May 23

Births

1910: Artie Shaw (Jazz Clarinetist & Bandleader)

1910: Scatman Crothers (Drummer & Singer)

1928: Rosemary Clooney (Singer)

1934: Dr. Robert Moog (Invented Moog Synthesizer)

1944: General Johnson (Norman Johnson) (Singer in General Johnson & The Chairmen Of The Board)

1944: Ramon "Tiki" Fulwood (Drummer for Funkadelic)

1952: James Mankey (Guitar for Concrete Blonde)

1953: Rick Fenn (Guitar in 10CC)

1957: Jimmy McShane (Pop singer for Baltimora)

1965: Simon Gilbert (Drums for Suede)

1967: Junior Waite (Drummer for Musical Youth)

1967: Philip Selway (Drums for Radiohead)

1973: Maxwell (Gerald Maxwell Rivera) (R&B Singer)

1974: Jewel (Jewel Kilcher) (Singer & Songwriter)

1974:Richard Jones (Bass for Stereophonics)

1975: KT Tunstall (Singer & Songwriter)

Events

1963: Paul Revere and the Raiders sign their first major label contract with Columbia.

1964: Ella Fitzgerald's cover of the Beatles' "Can't Buy Me Love" enters the UK charts, making her the first outside artist to have a hit with a Beatles song.

1964: The Beach Boys release the single "I Get Around".

1969: The Who release the Album “Tommy”.

1970: The latest (and last) Beatles album, Let It Be, logs record-setting advance orders of a staggering 3.7 million.

1970: The Grateful Dead make their UK stage debut with a four-hour show at the Hollywood Music Festival, ironically held in Staffordshire, England, with Mungo Jerry opening.

1970: Paul McCartney's debut solo album, 'McCartney', started a three-week run at No.1 on the US album chart.

1971: Iron Butterfly announces their breakup.

1973: Columbia Records fires head Clive Davis, citing alleged misuse of company funds to pay for interior decorating and his son's bar mitzvah.

1974: George Harrison announced the launch of his own record label, 'Dark Horse.'

1977: San Francisco bans electric instruments from all free outdoor concerts, leaving Jefferson Starship to cancel their planned free concert in Golden Gate Park. Years later, Bernie Taupin would write "We Built This City" for the band about this event.

1979: Tom Petty declares bankruptcy after his record label, ABC, is sold to MCA.

1979: The Who's acclaimed documentary The Kids Are Alright debuts in New York.

1985: Still riding the crest of her own improbable comeback, Aretha Franklin has "Aretha Franklin Appreciation Day" declared in the state of Michigan by Governor James. J. Blanchard.

1987: The Doobie Brothers reform with most of their members past and present -- a dozen members in all -- for a Vietnam Veterans benefit that raises $350,000. Two thousand vets attend the show for free.

1991: Photographer Michael Lavine took what would be the publicity shots for Nirvana’s 'Nevermind' album at Jay Aaron Studios in Los Angeles. The idea for the front cover shot of the baby swimming was taken after Kurt Cobain and Dave Grohl saw a TV documentary on water babies and was taken by Kirk Weddle. Several babies were used; five-month old Spencer Eldon’s photo came out best.

1992: Freddie Mercury's will bequeaths the bulk of the deceased Queen singer's $17 million estate to his longtime companion, Mary Austin.

2000: Noel Gallagher walked out on his band Oasis during a European tour. The move was put down to a series of burst-ups with his brother Liam. The band drafted in replacement guitarist Matt Deighton for the rest of the European dates.

2007: The US Library of Congress hands out the first Gershwin Award to Paul Simon for being a "performer whose lifetime contributions exemplify the standard of excellence associated with the Gershwins."

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.

May 21

Births

1904: Fats Waller (Jazz Pianist)

1941: Ronald Isley (The Isley Brothers)

1943: Hilton Valentine (Guitarist for The Animals)

1943: John Dalton (Bass for The Kinks)

1947: Bill Champlin (Vocals, Keyboard & Guitar for Chicago)

1948: Leo Sayer (Singer / Songwriter)

1950: Roger Hodgson (Vocals & Keyboards for Supertramp & Solo)

1952: Mr. T (Laurence Tureaud)

1954: Marc Ribot (Guitarist)

1955: Stan Lynch (Drums for Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers)

1958: Mike Barson (Keyboards for Madness)

1963: Kevin Shields (Vocals & Guitar for My Bloody Valentine)

1964: Martin Blunt (Bass for The Charlatans)

1972: The Notorious B.I.G. (aka Biggie Smalls, aka Christopher G. Wallace)

1974: Havoc (Kejuan Muchita) (Rapper in Mobb Deep)

1980: Gotye (Wouter "Wally" De Backer) (Singer / Songwriter)

Events

1956: 2,500 fans storm the stage at the Municipal Auditorium in Topeka, KS during Elvis Presley's show there.

