On This Day

May 2nd: On this day
1963, 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 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 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 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, Pink Floyd appeared at Manchester Chamber Of Commerce, England. The show was recorded for the forthcoming album 'Ummagumma'.
1969, Led Zeppelin played the first of two nights at The Pasadena Rose Palace, California. Many other acts appeared here including The Byrds, Cream, Santana, The Grateful Dead, and Joe Cocker
1970, 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 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, 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 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, 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, 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 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 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, 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.
1989, 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.
1991, 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 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, 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, 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, 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 joined former Cream members drummer Ginger Baker and bass player 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, 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, 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 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, 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 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, 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, 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."

May 3rd: On this day
1952, Kitty Wells recorded 'It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels'. Wells was disenchanted with her career prospects and was considering retirement, but agreed to the session at Owen Bradley’s studio because of the $125 union scale recording payment. 'It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels' was an answer song to Hank Thompson's 'The Wild Side of Life', and its lyrical treatment of seductive, wayward women. It became the first No.1 Billboard country hit for a solo female artist.
1965, The Beatles spent the day filming for their forthcoming film Help!, on Salisbury Plain, England, with the British Army's Third Tank Division.
1967, Pink Floyd appeared at The Moulin Rouge, Ainsdale, Southport, England. The promotion flyers for the club said: 'The Moulin Rouge night club. Wine, Dine, Dance! And have a gay time'.
1968, The Beach Boys opened their US tour on which the co-headliner was Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The second half of the concert which featured the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, lectured the audience on "spiritual regeneration." The reaction was so negative, more than half of the remaining tour dates were cancelled.
1968, The Jimi Hendrix Experience recorded 'Voodoo Chile.' It was featured on the 'Electric Ladyland' double album and became a UK No.1 single on 21st November 1970 two months after the guitarist's death. Hendrix's solo on the track was named the 11th greatest solo of all-time in Guitar World's 100 Greatest Guitar Solos.
1971, Led Zeppelin kicked off a European tour at K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark in front of 4,000 fans. The set list included the only known performance of 'Four Sticks' and the debut live performance of 'Misty Mountain Hop'.
1972, Les Harvey guitarist with Stone The Crows died after being electrocuted on stage during a gig at Swansea University, Wales. He was the brother of Scottish singer Alex Harvey and a member of the Alex Harvey Soul Band.
1975, The Bay City Rollers started a three-week run at No.1 on the UK chart with their second album 'Once Upon A Star.'
1976, David Bowie played the first of six sold out nights at Wembley, on his Station To Station tour, his first UK gig in three years.
1976, Paul McCartney made his first concert appearance in America in almost ten years when Wings kicked off their 31-date 'Wings Over America' tour at the Tarrant County Convention Center, Fort Worth, Texas.
1980, Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band started a six week run at No.1 on the US album chart with 'Against The Wind'.
1980, Dexy's Midnight Runners were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Geno', a song written about US soul singer Geno Washington.
1986, Robert Palmer went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Addicted To Love', it made No.5 in the UK. Palmer originally recorded the song as a duet with Chaka Khan but due to contractual problems her voice was removed.
1997, Katrina And The Waves won the Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin with the song 'Love Shine A Light', making them the first UK winners since Bucks Fizz in 1981.
1997, The Notorious B.I.G. started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with his posthumous hit 'Hypnotize', a No.10 hit in the UK, the rapper was gunned down and killed on March 9th, 1997.
2004, The US Supreme Court rejected an appeal by two musicians who claimed they were owed royalties from Ozzy Osbourne. Bassist Robert Daisley and drummer Lee Kerslake had fought a long-running battle since 1997 with the Osbourne family claiming they were entitled to money from the albums ‘Blizzard of Ozz’ and ‘Diary of a Madman.’ Sharon Osbourne, Ozzy's wife and manager, said that the pair had "harassed" her family and had had their contributions removed from the albums because of their "abusive and unjust behaviour".
2006, The first Bob Dylan radio program was aired on XM Satellite Radio. Tracks played on his show included Blur, Prince, Billy Bragg, Wilco, Mary Gauthier, L.L. Cool J and The Streets.
2008, Rap star Sean 'Diddy' Combs was honoured with a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame. The 38-year-old dedicated the star to his father, who was shot dead in 1972.
2009, Bob Dylan went to No.1 on the UK album chart with ‘Together Through Life’ his seventh UK No.1 album. It was the singer, songwriter’s 33rd studio album, he last topped the UK chart with ‘New Morning’ in 1970. His first No.1 in 1964, was ‘The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan'. Dylan now held the record, (previously held by Tom Jones), for the longest gap between solo number one albums.
2012, Paul McCartney and his wife Nancy Shavell narrowly avoided a potential deadly helicopter crash when their pilot became disoriented during a flight in bad weather and missed some trees by just two feet. Flying home to their estate in East Sussex, England after a day in London, the McCartney's were not aware of how close they came to crashing at the time. The UK's Department of Transport launched an investigation into the incident the following November.
2014, American musician Bobby Gregg died aged 78. Gregg is best is known for his work as a drummer on several seminal 1960s songs, including Bob Dylan's 'Like a Rolling Stone' and Simon and Garfunkel's 'The Sound of Silence'. He was also temporarily a member of The Hawks, which later became known as The Band.
2017, The Eagles were suing a hotel in Mexico that calls itself the Hotel California, after the band's hit song and album. The rock band claim the 11-room hotel, in Todos Santos, "actively encourages" guests to believe it is associated with them in order to sell merchandise. They claim the hotel plays Eagles songs in the lobby and sells t-shirts describing the venue as "legendary".

