992: David Bowie marries his second wife, model Iman, in Switzerland.

1992: In his hometown of Inglewood, NJ, Wilson Pickett drives his car through the mayor's front yard, yelling death threats at the house and accidentally running over an 86-year-old man. He is later arrested and found with open containers of alcohol in his car.

1994: Adam Horovitz of the Beastie Boys was sentenced to 200 hours of community service for attacking a TV cameraman during the memorial services for actor River Phoenix the previous November.

1996: It was announced that Scott Weiland (Stone Temple Pilots) was in a drug rehab and could not perform causing the cancellation of several shows.

2002: Jewel was thrown from a horse and suffered a broken collarbone and a rib

2002: TLC member Lisa Lopes was killed in a car accident in La Ceiba, Honduras, aged 30. Seven other people, including Lopes' brother and sister, who were in the Mitsubishi Montero sports utility vehicle when the crash happened, were taken to a hospital. Lopes who was driving the car when it crashed had spent the past month in Honduras working on various projects including a clothing line, a new solo project and a book.

2005: After 94 performances, the Broadway musical and Beach Boys tribute Good Vibrations closes.

2007: US President George W. Bush is denied a luxury suite at the Imperial Hotel in Vienna when Mick Jagger, in town with the Stones on a tour, books it first.

2007: American singer Bobby "Boris" Pickett died of leukemia at the age of 69. Scored the Halloween anthem ‘The Monster Mash’ in 1962. The song had been banned by The BBC in the UK, deemed offensive and wasn’t a hit until 1973. It was a spoof on the dance crazes popular at the time, including the Twist and the Mashed Potato.

2009: A man suing rapper Snoop Dogg told a court he received a ‘brutal’ beating from the star's security. Richard Monroe Jr also claimed that the rapper, hit him with a microphone after he climb on stage. Mr Monroe was asking for $22m in damages from the rapper and others. Jurors were told that as the performer started his hit ‘Gin and Juice’, at the White River Amphitheatre in Seattle, Mr Monroe thought there was an open invitation to jump on stage. 

April 23

Birthdays

1936: Roy Orbison (Guitarist & Singer)

1936: April Stevens (Singer)

1940: Dale Houston (Singer in Dale and Grace)

1947: Glenn Cornick (Bass for Jethro Tull)

1949: John Miles (Guitarist & Keyboard Player)

1952: Narada Michael Walden (Producer)

1960: David Gedge (Vocals & Guitar for The Wedding Present)

1960: Steve Clark (Guitarist with Def Leppard)

1964: Simon Matthews (Drums for Jesus Jones)

1968: Paul Clifford (Bass for The Wonder Stuff)

1968: Stan Frazier (Sugar Ray)

1985: Taio Cruz (Singer & Producer)

Events

1943: The Earl "Fatha" Hines Band, featuring then-unknowns Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, and a vocalist named Sarah Vaughan, begins a series of engagements at the Apollo in Harlem.

1956: High on his recent successes, and at the insistence of Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis Presley begins a disastrous concert stint at the Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas where he opens for comedian Shecky Greene. The middle-aged audience, miles removed from Elvis' teen fanbase, are completely indifferent to him, and his contract is soon torn up after only one week of a two-week engagement. However, while there, Presley witnesses a band called Freddie Bell and the Bellboys doing a wild rave-up version of Big Mama Thornton's blues hit "Hound Dog." He soon works it into the live act.

1960: While staying at Paul McCartney's aunt's pub, The Fox and Hound in Caversham, Berkshire, England, Paul and John Lennon perform a set together, calling themselves the Nurk Twins.

1962: The Beatles make their first appearance on record when Tony Sheridan's version of the standard "My Bonnie," featuring the Fab Four as backup, is released by Decca. The single is not a hit.

1963: Jan and Dean recorded "Surf City".

1969: Los Angeles' famed folk and rock club The Ash Grove, launching pad for everyone from Linda Ronstadt to Canned Heat, catches fire and nearly burns to the ground.

1971: The Rolling Stones released their classic album, Sticky Fingers in the UK. The album made No.1 in the UK and the US and was the bands first release on Atlantic records. The cover a pair of jeans with a working zip was designed by Andy Warhol who was paid $30,000 for the art work which featured a photo of actor Joe Dallesandro's crotch clad in tight blue jeans (assumed by many fans to be Mick Jagger).

1974: Just before being scheduled to appear as guest host on NBC-TV's Tonight Show, Mama Cass (Mama’s & The Papa’s) collapses from exhaustion.

