This Day In Music Search

Canadian musician R. Dean Taylor died at home at the age of 82. The singer, songwriter, and record producer worked for Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. He co-wrote hits for the Four Tops, Temptations and Diana Ross & the Supremes. As a singer, Taylor is best known for his chart-topping 1970 hit 'Indiana Wants Me' and the 1974 hit 'There's a Ghost in My House' (first released in 1967).

Neil Peart, drummer and lyricist for Canadian rock band Rush, died from brain cancer aged 67. Placed at No.4 in Rolling Stone's list of all-time greatest drummers, Peart was well-known for his technical proficiency and animated live performances.

American singer Troy Shondell died from complications of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease aged 76. He became a transatlantic one-hit wonder, with his 1961 'This Time', which topped the charts in both US and the UK, selling over one million records. He also recorded under the name of Gary Shelton.

According to Nielsen SoundScan's final 2009 figures, Michael Jackson was the best selling artist of the year, moving 8,286,000 units. Forty years after their break-up, The Beatles were still the best selling group, thanks to their remastered catalog which sold 3,282,000 copies. Digital downloads however, were a different story. Lady Gaga was the queen of the downloads, selling 15,297,000 digital tracks. The Black Eyed Peas, Michael Jackson and Taylor Swift all finished in the vicinity of 12 million digital units.

Pink married her motocross racer boyfriend Carey Hart on a beach in Costa Rica. More than 100 people attended the singer's big day, including Lisa-Marie Presley. Pink proposed to him during one of his races in Mammoth Lakes, California, by holding up a sign that read "Will you marry me?" Hart pulled out of the race to say yes.

Drummer John Guerin died of pneumonia aged 64. Worked with Joni Mitchell, Frank Zappa, Linda Rondstadt, Gram Parsons, Todd Rundgren. He also played on the original title tune for the television series Hawaii Five-O.

The Beatles Book Monthly closed down after 40 years. Author Sean O'Mahony who set up the magazine in 1963 said there was nothing more to say as the number of things the former Beatles were doing gets less and less as the years go on.

American rhythm and blues and soul singer James Carr died aged 58. After being turned down by Stax, he made his first recordings for Goldwax Records in 1964. He released several singles for the label before achieving his first success in 1966, when ‘You've Got My Mind Messed Up’ reached No.7 on the Billboard R&B chart.

American record producer Owen Bradley died aged 82. Along with Chet Atkins and Bob Ferguson, he was one of the chief architects of the 1950s and 1960s Nashville sound in country music and rockabilly. Bradley produced artists such as Patsy Cline, Brenda Lee, Loretta Lynn, Lenny Dee, and Conway Twitty.

Oasis started recording their debut album Definitely Maybe at Monnow Valley Studio in South Wales. When released in August 1994, it became the fastest selling debut album of all time in the UK, (being surpassed in 2006 by Arctic Monkeys debut album Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not). The album went on to sell over 12 million copies worldwide.

The Police played the first night of a North American tour at The University of Montreal, Quebec, Canada during their Zenyatta Mondatta World Tour.

Pink Floyd released 'Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2)' in the US. The single peaked at No.1 on both the US and UK charts, giving Pink Floyd their first and only No.1 hit single. The single went to No.1 in many other countries, including Australia, Germany and Italy.

Hugh Cornwall of The Stranglers was found guilty of possession of heroin, cocaine and cannabis. He was fined £300 ($510) and sentenced to three months in Pentonville prison.

Aerosmith played at the Michigan Theatre in Detroit, the first date on their 56 date North American Get Your Wings Tour.

David Bowie released 'Changes' as a single in the UK. The track peaked at No.49 on the UK chart and later at No.41 on the US chart. This was the last song Bowie performed live on stage before his retirement from live performances at the end of 2006 when he joined Alicia Keys at the Black Ball fundraiser at New York's Hammersmith Ballroom.

Black Sabbath released 'Paranoid' their second studio album in the US. The album features the band's best-known signature songs, including the title track, 'Iron Man' and 'War Pigs'. The album was originally titled War Pigs, but allegedly the record company changed it to Paranoid, fearing backlash from supporters of the ongoing Vietnam War.

Led Zeppelin kicked off an 8-date UK tour at Birmingham Town Hall. The set list included: I Can't Quit You Baby, Dazed And Confused, Heartbreaker, Since I've Been Loving You, Thank You, Moby Dick, How Many More Times, Whole Lotta Love and Communication Breakdown.

The Beatles recorded a seven-song appearance for the BBC Radio program Saturday Club. They played ‘All My Loving’, ‘Money’, ‘The Hippy Hippy Shake’, ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’, ‘Roll Over Beethoven’, ‘Johnny B. Goode’, and ‘I Wanna Be Your Man’. The show was broadcast on February 15, while the Beatles were in the US.