May 4th: On this day
1956, Gene Vincent recorded the classic rock 'n roll song 'Be Bop-A-Lula', at Owen Bradley's studio in Nashville, Tennessee. The song went on to be a US & UK Top 20 hit in this year. Vincent has said that he wrote the words to the song after being inspired by a comic strip called "Little Lulu".
1961, The Marcels were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with the Rodgers & Hart song from the 1930s 'Blue Moon', their only UK No.1.
1967, The Young Rascals started a four week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Groovin.' Atlantic Records head Jerry Wexler did not want to release the song. US disc jockey Murray the K heard the track and encouraged Atlantic to release it.
1967, The Jimi Hendrix Experience appeared on UK TV's Top Of The Pops, performing 'Purple Haze'. During afternoon rehearsals for the show, Mick Jagger went into the studio to see Jimi Hendrix.
1968, Mary Hopkin won her heat on the ITV talent show 'Opportunity Knocks'. She later signed with The Beatles owned Apple Records, Paul McCartney produced her UK No.1 single 'Those Were The Days', which also made No. 2 in the US. Hopkin later married record producer Tony Visconti.
1970, Four students at Kent University were killed and eleven wounded by National Guard troops at a campus demonstration protesting the escalation of the Vietnam War. The incident inspired Neil Young to compose 'Ohio' which became a hit for Crosby Stills Nash & Young.
1973, Led Zeppelin opened their 1973 North American tour, which was billed as the 'biggest and most profitable rock & roll tour in the history of the United States'. The group would gross over $4 million from the dates, flying between gigs in 'The Starship' a Boeing 720 passenger jet, complete with bar, shower room, TV and video in a 30' lounge and a white fur bedroom.
1974, ABBA were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Waterloo', the group's first of nine UK No.1 singles was the 1974 Eurovision song contest winner for Sweden. The song was first called 'Honey Pie'.
1974, Grand Funk Railroad started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with their version of the Little Eva hit 'The Loco-Motion.' It was only the second time that a cover version had been a No.1 as well as the original.
1977, The Patti Smith Group, David Johansen, Dead Boys, Blondie, Suicide and Richard Hell & The Voidoids all appeared at a Punk Benefit at CBGB's in New York City.
1978, 'Night Fever' by The Bee Gees was at No.1 on the UK singles chart. The group's third No.1 and the theme from the film 'Saturday Night Fever.' The song was a US No.1 for over two months.
1985, Phyllis Nelson was at No.1 on the UK singles with 'Move Closer', her only UK hit making the American singer a One Hit Wonders.
1987, American blues vocalist, harmonica player Paul Butterfield, who fronted The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, died at his home in North Hollywood, California, of drug-related heart failure, he was 44. Gained international recognition, as one of the early acts performing during the Summer of Love, at Monterey Pop Festival and Woodstock festival.
1989, Stevie Ray Vaughan set out on what would be his last ever tour at the Orpheum Theatre, Vancouver, British Columbia. The guitarist was killed in a helicopter crash on 27th Aug 1999 after a concert at Alpine Valley Music Theater in Wisconsin, after playing 107 of the 110 dates.
1991, Cher scored her first solo UK No.1 single with 'The Shoop Shoop Song' from the film 'Mermaids'. The song had been a hit for Betty Everett on 1964, and gave Cher her first No.1 in the UK since 1965's 'I Got You Babe'.
1996, Alanis Morissette started a six-week run at No.1 on the UK album chart with Jagged Little Pill. The record produced six successful singles, including 'You Oughta Know', 'Ironic', 'You Learn', 'Hand in My Pocket', and 'Head over Feet'.
1996, George Michael scored his seventh UK No.1 single as a solo artist when 'Fastlove' started a three-week run at the top of the chart. The second of six singles to be taken from George's comeback album Older.
1997, Courtney Love placed an advert in The Seattle Times selling the house she had shared with Kurt Cobain. The five bedroom four bathroom house was on the market for $3m. The carriage house where Kurt Cobain died had been knocked down during refurbishment.
2000, Metallica were demanding online music service Napster cut off 335,000 users who they claimed had been illegally trading their songs. The band had passed on the names of all those they considered to be "stealing" their material over the internet in the latest development in an ongoing battle over the protection of music copyrights on the web.
2004, Producer Clement Seymour Dodd died aged 72. He was a major force in the development of ska and reggae, and made the first recordings of Bob Marley.
2008, Madonna's latest album Hard Candy went straight to No.1 in the UK, giving the singer a chart double, with her song 4 Minutes, featuring Justin Timberlake, on top of the singles chart for a third week. Hard Candy was Madonna's 10th number one album.
2008, Thieves broke into the childhood home of Motown star Martha Reeves and stole about $1 million worth of uninsured recording equipment, including speakers, microphones and karaoke machines. A suspect was arrested at his home later in the day after he tried to sell the goods to a pawnshop for $400.
2012, American rapper, musician, film director, and human rights activist Adam Yauch died of cancer aged 47. He was best known as a founding member of the hip hop group Beastie Boys, who sold over 40 million records worldwide.