1975: Pete Ham (Badfinger) hanged himself in the garage of his Surrey home, three days before his 28th birthday. At the time of his death his Blood alcohol content was estimated to have been 0.27%.

1976: The Ramones released their eponymous debut album. On the same day The Sex Pistols played The Nashville Rooms, London supporting The 101'ers who featured Clash vocalist Joe Strummer.

1977: Adam And The Ants made their debut at the Roxy Club, London.

1978: Sex Pistols bass player Sid Vicious filmed his version of 'My Way' for the Sex Pistols' film 'The Great Rock n Roll Swindle.'

1981: Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins join Johnny Cash onstage at his show in Stuttgart, West Germany, performing their hits and some mutual country, blues, and gospel favorites. The concert is later released as the LP The Survivors.

1983: Dexy's Midnight Runners went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Come On Eileen' the group's only US No.1.

1985: Liberace guest-stars as himself on today's episode of NBC-TV's long-running soap Another World.

1987: Carole King sues her former label head and mentor, Lou Adler, for $400,000 in royalties and the publishing rights to some of her older recordings from the late Sixties.

1988: During tonight's Bruce Springsteen concert at the Sports Arena in Los Angeles, CA, Roy Orbison, celebrating his 52nd birthday, is brought onstage so that fans can sing "Happy Birthday" to him.

1988: Whitney Houston smashed a chart record held by The Beatles and The Bee Gees when 'Where Do Broken Hearts Go', became her seventh consecutive US No.1, a No.14 hit in the UK.

1991: Founder member of The New York Dolls Johnny Thunders (John Anthony Genzale, Jr), died of a drug overdose. He renamed himself Johnny Thunders, after a comic book of the same name. The influential New York Dolls formed in 1972 and made just two albums. A teenage Morrissey acted as president of the UK branch of the New York Dolls fan club. Formed The Heartbreakers with Dolls drummer Jerry Nolan, and Television bassist Richard Hell.

1995: London's Sunday Times reports that Peter Hodgson, whose father once lent Paul McCartney his tape recorder, had found a reel-to-reel of the Beatles' first recordings in his attic. Made in 1959, the tape features sixteen songs, including "Hello Little Girl," written by Lennon and McCartney but given to another band, and Ray Charles' "Hallelujah, I Love Her So."

2008: Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora was sentenced to three years probation after admitting to driving under the influence of alcohol. 48-year-old Sambora who was not at the court hearing would also have to attend first offender alcohol awareness classes. He was arrested in Laguna Beach after his car was seen weaving between traffic lanes.

2008: Amy Winehouse went out on a drink and drug-fuelled spree and hit and headbutted two men. After drinking all day, Amy visited the Good Mixer pub in Camden, London with Babyshambles guitarist Mik Whitnall. Inside she allegedly punched Mustapha el Mounmi in the face after he refused to give way to her at the pool table. The singer then left to visit Bar Tok in the early hours and once at the bar shouted “I am a legend get these people out. I want to take drugs.” After leaving the bar a good Samaritan tried to get her a cab, but she reportedly thought he was trying to molest her and allegedly headbutted him in the face.

April 22

Birthdays

1922: Charles Mingus (Jazz Bass Player)

1927: Laurel Aitken (Ska Singer)

1936: Glen Campbell (Country Singer)

1943: Mel Carter (Singer)

1948: Larry Groce (Singer-Songwriter)

1950: Peter Frampton (Singer & Guitarist)

1951: Paul Carrack (Keyboards, Guitar& Vocals for Ace & Squeeze)

1956: Kenny Lyons (Bass for .38 Special & The Lemonheads)

1974: Shavo Odadjian (Bassist for System of a Down)

1979: Daniel Johns (Singer & Guitar for Silverchair)

Events

1956: Elvis Presley made his Las Vegas debut at the Frontier Hotel.

1957: Elvis Presley had his custom built ‘Music Gates’ installed at Gracelands. The gates were designed by Abe Saucer and custom built by John Dillars Jr, of Memphis Doors inc.

1959: The Alan Freed "rock and roll movie" Go, Johnny, Go premieres in New York, featuring Chuck Berry, Jackie Wilson, Ritchie Valens, Eddie Cochran, The Cadillacs, and the Flamingos.

1962: Jerry Lee Lewis loses his first son, Steve Allen (named after the TV host and good friend), in a tragic drowning accident at the age of three.

1964: The President of England's National Federation of Hairdressers makes headlines when he offers a free haircut to the next rock group to reach Number One.

1966: A young Bruce Springsteen gets a boost when his band The Castiles wins a battle of the bands contest at a roller rink in Matawan, NJ. The first prize? Opening for the Crystals and the Ad-Libs at next week's show.

