ON THIS DAY :-
April 1st:
1928 - The first auto-change gramophone is introduced by HMV, price £125.
1956 - Elvis Presley was given a screen test at Paramount Studios in Hollywood, acting the role of Jimmy Curry in a scene from 'The Rainmaker.'
1961 - The Beatles began a three- month residency at The Top Ten Club, Hamburg. They played for seven hours a night on weekdays and eight hours at weekends with a fifteen-minute break every hour.
1969 -The Beach Boys announced that they were suing their record company for over $2 million in royalties. They also announced that they were starting a new record label called Brothers Records.
1970 - The "Woodstock" movie premiered in Hollywood.
1974 - The Who sold out of all 80,000 seats in 60 hours for Madison Square Garden - a record of the time.
1975 - The Bay City Rollers TV series 'Shang-A- Lang' premiered on ITV in the UK.
1984 - Marvin Gaye is shot to death by his father during an argument, one day before his 45th birthday.
1985 - Tom Bailey singer with The Thompson Twins collapsed from exhaustion while staying at The Holiday Inn, Chelsea.
1990 - Willie Nelson's tour bus crashed into a car in Riverdale, Canada, killing the car driver.
1992 - Billy Idol is fined $2,000 by a Beverly Hills, Calif., judge after pleading no contest to charges he hit a woman in the face as they left a restaurant together the previous October.
2001 - It was reported that Spice Girl Mel B had been advised to sell her £3.5m Buckinghamshire mansion because she couldn't afford to run it. The singer told friends she had to take out a £500.000 bank loan.
April 2nd:
1965 - The first edition of new music show 'Ready Steady Goes Live!' was shown on UK TV.
1966 - Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass have four LP's in US Top 10, a chart feat never equalled. 'What Now My Love', 'Going Places', 'Whipped Cream', and 'South Of The Border'
1967 - Steve Winwood left the Spencer Davis Group to form Traffic & The Beatles finished recording the album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." the biggest selling album of the 60's in the UK.
1977 - Frank Sinatra scored his first ever UK No.1 album with 'Portrait Of Sinatra', his 46th album release.
1981 - A bottle-shaped children's book, based on the lyrics of Sting's Message In A Bottle, is published
1981 - CBS records launched the 'Nice Price' series of back catalogue albums in the UK. The first batch priced at £2.99 included early albums by Bob Dylan, Santana, Billy Joel, Abba, Janis Joplin and Simon and Garfunkel.
1990 - Eric Clapton was fined £300 with £10 costs by Walton-on- Thames Magistrates court, after being booked for speeding at 105mph; Clapton was also banned from driving for three months.
1997 - Singer Joni Mitchell is reunited with Kilauren Gibb, the daughter she gave up for adoption 32 years earlier.
2002 - Lee Anderson Minnelli sued her stepdaughter Liza Minnelli for elder abuse and breach of contract. The claim was filed based on the will of Vincente Minnelli.
2004 - Coldplay singer Chris Martin was accused of attacking a photographer after leaving a London restaurant with his wife Gwyneth Paltrow.
April 3rd:
1960 - Everly Brothers begin first ever UK tour in London
1964 - Bob Dylan made his first entry into the UK charts with his single 'The Times They Are A-Changin'.
1969 - Jim Morrison turns himself over to the FBI in Los Angeles. Charged with an inter-state flight to avoid prosection on six charges of lewd behaviour and public exposure at a concert in Miami on 2 March 1969, he is later released on $2000 bail.
1975 - Steve Miller is charged with setting fire to the clothes of a friend, Benita Diorio. When police arrived at Steve's house, Di Orio was putting out the flames. Miller then get's into a fight with some of the policemen and is charged with resisting arrest. Charges were dropped the following day.
1976 - Britain wins Eurovision Song Contest with Save All Your Kisses for Me by Brotherhood of Man.
1989 - Pepsi dismissed Madonna as a spokesperson after her "Like a Prayer" video was called "blasphemous" by the Vatican.
1991 - Paul McCartney recorded his unplugged session for MTV.
1993 - 10 years after It's first release, The Bluebells had a UK No.1 single with 'Young At Heart' after the track was featured on a Volkswagen TV commercial
1998 - Michael Jackson's daughter Paris Michael Katherine Jackson was born.
2001 - Robbie Williams won the award for the most radio plays in the UK for the third year running. The singer picked up the award at the Radio Academy awards in London.
April 4th:
1858 - Daniel Emmett introduced "I Wish I was in Dixie’s Land." About two years later the song became the Civil War song of the Confederacy.
1959 - BBC airs pilot of Juke Box Jury TV show, hosted by David Jacobs
1964 - The Beatles held the top five places in the US singles chart, at No. 5 'Please Please Me', No.4 'I Want To Hold Your Hand', No.3, 'Roll Over Beethoven', No.2 'Love Me Do' and at No.1 'Can't Buy Me Love'.
1967 - Jimi Hendrix was the special guest on the first edition of the UK BBC- TV's 'Dee Time', along with Kiki Dee and Cat Stevens.
1968 - Jimi Hendrix, B.B. King and Buddy Guy met up for an all night blues session at a club in the US, after hearing the news of Martin Luther King's assassination.