1960: Fabian is reported to be working on two upcoming movies: High Time, starring Bing Crosby, and North To Alaska, starring John Wayne.

1964: After performing in England, Bob Dylan takes a vacation in Paris, where he would meet German model Nico, for whom he would later pen the classic "I'll Keep It With Mine."

1966: The Castiles, a band made up of five school kids from Freehold Regional High in New Jersey, perform at their own senior prom. Lead singer: future superstar Bruce Springsteen.

1968: Police raid the London flat of the Rolling Stones' Brian Jones and find marijuana, which Jones claims was left behind by a friend; although already on probation, he is merely fined $300 by a sympathetic judge.

1969: John Lennon and Yoko Ono began a ten-day "bed-in" in Montreal's Queen Elizabeth Hotel.

1970: Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young recorded "Ohio."

1971: Free announce their breakup; two of the band members would go on to form Bad Company.

1974: Two would-be concert promoters were arrested by police on fraud charges in connection with selling mail order tickets for a forthcoming Elten John show. (Elten with an E and not an O). Police took away over $12,000 in checks.

1979: Elton John plays the first of eight historic concerts in Moscow, making him the first rock star to perform there.

1980: After poor ticket sales cause him to cancel his second concert there, Bob Dylan his last "gospel" show in Dayton, OH, eventually returning to secular music.

1980: A thief brook into Electric Lady Studios in New York City, the recording studio built by Jimi Hendrix and stole five Hendrix gold records for the albums ‘Are You Experienced?’, ‘Axis: Bold as Love’, ‘Cry of Love’, ‘Rainbow Bridge’ and ‘Live at Monterey’.

1980: Joe Strummer of The Clash was arrested at a much-troubled gig in Hamburg, Germany, after smashing his guitar over the head of a member of the audience; he was released after an alcohol test proved negative.

1981: Bob Marley is laid to rest, with full state honors, in St. Ann's, Jamaica.

1983: Ex-Doobie Brother Michael McDonald marries his first wife, singer Amy Holland.

1985: Marvin Gaye's "Dream of a Lifetime" was released. It was his last album.

1994: Country singer Trisha Yearwood weds Robert Reynolds.

2001: Producer, arranger and keyboardist Tommy Eyre died of cancer aged 51. Worked with George Harrison, Wham! Dusty Springfield, and BB King. Played and arranged Joe Cocker's hit 'With A Little Help From My Friends' and Gerry Rafferty's 'Baker Street'.

2003: Paul McCartney is awarded an honorary doctorate in music from the conservatory of Russia's St. Petersburg University.

2003: Mariah Carey hit back at Eminem's threats to sample the slushy voicemail messages she left on his mobile. Carey described the rapper as "a little girl" saying it's "like dealing with a girlfriend in 7th grade, and he shouldn't do it because it'll get him in a bit of trouble with her lawyers."

2007: Creed Singer Scott Stapp was arrested at his Florida home and charged with assault. The 33-year-old was held without bail following the charges, which related to a domestic assault.

2008: Aerosmith's Steven Tyler, well-known for having overcome drug addiction decades earlier, shocks the rock world by checking into a rehab facility in Pasadena, CA.

2008: Lou Pearlman, the music mogul who created the Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync, was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison over a decades-long scam that swindled thousands of investors out of their life savings. Many victims were Pearlman's relatives, friends and retirees in their 70s or 80s who lost everything.

2009: Natalie Cole was recovering after undergoing a kidney transplant. The 59-year-old daughter of Nat King Cole had decided to postpone her summer tour, set to begin in June, as she recovered.

2010: U2's lead singer Bono had emergency spinal surgery after suffering an injury while preparing for tour dates. The 50-year-old singer was treated at a specialist neurosurgery clinic in Munich and was expected to stay there for a number of days.

2011: Mick Jagger, Dave Stewart (Eurythmics), Joss Stone, Damian Marley and A.R. Rahman teamed up for a new supergroup called Super Heavy.