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Click on a date below to find out what happened on that day in music history... |
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A Rhode Island grand jury gives three indictments of involuntary manslaughter in the case surrounding the February fire at a Great White concert to the club's two owners as well as Great White's road manager.
Great White
Sting receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Sting
The Smashing Pumpkins play their last ever gig at Chicago's Metro. Well, at least it's the last one until the lucrative reunion tour. The band are joined onstage by Cheap Trick's Rick Nielsen, the Frogs, and William Corgan Sr., and close with a 35-minute-long version of "Silverf*ck." Onlookers say that when the band left the stage, you could feel the pretension being sucked out of the building.
Cheap Trick
The Smashing Pumpkins
The Frogs
In a bizarre Webcast on a pirate Web site, Radiohead debut their new song "Knives Out" and play games with sock puppets.
Radiohead
No. 1 in the album charts today, the Beatles with Anthology Vol. 1. It's the group's 16th No. 1 album.
The Beatles
James Brown files for divorce from his wife. The day before he had turned himself into police after his wife accused him of beating her. Later the next year an Aiken County, S.C., judge drops the charge.
James Brown
Guns N' Roses play the first of three standing room only concerts at New York's Madison Square Garden.
Guns N' Roses
A Jamaican Supreme Court tries to resolve the legal mess that Bob Marley's estate is in by ruling that his assets can be sold to his wife and children for $11.5 million - even though the price is lower than that offered by the MCA label. Ziggy Marley also becomes a dad today. He names his daughter Justice.
Ziggy Marley
Bob Marley
Sonny Til of vocal group the Orioles dies. The Orioles' early recordings like "It's Too Soon to Know" and "Tell Me So" not only helped create doo-wop with their combination of pop material and smooth harmonies, but also were among the first so-called "race" records to cross over into the pop charts.
The Orioles
John Lennon purchases a Renoir painting valued at half a million dollars.
John Lennon
George Harrison releases Dark Horse, his first album on the label of the same name. His cover of the Everly Brothers' "Bye Bye Love" is a backhanded farewell to wife Patti Boyd, who took up with his friend Eric Clapton. Even weirder, Boyd and Clapton join Harrison on the track. Rolling Stone is perplexed enough to decide, "Dark Horse is ultimately something more than an embarrassingly bad record."
George Harrison
The Everly Brothers
Eric Clapton
On tonight's edition of Monday Night Football, John Lennon stops by booth during a match between L. A. Rams and Washington Redskins. While he's there guest Ronald Reagan explains the rules of football to him.
John Lennon
Ronald Reagan
The Everly Brothers
The No. 1 single in the United States today is Helen Reddy's "I Am Woman." It's the first Capitol release to reach the top spot since Bobbie Gentry's "Ode to Billy Joe" in 1967. The No. 1 album is the Moody Blues' with Seventh Sojourn. The Moody Blues celebrate their first chart-topper by taking a five-year hiatus from working together.
Bobbie Gentry
The Moody Blues
Helen Reddy
Pete Townshend is the narrator for an orchestral performance of Tommy featuring contributions from Roger Daltrey (of course), Richie Havens, Steve Winwood and comic actor Peter Sellers. Only Daltrey and Winwood, who played Tommy's dad, escape the critical lash of the papers the next day. Townshend is accused of being drunk during the performance. An album of the show, recorded at London's Rainbow Theatre, is released and reaches No. 5 in Britain the following year.
Steve Winwood
Richie Havens
Roger Daltrey
Pete Townshend
Peter Sellers
Police arrest Jim Morrison as he performs onstage in New Haven, Conn. It's the culmination of a wild night for the Lizard King, who clashed with a cop trying to hassle him and his lady before the gig. The cop in return maced him. When Morrison began complaining about his treatment by the New Haven police to the crowd, the house lights were turned up and Morrison was busted for breaching the peace.
Jim Morrison
The Beatles' "Hello Goodbye" tops the British singles charts.
The Beatles
In its second week of release in the U.K., the Beatles' "I Feel Fine" becomes a million seller.
The Beatles
Future Beatles producer George Martin is taken to the Liverpool Cavern by the group's manager Brian Epstein to see the band perform live.
The Beatles
George Martin
The Beatles play their first concert in the South of England when they play with Ivor Jay & the Jaywalkers in Aldershot, England. Despite the gig being billed as a "Battle of the Bands - Liverpool Vs. London," only 18 people show up.
The Beatles
She was not in love, but open to persuasion. Songwriter Joan Armatrading ("Love and Affection") is born today in Basseterre on the Caribbean island of St. Kitts.
Joan Armatrading
Dennis Dunaway, bassist with the Alice Cooper band, is born in Cottage Grove, Ore.
Alice Cooper
The George Baker Selection's leader George Baker (duh) is born in the Netherlands as Johannes Bouwens. His group spearheaded the Dutch invasion of 1970 with their minor classic "Little Green Bag."
George Baker
Neil Innes is born in Essex, England. The multi-instrumentalist's skewed sense of musical humor was a key part of the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, a lynchpin of the Rutles, and ripped-off wholesale by Oasis for their "Whatever" single.
Oasis
Neil Innes
The Rutles
The Band's bassist and co-lead singer Rick Danko is born in Simcoe, Canada.
Rick Danko
The Band
Dan Hicks, a country-rocker who first found fame with psychedelic group the Charlatans and formed Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks, is born in Arkansas. William Powell, an original member of the O'Jays, is born in Canton, Ohio. When he left the group in 1975, Sammy Strain, born exactly a year before, replaced him.
The O'Jays
The Charlatans
Dan Hicks
Legendary Chicago blues performer Junior Wells is born in Memphis.
Junior Wells
New Orleans R&B wild man Jessie Hill, who recorded the self-explanatory "Ooh Poo Pah Doo," is born.
Jessie Hill
Sam Strain has a birthday today. Strain originally sang with Little Anthony & the Imperials ("Goin' Out of My Head"), then joined the O'Jays when William Powell (see below) left.
The O'Jays
Little Anthony & the Imperials
Redd Foxx is born in St. Louis. Forget his role as Sanford. Foxx's blue routines on under-the-counter albums like Laff Your Ass Off inspired much of the hardcore rap you hear today.
Redd Foxx
 
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