1970 - Brinsley Schwartz launched by a £120,000 hype that involves flying a 133 London journalists to the New York Fillmore East for one performance, then back again. The band was supporting Van Morrison. Management company, Flamepushers, folded with huge debts.
1981 - The documentary film "This is Elvis" premiered at the USA Film Festival in Dallas, TX.
1987 - U2 rocket into US LP chart, making it the highest debut of any studio act since Stevie Wonder in 1980, as The Joshua Tree debuts on Chart at No. 7.
1990 - Gloria Estefan, who had been severely injured when her tour bus had an accident. returns to Miami after undergoing back surgery.
1996 - Jerry Garcia's widow, Deborah, and guitarist Bob Weir scatter part of Jerry's ashes in the Ganges River in India. A days later on April 15th, the rest of Jerry Garcia's ashes were scattered near the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco
2003 - 50 Cent became the best selling artist in the US so far this year when his latest album 'Get Rich or Die Tryin'' sold more than four million copies in two months.
April 5th:
1958 - Irving Feld's Greatest Show of Stars, with Sam Cooke headlining, begins eight-day tour. Also featured are the Everly Brothers, Royal Teens and Clyde McPhatter.
1967 - Monkees fans walked from London's Marble Arch to the US Embassy in Grosvenor Square to protest Davy Jone's planned call-up. (Jones was exempted because he was deemed responsible for supporting his father).
1967 - Paul McCartney flies to US for Jane Asher's 21st birthday party in Denver, Colorado, carrying a large diamond ring which she later lost.
1969 - The first International Festival of Country Music takes place at Wembley
1977 - Music for the Deep! 115 American musicians and environmentalists take part in four concerts in Tokyo as Japan Celebrates the Whale and Dolphin.
1978 - Duran Duran made their live debut at The Lecture Theatre, Birmingham Polytechnic.
1979 - North London Avengers change their name to Madness.
1983 - Beach Boys and Grass Roots were banned by Interior Secretary James Watt from performing at annual Fourth of July celebration in Washington, but two days later President Reagan overturns James Watts's decision and invites Beach Boys to perform.
1984 - Marvin Gaye's funeral took place at The Forest Lawn Cemetery, Los Angeles; Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, Quincy Jones, Berry Gordy and other Motown singers, writers and producers, attended the service.
1985 - 3:50 p.m. GMT, an estimated 5,000 radio stations around the globe simultaneously play "We Are the World." The song is recorded by a collection of recording artists, USA for Africa, to raise money to feed starving people in Africa and the United States.
1999 - Three of Tammy Wynette's daughters filed a $50 million lawsuit that blamed Wynette's death on negligence by her husband and her doctor.
2000 - Jose Feliciano and salsa musician Willie Colon are among 34 new inductees to the International Latin Music Hall Of Fame at a ceremony in New York. Harry Belafonte and guitarist Ry Cooder receive Special Recognition Awards.
2003 - Paul McCartney kicked off the UK leg of his 'Back In The World Tour' at Hallam FM Arena, Sheffield, a year after it began in America. The set included 22 Beatles songs.
April 6th:
1956 - Elvis Presley signed a seven-year contract with Paramount Pictures.
1963 - ABC Paramount record label signs Fats Domino, who has been with Imperial since the start of his career.
1968 - Pink Floyd announced founder Syd Barrett had officially left the group. Barrett was suffering from psychiatric disorders compounded by drug use.
1969 - Pete Quaife leaves the Kinks, and is by replaced by John 'Nobby' Dalton
1971 - Carly Simon was introduced to James Taylor after her show at the Troubadour, Los Angeles. The couple married on 3rd November 1972.
1971 - The Rolling Stones launched their own record label, 'Rolling Stones Records', with a million deal with Atlantic Records.
1973 - Trident and EMI signed a contract for a recording deal for Queen, and July of that year saw the release of QUEEN, their debut album. They had signed recording, publishing and management contracts with Trident in 1972. (During that year they were paid just £60 a week! (£15 each!)
1979 - Rod Stewart marries Alana Hamilton.
1985 - UK singer, songwriter Gilbert O'Sullivan won a lawsuit against his manager Gordon Mills for unpaid royalties and was awarded $2 million.
1999 - An All Star tribute to singer, Johnny Cash took place in New York, Sheryl Crow, Chris Isaak and U2 all performed for the TV special.
2000 - Eighties pop star Steve Strange lead singer of Visage, was arrested after stealing a £10.99 Teletubbies doll in Bridgend, south Wales. He was given a suspended jail sentence after being caught on a shoplifting spree stealing cosmetics and clothes from High Street stores.
April 7th:
1943 - LSD synthesised by Albert Hofman
1956 - Columbia Records announce that all future pop releases to the public will be on 45 rpm. 1954 was the year that most major record companies begin delivering 7-inch 45 rpm record singles to radio stations instead of 78s. This and the rising popularity of the 33 1/3 format for full albums results in the beginning of the end for the 78 RPM format.
1956 - American CBS begin broadcasting the first national R&B show - Rock and Roll Dance Party, with Alan Freed.
1962 - Mick Jagger and Keith Richards met Brian Jones for the first time, at Ealing Jazz Club, Brian was calling himself Elmo Lewis & playing guitar with Paul Jones.
