In 1940, Glenn Miller and His Orchestra recorded "Pennsylvania 6-5000." It was the telephone number of the Café Rouge at the Hotel Pennsylvania in New York City, and is still a working number.
In 1958, David Seville's novelty tune, "Witch Doctor" peaked at #1 on Billboard Magazine's music chart and would go on to be the fourth best selling song of the year.
In 1958, Alan Freed’s Big Beat Show played two shows at the Central High School Auditorium in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The tour featured Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry, Frankie Lymon, Buddy Holly, The Diamonds, Billy Ford, Danny & The Juniors, The Chantels, Larry Williams, Screaming Jay Hawkins and The Pastels.
In 1960, at RCA Studios in Los Angeles, Elvis Presley recorded "Wooden Heart."
In 1963, London public relations man Andrew Loog Oldham got his first look at the Rolling Stones onstage at the Crawdaddy Club. The next day he became their manager.
In 1964, the Beatles recorded the TV special ‘Around The Beatles’ at Wembley studios England. As well as performing songs they played Act V Scene 1 of Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Nights Dream’ with John playing the female role of Thisbe, Paul as Pyramus, George as Moonshine and Ringo as Lion. Paul later named his cat Thisbe.
In 1964, Elvis Presley released the single "Viva Las Vegas." Released as the b-side of the "What'd I Say" single from the film of the same name, "Viva Las Vegas" charted separately from its A-side, a modest hit reaching #29 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart. In the years since its first release, the song has become one of Presley's most recognized numbers.
In 1965, "Shindig!" on ABC-TV featured Manfred Mann, Sandie Shaw, and Freddie & the Dreamers.
In 1965, "My Name is Barbra," Barbra Streisand's first television special, aired on CBS.
In 1966, at EMI's Abbey Road Studios in London, producer George Martin began recording the instrumental track for the Beatles'"Eleanor Rigby," with a string octet of studio musicians – four violins, two cellos, and two violas – all performing a score composed by Martin. Recording continued the following day and the track was completed on June 6. None of the Beatles played instruments on it, although John Lennon and George Harrison did contribute harmony vocals behind Paul McCartney's lead.
In 1967, "This Diamond Ring" by Gary Lewis And The Playboys is certified Gold. Although he will have more Top Twenty hits, this is Lewis' only Gold record.
In 1968, the Seeds guested as a band called the Warts on the NBC-TV sitcom "The Mothers-In-Law."
In 1968, Richard Harris sang "Didn't We" on CBS-TV's "The Ed Sullivan Show.
In 1969, Chicago released their debut album, 'The Chicago Transit Authority.' The LP proved to be an immediate hit, reaching #17 in the US and #9 in the UK. While critical reaction was also strong, the album initially failed to produce any hit singles, with the group seen as an album-oriented collective. In 1970 and 1971, "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?" (#7), "Beginnings" (#7) and "Questions 67 and 68" (#71/#24 re-release) would all prove to be belated hits.
In 1973, Pink Floyd’s 'The Dark Side Of The Moon' was at #1 in America, going on to enjoy a record-breaking 741 weeks on the Billboard album chart, eventually selling over 45 million copies worldwide.
In 1975, Tom “Big Daddy” Donahue, the pioneering American disc jockey who wrote the article “AM Radio is Dead and Its Rotting Corpse is Stinking up the Airwaves” for Rolling Stone, died from a heart attack. Donahue was voted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996, one of only three DJs to receive that honor.
In 1975, Ringo Starr sang his latest hit, "No No Song," on NBC-TV's "Smothers Brothers Show." Later that night, John Lennon was a guest on NBC's "Tomorrow" show hosted by Tom Snyder.
In 1978, in Tokyo, Cheap Trick performed at Budokan Hall, a concert that was recorded for a live album called 'Cheap Trick at Budokan.' In the US, the album peaked at #4 on the Billboard 200 and became the group's best selling album with over three million copies sold. The single "I Want You to Want Me" reached #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The second single, a cover of Fats Domino's "Ain't That a Shame" also charted, reaching #35. The LP was certified triple Platinum in 1986 by the RIAA.
In 1978, Dolly Parton's 'Here You Come Again' album was certified Platinum.
In 1979, 'The Very Best Of Leo Sayer' started a three-week run at #1 on the UK album chart, giving Sayer his first and only #1 LP.
