This Day In Music Search

Legendary Elvis Presley drummer D.J. Fontana died peacefully at his home age 87. Before joining guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black in Presley's backing band the Blue Moon Boys, Dominic Joseph Fontana worked as the house drummer for his hometown of Shreveport's Louisiana Hayride working with the likes of Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Waylon Jennings, Steve Young, Melba Montgomery, Norma Jean, Vassar Clements, Carl Butler and other country artists.

Anita Pallenberg, the model and actress best known for her relationships with members of the Rolling Stones, died at the age of 73. Pallenberg was the girlfriend of Brian Jones but left him for fellow Rolling Stone Keith Richards. She was also alleged to have had an affair with Mick Jagger while they were making 1970 film Performance, though she always denied it.

Rapper MC Supreme was killed in Malibu, California when a pickup truck hit his parked car on the shoulder of the Pacific Coast Highway. The 47-year-old 'Black in America' performer, whose real name was Dewayne Coleman, was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the truck was arrested on suspicion of DUI.

A Chicago jury acquitted R. Kelly of all 14 charges of child pornography against him. The American artist was found not guilty of making an explicit sex tape with a girl as young as 13. Both Kelly and the alleged victim, then 23, denied they were the people shown on the tape. Kelly was later convicted and sentenced to serve 31 years in prison for sexual misconduct with minors, among other charges.

Michael Jackson was cleared of all charges of child abuse by a jury of eight women and four men at the end of a 16-week hearing in Santa Maria, California. Jackson was found not guilty of all 10 charges including abusing a 13-year-old boy, conspiracy to kidnap and supplying alcohol to a minor to assist with a felony.

The elder statesman of music were rewarded in this year's Queen's Birthday Honours list for their services to music. Sting was awarded a CBE, Gerry Marsden an MBE, Errol Brown an MBE and Pink Floyd's David Gilmour a CBE.

The Arctic Monkeys made their live debut at The Grapes pub in Sheffield, England. They received £27 from ticket sales.

37-year-old Susan E Santodonato collapsed and died of a heart attack outside New York radio station Star 105.7. after a Britney Spears impersonator left the building. A crowd had gathered after a DJ claimed Britney Spears was in the studio.

A roadie who worked for The Spice Girls, Oasis, Elton John and Whitney Houston was arrested and charged with smuggling millions of pounds worth of Ecstasy into the UK.

During the Dave Matthews Band set at the Tibetan Freedom Concert in Washington, DC's RFK Stadium, law student Lysa Selfon was struck by lightning. With help from an off duty paramedic, she was revived and eventually made a full recovery. The strike also injured 11 other people in the crowd.

Alanis Morissette released her studio album, Jagged Little Pill. The album went on to sell over 30 million copies world-wide, and made Morissette the first female Canadian to score a US No.1 album. 'Jagged Little Pill' featured the massive hits, 'You Oughta Know', 'Hand in My Pocket', 'Ironic', and 'You Learn'.  

Billy Ray Cyrus started a 17-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with 'Some Gave All'. His debut album featured the world-wide breakthrough song 'Achy Breaky Heart', which was originally recorded as 'Don't Tell My Heart' by The Marcy Brothers on their 1991 self-titled album.

Whitney Houston started a six-week run at No.1 on the UK album chart with her second LP Whitney. With this album, Houston set various records on the US charts. Houston became female artist, to debut at No.1 with an album and its first four singles, 'I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)', 'Didn't We Almost Have It All', 'So Emotional' and 'Where Do Broken Hearts Go', all peaked at No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, making her the first female artist to achieve that feat.

John Lennon made his last ever TV appearance when he appeared on 'Salute To Sir Lew Grade', performing 'Slippin And Slidin', and 'Imagine'. The performance was recorded at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel on April 18, 1975.

Peter Frampton played the first of two nights at the Winterland Ballroom, San Francisco, California. Recordings from these two shows were used as part of his No.1 double album 'Frampton Comes Alive'. It became the best-selling album of 1976, selling over 6 million copies in the US and Frampton Comes Alive! was voted "Album of the year" in the 1976 Rolling Stone readers poll. It stayed on the chart for 97 weeks.

Clyde McPhatter, original lead vocalist with The Drifters, died of a heart attack in New York. Joined Billy Ward & the Dominoes in 1950, formed The Drifters in 1953, had several solo hits including 1962 'Lover Please,' was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.