1967 - San Francisco DJ, Tom Donahue, starts to programme 'progressive' music on KPMX. The format embraces the best of the day's rock and roll, folk, traditional and city blues, reggae, electronic music and some jazz and classical selections.
1975 - Guitarist Ritchie Blackmore quit Deep Purple to form his own band Rainbow. Tommy Bolin replaced Blackmore.
1979 - Siouxsie And The Banshees played a charity gig for MENCAP, but after crowd trouble mencap were faced with a £2,000 bill for seat damage.
1984 - A record 40 British acts appeared on the US top 100 singles chart.
1985 - Wham! became the first western pop group to perform live in China, when they played at the workers gymnasium in Beijing.
1988 - During a European tour, Alice Cooper accidentally hung himself in a rehearsal when a safety rope snapped; he dangled some seconds before a roadie saved him.
1990 - Elton John dedicates "Candle in the Wind" to AIDS patient Ryan White during his performance at Farm Aid IV. White dies later that night.
1997 - Liam Gallagher marries Patsy Kensit
2001 - Paul McCartney bought the four- bedroom Beverly Hills home of Courtney Love for $3.995m.
April 8th:
1961 - BBC banned the song '100 Pounds of Clay' because it had reference to woman being created from building materials, considered to be blasphemous. The song reached No. 9 in the UK charts by April 20th.
1967 - Sandie Shaw won the Eurovision Song Contest held in Vienna representing Britain with the song 'Puppet On A String'. She became the first UK female artist to win the contest.
1967 - Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Eddie Floyd, Arthur Conley and Booker T And The MG's appeared live at London's Hammersmith Odeon.
1970 - The London premiere of the movie 'Woodstock' took place.
1977 - Damned are the first UK punk band to play US.
1982 - New Order's bass player Peter Hook was knocked unconscious during a riot at a gig in Rotterdam.
1994 - Electrician Gary Smith who was working at Kurt Cobain's house in Seattle discovered Cobain's body lying on the floor in the greenhouse. Local radio station KXRX broke the news at 9.40am that Kurt is dead. A shotgun was found next to Cobain's body. He had committed suicide three days before.
1991 - Virgin Records are involved in a lawsuit claiming that Paula Abdul did not do all the singing on her hit album, "Forever Your Girl." . Virgin eventually win.
1998 - Tommy Lee of Motley Crue was jailed (for 6 months) after breaking a probation order incurred on him for an assault on a photographer some months previously.
2000 - Sean "Puffy" Combs cancels a sold-out appearance at London's Wembley stadium. The show is the planned finale of the rapper's European tour. Fans are not offered an explanation for the cancellation, according to the BBC, and are told only that refunds would be available at the point of purchase.
April 9th:
1956 - Gene Vincent recorded the classic rock 'n roll song 'Bebop-A-Lula.
1965 - Bruce Johnston joined the Beach Boys as the permanent replacement for Brian Wilson & the Rolling Stones' dress sense was attacked by E.M. Roberts, a Welsh headmaster, who was particularly critical of corduroy trousers. He said it was a 'disservice to the young if adults interpret freedom as a complete disregard of the rules'.
1966 - Jeff Beck collapsed on stage during a Yardbirds gig in Marseilles, France.
1969 - David Bowie met future wife Angie Barnett for the first time at The Speakeasy Club, London.
1973 - Queen, newly signed to EMI played their debut performance at the Marquee Club in London.
1989 - 37 years after his US chart debut with 3 O'Clock Blues, B.B. King finally enjoys UK success, entering chart at No. 12 with U2 on When Love Comes to Town.
1989 - 53 yr old Rolling Stone rocker, Bill Wyman announced his forthcoming marriage to 19 year old Mandy Smith. He revealed the couple had been dating for six years. The marraige lasted only 17months. (Bill's 30-year-old son Stephen married Mandy's mother, age 46)
1989 - 37 years after his US chart debut with 3 O'Clock Blues, B.B. King finally enjoys UK success, entering chart at No. 12 with U2 on When Love Comes to Town.
1997 - Soundgarden announce that they are to disband
2002 - Eminem agreed to pay $100,000 minus attorney's fees to a man who had filed a civil lawsuit against him for allegedly hitting him in the head and face with an unloaded handgun. The man, John Guerra, had kissed Eminem's wife Kim.
2003 - Paul McCartney played his first Manchester show in 24 years when he appeared at the MEN Arena as part of the UK leg on the 'Back In The World Tour 2003.'
April 10th:
1956 - Nat King Cole was attacked on stage and badly beaten up by racial segregationists during a show in Birmingham, Alabama.
1965 - A School in Wrexham, Wales, asked parents to please keep children in school uniform and not to send them to school in 'corduroy trousers', like the ones worn by The Rolling Stones.
1968 - On his 41st single release Cliff Richard had his ninth UK No.1 with 'Congratulations' the British entry in the 1968 Eurovision Song Contest.
1970 - Doors singer Jim Morrison is dragged offstage by keyboardist Ray Manzerak during a concert in Boston, when Morrison screams to the audience, 'Would you like to see my genitals', the management switched of the power.
