On This Day In History

[Bikkie]

1916
HMS New Zealand fights at Jutland
In the misty North Sea on the last day of May 1916, 250 warships from Britain’s Royal Navy and Germany’s High Seas Fleet clashed in the First World War’s greatest and bloodiest sea battle.


Mona Blades and the orange Datsun car she was reportedly last seen in
1975
Mona Blades vanishes
Eighteen-year-old Mona Blades was last seen sitting in the back seat of an orange Datsun station wagon. Her body was never found and her disappearance has never been explained.



In Music History

2025-On the Hot 100, 37 songs are from Morgan Wallen's I'm the Problem album, breaking a record he set two years earlier when 36 songs from his One Thing at a Time album made the chart at the same time.

2024-Charli XCX releases a remix of her popular song "360," featuring dance-pop artist Robyn and rapper Yung Lean, both of Sweden. Charli and Robyn, who is 13 years her senior, met while they were touring the same festivals in Australia and became good friends.

2019-Psychedelic-music legend and frontman for the 13th Floor Elevators, Roger Kynard "Roky" Erickson passes away at 71 years old in his home in Austin, Texas.

2016-Alicia Keys announces that she will no longer wear makeup, embracing the #nomakeup movement.More

2007-Rob Grill, lead singer of The Grass Roots, is arrested for illegal possession of prescription painkillers at his home in Mount Dora, Florida.

2006-Karen Fairchild and Jimi Westbrook of Little Big Town get married in a quiet ceremony but don't go public with the news until two months later, surprising fans who didn't know they were a couple.

2005-Strawberry Field (no s), the Liverpool orphanage which inspired The Beatles' famous song, is closed by the Salvation Army after almost seventy years.

2004-Rock guitarist Robert Quine, known for collaborations with Lou Reed, Marianne Faithfull, and Tom Waits, commits suicide by heroin overdose at age 61.

2003-50 Cent's second single, "21 Questions," tops the chart for the first of four weeks. Featuring Nate Dogg on the chorus, the song explores 50's romantic side, as he asks a girl if she would be there for him through thick and thin.

2000-Soul singer Johnnie Taylor dies of a heart attack at age 66.

1998-Geri Halliwell (Ginger Spice) announces that she is leaving Spice Girls, releasing a statement saying: "Sadly I would like to confirm that I have left the Spice Girls. This is because of differences between us. I'm sure the group will continue to be successful and I wish them all the best... PS, I'll be back." Halliwell was planning to leave the group in September at the end of their world tour, but grows frustrated and leaves early. The group continues as a quartet, but splits up in 2000. In 2007, they reunite with Halliwell back on board.

1996-Bass singer Elsbeary Hobbs (of The Drifters) dies from throat and lung cancer in Manhattan, New York at age 59.

1993-Jon Bon Jovi's wife, Dorothea Hurley, gives birth to their first child, a daughter named Stephanie Rose.

1991-Randy Travis marries his manager, Lib Hatcher, who was his court-appointed legal guardian when Randy was 17 and she was 35.

1991-Azealia Banks is born in New York City.

Five Genesis-related Acts Share Space In Hot 100
1986
Genesis enter the Hot 100 with "Invisible Touch," joining four acts by current or former members of the group on the chart.

1985-The Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) sends its first letter to the RIAA requesting a ratings system for albums and concerts. The group is led by Tipper Gore, the wife of Senator Al Gore, so the record industry takes it seriously, and cuts back on their metal budgets. The end result is warning stickers on albums containing offensive lyrics.

1983-After a break in which David Byrne and Jerry Harrison release solo albums and Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth form Tom Tom Club, Talking Heads return with their fifth album, Speaking In Tongues. It contains their biggest hit, "Burning Down The House."

1980-Fall Out Boy drummer Andy Hurley is born in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin.

1980-The disco group Lipps, Inc. goes to #1 in America with "Funkytown," a tribute to New York City.

1976-Tom Waits begins a two-week stint performing at Ronnie Scott's Club in Soho, London, England. The club is run by Pete King, and the experience inspires Waits to write "The Piano Has Been Drinking (Not Me) (An Evening with Pete King)."

1975-Freddy Fender's "Before the Next Teardrop Falls" hits #1 in America.

