This Day In Music Search

Don Everly, the surviving member of the rock 'n' roll duo The Everly Brothers, died at the age of 84. Everly and his brother, Phil, had worldwidehits in the late 1950s and early 1960s, including 'Bye Bye Love' and 'All I Have To Do Is Dream'. They were known for their close harmonies, and influenced groups like The Beatles and Simon and Garfunkel. The Beatles based the vocal arrangement of 'Please Please Me' on The Everly's hit 'Cathy's Clown'.

After the Westboro Baptist Church, famous for their anti-gay demonstrations, staged a protest before a Foo Fighters concert in Kansas City, the band responded by driving a truck in front of the demonstrators and Rickrolling them by blasting a version of Rick Astley's hit 'Never Gonna Give You Up.'

Sir Paul McCartney topped a list of the richest bassists in the world with estimated wealth of $1.2 billion according to the website www.therichest.com. Coming in at No.2 were Sting and Gene Simmons, both with a net worth of $300 million, followed by Pink Floyd's Roger Waters, U2's Adam Clayton and Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Legendary concert promoter Sid Bernstein, best known for booking The Beatles at Carnegie Hall and later Shea Stadium, died at the age of 95. Bernstein changed the American music scene in the 1960s by bringing The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Herman's Hermits, The Moody Blues, and The Kinks to America. He was the first impresario to organise rock concerts at sports stadiums.

Paedophile and ex-pop star Gary Glitter returned to Thailand after being refused entry to Hong Kong. Chinese authorities informed the UK Foreign Office they had barred Glitter from entry. He was earlier deported from Vietnam after spending almost three years in jail for sexually abusing two girls. He flew to Hong Kong from Bangkok after refusing to fly to the UK, and had made a plea for medical treatment after saying he was suffering a heart attack.

Drummer Buddy Harman died of congestive heart failure, aged 79. Worked with Elvis Presley (‘Little Sister’), Patsy Cline (‘Crazy’), Roy Orbison (‘Pretty Woman’), Johnny Cash (‘Ring Of Fire’), Tammy Wynette (‘Stand By Your Man’). Harman was the first house drummer for The Grand Ole Opry and can be heard on over 18,000 recordings.

A man surfing the Internet in America foiled three men who broke into a Liverpool shop in Liverpool, England. The man who had logged onto a site streaming live footage of Mathew Street and a forthcoming Beatles festival saw the men smashing a window of a shop and climb inside. He phoned Merseyside police who arrested the men.

Robert Moog, inventor of the synthesiser died aged 71, four months after being diagnosed with brain cancer. Dr Moog built his first electronic instrument, a theremin - aged 14 and made the MiniMoog, "the first compact, easy-to-use synthesiser" in 1970. He won the Polar prize, Sweden's "music Nobel prize", in 2001. Wendy Carlos' 1968 Grammy award-winning album, Switched-On Bach, brought Dr Moog to prominence.

Atomic Kitten were facing legal action after sacking Andy McCluskey, the songwriter who wrote the bands first No.1 'Whole Again.' The band were about to be dropped by Innocent records when they recorded the song that became a huge hit. The girls then wanted a bigger share of royalties, which McCluskey had turned down. Under the original deal each girl got 4p from the sale of one single.

American recording engineer Chuck Britz died of brain cancer in Paradise, California at the age of 72. He worked with Jan and Dean, Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys, P.F. Sloan and The Grass Roots on numerous albums between 1962 and 1967.

Survivor filed a lawsuit against TVT Records after they released a soundtrack to the TV show ‘Survivor.’ Survivor guitarist Frankie Sullivan said, ‘It’s unfortunate that after 23 years of building, promoting, and protecting the name of our band, someone can suddenly come along and release a recording that uses our name and takes away everything we have worked for.’

Former Stone Roses drummer Alan Wren was jailed for seven days after being rude to a top Manchester Magistrate. He was before the court due to having no car insurance and lost his temper after being quizzed about his earnings.

Oasis' third album 'Be Here Now', became one of the fastest selling albums ever, shifting over 350,000 units on the first day of release. The cover image for Be Here Now was shot at Stocks House in Hertfordshire, the former home of Victor Lownes, the head of the Playboy Clubs in the UK.

Ramones guitarist Johnny Ramone had a four-hour brain surgery operation, after being found unconscious in a New York Street where he had been involved in a fight.

U2 singer Bono married Alison Stewart, his girlfriend from 1975 at All Saints Church, Raheny in Ireland. U2 bassist Adam Clayton acted as Bono's best man.

The Rolling Stones, 10CC, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Todd Rundgren's Utopia and Hot Tuna all appeared at The Knebworth Festival, Hertfordshire, England, tickets £4.50.

Jack Casady of Jefferson Airplane was arrested after a fight broke out on stage during a concert when the police had been called 'pigs'. Grace Slick was 'Mace' and another group member injured at the show in Akron.

