On This Day

April 29th
1963 - The Rolling Stones
Publicist Andrew Oldham and agent Eric Easton signed a management deal with The Rolling Stones after buying the rights to the bands first recordings for £90. They also persuade keyboard player Ian Stewart to drop out of the line up and become the bands road manager, (and still play piano at the back of the stage).

1965 - Jimmy Nicol
Jimmy Nicol, the drummer who stood in for Ringo Starr during a Beatles Australian tour in 1964, appeared in a London Court faced with bankruptcy with debts of £4,000.
1967 - Technicolour Dream Benefit Party
The 14 hour Technicolour Dream benefit party for The International Times was held at Alexandra Palace in London. Seeing the event mentioned on TV, John Lennon called his driver and went to the show. Coincidentally, Yoko Ono was one of the performers. Other acts to appear included The Flies, Pink Floyd, Arthur Brown, The Move and Suzie Creamcheese.
1976 - Bruce Springsteen
After a gig in Memphis Bruce Springsteen took a cab to Elvis Presley's Graceland home and proceeded to climb over the wall. A guard took him to be another crank fan and apprehended him.
1978 - P.J. Proby
P.J. Proby was sacked from his role in the London stage musical Elvis after repeatedly changing his lines from the script. Proby had been playing the oldest of three Presley's in the play.
1980 - Ronnie James Dio
Black Sabbath began their first tour with vocalist Ronnie James Dio, who had replaced Ozzy Osbourne.
1981 - Elton John
Elton John paid £14,000 for 232 'Goon Show' scripts broadcast during the 50s at an auction held at Christies, London.

1990 - The Friends of Distinction
Floyd Butler of The Friends of Distinction, died of a heart attack at the age of 49. Had the US No.3 single 'Grazing In The Grass' in 1969.
1993 - Mick Ronson
Guitarist, producer, Mick Ronson died of liver cancer aged 46. Ronson recorded and toured with David Bowie from 1970 to 1973. Released the 1974 solo album 'Slaughter On Tenth Avenue'. Ronson co-produced Lou Reed's album Transformer, also part of Hunter Ronson Band with Ian Hunter. And worked with Morrissey, Slaughter & The Dogs, The Wildhearts, The Rich Kids, Elton John, Johnny Cougar, T-Bone Burnett.
1997 - Boy George
Boy George was accused of being a 'professional liar' by musician singer Kirk Brandon during a London court hearing. Brandon was in court suing the singer over claims in George's autobiography that pair had slept together.
1997 - Keith Ferguson
American bass guitarist Keith Ferguson died of liver failure at the age of 50, due in part to a nearly thirty-year addiction to heroin. He was a member of The Fabulous Thunderbirds who had two hit songs in the 1980s, 'Tuff Enuff' and 'Wrap It Up.'
1998 - Aerosmith
Steven Tyler broke his knee at a concert in Anchorage, Alaska delaying Aerosmith's 'Nine Lives' tour and necessitating camera angle adjustments for the filming of the video for 'I Don't Want to Miss a Thing.'
2001 - Rod Stewart
Rod Stewart asked for a change in wedding vows bringing them up to-date and to be treated like a dog licence. Stewart said 'a change is needed because they've been in existence for 600 years when people used to live until they were only 35'.
2001 - Dusty Springfield
A blue plaque was unveiled at 38 Aubrey Walk, Kensington, London to honor the musical heritage of the address where British singer Dusty Springfield lived between 1968-1972.

2003 - Creedence Clearwater Revival
A $5 million lawsuit against former Creedence Clearwater Revival leader John Fogerty was dismissed after a personal-injury lawyer claimed that he suffered hearing loss in his left ear from attending a Fogerty concert. The Judge said the plaintiff assumed the risk of hearing damage when he attended the concert in 1997.
2007 - Arctic Monkeys
Arctic Monkeys started a three week run at No.1 on the UK album chart with their second album 'Favourite Worst Nightmare.'
2009 - Queen
An anonymous Queen fan won a two-hour one-to-one guitar lesson with Brian May, after bidding £7,600 (approximately $11,900) at a private charity auction. The auction, in support of the Action for Brazil's Children Trust, of which May is a patron, was held at the exclusive Cuckoo Club in London.