In 1979, Blondie scored their first US #1 single with “Heart of Glass,” which also was a chart-topper in the U.K.
In 1980, Tommy Caldwell, the bassist and original frontman for The Marshall Tucker Band, died from injuries suffered from a car crash. He was 30 years old.
In 1981, bassist Steve Currie, a member of T. Rex (1970-1976), died in a car accident at 33.
On April 28, 1982, the California State Assembly consumer-protection-committee heard testimony from "experts" who claimed that when "Stairway To Heaven" was played backward, contained the words: "I sing because I live with Satan. The Lord turns me off, there's no escaping it. Here's to my sweet Satan, whose power is Satan. He will give you 666. I live for Satan." The band has, for the most part, ignored the claim. Swan Song Records issued a statement saying: "Our turntables only play in one direction—forwards." Led Zeppelin audio engineer Eddie Kramer called the allegations "totally and utterly ridiculous. Why would they want to spend so much studio time doing something so dumb?" Robert Plant was frustrated with the accusations and in a 1983 interview in Musician magazine stated: "To me it's very sad, because 'Stairway to Heaven' was written with every best intention, and as far as reversing tapes and putting messages on the end, that's not my idea of making music."
In 1983, during the second leg of their 'War' North American tour, U2 appeared at the Rochester Institute Of Technology Ice Rink, Rochester, New York.
In 1984, "Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now)" by Phil Collins was the #1 song.
In 1987 - For the first time, a compact disc of an album was released before its vinyl version. The album was "The Art of Excellence" by Tony Bennett.
R.E.M.'s 'Dead Letter Office' was released in the US in 1987. The album is essentially a collection of many additional recordings R.E.M. made pre-'Murmur' to 'Lifes Rich Pageant' that were outtakes or released as flip sides to their singles internationally. 'Dead Letter Office' reached #52 in the US and #60 in the UK.
In 1988, B.W. Stevenson, who had a 1973 hit with "My Maria," died after heart surgery at the age of 38. He also wrote Three Dog Night's 1973 hit "Shambala." The "B.W." reportedly stood for "Buckwheat."
In 1988, Pink Floyd played Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas.
In 1990, Sinead O'Connor started a six-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with 'I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got.'
In 2000, a blaze swept through James Brown Enterprises, the office that co-ordinate the superstar's tours. Nobody was injured, but memorabilia and live tapes were destroyed in the blaze. An employee was later arrested charged with arson.
In 2003, the iTunes Music Store opened with over 200,000 items to purchase.
In 2004, the iTunes Music Store marked its first anniversary with over 70 million songs sold.
In 2006, Sweden's tax authority accused former ABBA guitarist Bjorn Ulvaeus of owing nearly $12 million in back taxes, fees and interest. Ulvaeus' attorney denied the charges and said there was merely a misunderstanding over the musician's tax arrangements.
In 2007, saxophonist/assistant musical director on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson," Tommy Newsom died of bladder and liver cancer at 78.
In 2009, a TV commercial for insurance featuring Iggy Pop was ruled as misleading by the Advertising Standards Authority. In the advert, the singer was seen exclaiming that he had an insurance policy with Swiftcover but the company did not cover musicians at the time of the ad being shown. Swiftcover had since started to offer policies to musicians, and stated that Mr Pop would continue to endorse the company.
In 2010, Corrado "Connie" Codarini, an original member of The Four Lads, passed away at the age of 80. The Canadian singing group placed twelve songs in the Billboard Top 40 between 1955 and 1958, including "Moments To Remember", "No, Not Much" and "Standing On The Corner".
In 2011, recording equipment seller MJQ Ltd. announced that it would be auctioning off microphones and equipment from John Lennon's home studio, on which he recorded early solo albums and his hit song "Imagine". The microphones were expected to fetch at least 5,000 pounds each.
In 2013, Emeli Sande set a new record for the most consecutive weeks on the UK's Official Album Chart top 10 of any debut album. 'Our Version Of Events' was released in February 2012 and went on to become the biggest selling album that year. The album hadn't dropped out of the top 10 since its release and had been in the UK's Official Album Chart for 63 weeks. The 26-year-old singer had overtaken The Beatles who previously held the record.
birthday wishes to Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth (1953)