1970 - 27 year old Paul McCartney announces he's quit the Beatles with no future plans to record or appear with The Beatles again, or to write any music with John Lennon. He also added he is forming 'McCartney Productions', and that he's bought the film rights to 'Rupert the Bear'.
1976 - Peter Frampton went to No.1 on the US album chart with 'Frampton Comes Alive', the biggest selling 'live' album in rock history.
1976 - UK music weekly The Melody Maker reviewed a Sex Pistols gig with the words, 'I hope we shall hear no more of them.'
1978 - Cher appeared on the cover of "People" with her boyfriend Gene Simmons
1990 -Tom Waits took Doritos Chips to court for using a 'Waites', sound-alike on radio ads. The jury awarded him $2.475 million in punitive damages.
1994 - Over 5,000 fans attended a public memorial service for Kurt Cobain at Seattle Flag Pavilion.
2001 - Bruce Springsteen was awarded more than £2m damages after winning a court battle to keep the rights to his early songs. Ronald Winter of Masquerade Music had released the album 'Before The Fame' was found to be in breach of copyright.
April 11th:
1956 - Travelling from Amarillo to Nashville, the plane that Elvis Presley was flying on developed engine trouble and was forced to make an emergency landing. The incident created a fear of flying for Presley.
1961 - Bob Dylan plays his first 'professional' gig at Gerde's Folk City. He opened forJohn Lee Hooker. He sings 'House of the Rising Sun' and 'Song to Woody'. Joan Baez supported him from the audience.
1964 - Beatles occupy a record-breaking fourteen positions on US Hot 100 chart - Can't Buy Me Love (1), Twist and Shout (2), She Loves You (4), I Want to Hold Your Hand (7), Please Please Me (9), Do You Want to Know a Secret (14), I Saw Her Standing There (38), You Can't Do That (48), All My Loving (50), From Me to You (52), Thank You Girl (61), There's a Place (74), Roll Over Beethoven (78) and Love Me Do (81)
1970 - Peter Green quit Fleetwood Mac while on tour in Germany, to avoid breach of contract he agreed to finish the current tour.
1977 - Alice Cooper played to an audience of 40,000 in Sydney, Australia, the largest crowd to attend a rock concert in the country's history.
1981 - Eddie Van Halen marries Valerie Bertinelli
1986 - Dave Clark's musical 'Time' opened at London's Dominion Theatre, starring Cliff Richard.
1991 - Paula Abdul held a press conference in Hollywood to deny allegations that backing vocalist Yvete Marine had sung un-credited lead parts on Paula's 'Forever Your Girl' LP.
2001 - Robbie Williams raised £165,000 at a charity auction with the money going to his old school in Stoke to build a performing arts block. Items included his personal possessions, including a toilet from a stage show, a Union Jack bikini, Tiger's head briefs, a Millennium jet pack and the hand written lyrics to 'Angels' which sold for £27,000.
April 12th:
1954 - Bill Haley and the Comets record Rock Around the Clock at Pythian Temple on West Wide of New City. Song first released as R&B number by Sonny Dae
1957 - The 'King of Skiffle' Lonnie Donegan was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Cumberland Gap.'
1967 - US Greyhound bus company begins a guided tour service of 'Hippyland' in San Francisco.
1966 - Tom Jones went into hospital to have his tonsils removed, (or was it maybe a nose job).
1966 - Jan Berry suffers the car crash that ends his career, when driving his white Corvette in Los Angeles following news that he's been drafted.
1973 - That'll Be the Day, starring David Essex and Ringo Starr, premieres at ABC Shaftesbury Avenue.
1975 - David Bowie announced his second career retirement, saying, 'I've rocked my roll. It's a boring dead end, there will be no more rock 'n' roll records from me.'
1989 - Two DJ's on Los Angeles station KLOS asked what ever happened to David Cassidy' The singer called the station up and the presenters invited him onto the show. David played three songs live on air and was subsequently signed by a new record label.
1993 - Actress Lisa Bonet filed for divorce from Lenny Kravitz.
1997 - The Fugees play the first of two Charity gigs in Haiti . The gigs, to raise money for Haitian refugees, end up costing more than they raised.
2000 - The members of Metallica filed a suit against Napster, Yale University, The University of Southern California and Indiana University for copyright infringement.
April 13th:
1967 - Rolling Stones perform behind Iron Curtain for the first time at the Palace of Culture, Warsaw. Police use tear gas to subdue 2,000 fans.
1969 - Diana Ross appeared solo on Dinah Shore's NBC-TV special "Like Hep".
1970 - Led Zeppelin became the first band to sell out the Montreal Forum.
1973 -The Who's frontman, rocker Roger Daltrey releases his first solo LP. The album entitled "Daltrey" is produced by 60's pop star Adam Faith.
1979 - Five days into Van Halen's latest tour, David Lee Roth collapsed from exhaustion on stage in Spokane, Washington.
1980 - The musical Grease closed after 3,388 performances in New York, having grossed over $8 million. It was nominated for seven Tony Awards but won none. December 1979, Grease broke Broadway’s long-run record. The show also ran for over two years in Mexico under the title Vaselina, becoming the longest-running musical there too.