2014 - Jail Guitar Doors
David Gilmour, former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr and Radiohead's Ed O'Brien and Philip Selway all signed an open letter, published by The Guardian, to keep musical instruments available to UK prisoners. Spearheaded by Billy Bragg, the singer-songwriter founded an "independent initiative" called Jail Guitar Doors in 2007 to provide instruments for the rehabilitation of inmates.
2016 - Prince
Fifteen of Prince's albums made it into the UK chart as fans rushed to buy his music following his sudden death. Six were in the top 40 with The Very Best Of, Ultimate and Purple Rain at two, three and four.

April 30th
1957 - Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley recorded the Leiber and Stoller song 'Jailhouse Rock' as featured in his third motion picture of the same name. In the movie, Mike Stoller had a small role as a piano player. 'Jailhouse Rock' later became the first song to debut at No.1 in Great Britain.
1960 - The Everly Brothers
The Everly Brothers started a seven week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Cathy's Clown', giving Warner Bros a No.1 with their first release.
1964 - The Beatles
During a UK tour The Beatles played two shows at The Odeon Cinema in Glasgow. They were also interviewed by BBC Scotland and STV for the evening news programs.

1966 - The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones fourth album 'Aftermath' went to No.1 on the UK chart, the group's third UK No.1 album. The album is considered an artistic breakthrough for the band and is the first to consist entirely of Jagger–Richards compositions, while Brian Jones played a variety of instruments not usually associated with their music, including sitar, Appalachian dulcimer, marimbas and Japanese koto.

1968 - Cilla Black
BBC TV launched The Cilla Black Show making Cilla the first British female performer to have her own TV show. The theme song, 'Step Inside Love', was written by Paul McCartney.
1970 - Twiggs Lyndon
Twiggs Lyndon, the road manager for The Allman Brothers Band was arrested for murder after he stabbed a club manager during an argument over a contract. At the ensuing trial, Lyndon's lawyers argued that he had been temporarily insane at the time of the incident and that touring with the Allman Brothers would drive anyone insane. Lyndon was acquitted.
1976 - Keith Moon
The Who's drummer Keith Moon paid nine cab drivers to block-off both ends of a New York street so he could throw the contents of his hotel room out of the window.

1977 - Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin broke a new world attendance record at a concert when they played to 76,229 people at a gig at the Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, Michigan. The Who held the previous record at the same venue with 75,962 people.
1977 - Glen Campbell
Glen Campbell went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Southern Nights', his second US No.1.

1980 - Roger Daltrey
The film 'McVicar' with Roger Daltrey from The Who in the title role premiered in London, England. John McVicar was a 1960s armed robber turned writer who Scotland Yard publicly announced to be Public Enemy Number One and "wanted dead or alive".
1983 - Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Beat It', his fifth solo US No.1. The third single from the singer's Thriller album featured Eddie Van Halen on the song's distinctive overdriven guitar solo, but Halen was prevented by his record label from appearing in the music video.
1983 - Muddy Waters
American Blues legend Muddy Waters (McKinley Morganfield) died in his sleep at his home in Westmont, Illinois, aged 68. Major influence of many acts, Cream, Eric Clapton, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones named themselves after Waters' 1950 song 'Rollin' Stone.' Best known songs include 'I Just Want To Make Love To You', 'I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man', 'Got My Mojo Working.'
1988 - S- Express
S'Express were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Theme From S'Express'. One of the landmarks of early acid house and late 1980s sampling culture, the British track sampled Rose Royce, TZ's 'I Got the Hots for You' and the count-in 'Uno, dos, uno, dos, tres, quatro' is from Debbie Harry's 1985 single 'Feel the Spin'.
1990 - Prince
Prince played a concert at Rupert's Night-club, Minneapolis. The $100 a head ticket proceeds all went to the family of his former bodyguard Charles 'Big Chick' Huntsberry, who had died from a heart attack.
1991 - Nirvana
Nirvana signed a recording contract with Geffen's DGC label for $290,000.