1966: 'Wild Thing' by The Troggs (who were originally called The Troglodytes) was released in the U.S. on both the Atco and Fontana labels. The song went on to reach No.1. Fronted by Reg Presley, 'Wild Thing' became a major influence on garage rock and punk rock.

1967: Elvis' 23rd film, Easy Come, Easy Go, premieres in Hollywood.

1968: Herb Alpert sings a Burt Bacharach composition, "This Guy's In Love With You," to his wife on the Tijuana Brass' CBS special Beat Of The Brass, sparking a national demand for the song, which results in it being released a few weeks later. It goes on to sell a million records.

1969: A&M signs the Carpenters.

1969: On the roof of Apple headquarters at 3 Savile Row, London, John Winston Lennon has his name legally changed to John Ono Lennon.

1969: Today is Tommy Day. The Who perform their new rock opera Tommy for the first time on stage in its entirety at a concert in Dolton, England; five years later to the day, the group begins filming the movie version (with Tina Turner's turn as the Acid Queen being filmed first), and, on the same date in 1993, the Broadway play based on the album opens.

1976: Johnnie Taylor's "Disco Lady" became the first single to sell over 2 million copies.

1978: Bob Marley headlines the historic One Love Peace Concert in Jamaica, the singer's first appearance in his home country since an assassination attempt two years before. At the concert, Marley manages to unite Jamaican Prime Minister Michael Manley with rival Edward Seaga, who had both been using local warlords to battle for power.

1978: On tonight's Saturday Night Live, John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd team up to debut two new characters called "The Blues Brothers," who perform a cover of Sam and Dave's "Soul Man."

1979: The Rolling Stones play two concerts in Oshawa, Ontario for the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, a result of court-ordered community service for guitarist Keith Richards, busted two years earlier in Toronto for heroin possession.

1981: Eric Clapton is involved in a car crash near Seattle and is hospitalized with bruised ribs and lacerations, a mere two days after being released from hospitalization for ulcer treatment in St. Paul, MN.

1991: The Dave Matthews Band played their first ever-live show when they appeared at The Earth Day festival in Charlottesville, Virginia.

1998: It was announced that Faith No More was breaking up.

2001: Destiny's Child went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Survivor.' Their second chart topper, they were the first US female band to have more than one UK No.1. The song won the trio a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Group.

2008: Singer Paul Davis died of a heart attack at the Rush Foundation Hospital in Meridian, Mississippi.

2010: Bret Michaels (Poison) was rushed to the hospital. It was discovered that he had suffered from a brain hemmorage. Two weeks earlier Michaels had been taken to the hospital and underwent an emergency appendectomy.

April 21

Birthdays

1919: Don Cornell (Singer)

1939: Ernie Maresca (Doo Wop Singer)

1945: Robert Knight (Singer)

1947: Alan Warner (The Foundations)

1947: Iggy Pop (James Osterberg) (Punk Singer with The Stooges)

1949: Paul Davis (Singer)

1951: Paul Carrack (Singer for Ace, Squeeze, Mike + The Mechanics)

1959: Michael Timmins (Guitar for The Cowboy Junkies)

1959: Robert Smith (Guitar & Vocals for The Cure)

1963: Johnny McElhone (Guitarist for Altered Images)

Events

1945: One of the world's first great R&B labels, Modern Records, is formed by Saul and Jules Bihari in Los Angeles. It would prove to be the launching pad for everyone from John Lee Hooker to Etta James.

1960: Testifying before the US Congressional committee on "payola," DJ and TV host Dick Clark admits to having taken money and gifts to play songs on the radio, going so far as to declare 27 percent of his playlist as containing some sort of financial interest for him. For his penitence, Clark is ordered to sell off some of his conflicting interests, but has his name cleared -- unlike DJ Alan Freed, who refuses to admit that payola was an illegal or immoral practice.

1963: The Beatles meet the Rolling Stones for the first time, backstage after the Stones' gig at the Crawdaddy Club in Richmond, England. The bands get along well after some initial nervousness, but contrary to myth, this is not the occasion where the Beatles write "I Wanna Be Your Man" for their rivals.

1965: The Beach Boys appear on today's episode of Shindig! on ABC-TV, performing their version of Bobby Freeman's "Do You Wanna Dance?"