Monarch, that "on this day" thread is spectacular stuff, it really is. I haven't read the half of it yet. Are you cutting/pasting stuff into the thread, or typing it in from scratch? (No need to acknowledge this query if "trade secrets" are involved!!!). Anyway, it's brilliant stuff, I'm looking forward to the next block release...

May 5th: Born on this day
1937, Born on this day, American singer and songwriter Johnnie Taylor, who had the 1976 US No.1 UK No.25 single 'Disco Lady' and was a three-time Grammy-nominated American recording artist. Taylor died of a heart attack in a Texas hospital, on 31st May 2000, shortly after his 62nd birthday.
1942, Born on this day, Tammy Wynette, US Country singer, 1968 US No.19 and 1975 UK No.1 single 'Stand By Your Man'. Known as the first lady of country music. Had the 1991 hit with The KLF ‘Justified and Ancient’ which became a No. 1 hit in eighteen countries. She died from cardiac arrhythmia aged 55, on 6th April 1998.
1942, Born on this day, Jim King, saxophone and harmonica with British rock band Family who scored the 1971 UK No.4 single 'In My Own Time' and the 1973 single 'My Friend The Sun'.
1948, Born on this day, Bill Ward, drummer with English rock band Black Sabbath who had the 1970 UK No.4 single 'Paranoid'. The bands self-titled album was voted as the best British rock album ever by Kerrang! in 2005.
1950, Born on this day, Eddy Amoo, from British soul group The Real Thing, who had the 1976 UK No.1 single 'You To Me Are Everything'.
1951, Born on this day, Rex Goh, guitarist, for the Australian soft rock band Air Supply who scored the 1980 UK No.11 single 'All Out Of Love' and the 1981 US No.1 single 'The One That You Love'.
1954, Born on this day, Pete Erskine, percussion, with American jazz fusion band of the 1970s and early 1980s Weather Report who had the 1976 single 'Birdland' and the 1977 album Heavy Weather.
1955, Born on this day, Roddy Radiation, who played lead guitar for The Specials, as well as many rockabilly bands such as the Bonediggers and the Tearjerkers. Byers joined The Specials when the band was called The Coventry Automatics.
1957, Born on this day, Thereza Bazar, singer, from pop vocal duo Dollar who had the 1981 UK No.4 single 'Mirror Mirror'.
1959, Born on this day, English singer-songwriter and musician Ian McCulloch, best known as the frontman for the rock group Echo & the Bunnymen who had the 1983 UK No.8 single 'The Cutter' and the single 'The Killing Moon'. McCulloch a member of the Crucial Three, one of many Liverpool bands that sprung up amongst the regulars who patronised a Liverpool club called Eric's in the late '70s. The other two members were Julian Cope and Pete Wylie who went on to form Wah!.
1959, Born on this day, American guitarist and songwriter Steve Stevens. Often referred to as "the fingers of rock", he is best known for being Billy Idol's guitarist, the lead guitar work on 'Top Gun Anthem', and for playing for other artists (most notably Michael Jackson and Vince Neil).
1961, Born on this day, Sean McLuskey, with British new wave group Jo Boxers, who had the 1983 UK No.3 single 'Boxer Beat'.
1962, Born on this day, Gary Daly, singer, with English pop/rock band China Crisis, who had the 1984 UK No.9 single 'Wishful Thinking'.
1962, Born on this day, Kevin Paul Mooney, bassist from English rock band Adam and the Ants who scored the 1981 UK No.1 single 'Stand And Deliver' and 15 other UK Top 40 singles.
1964, Born on this day, Kevin Saunderson, from American electronic group Inner City, who had the 1989 UK No.4 single 'Good Life' and the hit 'Big Fun'.
1981, Born on this day, English singer, songwriter, rapper Craig David, who had the 2000 UK No.1 singles, 'Fill Me In' and '7 Days'. His 2000 UK No.1 album 'Born To Do It' spent 50 weeks on the chart. David has been nominated for thirteen Brit Awards.
1988, Born on this day, Adele Laurie Blue Adkins, (Adele), English soul and jazz singer, (2008 UK No.1 album ‘19’, 2008 UK No.2 single ‘Chasing Pavements’). In 2011 Adele became the first artist to achieve the feat of two top five hits in both the singles chart and the albums chart simultaneously since The Beatles in 1964. She is the first artist to sell more than 3 million copies of an album in a year in the UK, and Adele is the first female in the history of the Billboard Hot 100 to have three singles in the top 10 at the same time.
1989, Born on this day, Chris Brown, American singer, songwriter, and actor who had the 2005 US No.1 with his debut release 'Run It' and the 2007 US No.1 'Kiss Kiss'. In 2009, Brown received media attention after pleading guilty to felony assault of his then girlfriend, singer Rihanna; he was sentenced to five years of probation and six months of community service.

Cheers Frank, great of you to do it...

G.