1982 - David Crosby was arrested when police found him preparing cocaine backstage in his dressing room before a show in Dallas.
1985 - "The Grand Ole Opry" debuted on US television. "The Grand Ole Opry" is the oldest continuous radio program in the United States, having been broadcast on WSM since October 5, 1925.
1993 - The first 'Aerosmith Day' was observed in the State of Massachusetts after the band were given their very own holiday by then-Governor William Weld .
2002 - Thieves broke in to a house in Bexhill, Sussex and stole a hi- fi system and the owners entire Showaddywaddy record collection, but left albums by Madonna, Robbie Williams and Oasis.
2003 - The Beatles Apple Corp company was listed as Britain's fastest profit-growth firm with an annual profit growth of 194%
April 14th:
1922 - Jeanette Vreeland sang the first radio concert from an airplane as she flew over New York City.
1956 - Little Richard's Long Tall Sally hits top of US R&B chart.
1967 - With hype stating them to be 'the most significant talent since the Beatles', Polydor releases Bee Gees' New York Mining Disaster'.
1968 - During a performance at the Royal Festival Hall in London, Pink Floyd demonstate 'Azimuth co-ordinator', a device for projecting sound from anywhere in the concert hall, called 'more furious madness from the massed gadgets of Auzimenes's.
1969 - The recording of The Beatles first stereo single'The Ballad Of John and Yoko' took place, with just two Beatles, Paul McCartney and John Lennon, Paul played bass, drums and piano with John on guitars.
1971 - The Illinois Crime Commission issued a list of 'drug-oriented records' including Jefferson Aiplanes 'White Rabbit', Procol Harums 'A Whiter Shade Of Pale' and The Beatles 'Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds.'
1976 - Motown Records and Stevie Wonder held a news conference to announce he had signed a "$13 million-plus" contract with the label.
1975 - A Rolling Stones press release confirmed that Ron Wood would be joining the band for their American tour; there had been many rumour's that Jimmy Page, Steve Marriott, Jeff Beck or Chris Spedding may replace Mick Taylor as guitarist.
1984 - Michael Jackson's Thriller LP logs 37th week at No. 1 in US - the longest run in pop history.
1997 - Successful British urban R&B singer Mark Morrison was convicted with threatening a police officer with an illegal 23,000-volt electric stun gun. The singer left Maryebone Magistrates' Court in tears after being warned he was likely to be sent to prison.
2001 - P. Diddy, Sean Puffy Combs, was arrested in Miami for riding a scooter in South Beach on a suspended driver's license. He was released 20 minutes later after signing a promise to appear in court.
April 15th:
1958 - Buddy Holly's Fender Stratocaster guitar was stolen at a St. Louis concert.
1966 - Buffalo Springfield performed for the first time as the support act for the Byrds in San Bernadino, CA.
1967 - Nancy Sinatra and Frank Sinatra started a 4 week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Somethin' Stupid', The only father and daughter act ever to score a No.1 single.
1978 - Television were forced to postpone their gig at Bristol's Colston Hall after the 40 foot truck carrying their equipment was involved in a crash killing the driver.
1982 - Billy Joel broke his left wrist when his motorbike hit a car in.
Long Island, New York. He spent a month in hospital.
1989 - 'You Got It' takes Roy Orbison into the American Top 10 for the first time since Pretty Woman in 1964 - a gap of 24 and a half years. His Top 10 success has thus spanned over 28 years.
1989 - Tone Loc's Loc-ed After Dark becomes first black rap LP to hit No. 1 in US.
1996 - Milli Vanilli singer Rob Pilatus was jailed for 90 days by a Los Angeles judge for three violent attacks and parole violation.
1996 - The rest of Jerry Garcia's ashes were scattered near the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. A small portion had been scattered in the Ganges River in India 11 days earlier.
2003 - Beyonce was sued by the Wilhemina Artist Agency who claimed she hadn't paid them the commission for her L'Oral ads. The agency claimed the singer refused to pass on the 10 percent of the $1m (£640,000), deal that was brokered by the agency.
April 16th:
1969 . . Desmond Dekker and the Aces went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'The Israelites', making Dekker the first Jamaican artist to have an UK No.1 single.
1969 . . MC5 were dropped by Elektra after the group paid for ad in paper slamming a record store for not carrying their LP.
1974 . . Queen held its first U.S. concert at Regis College in Denver, CO.
1993 - Billy Burnette announces he's leaving Fleetwood Mac. He wants to concentrate on recording country music
1976 . . Eric Faulkner (Bay City Rollers) takes pill overdose but recovers in hospital
1999 . . Shania Twain became the first woman to be named as songwriter/artist of the year by the Nashville Songwriters Association International.
2003 . . Jerry Lee Lewis filed for divorce from his sixth wife, Kerrie McCarver Lewis. The 67-year-old singer married Kerrie in 1984 who was the president of Lewis Enterprises Inc. fan club.
April 17th:
1960 . . Eddie Cochran dies, Gene Vincent & Sharon Sheely are seriously injured when their car blows a tyre and crashes on the A4 at Chippenham. UK. Eddie Cochran died from severe brain injuries, caused by the crash.
1970 . . Johnny Cash played at the White house for President Nixon, who requested that he played 'A Boy Named Sue.'