1974-Gordon Lightfoot's Sundown album is certified Gold.

1971-Badfinger record "Day After Day."

1968-While recording vocals for "Revolution," John Lennon does some improvised ranting that is later used in the head-scratching "Revolution 9."

1967-Big Brother & the Holding Company film a scene in the Richard Lester movie Petulia.

1965-Steve White (drummer for The Style Council) is born in Southwark, London, England.

1964-The family-friendly Dave Clark Five go on the Ed Sullivan Show for the first time, performing "Glad All Over." They're a hit with the host, who has them on 18 more times.

1964-Darryl McDaniels, the DMC of Run-DMC, is born in Harlem, New York City. He creates a new rap style by trading off lines with his fellow MC Joseph Simmons (Run). They also become fashion icons, with gold chains, fedoras and sneakers with no shoelaces.

1962-Pop singer Corey Hart is born in Montréal, Québec, Canada.

1961-Chuck Berry opens the Berryland amusement park, complete with guitar-shaped swimming pool, in Wentzville, Missouri, outside of St. Louis.

1954-Vicki Sue Robinson ("Turn The Beat Around") is born in New York.

1952-Karl Bartos (of Kraftwerk) is born in Berchtesgaden, Germany.

1947-Junior Campbell (of Marmalade) is born William Campbell Jr. in Glasgow, Scotland.

1940-Augie Meyers (of the Sir Douglas Quintet) is born in San Antonio, Texas.

1938-Johnny Paycheck is born Donald Eugene Lytle in Greenfield, Ohio. His stage name comes from a boxer who was knocked out by Joe Louis.

1938-Peter Yarrow (of Peter, Paul and Mary) is born in Manhattan, New York.

1938'-60s pop singer Lenny Welch is born in New York.

1931-Jazz guitarist Dick Garcia is born in New York City.

1930-Clint Eastwood is born in San Francisco, California. The actor/director also dabbles in music, releasing an album of Cowboy Favorites in 1959 and composing scores for several of his films, including Mystic River, Gran Torino, and Grace is Gone.





Featured Events

2014-The trustee for Randy California, leader of the band Spirit who died in 1997, sues Led Zeppelin, claiming a song California wrote called "Taurus" was stolen for the intro to "Stairway To Heaven." After a legal odyssey that includes testimony from Jimmy Page, Led Zeppelin prevails in 2020.

2014-Michael Jackson becomes the first artist with Top 10 hits in five consecutive decades on the Hot 100 as "Love Never Felt So Good" reaches at #9.

Priest Rules In Heavy Metal Parking Lot
1986-Jeff Krulik and John Heyn film the parking-lot antics of fans tailgating at a Judas Priest concert in Landover, Maryland. The result is Heavy Metal Parking Lot, a 16-minute film that captures the energy and absurdity of heavy metal culture in the '80s.More

"Got To Get You Into My Life" Brings Back The Beatles
1976-Ten years after it appeared on The Beatles' Revolver album, Capitol Records issues "Got To Get You Into My Life" as a single in America.More

1976-The Who set the record for "World's Loudest Rock Band" when their show in London measures 126 decibels. Concerned about hearing loss, Guinness later stops certifying the record.

1961-Jimi Hendrix enlists in the Army and is stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, as a member of the 101st Airborne Division. He signs up for three years, but is honorably discharged a little over a year later, ostensibly because he hurt his ankle in a parachute jump, but really because he is a lousy soldier, constantly thinking about or playing his guitar.

1956-Buddy Holly sees the John Wayne film The Searchers. Wayne's line, "That'll be the day," inspires him to write a song with that title.

1948-Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham is born in Redditch, Worcestershire, England.

1976 The Who set a new record for the loudest performance by a rock band at 120 decibels during a concert at Charlton Athletic Football Ground.

1977- The BBC banned the Sex Pistols song "God Save The Queen" due to its anti-royalist theme, despite efforts to ban it.

1980-Disco and funk group Lipps Inc hit No.1 in the US with "Funkytown" for the first of four consecutive weeks.

1980- The theme song "Suicide is Painless" from the 1970 film "MAS*H" reached No.1 on the UK Singles chart for the first of three consecutive weeks.

