May 13

Births

1912: Gil Evans (Jazz Pianist)

1933: Mike Stoller (Composer)

1941: Ritchie Valens (Guitarist & Singer)

1943: Mary Wells (R&B Singer)

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

1947: Overend Watts (Bass for Mott The Hoople)

1950: Danny Kirwan (Guitarist & Vocals 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 & Solo)

1966: Goldfrapp (Alison Goldfrapp) (Singer)

1969: Buckethead (Brian Carroll) (Guitarist)

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.

1966: The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band gives its first performance at The Paradox in Orange, California.

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.

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.

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."

2000: Happy Monday’s singer Shaun Ryder's Volkswagen Corrado was found abandoned after being used as the getaway car. It was used in an armed robbery on Harry Ramsden's fish and chip restaurant in Manchester. $13,000 cash was taken in the robbery.

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.  It was also the first “Frank Sinatra Day” to celebrate the day before his death in 1998.

2011:  The surviving members of Pink Floyd reunited at London's O2 Arena for a rare collaboration, after swearing that they would never tour again upon breaking up in the mid-80s. David Gilmour joined Roger Waters and Nick Mason for renditions of "Comfortably Numb" and "Outside the Wall."

2011:  Lloyd Knibb, an influential Jamaican drummer who played with the Skatalites and helped develop the ska beat, died from liver cancer.

May 12

Births

1928: Burt Bacharach (Writer & Singer)

1937: George Carlin (Comedian)

1942: Ian Dury (Singer & songwriter)

1945: Ian McLagan (Keyboards for Small Faces)

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

1950: Billy Squier (Guitarist & Singer)

1955: Kix Brooks (Singer / Songwriter in Brooks & Dunn)

1958: Eric Singer (Drummer for Kiss)

1961: Billy Duffy (Guitar for The Cult)

1962: Brett Gurewitz (Guitar for Bad Religion)

1966: Bebel Gilberto (Brazilian Singer)

Events

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."

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.

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 immortalized 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 favorite musician. Myrmekiaphila neilyoungi was found in Jefferson County, Alabama, in 2007.

2011:  29-year-old Kings of Leon rocker Caleb Followill tied the knot with 25-year-old model Lily Aldridge in Montecito, Calif. "It was a perfect day," says Followill, who met the Victoria's Secret model at Coachella in 2007.

May 11

Births

1888: Irving Berlin (Composer)

1941: Eric Burdon (Singer for The Animals & Solo)

1947: Butch Trucks (Drummer for The Allman Brothers)

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

1988: Ace Hood (Antoine McColister) (Rapper)

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.

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.

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.

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.

1997: Trace Adkins marries Rhonda Forlaw at Nashville's Belle Meade Mansion in front of 800 people. Adkins sings a song he wrote for his bride: "The Rest Of Mine".

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 hemorrhage 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.