1971 . . All four Beatles have solo singles in UKcharts: Paul McCartney: Another Day, Ringo Starr: It Don't come Baby, John Lennon, Power To The People and George Harrison: My Sweet Lord.
1980 . . Bob Marley plays at Rhodesia Independence Day celebrations as the official guests of State at Zimbabwe's Independence festival.
2004 . . Kurt Cobain's Mark IV-style Mosrite Gospel guitar sold for $100,000 at the Icons of 20th Century Music auction held in Dallas, Texas. Other items sold included Elton John and Bernie Taupin's song writing piano which sold for $140,000 and a 1966 Rickenbacker guitar owned by The Byrds Roger McGuinn's sold for $99,000.
April 18th:
1796 . . "The Archers" by Benjamin Carr was performed in New York City. It was the first opera written by an American composer.
1973 . . The Neil Young movie "Journey Through the Past" debuted at the Dallas Film Festival.
1975 . . Four Bay City Rollers fans were taken to hospital and 35 others required on site treatment after they attempted to swim across a lake to meet their heroes at a BBC Radio 1 fun day at Mallory Park.
1985 . . Liberace grossed more than $2,000,000 for his engagement at
New York City's Radio City Music Hall. He broke his own record of $1.6 million.
1988 . . Holland-Dozier-Holland are inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame
2005 . . Reebok (sports firm) pulled a UK TV ad featuring 50 Cent after Lucy Cope, a mother whose son was shot dead complained it glamorised gun crime. The ASA were investigating 54 other veiwer complaints over a reference to the rapper having been shot nine times.
April 19th:
1924 . . "The Chicago Barn Dance" debuted on WLS Radio in Chicago.
The show, later renamed "The National Barn Dance." was one the longest running programs on radio. The show blended music, comedy and down-home theatrical skits that lasted well over five decades.
1965 . . The film T.A.M.I. (Teen-Age Music International) Show opened in London under the title Teenage Command Performance. Partly financed by Phil Spector, it featured The Rolling Stones, Supremes, Four Tops, James Brown, The Beach Boys and Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
1978 . . More than forty musicians, including Carly Simon, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt and John Hall, petition Jimmy Carter to halt USA's commitment to nuclear power
1980 . . Brian Johnson 32 year old singer with Geordie joined AC/DC, replacing Bon Scott, who died after a drinking binge.
2000 . . Phil Collins won £250,000 in a high court case over royalties with two former members of his band. The judge ruled that they had been overpaid in error but because the two musicians had no other income they would not have to pay it back.
April 20th:
1935 - 'Your Hit Parade' was first broadcast on radio. Sponsered by the Lucky Strike cigarette company, it aired for 20 years on radio, and from '50 to '59 on TV. "Your Hit Parade survey checks the best sellers of sheet music and phonograph records - the songs most heard on the air and most played on the automatic coin machines - an accurate, authentic tabulation of America's taste in popular music.
1959 - Dolly Parton at 13 years old releases Puppy Love in the US, her first single.
1968 - Deep Purple play their first live show in Denmark at Tastrup
1970 - The New York Times reported that Catholic and Protestant youth groups had adopted the Yellow Submarine as a religious symbol.
1979 - Lighting director Billy Duffy was killed in a accident during a Kate Bush concert in Southampton, England. 21-year old Duffy fell twenty feet through an open trap door on the stage. Kate Bush held a benefit concert on 12th May with Peter Gabriel and Steve Harley at London's Hammersmith Odeon for his family.
1981 - John Phillips of The Mamas and the Papas was jailed for five years after pleading guilty to drug possession charges; the sentence was suspended after 30 days. Phillips started touring the US lecturing against the dangers of taking drugs.
1985 - The charity record 'We Are The World' by USA For Africa went to No.1 on the UK singles chart. The all-star cast included Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, Tina Turner, Diana Ross, Bob Dylan plus the composer's writers of the track, Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie.
1990 - It is the start of 'Janet Jackson week' in Los Angeles and Janet Jackson was bestowed with a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame.
1992 - 'A Concert For Life' took place at Wembley Stadium as a tribute to Freddie Mercury and for aids awareness. A host of mega stars appeared, including Extreme, Bob Geldof, U2, Def Leppard, Guns N' Roses, George Michael with Queen, Elton John, Annie Lennox and David Bowie.
2000 - Robert Plant appeared at Disney's Theatre of the Stars in Orlando, Florida to leave his handprints outside the theatre.
2002 - In the dispute over who owned the rights to Nirvana's recordings Dave Grohl and Kirst Novoselic asked a Seattle Court to prove that Courtney Love was mentally stable. They told the court that Love was 'irrational, mercurial, self-centred, unmanageable, inconsistent and unpredictable.' They also claimed a contract was invalid because Love was 'stoned' at the time.
April 21st:
1963 . . The Beatles and the Rolling Stones met for the first time at the Crawdaddy Club in Richmond, England. The Rolling Stones opened show.
1969 . . Janis Joplin, accompanied by her newly formed band made her first London concert appearance at Royal Albert Hall. Janis Joplin & Her Kozmic Blues Band, which contained a horn section had a southern soul leaning and feeling. This performance was considered one of the best of her (sadly short) career.