1980- Singer-songwriter Paul McCartney started a two-week stint at number one in the UK on this day with his second studio solo album "McCartney II".

[Bikkie]

1533 – Anne Boleyn is crowned Queen of England.

1934 – Nissan Motor Company founded in Tokyo.

1943 – A passenger flight from Lisbon to London is shot down by German fighter planes, killing all aboard, including actor Leslie Howard.

1944 – BBC Radio broadcasts coded message to warn French Resistance that D-Day is imminent.

1958 – Charles de Gaulle becomes prime minister of France.

1960 – New Zealand's first official television transmission begins at 7.30pm. The evening's programming includes a live interview with a visiting British ballerina, and a performance by the Howard Morrison Quartet.

1968 – American writer and lecturer Helen Keller, dies aged 87.

1974 – The Heimlich manoeuvre for rescuing choking victims is published in the journal Emergency Medicine.

1980 – Cable News Network (CNN) makes its debut in the US.

1994 – South Africa rejoins the Commonwealth after an absence of 33 years.

2001 – Nepal's crown prince Dipendra shoots and kills his parents and six other royal family members before shooting himself.

2002 – Disgraced former South African cricket captain Hansie Cronje is killed in a plane crash.

2009 – An Air France jet carrying 228 people from Rio de Janeiro to Paris runs into thunderstorms and disappears over the Atlantic Ocean.



Birthdays

Cherry Raymond, NZ broadcaster (1925-2006); Marilyn Monroe, US actor (1926-62); Pat Boone, US singer (1934-); Morgan Freeman, US actor (1937-); Ronnie Wood, UK guitarist, The Rolling Stones (1947-); Gaylene Preston, NZ film-maker (1947-); Lorraine Moller, NZ athlete (1955-); Jason Donovan, Australian actor-singer (1968-); Heidi Klum, German model (1973-); Ben Smith, NZ rugby player (1986-).




In Music History

2019-Tyler, The Creator's offbeat album Igor debuts at #1 in the US, beating the far more traditional and trendy Father Of Asahd by DJ Khaled, the heavy favorite. Igor goes on to win the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album.

2013-American Idol alums Diana DeGarmo and Ace Young get married at Los Angeles' Luxe Sunset Boulevard hotel. DeGarmo was a runner-up to Fantasia Barrino in Season 3, while Young was a finalist in Season 5.

2008-A fire at Universal Studios Hollywood destroys thousands of master tapes controlled by Universal Music Group, including recordings by Joni Mitchell, Elton John, B.B. King, Neil Diamond, Nirvana and Eminem. The extent of the loss is not revealed until years later.

2007-Tony Thompson (lead singer of Hi-Five) dies at age 31 after accidentally inhaling a toxic amount of freon.

2007-Contemporary musicians record their own versions of songs from The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's album to mark 40 years since it was released. Acts including Oasis, Travis, The Fray, Kaiser Chiefs, Razorlight, Bryan Adams and The Magic Numbers all work with Geoff Emerick - the engineer in charge of the original 1967 sessions - using the original analogue 4-track equipment to demonstrate the techniques employed for the recording at Abbey Road studios in 1967.

2006-Spanish singer and actress Rocio Jurado dies of pancreatic cancer at age 59.

2006-The UK Albums chart turns 50 years old, and in a survey by the book of British Hit Singles and Albums and NME, Definitely Maybe by Oasis is voted the greatest album of all time. The Beatles come in second and third place with Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and Revolver; OK Computer by Radiohead is fourth and (What's the Story) Morning Glory? by Oasis comes in fifth.

2005-White Stripes singer Jack White marries his girlfriend, British model Karen Elson, in a canoe on the Amazon in Brazil.

2005-Crazy Frog's "Axel F" hits #1 on the UK singles chart.

2003-Slipknot bass player Paul Gray is arrested after colliding with another car in his hometown of Des Moines, Iowa. Gray, who dies from an overdose on May 24, 2010, is charged with possession of marijuana, cocaine and drug paraphernalia, as well drunk-driving.

2003-Staind's 14 Shades Of Gray hits #1 on the US albums chart. It's the meat in the sandwich of three chart-topping albums for the group, following Break The Cycle (2001) and preceding Chapter V (2005).