May 6th: On this day
1965, In their Clearwater, Florida hotel room, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards worked out the opening guitar riff of '(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction' following Richard's purchase of a Gibson fuzz-box earlier that day. The song is considered to be one of the all-time greatest rock songs ever recorded. In 2004 Rolling Stone magazine placed 'Satisfaction' in the second spot on its list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
1966, Working at Abbey Road studios in London, The Beatles recorded overdubs on 'I'm Only Sleeping' and worked on various mixes of the track. The song features the then-unique sound of a reversed guitar duet played by Harrison who perfected the part with the tape running backwards so that, when reversed, it would fit the dreamlike mood.
1967, Jimi Hendrix, The Walker Brothers, Engelbert Humperdink and Cat Stevens all appeared at the Imperial Ballroom, Nelson, Lancashire, England.
1972, The Tyrannosaurus Rex double album 'Prophets, Seers And Sages And The Angels Of The Ages / My People Were Fair And Had Sky In Their Hair But Now Their Content To Wear Stars On Their Brows' went to No.1 in the UK. The longest title of an album ever at the time!
1973, Paul Simon set out on his first tour without partner Art Garfunkel, using The Jesse Dixon Singers as a back- up group on stage. Simon's tour of America and Europe was recorded and released as 'Live Rhymin'.
1978, The soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever started an 18 week run at No.1 on the UK album chart, also No.1 in the US. The album, which features seven Bee Gees songs, went on to sell over 30 million copies worldwide.
1982, Former manager of The Bay City Rollers Tam Paton, was convicted on a charge of gross indecency with boys and was sentenced to three years in jail.
1989, Former Frankie goes To Hollywood singer Holly Johnson went to No.1 on the UK album chart with his debut solo album 'Blast'.
1995, Oasis scored their first UK No.1 single when 'Some Might Say' went to the top of the UK charts. It was the first single to be released from the Manchester bands second album '(What's the Story) Morning Glory?' And the last Oasis track to feature original drummer Tony McCarroll.
2002, 'Bohemian Rhapsody' by Queen was voted the UK's favourite single of all time in a poll by the Guinness Hit Singles book. 'Imagine' by John Lennon was voted in at No.2 and 'Hey Jude', The Beatles No.3, 'Dancing Queen' by ABBA was fourth and Madonna 'Like A Prayer' was in fifth place.
2002, American songwriter and producer Otis Blackwell died from a heart attack. He wrote the classic songs ‘All Shook Up’, ‘Return To Sender’, ‘Don't Be Cruel’, ‘Great Balls Of Fire’ and ‘Fever.’ Over the years, Blackwell's songs have sold more than 185 million copies.
2003, After the controversy regading Dixie Chicks member Natalie Maines’ comments about President George W. Bush and the Iraq war, a Colorado radio station suspended two of its disc jockeys for playing music by Dixie Chicks.
2004, A sale at Christie's in London, England became the most successful pop auction in the company's history after Beatles memorabilia sold for a record £788,643. The auction included a leather collar worn by John Lennon which sold for £117,250. A signed copy of a management deal with The Beatles and manager Brian Epstein sold for £122,850. A Vox Kensington guitar used by Lennon and Harrison went for £100,000. Also sold - a coloured felt-pen drawing by Lennon (£10,000), a letter with his signature (£5,500), and a pen-and-ink drawing called Happy Fish (£9,500).