1999 - Spandau Ballet
The three former members of Spandau Ballet lost a court case against band songwriter Gary Kemp. They had claimed they were owed £1 million in lost royalties. The Judge said he had become a fan of the bands during the case.
1999 - Darrell Sweet
Nazareth drummer Darrell Sweet died aged 52, after suffering a fatal heart attack before a show in New Albany, Indiana. Nazareth had the 1973 UK No.9 single 'Broken Down Angel' 1976 US No. 8 single 'Love Hurts'.
2004 - Michael Jackson
New child abuse charges were made against Michael Jackson including a count of conspiracy, covering allegations of child abduction, extortion and false imprisonment. A new court date of May 28th 2004 was set.
2005 - Norma-Jean Wofford
American guitarist Norma-Jean Wofford died. Known as 'The Duchess', she worked with Bo Diddley as a Bo-ette from 1962 to 1966. (Diddley was one of the first artists to have female musicians in his group).
2005 - Dave Matthews
The Dave Matthews Band agreed to pay $200,000 (£105,000) after their tour bus dumped human waste on a boatload of tourists in Chicago in August 2004. Bus driver Stefan Wohl who was alone on board the bus at the time the sewage was dumped was fined $10,000 (£5,200), the band had already donated $100,000 (£54,252) to two group's that protect the Chicago River and its surrounding area. The Dave Matthews Band offered their "deepest apologies" to more than 100 boat passengers who were on an architectural tour.
2008 - John Lennon
Gail Renard, who was given the hand written lyrics to 'Give Peace A Chance' by John Lennon in 1969, announced plans to sell the lyric sheet at a Christie's auction. At the time, Lennon told Renard to hang on to the piece of paper, saying "It will be worth something someday." The piece of music history was expected to fetch around $400,000, but when it was actually sold in July of this year, it went for $790,000 (£400,000).

2008 - Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey married actor Nick Cannon in the Bahamas following a whirlwind two-month romance. The pop diva met Cannon, 27, while shooting the music video for her single 'Bye Bye.' It was the second marriage for Carey, who married Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola in 1993, which ended in 1998. ?

2014 - Wilko Johnson
Guitarist Wilko Johnson had a major operation in an attempt to treat his pancreatic cancer. Johnson was diagnosed at the end of 2012 and was given 10 months to live after rejecting chemotherapy. Johnson told Q magazine that a cancer doctor had become curious as to why he wasn't dead. And why I wasn't even sick which resulted in more tests.
2015 - Ben E King
Ben E King, (Benjmin Earl Nelson), soul and R&B singer with The Drifters, died at the Hackensack University Medical Center at the age of 76. The Driffters had the 1960 US No.1 & UK No.2 single 'Save The Last Dance For Me', and King scored the the 1987 UK No.1 solo single 'Stand By Me', (first released in 1961).
2019 - Boon Gould
English musician Boon Gould died age 64. He was one of the four founding members of Level 42 who scored the 1986 hit 'Lessons in Love', which reached No.3 on the UK Singles Chart, and No.12 on the US chart.
2019 - Russ Gibb
American concert promoter and media personality Russ Gibb died. He was best known for his role in the "Paul McCartney is dead" phenomenon, a story he broke as a disc jockey on radio station WKNR-FM in Detroit. As a promotor around the Detroit music scene he was instrumental in giving the MC5, Ted Nugent and Iggy Pop their start.

May 2nd
1963 - The Beatles
The Beatles were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'From Me To You', the group's first No.1 and the first of eleven consecutive No.1's. The title of the song was inspired from a letters column called From You To Us that ran in the British music newspaper, The New Musical Express.

1964 - The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones self-titled debut album started a 12-week run at No.1 on the UK charts. The album spent a total of 51 weeks on the UK chart. Also on his day The Stones made their first appearance on the US singles chart when 'Not Fade Away' entered the chart at No.98.

1969 - The Who
The Who gave a press preview of their new rock opera 'Tommy' at Ronnie Scott's in London, England. The double album about a "deaf, dumb and blind boy" who becomes the leader of a messianic movement, was the first musical work to be billed overtly as a rock opera. In 1998 it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame for "historical, artistic and significant value" and has now sold over 20 million copies worldwide.

1969 - The Beatles
The Beatles recorded a re-make of the new George Harrison song ’Something’ at Abbey Road Studios in London. They recorded 36 takes of the song, which included Billy Preston on piano. The track is featured on the Abbey Road album.