2002-Eminem, still without an American chart-topper, lands his third UK #1 hit with "Without Me," where he takes shots at a number of soft targets including Chris Kirkpatrick, Limp Bizkit and Moby.

2001-Rapper Jamal "Shyne" Barrow is sentenced in a Manhattan court to 10 years in prison for his part in a 1999 nightclub shooting.

2001-The movie Moulin Rouge!, directed by Baz Luhrmann, opens in theaters. There's lots of music in the film, including covers of "Nature Boy" by David Bowie, "Diamond Dogs" by Beck, and "Lady Marmalade" by Missy Elliott, Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mya, and Pink, which goes to #1 in America. Kylie Minogue makes an appearance as the Green Fairy.

2000-The film Honest, starring three of the All Saints, is pulled by cinemas after a disastrous showing at the box office.

2000-The film Honest, starring three of the All Saints, is pulled by cinemas after a disastrous showing at the box office.

2000-Mambo musician Tito Puente, who helped popularize Afro-Cuban and Caribbean music in the '50s, dies at age 77 following heart valve surgery.

Ja Rule Releases Debut Album
1999-Ja Rule releases his debut album, Venni Vetti Vecci, featuring the hit single "Holla Holla."More

Brad Paisley Releases Debut Album
1999-Brad Paisley releases his debut album, Who Needs Pictures, which features his first pair of #1 country hits: "He Didn't Have To Be" and "We Danced."More

1999-Dido releases her debut album, No Angel, in America. It takes off at the end of 2000 after Eminem samples her song "Thank You" on his hit "Stan."

1999-Napster, a file-sharing service that lets users download songs for free, goes online. It shuts down in 2001 amid a raft of lawsuits, but not before upending the music industry, which sees a steep decline in sales of CDs.

1998-Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots is arrested for heroin possession in New York the day he is supposed to do a solo show.

1997-At age 58, Kenny Rogers gets married for the fifth time, this time to his production assistant Wanda Miller. The couple have two children.

1996-Baddiel and Skinner and The Lightning Seeds' "Three Lions," the official song of the England Football team, hits #1 on the UK singles chart.

1995-Alan Wilder leaves Depeche Mode.

1992-Model Rachel Hunter gives birth to Rod Stewart's daughter Renee.

1991-Seal's self-titled debut album starts a 3-week run at #1 on the UK albums chart.

1991-Sting appears on the first airing of a new Soviet TV rock show called Rock Steady.

1991-David Ruffin, who sang lead on the The Temptations' classics "My Girl" and "Ain't Too Proud To Beg," dies from an adverse reaction to cocaine at age 50. Family members suspect foul play when Ruffin's money belt - which held over $40,000 in proceeds from the group's tour - turns up empty.

1990-Mariah Carey makes her national TV debut, performing "Vision Of Love" on The Arsenio Hall Show. The song enters the Hot 100 the next day and goes to #1 eight weeks later.

1987-Sub Pop Records issues Soundgarden's first single, "Hunted Down"/"Nothing to Say."

1985-Sting releases his first solo album, The Dream of the Blue Turtles. Tracks include "Moon Over Bourbon Street" (inspired by the novel Interview With The Vampire) and "Russians," a song that looks at the Cold War from the perspective of the USSR.

1985-The Prince album Around The World In A Day goes to #1 in the US, where it stays for three weeks. Hits from the album include "Raspberry Beret" and "Pop Life."

1985Bruce Springsteen kicks off the European leg of his Born In The U.S.A. world tour at Slane Castle in Dublin, Ireland.

A-ha Release Debut Album
1985-A-ha release their debut album, Hunting High and Low, including their breakthrough hit, "Take On Me."More

1984-R&B singer Nate Nelson (of The Flamingos, The Platters) dies at age 52 of heart disease.

1981-The first issue of the heavy metal magazine Kerrang is published as a special pull-out by UK weekly music paper Sounds, with AC/DC on the front cover.

1979-Jimmy Buffett and his wife Jane welcome their first child, daughter Savannah Jane.

1979-The Police, supported by The Cramps, appear at the Odeon Theatre in Edinburgh, Scotland.