2004, American jazz guitarist Barney Kessel died of a brain tumor aged of 80. He was a member of the the Wrecking Crew and was also a member of the Oscar Peterson Trio and worked with Billie Holiday, Sam Cooke and many others. He appeared on The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds album.
2005, US coffee shop chain Starbucks banned the sale of Bruce Springsteen'S latest album Devils and Dust over concerns about its adult content. The retailer - which stocked CDs at its branches in the US - said it would be promoting other albums instead.
2006, The Go-Betweens singer, songwriter Grant McLennan died in his sleep at his home in Brisbane, Australia, aged 48. The Australasian Performing Right Association named his 1983 song 'Cattle and Cane' as one of the 30 greatest Australian songs of all time.
2006, During a UK tour, Morrissey played at The Apollo Manchester on the first of three nights at three different venues in his home city of Manchester. The singer then appeared at Manchester Opera House the following night and then at Manchester Bridgewater Hall on the 8th May.
2008, Babyshambles frontman Pete Doherty was released from Wormwood Scrubs prison in west London after serving 29 days of a 14-week sentence for breaching the terms of his probation. The singer told reporters that he was glad to be out and was looking forward to having a drink and spending some time with his pet cats.
2009, A former publicist for Michael Jackson was suing the singer for $44m (£29m) for his alleged failure to pay her for her services. Raymone Bain said Mr Jackson had agreed to give her 10% of any business deals arranged with her assistance. Ms Bain acted as Mr Jackson's publicist during his 2005 trial for child abuse.
2013, Lauryn Hill was sentenced in the US state of New Jersey to three months in jail for tax evasion. The 37 year-old Grammy-winning singer had failed to pay taxes on about $1.8m (£1.2m) of earnings between 2005-07. In a statement to the judge, Hill said she had intended to pay the taxes but could not after withdrawing from public life and ending her music career to raise her children. Hill has six children, five of whom she had with Rohan Marley, the son of Bob Marley.
2015, British-Jamaican singer and songwriter Errol Brown, best known as the frontman of the soul and funk band Hot Chocolate died of liver cancer at his home in the Bahamas. Their hits included 'You Sexy Thing', 'So You Win Again' and 'Brother Louie'. His break in music came in 1969 when he recorded a version of 'Give Peace a Chance' with some friends. Unable to change the lyrics without John Lennon's permission, he sent a copy to his record label, Apple, and the song was released with Lennon's approval.
2015, The results of the evolution of western pop music, spanning from 1960 to 2010, was published in The Royal Society Open Science Journal. The scientists who looked at more than 17,000 songs found three music revolutions - in 1964, 1983 and 1991. In 1964 the invasion of British bands introduced a radical new rocky sound. Synthesisers, samplers and drum machines, drove a second major style shift in 1983. The third, in 1991, came about when rap and hip-hop went mainstream. The team also refuted claims that pop music was starting to sound the same.

