On this day in 1959, "Kansas City" by Wilbert Harrison was the #1 song.
In 1960, according to a story in Billboard magazine, Detroit music producer/songwriter Berry Gordy was planning to start three of his own record labels, including one called Motown.
In 1964, 21 year old Mary Wells led the Billboard Pop chart with the Smokey Robinson written "My Guy." The record was Wells' 9th Top 40 entry and would prove to be her highest charting US single. It made #5 in the UK.
In 1965, while driving away from a gig at the Civic Hall, Long Beach, California, the limo taking the Rolling Stones back to their hotel was besieged by fans who caved in the roof by standing on it. The band attempted to hold the roof up while their chauffeur drove off with bodies falling onto the road.
In 1965, the Beach Boys appear on the Ed Sullivan Show performing their latest hit, "Help Me Rhonda."
In 1966, the Beatles continued working on the George Harrison composition "Taxman," the opening cut on their 'Revolver' album. The initial recording was done an April 20 and the track was completed on June 21.
In 1968, at the FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, Tony Joe White recorded his composition, "Polk Salad Annie." The song describes the lifestyle of a poor rural Southern girl and her family. Traditionally, the term to describe the type of food highlighted in the song is polk or poke sallet, a product of pokeweed. Billy Swan, singer of the 1974 hit "I Can Help," was the producer. The single peaked at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100.
In 1969, Jefferson Airplane bass player Jack Cassady is arrested for possession of marijuana at the Royal Orleans Hotel in New Orleans. At his trial he gets a 2½ year suspended sentence.
In 1969, John Lennon, declared "an inadmissible immigrant to the US," seeks a visa to visit America. Lennon's standing visa was revoked by the US Embassy in London ten days before because of his drug conviction in November 1968.
Also in 1969, Pete Townshend of the Who spent a night in jail in New York City after being charged with assault. The group was performing at the Fillmore East when a fire broke out at a supermarket next door. A plainclothes policeman leapt onto the stage to warn the crowd and Townshend, thinking the cop was a member of the audience, booted him off.
In 1970, Jefferson Airplane singer Marty Balin is arrested for possession of marijuana and for contributing to the delinquency of minors in Bloomington, Minnesota. Balin's hotel room was raided by police at 5:30am. They found Balin and friends with several girls aged between 12 to 17 years old. He is sentenced to one year's hard labor and a $100 fine. He appeals and ends up paying only the fine.
Also in 1970, lead guitarist Randy Bachman quits the Guess Who. At the suggestion of Neil Young, Bachman recruited singer/bassist C.F. Turner and they formed the band Bachman-Turner Overdrive.
In 1972, at the Oakland Coliseum in northern California, Al Green, Etta James and Joe Simon were among the performers at "The Baddest Soul Show Of 1972."
In 1974, at the Bottom Line in New York City, Neil Young made an unannounced appearance and played songs from his new album 'On The Beach.'
In 1975, "The Midnight Special" on NBC-TV was a retro tribute hosted by Chubby Checker and featured performances by Bo Diddley, the Drifters, Lesley Gore, the Tymes, the Angels, and Danny & the Juniors.
In 1980, Dr. George C. Nichopoulous is indicated in Memphis on 14 counts of over prescribing drugs to Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and nine other patients.
In 1981, Kim Carnes started a nine-week run at #1 on the US singles chart with “Bette Davis Eyes,” the singer’s only US #1 and a #10 hit in the UK. Carnes received a personal thank-you letter for the song from actress Bette Davis, saying that it had impressed her young grandson.
In 1983, the special Motown 25: Yesterday, Today and Forever aired, including the first performance of Michael Jackson's Moonwalk.
In 1984, Ozzy Osbourne was arrested in Dallas for public intoxication while walking down Beale Street.
In 1985, a royalty cheque totaling $6.5 million from the sales of "We Are The World" was handed over to the USA for Africa Foundation by Columbia Records executive Al Teller. The total raised would eventually rise to over $50 million.
In 1986, country singer Johnny Paycheck was found guilty of shooting and wounding a man after an argument in a bar in Hillsboro, Ohio. Paycheck, best known for his 1978 hit "Take This Job and Shove It", was sentenced to 9½ years in prison. Paycheck was pardoned after 22 months in prison.
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Also in 1990, Jim Henson, the Muppets creator who scored two US Top 30 hits with "Rubber Duckie" in 1970 and "Rainbow Connection" in 1979, died of Streptococcal Toxic Shock Syndrome at the age of 53.
In 1993, soul singer Marv Johnson died of a stroke. He had the US Top 10 single “I Love The Way You Love” and the 1969 UK #10 single “I’ll Pick a Rose For My Rose.” Johnson’s recording of Berry Gordy’s song “Come to Me” became Motown Records’ first-ever single release in May 1959.
In 1998, Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards fell while reaching for a book in his Connecticut home. The fall broke his ribs, causing the Stones to postpone many dates on their Bridges to Babylon tour.
In 2000, Britney Spears released her second album 'Oops!... I Did It Again.' It debuted at the top the Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 1,319,000 copies, breaking the previous SoundScan record for the highest debut-week album sales by a solo artist. The album also reached #1 in thirteen other countries while peaking inside the top five positions in Australia, Finland, Japan, New Zealand and the UK. The album has sold more than 24 million copies.
In 2000, the Artist Formerly Known As Prince reverted to the name Prince. With the expiration of his publishing contract, he said his birth name had been emancipated from "long-term restrictive documents," and he could stop using the symbol he used to identify himself when he was committed to "undesirable relationships."
In 2000, an exhibition of art called What My Heart Has Seen opens in London. The artist was Tony Bennett.
In 2010, Paul McCartney told Scotland's Sunday Mail newspaper that he is convinced The Beatles would have reformed in recent years if all their members had survived, because they would have signed up for a reunion "just for a laugh". He pointed out that the band was asked to reunite shortly after they split, but said "It wasn't really a good idea then, but I think if this much time had elapsed, I could easily see it happening. Somebody would have said, 'Oh go on. Just for a laugh.'"
In 2010, at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Brad Paisley, Lady Antebellum, Keith Urban, Martina McBride, Dierks Bentley, Kellie Pickler, Rodney Atkins and many others performed a benefit concert that raised nearly $2 million for Tennessee flood victims.
In 2010, jazz pianist/composer/arranger Hank Jones, who played the piano accompaniment for Marilyn Monroe as she famously sang "Happy Birthday, Mr. President" to John F. Kennedy in 1962, died at the age of 91.
In 2012, singer/guitarist (Bustin' Loose Part 1) Chuck Brown, dubbed the "Godfather of Go-Go," died of multi-organ failure at 75.
In 2012, banjoist/composer/actor (The Andy Griffith Show) Doug Dillard, who with his brother Rodney formed the bluegrass band the Dillards and later worked with Gene Clark and the Byrds, died at the age of 75.