1977-Bob Marley and The Wailers play the first of four nights at the Rainbow Theatre in London. There are six nights booked at the Rainbow, but the last two shows are called off because of a serious toe injury Marley sustained in a friendly soccer game with French journalists just before the tour's start in Paris. Subsequently the tour's second leg in the United States would be postponed and then canceled.

1977-Billy Joel ends a US tour with a concert at Carnegie Hall.

1975-On his 28th birthday, guitarist Ronnie Wood plays his first gig with the Rolling Stones when they open their Tour Of The Americas in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He is later named a full-fledged member of the band.

1974-Alanis Morissette is born, along with twin brother Wade, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

1973-Former Soft Machine drummer Robert Wyatt breaks his spine after attempting to leave a party by climbing down a drainpipe and falling three stories. It leaves Wyatt permanently crippled and confined to a wheelchair.

1971-The two-room shack in Tupelo, Mississippi, where Elvis Presley was born is opened to the public as a tourist attraction.

1969-ohn Lennon and Yoko Ono record "Give Peace A Chance" to close out their "bed-in" in Montreal.

1969-Bass guitarist Damon Minchella (of Ocean Colour Scene) is born in Ince-in-Makerfield, Lancashire, England.

1968-Simon & Garfunkel's "Mrs. Robinson" hits #1 on the Hot 100. The song was written for the movie The Graduate and titled after the character played by Anne Bancroft.

1968-Jason Donovan is born in Malvern, Melbourne, Australia. After finding fame on the Australian soap opera Neighbours, he'll hit the top of the UK charts in a duet with co-star Kylie Minogue: "Especially For You."

1967-David Bowie releases his self-titled debut album, David Bowie, which bares little resemblance to his future work.

1967-Roger Sanchez is born in Queens, New York. The DJ/music producer will gain notoriety with his dance remixes, including his Grammy Award-winning spin on No Doubt's "Hella Good."

1967-Fairport Convention make their live debut, performing at St. Michael's Hall, Golders Green.

1965-Art Garfunkel graduates from Columbia University in New York.

1964-The Rolling Stones make their first trip to the United States, arriving on British Airways Flight 505 for their first American tour.

1963-Lesley Gore's "It's My Party" hits #1 a few weeks after her 17th birthday.

1963-Mike Joyce (drummer for The Smiths) is born in Fallowfield, Manchester, England.

1961-Elvis Presley's "Surrender" hits #1 on the UK singles chart.

1960-Jesse Johnson (guitarist of The Time) is born in Rock Island, Illinois.

1960-The Cure bass player Simon Gallup is born in Surrey, England.

1959-Johnny Horton's "Battle of New Orleans," about a real battle in the War of 1812, hits #1 on both the country and pop charts in the US.

1959-The music-critique show Juke Box Jury debuts on the BBC. Each week, four guest judges vote recent songs either a "hit" or "miss." The show lasts until 1967.

1959-Alan Wilder of Depeche Mode is born in London.

1958-Private Elvis Presley completes basic Army training at Ft. Hood, Texas, earning a two-week furlough.

1957-Sam Cooke records "You Send Me."

1956-Doris Day signs a five-year recording contract with Columbia Records worth $1 million.

1953-Ronnie Dunn of Brooks & Dunn is born Ronald Gene Dunn in Coleman, Texas.

1952-Punk rock guitarist John Ellis (of The Vibrators) is born in Kentish Town, London, England.

1950-Tom Robinson of Cafe Society and Tom Robinson Band is born in Cambridge, England. In the '70s, he becomes one of the first openly gay rock musicians and an advocate for gay rights.

1950R&B singer Charlene is born Charlene Marilynn D'Angelo in Hollywood, California.

1948-The Chicago-based blues musician Sonny Boy Williamson is murdered during a robbery at age 34. A different musician based in the South who has been imiating him continues to use the name and becomes the best known Sonny Boy Williamson after writing songs like "One Way Out" and "Help Me" that are widely recorded.

1947-Guitarist Ron Wood is born in London. He goes on to join The Faces and The Rolling Stones.

1945-Linda Scott, known for her hit 1961 single "I've Told Ev'ry Little Star," is born Linda Joy Sampson in Queens, New York.