Arthur Brown's Kingdom Come, Hawkwind, Duster Bennett, Brewers Droop, Indian Summer, Graphite, (and second from the bottom on the bill) Queen all appeared at the Tregye Festival Truro, Cornwall, England.

Tommy James and The Shondells returned to the UK No.1 position for the second time with the single 'Mony Mony'. In a peculiar twist, in 1987 Billy Idol's version of the song replaced another Tommy James hit at No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 — 'I Think We're Alone Now', covered by Tiffany.

The Doors started recording their second album at Sunset Sound Studios, Hollywood, California.

On their last ever US tour The Beatles performed in two cities due to a cancellation due to rain the previous day. First they performed at Crosley Field in Cincinnati, Ohio. Then they flew to St. Louis, Missouri, for a concert at Busch Stadium, where they performed under a tarpaulin due to heavy rain. It was this gig that convinced Paul McCartney that The Beatles should stop performing live.

The Rolling Stones started a three week run at No.1 on the US album chart with 'Out Of Our Heads' the group's first US No.1 album.

Tamla Records released the Marvelettes first single, 'Please Mr. Postman'. The song went on to sell over a million copies and become the group's biggest hit, reaching the top of both the Billboard Pop and R&B charts. The song is notable as the first Motown song to reach the No.1 position on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart.

Elvis Presley started a three-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with 'Something For Everybody' his sixth US No.1 album.

Patsy Cline recorded the classic Willie Nelson song, ‘Crazy’. Cline was still on crutches after going through a car windshield in a head-on collision two months earlier and had difficulty reaching the high notes of the song at first due to her broken ribs. 'Crazy' spent 21 weeks on the chart and eventually became one of her signature tunes.

Melissa Schman, Dream, (2001 US No.3 & UK No.17 single 'He Loves You Not').

Kelis Rogers, singer, (2000 UK No.4 single 'Caught Out There'). Was once married to American rapper Nas.

Liam Howlett, Keyboards, with English electronic dance music group The Prodigy who scored the 1996 UK No.1 & US No. 30 single 'Firestarter' and the 1997 UK & US No.1 album 'The Fat Of The Land'.

Dina Carroll, singer, (1993 UK No.3 single 'Don't Be A Stranger').

Serj Tankian, singer with Armenian-American heavy metal band System of a Down who had the 2001 US No.1 album Toxicity and the 2005 US No.1 & UK No.2 album Mezmerize.

David Morales, US DJ, producer, (1998 UK No. 8 single with The Face ‘Needin’ U’).

Budgie, Siouxsie and the Banshees, (1983 UK No.3 single 'Dear Prudence', plus over 15 other UK top 40 singles). The Creatures, (1983 UK No.14 single 'Right Now').

Kim Sledge, Sister Sledge, (1979 US No.2 single 'We Are Family', 1985 UK No.1 with 'Frankie').

Nick Kane from the American band The Mavericks who had the 1998 UK No.4 single 'Dance The Night Away'. The Mavericks won a Grammy Award for the song 'Here Comes the Rain'.

Steve Smith, drums, Journey, (1982 US No.2 single 'Open Arms').

Turkish-born English musician, singer, actor and songwriter Joe Strummer who was the co-founder of The Clash, who had the 1979 UK No. 11 single 'London Calling' and the 1982 US No. 8 single 'Rock The Casbah. Their 1991 UK No.1 single 'Should I Stay Or Should I Go', was first released 1982. He later formed Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros. He died on 22nd December 2002 of an undiagnosed congenital heart defect.

English bassist and singer Glenn Hughes, who was a member of Trapeze and who has also worked with Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Gary Moore. He is also a member of Black Country Communion.

Carl Giammarese, guitarist with American Sunshine pop group The Buckinghams who had the 1967 US No.1 single 'Kind Of A Drag' and became one of the top selling US acts of 1967.

Jackie DeShannon singer, (1969 US No.4 single 'Put A Little Love In Your Heart').

American keyboardist and composer Tom Coster best known for playing with Carlos Santana. Coster has also worked with Joe Satriani, Boz Scaggs, Zucchero as well as other artists.

Kenny Rogers, singer-songwriter, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur. He has charted more than 120 hit singles across various music genres, topping the country and pop album charts for more than 200 individual weeks in the US alone. He was voted the "Favorite Singer of All-Time" in a 1986 joint poll by readers of both USA Today and People. Rogers died on 20 March 2020 age 81 from natural causes.

British singer Cliff Adams. He led the Cliff Adams Singers known for ballads and novelty songs and formed The Stargazers that had two UK No.1 singles, 'Broken Wings' in 1953 (which was the first recording by a native British act to top the UK Singles Chart) and the 1954 'I See the Moon'. Adams wnet on to write many TV jingles, such as ads for Murray Mints, Fry's Turkish Delight, Milk Tray and Smash instant mashed potato.

Count Basie, bandleader. Worked with Frank Sinatra as well as his own Count Basie band. He died on 26th April 1984.