May 7th: On this Day

1966, The Mamas & the Papas started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Monday Monday', it made No.3 in the UK. The group was reported, as saying they all hated the song except for its writer John Phillips. The Mamas & the Papas won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for this song.

1967, Pearls Before Swine begin recording an album called 'One Nation Underground'. The LP included a song called 'Miss Morse', which would be banned in New York when it was discovered that lead singer Tom Rapp was singing F-U-C-K in Morse code. After disc jockey Murray The K played the record on the air, local Boy Scouts correctly interpreted the chorus and phoned in a complaint.

1967, Pink Floyd appeared at The Mojo Club, Tollbar, Sheffield, England, opened and owned by Peter Stringfellow. Acts who have also appeared at the club include Stevie Wonder, John Lee Hooker, Rod Stewart, Ike and Tina Turner, The Who, Small Faces and Jimi Hendrix.

1971, 'Moonage Daydream' was released as a single by Arnold Corns, a band, formed by David Bowie the name of which was inspired by the Pink Floyd song 'Arnold Layne'. This was one of Bowie’s side projects and something of a dry run for Ziggy Stardust. The song later reappeared on Ziggy Stardust in a new version with updated lyrics.

1972, The Rolling Stones released the second album on their own label, Exile On Main Street, featuring two hit singles, 'Tumbling Dice' and 'Happy'. In 2003, the album was ranked No. 7 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, the highest of any Stones album on the list.

1974, Led Zeppelin held a party at the Four Seasons Hotel in New York City for the launch of their new label Swan Song. Other label signings including, Scottish singer Maggie Bell (whose album Suicide Sal was the labels fourth release), and British supergroup, Bad Company also attended.

1977, The Eagles went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Hotel California', the group's fourth US No.1, a No.8 hit in the UK. The Eagles also won the 1977 Grammy Award for Record of the Year for 'Hotel California' at the 20th Annual Grammy Awards in 1978. The song's guitar solo is ranked 8th on Guitar Magazine's Top 100 Guitar Solos and was voted the best solo of all time by readers of Guitarist magazine.

1978, 90,000 tickets were sold in eight hours for Bob Dylan's forthcoming London dates at Earls Court.