1969 - Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin played the first of two nights at The Pasadena Rose Palace, California. Many other acts appeared here including The Byrds, Cream, Santana, Grateful Dead, and Joe Cocker
1969 - Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd appeared at Manchester Chamber Of Commerce, England. The show was recorded for the forthcoming album 'Ummagumma'.
1970 - Norman Greenbaum
One Hit Wonder Norman Greenbaum was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Spirit In The Sky.' Also a No.1 hit for Doctor and the Medics in 1986 and Gareth Gates in 2003.
1972 - Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen auditioned for CBS Records A&R man John Hammond in New York. Springsteen played a short set for him in his office; Hammond was so impressed that he arranged a real audition that night at the Gaslight Club in New York for other Columbia executives. Bruce passed the audition.
1978 - Tom Robinson
The Fall and Slaughter And The Dogs appeared at Band On The Wall in Manchester and at London's Hackney, The Clash, The Tom Robinson Band and X-Ray Spec all appeared on the same night.
1978 - Kate Bush
Kate Bush was on the UK charts with her debut album 'The Kick Inside'. The album which featured the singers No.1 hit 'Wuthering Heights' peaked at No.3 spent a total of 70 weeks on the UK chart.
1980 - Ian Curtis
Joy Division played what would be their last gig with singer Ian Curtis when they appeared at Birmingham University, England. Curtis committed suicide two weeks later.
1981 - Sheena Easton
Scottish singer Sheena Easton started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Morning Train (9 to 5)'. The title of the song was changed to avoid any confusion with the Dolly Parton hit '9 to 5', in the same year.
1983 - Spandau Ballet
Spandau Ballet were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'True', the group's only No.1. The song spent four weeks at the top of the UK chart and was a hit in 20 other countries. Parts of the original version have been sampled and used in a number of songs - most notably PM Dawn's 1991 US No.1 hit 'Set Adrift on Memory Bliss', which contains a sample of the song's famous guitar hook.
1987 - Cutting Crew
Cutting Crew started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with '(I Just), Died In Your Arms', a No.4 hit in the UK.

1989 - Stone Roses
English rock band the Stone Roses released their self titled debut album on Silvertone Records. In 2008, it was named the fifth "greatest British album ever" by a Q magazine/HMV poll. The album has now sold over 4 million copies worldwide.
1989 - Michael Jackson
A security guard alerted the police after a man wearing a wig, fake moustache and false teeth walked into Zales Jewellers, California. Three squad cars arrived and police detained the man, who turned out to be Michael Jackson in disguise.
1991 - R.E.M.
The video for the R.E.M. song 'Losing My Religion', was banned in Ireland because its religious imagery was seen as unfit for broadcast.

1991 - Nirvana
Nirvana booked into Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, California for 16 days. On a budget of $65,000 and with Butch Vig producing the band started recording what would become the Nevermind album.

1992 - Nirvana
Little known UK duo Nirvana filed a suit against the American band of the same name claiming that they had been using the name since 1968. The dispute was settled out of court in the British bands favour.
1998 - Hideto Matsumoto
Japanese rock star Hideto Matsumoto was found hanged in the bathroom at his Tokyo apartment and died in hospital a short time later at the age of 33. His funeral, held on May 7th, was attended by over 70,000 people and required 100 police officers, 170 security guards, police boats and helicopters. 21 people were hospitalised for injuries caused by the massive crowd at his funeral.
2004 - Guns N' Roses
Total Guitar magazine's readers voted Guns N' Roses' anthem ‘Sweet Child O' Mine’ as the greatest guitar riff ever ahead of Nirvana's grunge anthem ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’. Led Zeppelin's 'Whole Lotta Love' came third, followed by Deep Purple's ‘Smoke On The Water’. Total Guitar editor Scott Rowley said: "To a new generation of guitarist's, Guns N' Roses are more thrilling than the Sex Pistols".

2005 - Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton joined former Cream members Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce for the first of four nights at London's Royal Albert Hall 36 years after they had split up. Tickets were changing hands for more than £500 on eBay and fans had flown over from the USA to witness the reunion, which Clapton aged 60, is said to have agreed to because of the failing health of the other former members of the band.