Grand Funk Railroad, supported by Steel Mill, (featuring Bruce Springsteen) appeared at the Ocean Ice Palace in Bricktown, New Jersey, tickets $5.00.

The Beatles started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'The Long And Winding Road', the group's 20th US No.1. The album 'Let It Be' started a four-week run at No.1 the US album chart on the same day. The 12th and final studio album by The Beatles, was recorded in January 1969, before the recording and release of Abbey Road.

The Rolling Stones held a photo call in Hyde Park to introduce new guitarist Mick Taylor. The 20 year-old former member of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers made his live debut with The Stones the following month at a free concert in Hyde Park, London.

Frank Sinatra was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Strangers in the Night’. Composed by Bert Kaempfert with English lyrics by Charles Singleton and Eddie Snyder, Sinatra's recording won him the Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance and the Grammy Award for Record of the Year.

The Beatles performed another two shows at Centennial Hall, Adelaide, South Australia. For the four shows that The Beatles performed in Adelaide there were 12,000 tickets, for which 50,000 requests had been placed. The two shows on this day were drummer's Jimmy Nicol's last as a "temporary Beatle". Ringo Starr (who had been ill), re-joined The Beatles in Melbourne the next day.

English actress and former singer-songwriter Kym Marsh who with Hear'Say had the 2001 UK No.1 single 'Pure And Simple'. She quit the group in 2002 and is now an actress playing Michelle Connor in the long-running UK ITV soap opera Coronation Street.

Jason Brown, singer with English boy band Five who had the 1998 UK No.2 single 'Everybody Get Up' and the 1999 UK No.1 single 'Keep On Movin'.

Rivers Cuomo from American rock band Weezer who had the 1995 UK No.12 single, 'Buddy Holly'. Weezer achieved mainstream success, helped by music videos directed by Spike Jonze.

Soren Rasted, from Danish eurodance group Aqua, who scored the 1997 UK No.1 single 'Barbie Girl' a song that topped the charts worldwide.

David Gray, UK singer, songwriter. His 'White Ladder' was the second biggest selling UK album of 2001. He scored the 2000 UK No.5 single 'Babylon.'

Deneice Pearson, from British pop/R&B group Five Star who had the 1986 UK No.3 single 'System Addict' plus 15 other UK Top 40 singles.

Rolf Brendel, from German group Nena who had the 1984 UK No.1 & US No.2 single '99 Red Balloons'. The track made them UK One Hit Wonder.

American rock guitarist Russell Javors best known as a rhythm guitarist for Billy Joel from 1976 to 1989. Javors also recorded guitar parts for Karen Carpenter's 1979 self-titled album, which was released in 1996.

Howard Lees, from American rock band Heart who scored the 1987 US No.1 & UK No.3 single 'Alone'. Heart has sold over 35 million records worldwide.

Dennis Locorriere, with American rock band Dr Hook who had the 1970s hits 'The Cover of Rolling Stone', 'A Little Bit More', 'When You're in Love with a Beautiful Woman' and 'Sylvia's Mother'.

Marv Tarplin, American guitarist and songwriter, best known as the guitarist for the Miracles from the 1950s through the early 1970s who co-wrote several of their biggest hits, including the 1965 Grammy Hall Of Fame inducted 'The Tracks of My Tears'. He died aged 70 on 30 Sep 2011.

Esther Ofarim, Israeli international singer. She came second in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1963 with the song "T'en vas pas", representing Switzerland. As half of the singing husband and wife duo, Esther & Abi Ofarim she had the 1968 UK No.1 single 'Cinderella Rockerfella'.

Bobby Freeman, American soul and R&B singer, songwriter and record producer, who scored the 1958 US & UK No.5 single 'Do You Want To Dance'. The song has been covered (as 'Do You Wanna Dance') by Del Shannon, The Beach Boys, Johnny Rivers, Bette Midler, John Lennon, Cliff Richard, Marc Bolan & T.Rex, the Mamas & The Papas and the Ramones. Freeman died of natural causes on January 23, 2017, aged 76

Uriel Jones, session drummer for Motown Records' in-house studio band, the Funk Brothers, during the 1960s and early 1970s. Jones played on many Motown classics including ‘I Heard It Through the Grapevine’, by Marvin Gaye, ‘Cloud Nine’ by the Temptations, ‘I Second That Emotion’ by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles and ‘For Once In My Life’ by Stevie Wonder. Jones died on 24th March 2009.