1977 . . "Annie" opened on Broadway. Same day Natalie Cole and John Denver were guests on Frank Sinatra's ABC-TV special "Sinatra & Friends".
1977 . . Jesse Winchester performs in US for the first time in ten years following a move to Canada to avoid the draft.
1993 . . Bill Wyman marries ££ year old Suzanne Accosta.
2004 . . Former Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan was attacked in a London pub. The singer was assaulted at the Joiner's Arms pub in central London and suffered a fractured cheekbone after being kicked, punched and hit with a metal bar.
April 22nd
1961 . . First annual Country Music Festival held in US, at the 13,000-seater Coliseum in Jacksonville, with Faron Young and Earl Scrubbs.
1969 . . The Who gave their first complete live performance of the rock opera "Tommy" at a show in Dolton, England, and exactly 5 years later ~
1974: Tina Turner started filming in the role of Acid Queen in the Who's film "Tommy."
1978 . . John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd made their first ever appearance as The Blues Brothers when they appeared on US TV's 'Saturday Night Live'. (NBS)
1981 . . Eric Clapton was hospitalised with injuries from a car crash in Seattle, WA. . He suffered bruised ribs and a lacerated chin.
1993 . . The Who's 'Tommy' opened on Broadway at the St James Theatre.
April 23rd:
1969 . . The Ash Grove, 8162 Melrose Avenue in West Los Angeles burns to the ground. Founded by Ed Pearl in 1959 it grew - almost by accident - from a typical folk coffee house into a major musical power centre which dominated the alternative musical environment, first of Los Angeles, then the entire West Coast during the next decade.
1978 . . Sid Vicious filmed his rendition of Paul Anka's "My Way" for the Sex Pistols' film "The Great Rock n' Roll Swindle."
1987 . . Carole King sued record company owner Lou Adler for breach of contract. King asked $400,000 in royalties the rights to her old recordings.
1988 . . Whitney Houston becomes first artist to hit No. 1 on US Hot 100 with seven consecutive singles as 'Where Do Broken Hearts Go' hits the top. Previous record holders (with six each) were Beatles and Bee Gees. She becomes the second only artist to release four No. 1s from the same LP.
1997 . . The Four Tops received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
April 24th:
1934 - The pipeless organ was patented by Laurens Hammond.
1957 - Ricky Nelson's first record, "Teenager's Romance," was released.
1959 - the Saturday night pop-music show, Your Hit Parade, that's been running since April 1935, has its last US radio broadcast.
1961 - Bob Dylan makes his recording debut, playing harmonica on the title track of Harry Belafonte's LP Midnight Special. He is paid $50.
1965 - Brian Epstein won the 'star prize' of an album when he had his letter published in music weekly 'Melody Maker' informing it's readers that Paul McCartney played lead guitar on 'Ticket To Ride.'
1968 - Apple Records refused to sign David Bowie.
1968 - Enjoying a wild birthday party Keith Moon drummer with The Who drove his Lincoln car into a Holiday Inn swimming pool.
1976 - Paul and Linda McCartney spent the evening with John Lennon at his New York Dakota apartment and watched Saturday Night Live on TV. Producer of the show Lorne Michaels made an offer on air asking The Beatles to turn up and play 3 songs live. Lennon and McCartney thought about taking a cab to the studio, but decided they were too tired. This we the last time Lennon and McCartney were together.
1984 - R.E.M. kicked off a 7-date UK tour at the Tin Can Club, Birmingham, England, the bands first UK tour.
1990 - While constructing the set for Pink Floyd's "The Wall" concert in Potsdamer Platz, Germany, Roger Waters road crew discovers an unexploded World War II bomb.
1992 - David Bowie marries fashion model Iman in a secret ceremony in Switzerland.
1994 - Madonna visited the San Antonio Spurs locker room to congratulate David Robinson on his 71-point performance.
2003 . . The first official UK download chart was compiled after the big five record companies- EMI, Warners, Sony, BMG and Universal combined for a Digital Download day. Over 150,000 computer users had downloaded 1.1m tracks.
The Net Parade Top 3: No.3, Tatu, 'All The Things She Said', No.2, Coldplay, 'Clocks' and No.1 Christina Aguilera, 'Beautiful.'
April 25th:
1968 . . The Beatles refused to perform for the Queen of England at a British Olympic Appeal Fund show because "Our decision would be the same no matter what the cause. We don't do benefits."
1977 . . Elvis Presley records three tracks live (subsequently released on the Moody Blue LP) at Michigan Civic Centre - his last recordings.
1978 . . The final punk performance was staged at London's 100 Club given by Alternative TV
1981 . . The band 'Wings' disband when guitarist Denny Laine quits.
1985 . . "Big River," a musical by Roger Miller & William Hauptman, opens on Broadway at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre. It ran for 1,005 performances, and laters wins a Tony as Best Musical.
April 26th:
1975 . . B.J. Thomas had the longest title of a number one song at the top of the "Billboard" popular music chart. The song was "(Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song."
1977 . . "Studio 54" at 254 West 54th Street, the dream of Steve Rubell & Ian Schrager, opens for business. The club grossed an estimated 7 million after one year of operation.