2006 - Keith Richards
Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards was released from hospital in New Zealand after the 62 year-old suffered "mild concussion" when he fell out of a coconut tree while on holiday in Fiji. He was airlifted to Auckland's Ascot Hospital for observation, where he underwent a brain scan.
2007 - Jimi Hendrix
Almost 2,000 musicians gathered in the Polish city of Wroclaw to play a rock anthem by Jimi Hendrix. The guitarists were aiming to set a new Guinness World Record by gathering 1,876 guitarist's in the city's market square to play 'Hey Joe'. Organisers say it was the biggest guitar ensemble in recorded history.
2008 - Chad Kroeger
Chad Kroeger was banned from driving for a year after being convicted of drink-driving in the Canadian city of Vancouver. The 33-year-old Nickelback singer had almost twice the legal limit of alcohol in his system when he was stopped by police speeding in his Lamborghini.
2009 - Frank Wilson
A rare Motown seven-inch single sold for £25,742, ($38,378), setting a new world record. Kenny Burrell, from Fife in Scotland, put the unreleased 1965 single 'Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)' by Frank Wilson up for auction; the single was one of only two in the world. Motown boss Berry Gordy had all other copies destroyed after Wilson moved into songwriting and producing. British Record dealer John Manship, who organised the sale, said the buyer wished to remain anonymous. Wilson went on to write hits for The Supremes and The Four Tops.
2009 - Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan mingled unnoticed with other Beatles tourists during a minibus tour to John Lennon's childhood home. He was one of 14 tourists to examine photos and documents in the National Trust-owned home, where Lennon grew up with his aunt Mimi and uncle George. Dylan who was on a day off on a European tour paid £16 for the public trip to the 1940s house in Woolton, Liverpool.
2013 - Spice Girls
It was announced that the Spice Girls musical Viva Forever! was to close at the end of June 2013. The production, which was written by Jennifer Saunders, suffered poor ticket sales after damning reviews.
2013 - Slayer
Jeff Hanneman, founding member of rock band Slayer, died at the age of 49. The guitarist had been suffering from necrotising fasciitis, a flesh-eating disease that he is believed to have contracted from a spider bite in 2011. Hanneman was being treated in a local hospital when he "suffered liver failure."
2014 - Jessica Cleaves
American singer and songwriter Jessica Cleaves died age 65 following complications from a stroke. She had been a member of The Friends of Distinction, Earth, Wind & Fire, Parliament Funkadelic and Raw Silk.

Lol Pat, I fell round the place when I heard that story! It wasn't so much that he fell out of the tree as - what the f**k was he doing climbing up it in the first place?!!

Poguey

Whenever Keef pops his clogs - hopefully not for decades! it really will be the day the music dies ...

Right on Pat

1952 - Kitty Wells

Status Quo did "Wild Side Of Life" circa 1976.

I had never heard of Kitty Wells and again I learn something new most days on this wonderful thread.

May 5th
1956 - Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley scored his first US No.1 single and album when 'Heartbreak Hotel' went to the top of the charts. 'Heartbreak Hotel' became his first million-seller, and was the best-selling single of 1956. The lyrics were based on a newspaper article about the suicide of a lonely man who jumped from a hotel window.
1962 - West Side Story
The soundtrack to West Side Story went to No.1 on the US album chart. It went on to spend a total of 54 weeks at the No.1 position.
1963 - George Harrison
On a recommendation by George Harrison Dick Rowe Head of A&R at Decca records, (and the man who turned down The Beatles) went to see The Rolling Stones play at Crawdaddy Club, London. The band were signed to the label within a week.

1966 - Manfred Mann
Manfred Mann were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Pretty Flamingo'. The recording features future Cream bassist Jack Bruce, who briefly joined the band in 1965. On their Top Of The Pops appearance, singer Paul Jones performed whilst standing on one leg.
1967 - The Kinks
The Kinks released 'Waterloo Sunset' as a single which went on to peak at No.2 on the UK chart. Songwriter and Kinks singer Ray Davies later stated that the song was originally entitled 'Liverpool Sunset', after his love for Liverpool and Merseybeat.
1968 - Stephen Stills
Buffalo Springfield split up. Richie Furay formed Poco and Stephen Stills teamed up with David Crosby and Graham Nash in Crosby Stills & Nash.
1969 - The Beatles
The Beatles single 'Get Back' was released in the US. John Lennon claimed in 1980 that "there's some underlying thing about Yoko in there", claiming that Paul McCartney looked at Yoko Ono in the studio every time he sang "Get back to where you once belonged."

1972 - Gary Davis
Blind blues guitarist Reverend Gary Davis died of a heart attack aged 76. His unique finger-picking style influenced many other artists.
1972 - Dr John
The first day of the three day Bickershaw Festival, Wigan, England, with Grateful Dead, Dr John, Donovan, The Kinks, Captain Beefheart, Hawkwind, America, Family, Country Joe MacDonald, Wishbone Ash, New Riders Of The Purple Sage, Brinsley Schwarz and the Flamin Groovies.
1973 - David Bowie
David Bowie scored his first UK No.1 album when 'Aladdin Sane' started a five-week run at the top, featuring the single 'Drive In Saturday'. The follow-up to his breakthrough The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, the name of the album is a pun on "A Lad Insane".
1974 - CBGB's
Television appeared at CBGB's in New York City, supported by the Stillettoes (later to become Blondie who were playing their first show at CBGB).
1979 - Peaches and Herb
Peaches and Herb started a four week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Reunited', it made No.4 in the UK.