English blues musician Cyril Davies died of leukaemia aged 32. Davies was a driving force in the early Sixties blues movement forming Blues Incorporated with Alexis Korner. Davies and Korner opened a London Rhythm and Blues club "England's Firstest and Bestest Skiffle Club", later known as the "London Blues and Barrelhouse Club". Popular with other musicians, the club hosted gigs by blues musicians such as Muddy Waters, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee and Memphis Slim.

'Rock Around the Clock' by Bill Haley and his Comets, entered the UK chart for the first time. The original full title of the song was 'We're Gonna Rock Around the Clock Tonight!' and is often cited as the biggest-selling vinyl rock and roll single of all time with sales over 25m.

Jeremy Miles Ferguson, American musician, better known by the stage name Jinxx, with American rock band Black Veil Brides.

John Rich, bass, vocals, with American country group Lonestar who had the 2000 US No.1 & UK No.21 single 'Amazed'. Lonestar has charted more than 20 singles on the Hot Country Songs chart, including 9 that reached No.1.

American singer Taja Sevelle, (Nancy Richardson). She signed a recording contract with Prince's Paisley Park Records in 1987. She was first featured on Prince and the Revolution's 1985 album Around the World in a Day, singing backing vocals on the song 'The Ladder'. Sevelle scored the 1988 solo UK No.7 single 'Love Is Contagious'.

John Ondrasik, known by his stage name Five for Fighting, American singer, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for his piano-based rock, such as the top 40 hits, 'Superman (It's Not Easy)' (2001), '100 Years' (2003) and 'The Riddle' (2006).

American musician Kathy Valentine who is the bassist for the rock band the Go-Go's. They had the 1982 US No.2 single 'We Got The Beat' and the 1982 UK No.47 single 'Our Lips Our Sealed'. The Go-Go's supported the Specials on the latter's 1980 Seaside tour of England. According to Jane Wiedlin, she and Terry Hall had a brief affair. After Wiedlin returned to the US, Hall mailed her some lyrics, and this led to their co-writing the song. The Go-Go's version is significantly more upbeat than Fun Boy Three's.

American singer, guitarist and songwriter Kenny Loggins. He was one half of Loggins & Messina from 1972 to 1977. As a solo artists he had the 1984 US No.1 & UK No. 6 single 'Footlose' from the film of the same name. Loggins wrote many successful songs for film soundtracks and became known as the King of the Movie Soundtrack. He worte 'I'm Alright' from Caddyshack, 'I'm Free (Heaven Helps the Man)' from Footloose; 'Meet Me Half Way' from Over the Top and 'Danger Zone' and 'Playing with the Boys' from Top Gun.

Andy Brown, drummer from English harmony beat group The Fortunes, who had the 1965 UK No.2 & US No.7 single 'You've Got Your Troubles' and the hits 'Here It Comes Again and 'Storm in a Teacup'.

Dave Cousins, singer songwriter with English folk rock group The Strawbs. They formed in 1964 as the Strawberry Hill Boys while the founder members were at St Mary's Teacher Training College, Strawberry Hill, London. The Strawbs scored two hits in 1973, the UK No.2 single with 'Part Of The Union' and the UK No.12 hit 'Lay Down'.

English performing artist and photographer Mike McGear, the younger brother of Paul McCartney. Mike decided to use a stage name, so as not to appear to be riding his brother's coattails and he settled on "Mike McGear", "gear" being the Liverpudlian equivalent of "fab". With The Scaffold he had the 1968 Christmas UK No.1 single 'Lily The Pink'. McGear composed the band's next biggest hit, 'Thank U Very Much'.

South African-born British pop singer Danny Williams, who had the 1961 UK No. 1 'Moon River'. The Oscar-winning song composed by Henry Mancini with lyrics by Johnny Mercer was from the film Breakfast At Tiffany's. In 1963, Williams joined a UK 20-city tour which starred Helen Shapiro and featured The Beatles as a support act on the bill. Williams died on 6 December 2005 of lung cancer, at the age of 63.

Paul Revere, keyboards, Paul Revere and the Raiders, (1971 US No.1 single 'Indian Reservation', plus 14 other US Top 30 hit singles. He died on 4th Oct 2014.

American musician, record producer and songwriter Richard Podolor. His career started as a session musician in the 1950s, and by the mid-1960s, he increasingly worked as an audio engineer as well as a musician, on recordings by the Monkees, the Turtles, the Electric Prunes, Grateful Dead, Donovan, and others. He produced two studio albums for Steppenwolf, engineered all their early hits including 'Born to Be Wild', (1968) and produced Three Dog Night's 'Mama Told Me Not to Come' and 'Joy to the World'. He died on 9 March 2022, at the age of 86.