1967: The Beatles finish work on Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by recording a two-second snippet of gibberish for use in the original vinyl LP's run-out groove, meaning that the listener would hear the noises repeated on a loop until they got up and took the record off the turntable. The only actual vocal is a Beatle saying something like "never could be any other way," which, when played backwards, allegedly reveals the words "We'll f*** you like Supermen." As a practical joke, John Lennon also adds a special 15Hz tone before the groove, one so high only dogs can hear it. Not present on the US LP, both were added back to the CD.

1969: Janis Joplin makes her stage debut in London when she and her Kozmic Blues Band perform a legendary concert at the Royal Albert Hall.

1969: Janis Joplin appeared at The Royal Albert Hall, London, (her first London appearance). The opening act was Yes.

1970: Elton John makes his stage debut as a solo act when he opens for T. Rex, Spooky Tooth, and Jackie Lomax at the Roundhouse in London.

1970: Blues Guitarist Earl Hooker died at age 41 from complications due to tuberculosis.

1971: Don Drummond (The Skatalites) died.  The official cause of death was "natural causes", possibly heart failure caused by malnutrition or improper medication.

1973: Tony Orlando & Dawn started a four week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Old Oak Tree', (it became the biggest seller of 1973, selling over 6 million copies). The song was based on a true story of a prisoner who wrote to his wife asking her to tie a yellow ribbon around an oak tree in the town square in White Oak, Georgia, if she still loved him.

1977: ABC airs Frank Sinatra's TV special Frank Sinatra and Friends, featuring guest stars Natalie Cole and John Denver.

1978: UK folk singer Sandy Denny died aged 31. While on holiday with her parents in Cornwall, England, Denny was injured in a fall down a staircase. A month after the fall she collapsed at a friend's home; four days later she died in Hospital, her death was ruled to be the result of a traumatic mid-brain hemorrhage. She was a member of Fairport Convention and a solo artist. Her 1967 song 'Who Knows Where the Time Goes', was covered by Judy Collins. Denny sang on the Led Zeppelin track 'Battle Of Evermore' on the bands fourth album, (the only guest vocalist on a Led Zeppelin album).

1982: Clash frontman Joe Strummer disappeared for three weeks, which resulted in the group cancelling a tour. The singer was found living rough in Paris, France.

1984: Phil Collins started a three week run at No.1 in the US singles chart with the theme from 'Against All Odds'. It was Phil's first US No.1 as a solo artist.

1984: After 37 weeks, "Thriller" is knocked off as top album by "Footloose".

1990: Paul McCartney sets a new world record for attendance at a concert by a single artist when his tour-ending concert at the Maracana Stadium in Rio draws 184,000 people.

1990:  Christian Singer Amy Grant sued Marvel Comics for including her likeness in a Dr Strange Comic.

1990: Sinead O'Connor started a four week stay at No.1 in the US singles chart with her version of the Prince song 'Nothing Compares To You'. The track was also a No.1 hit in 18 other countries.

1993: Bill Wyman, formerly of the Rolling Stones, marries his third wife, 33-year-old fashion designer Suzanne Accosta, in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France.

1993: Bill Kreutzmann, drummer for the Grateful Dead, spots a 17-year-old surfer foundering in a riptide near Mendocino, CA and dives in, saving his life.

2000: Neal Matthews Jr. (The Jordanaires) died of a heart attack at age 70.

2001: R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck was charged by police at Heathrow airport with being drunk on an aircraft and assaulting British Airways crew. Buck was taken into custody after landing on a flight from Seattle and questioned by police for 12 hours.

2003: Setting off a five-year legal battle, the Beach Boys' label, Brother Records, sues former group member Al Jardine for using the group's name to promote his solo concerts.

2003: Nina Simone died.  She had been ill with breast cancer for several years before she died in her sleep at her home in Carry-le-Rouet, Bouches-du-Rhôn.

2003: EMI and Universal Music sue the file-sharing service Napster for copyright violations.

2004: Michael Jackson is officially charged with child molestation after a California grand jury determines there is enough evidence to proceed with allegations made against him for time spent at his Neverland Ranch.

2004: Former Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan was attacked in a London pub. The singer was assaulted at the Joiner's Arms pub in central London and suffered a fractured cheekbone after being kicked, punched and hit with a metal bar. Two men, aged 20 and 21, were arrested and later released on bail.

2006: The Soul2Soul II Tour 2006 a co-headlining tour between country music singers, and husband and wife, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill kicked off at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus ending after 73 shows on September 3, 2006 in Las Vegas. The tour became the highest grossing country music tour ever with a gross of $90 million.

2007: Lobby Loyde (Billy Thorpe and The Aztecs, The Coloured Balls) died, from lung cancer, in Box Hill, Melbourne, aged 65.