1983 - Ivor Novello
The Stranglers 'Golden Brown' was named most performed work of 1982 at the 28th Ivor Novello Awards. The single had become a UK hit after the comparatively conservative BBC Radio Two made it 'single of the week', a surprising step considering the band were almost as notorious as Sex Pistols only a few short years before.
1984 - Duran Duran
Duran Duran were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'The Reflex', the group's second and last No.1. The song which was taken from their third album Seven and the Ragged Tiger was also a US No.1.
1984 - Chrissie Hynde
Simple Minds singer Jim Kerr married Pretenders singer Chrissie Hynde in a horse drawn carriage in Central Park, New York City. The couple divorced in 1990.

1990 - John Lennon
The John Lennon tribute concert was held at the Pier Head Arena in Merseyside, featuring Lenny Kravitz, Al Green, Joe Cocker, The Christians, Kylie Minogue, Ringo Starr, Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty, Deacon Blue, Lou Reed, Joe Walsh and Wet Wet Wet.
1992 - Radiohead
Radiohead released 'The Drill EP', their first record in the UK. The band were still called "On a Friday" when the songs for this EP were recorded; they changed their name to Radiohead the following month.
1995 - Steven Adler
Former Guns N' Roses drummer Steven Adler was arrested on a felony count of possession of heroin, as well as two misdemeanour drug charges.
1996 - Dolores O'Riordan
Cranberries singer Dolores O'Riordan received both a public apology and a donation of £7,500 ($12,750) to the Warchild charity from The Sport newspaper after they ran a story claiming she had performed a gig in Hamburg without wearing any underwear.

1996 - Rage Against The Machine
Rage Against The Machine went to No.1 on the US album chart with 'Evil Empire'. The album's title is taken from the phrase "evil empire", which was used by former US President Ronald Reagan and many conservatives in describing the former Soviet Union. The album won the 1996 Grammy award for Best Metal Performance.
2000 - Rod Stewart
Rod Stewart had a one-hour throat operation at Cedar Sinai Medical Centre in Los Angeles to remove a growth on his thyroid. The growth turns out to be benign.

2002 - Ted Nugent
Two disc jockeys from Denver's KRFX-FM, Rick Lewis and Michael Floorwax, stopped a live radio interview with Detroit rocker Ted Nugent after he used derogatory racial terms for Asians and Blacks. The station received dozens of complaints.
2003 - Jennifer Lopez
UK Holiday camp operator Butlins introduced a new system of rhyming slang at bingo halls in an attempt to bring the game up-to-date. Pop stars Jennifer Lopez and Gareth Gates became new catchphrases for the callers, 'Gareth Gates' (8) and 'J-Lo's bum' (71). Other additions include 'stroppy teen' (15) and 'feng shui' (53).
2005 - Justin Timberlake
Justin Timberlake underwent an operation at Los Angeles' Cedars Sinai Hospital to remove nodules from his throat.
2013 - Robert Plant
Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant obtained a temporary restraining order against an overzealous female fan he alleged was a threat to his safety. Plant said that the woman had been harassing him for over three years and believed that they were in a relationship, even though Plant insisted the pair has never met.
2015 - Craig Gruber
American rock bassist Craig Gruber died of prostate cancer in Florida aged 63. He is best known as the original bassist in Rainbow and also played in Elf with vocalist Ronnie James Dio and worked with guitarist Gary Moore.
2016 - The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones told Donald Trump to stop playing their songs during his presidential campaign. The band issued a statement saying that the US presidential candidate did not have permission to use the band's music. Their 1969 hit 'You Can't Always Get What You Want' had been a particular favourite during his campaign.

Very interesting. The last piece especially, about the evolution of "pop" music sounds and instrumentation. I'm wondering what their definition encompasses - all popular music (including eg metal, punk etc) or confined to some subsets of popular music. Their three "ages" don't make a huge lot of sense to me - so I guess it's off to the original document(s) and delve into them a bit more. Fascinating stuff...