1978 . . Ringo Starr stars in his first TV special in America - an updated version of Mark Twain's The Prince and the Pauper.
1980 . . "Studio 54" at 254 West 54th Street,
1982 . . Joe Strummer disappeared for three weeks, which resulted in The Clash cancelling a tour. He was found living rough in Paris.
1982 . . Rod Stewart was mugged in Los Angeles in broad daylight. He was robbed of his $50,000 Porsche by a gunman on Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles. He was not hurt in the incident.
1998 . . The Simpsons' season nine episode "Trash of the Titans", was aired, it was dedicated to memory of Linda McCartney.
April 27th:
1967 . . Bee Gees debut on UK chart with "New York Mining Disaster" and Traffic debut on US charts with their LP "Mr. Fantasy".
1975 . . Pink Floyd played the last of a four night run at Los Angeles' Sports Arena. A total of 511 fans were arrested over the four nights for possession of marijuana.
1976 . . Customs officers on a train at the Russian/Polish Border detained David Bowie, after Nazi books and mementoes were found in his luggage.
1981 . . Ringo Starr marries Barbara Bach at Marylebone Registry Office.
1990 . . Axl Rose of Guns N' Roses marries Don Everly's daughter, Erin. The marriage lasts 27 days.
1994 . . A man was arrested after breaking into Ace Of Base singer Jenny Berggren's home. Jenny was asleep at the time and woke up to find the man above her holding a hunting knife.
April 28th:
1955 - Alan Freed and Coral invalidate his contract as label A&R man only a month after he signed. Freed says he does not have the time to do the job properly.
1965 - Barbara Streisand's first TV special aired on CBS. It was titled "My Name is Barbara".
1968 - The musical 'Hair' opened at the Baltimore Theatre, New York. The first rock- musical, it went on to give 1,729 performances on Broadway and was made into a movie in 1979.
1973 - Pink Floyd's album 'Dark Side Of The Moon' went to No.1 on the US chart, seeing a record breaking 741 weeks, selling over 20 million copies world-wide.
1987 - On a plane that was returning to Boston, from Miami, Ozzy Osbourne bought three rounds of drinks and sang "Crazy Train" over the PA system.
1987 - For the first time, a compact disc of an album was released before its vinyl version. The album was "The Art of Excellence" by Tony Bennett.
1989 - High school sweethearts, Jon Bon Jovi and Dorothea Hurley were married.
1991 - Bonnie Raitt and Michael O'Keefe were married.
1999 - Marilyn Manson walked off stage during a concert in Des Moines, Iowa, when he realized that someone had put a large yellow "smiley face" on a stage prop. 23 arrests were made in the aftermath.
2000 - Paul Atkinson was jailed for three years after being found guilty of stealing more than £25,000 from Rolling Stone drummer, Charlie Watts. Atkinson had been the manager of an Arabian stud farm owned by Mr. Watts.
2002 - Vince Neil allegedly attacked a record producer outside the Rainbow Room in West Hollywood. (9. 27.02. Neil pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charge of battery)
April 29th:
1936 - First television interview takes place with actress Peggy O'Neill interviewed at the Ideal Home Exhibition, London
1960 - Warner Brothers launched its own record label in Britain with the release of The Everly Brothers 'Cathy's Clown.'
1967 - a fourteen-hour Technicolour Dream event is held in London at Alexandra Palace with Pink Floyd, Soft Machine, Pretty Things and Arthur Brown.
1976 - Bruce Springsteen climbed the wall of Graceland to meet Elvis Presley. Elvis wasn't home.
1980 - Black Sabbath began their first tour with Ronnie James Dio as singer.
1988 - Eric Clapton filed for a divorce from Patti Boyd.
1993 - Barry White, an animated version, was a guest on "The Simpsons."
1995 - Tupac Shakur married Keisha Morris inside the Clinton Correctional Facility. He was serving a 4 1/2 year jail term for sex abuse.
1997 - 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.
2001 - 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".
April 30th:
1954 - The Metropolitan Disc Jockey Club and Association of Broadcasting is launched in the US with a New York press party
1965 - Bob Dylan opens his UK tour in Sheffield
1968 - 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.
1968 - The Kaleidoscope Ballroom opens on Sunset Strip, Los Angeles with Jefferson Airplane and Canned Heat.
1970 - Twiggs Lyndon, Allmann Brothers' road manager is arrested for murder. He stabbed a club manager for breach of contract.
1976 - The Who's drummer, Keith Moon, so it is said, 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.
1978 - Rock against Racism Rally held in Victoria Park, featuring Clash and Tom Robinson
1980 - The film 'McVicar' with The Who's Roger Daltrey in the title role premiered in London.
1992 - While Los Angeles is gripped by rioting and looting, following the Rodney King verdict, Madonna's bustier was stolen from Fredrick's Of Hollywood. A $1,000 reward was offered for its return.
1998 - The Oak Ridge Boys performed in Washington, DC, at the 50th anniversary ceremony of the American Red Cross' blood services.
2001 - A light aircraft carrying Sting went off the runway as it landed in Florence. None of the four aboard, Sting a friend and two pilots was hurt. Brake failure was suspected.
2005 - 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).

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