1983, Former Jam leader Paul Weller unveiled his new group The Style Council at an anti nuclear benefit gig in London. The Style Council scored seven UK Top 10 hits and the band was also very successful in Australia and New Zealand during the 1980s, with multiple hit singles and albums.

1983, 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.

1988, Terence Trent D'arby went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Wishing Well', a No.4 hit in the UK.

1991, Wilson Pickett was arrested after running into an 86 year old man and yelling death threats whilst driving his car over the mayor's front lawn in Englewood, New Jersey. Pickett was charged with driving with open bottles of alcohol in his car.

1992, A leather Jacket worn by John Lennon during 1960-1963, was sold at Christies, London, England for £24,200.

1992, Nigel Preston drummer with The Cult died in London, England aged 32. Was a founding member of The Death Cult, he also played and recorded with Sex Gang Children, Theatre of Hate and The Gun Club.

1998, Eddie Rabbitt, US singer, songwriter died of lung cancer aged 56. During his career, he scored over 20 No.1's on Billboard's country singles chart including 1981 'I Love A Rainy Night'. Elvis Presley, Dr Hook, Tom Jones, Kenny Rogers, Crystal Gayle and Lynn Anderson all recorded his songs.

2000, Britney Spears went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Oops!... I Did It Again'. Written and produced by hit-makers Max Martin and Rami Yacoub, who had previously collaborated with Spears on '...Baby One More Time'.

2003, A US surgeon sued 50 Cent over an unpaid medical bill. The doctor claimed 50 Cent and his friend turned up at a hospital with multiple gunshot wounds in 2000, but said the rapper never paid the $20,000 he owed for treatment despite being asked several times.

2003, A Los Angeles federal jury recommended a $1.5 million award to a British record company that sued rapper-producer Dr Dre for song plagiarism. London-based Minder Music Ltd. sued Dre in 2000, claiming his 1999 song, 'Let's Get High,' used the bass line of The Fatback's 1980 song, 'Backstroking' which was featured on Dre's successful '2001' album, which sold 9 million copies worldwide.

2004, A planning inquiry hearing Madonna's appeal to ban ramblers from parts of her £9m country estate heard details of the land's make-up. The pop star claimed 100 acres of land at the 1,200-acre Ashcombe House estate had been inaccurately classified as open country. Madonna was appealing against the classification in a hearing. Under the act, people would have the right to access any land registered on the final map as open country-mountain, moor, heath or down.

2006, Snow Patrol went to No.1 on the UK album chart with 'Eyes Open' the bands fourth album. Also a No.1 in Ireland, and Australia and a No. 27 hit on the US Chart. The bands first album 'Songs For Polarbears' peaked at No.143 when released in 1998.

2011, John Walker (John Joseph Maus) best known as the founder of The Walker Brothers died of liver cancer at his Los Angeles home. He formed The Walker Brothers (originally The Walker Brothers Trio) in 1964, with himself as lead vocalist and guitarist. The Walker Brothers scored the 1966 UK No.1 & US No. 13 single 'The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore'.

2015, Three of B.B. King's 11 surviving children lost a bid in a Las Vegas court to take control over their father's affairs after they said they suspect the 89-year-old Blues legend's manager of stealing his money and neglecting his medical care while blocking them from seeing him in home hospice care. King died in his sleep on May 14, 2015, at the age of 89.

Hi Frank, super stuff as always. Now I am going to try your patience! As follows:

- I have somehow managed to create a Spotify playlist! It's only 30 songs, not necessarily confined to what Cecil did/would have played. It's about an hour is worth, jusy a stream of consciousness of me writing down song titles that I like/love/have particular meaning for me. In my view they are all, at worst, listenable. You may well know just about all of them, and have them on your own playlists (maybe not the couple from Gerry Leonard). Anyway,

- I have not the faintest idea how to get the playlist from Spotify into one of the forums here, for you to check out if you want. Is there an idiot-proof, one or two step process that's involved? Or is it kinda complicated? Not asking you to baby-step me through it at all, but if you give me a start I'll figure it out ... whenever you're on here again.

Many Tx. G.

Tx a million, that'll do me. G.