Pat Boone Is Born
1934-Pat Boone (birth name: Charles Eugene Boone) is born in Jacksonville, Florida.More

1931-Noël Coward's classic "Mad Dogs And Englishmen" is performed for the first time in public by Beatrice Lillie in The Third Little Show at the Music Box Theatre, New York.

1921-Nelson Riddle is born in Oradell, New Jersey. He'll become famous as the orchestrator and arranger behind countless hits for Capitol Records artists like Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Dean Martin, Peggy Lee, and - decades later - Linda Ronstadt.

1915-Country singer Johnny Bond, known for his 1947 hit "Divorce Me C.O.D.," is born Cyrus Whitfield Bond in Enville, Oklahoma.





Featured Events

2017-Thanks to the song by Eminem, the word "stan" is added to the Oxford American Dictionary, defined as "an overzealous or obsessive fan of a particular celebrity."

Blink-182 Explode With Enema Of The State
1999-Blink-182 spin immaturity into gold (or should we say, Platinum) with their third album, Enema Of The State, which catapults the pop-punk trio to stardom with hit singles like "What's My Age Again?" and "All The Small Things."More

1993-10,000 Maniacs become the first act to appear twice on MTV Unplugged. The network has a policy against return engagements, but when they learn that Natalie Merchant will be leaving the band, they book them.More

1985-The innovative computer-animated video for Dire Straits' "Money For Nothing" debuts on MTV, which is very meta because the refrain in the song (sung by Sting), is "I want my MTV." It wins Best Video at the VMAs and helps the song go to #1 in America.

1981-Brandi Carlile is born in the tiny town of Ravensdale, Washington. After dropping out of high school, she cuts her teeth performing in the Seatle music scene and puts out her first album in 2005. As her music gets more refined, her audience grows, and by 2019 she's a consistent Grammy winner with a legion of fans.

1976T-he Runaways release their eponymous debut album. Billed as the first all-female hard-rock band, the disc has little domestic success, peaking at #194, but the band are hugely successful in Japan, hitting the #1 spot with their single "Cherry Bomb."

1974-The UK music magazine NME publishes its list of the 100 Greatest Albums. The Top 3:

#3: The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds
#2: Bob Dylan's Blonde On Blonde
#1: The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper

1972-Aretha Franklin's live album Amazing Grace, a collection of spirituals recorded at a church in January, is released. Anchored by Franklin's stunning rendition of "Amazing Grace," it becomes her best-selling album.




Here are some notable occurrences on this date:

1972 The Eagles released their debut album, "Eagles," which included hit singles like "Take It Easy" and "Peaceful Easy Feeling."

1974- A live concert at London's Rainbow Theatre featuring Kevin Ayers, John Cale, Brian Eno, and Nico was recorded and later released as the album "June 1, 1974."

1999- Napster, the peer-to-peer file-sharing service, was launched, changing the way music was distributed and marketed.

2024- The OUTLOUD Music Festival opened in West Hollywood, highlighting queer artists and performers in the first event of Pride month itself.

[Bikkie]

Wairuna in Wellington Harbour, c. 1913-1915
1917
New Zealand steamer captured by the Wolf
The steamer Wairuna, en route from Auckland to San Francisco, was captured by the German raider Wolf and later sunk near the Kermadec Islands. The crew of 42 was taken prisoner.

Read the full story about this Event
A smiling Bruce McLaren in his racing overalls
1970
Motor racing driver Bruce McLaren dies
In 1958 Bruce McLaren was the first recipient of the Driver to Europe award, which enabled promising Kiwis to race against the world’s best.


In Music History
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2017Luke Combs, who majored in criminal justice at Appalachian State University, releases his debut album, This One's For You. Music suits him: He wins the CMA for New Artist Of The Year and becomes a top concert draw.

2013Taylor Swift poses for photos with KYGO radio DJ David Mueller before her concert in Denver. She later accuses him of putting his hand up her dress, and Mueller is fired. In 2015, he sues her, but Swift countersues and wins a sexual assault case against him. "He grabbed my bare ass," she says in her testimony.

2011Pink and her husband, Carey Hart, welcome their first child, a daughter named Willow Sage.

2011Jazz pianist/composer Ray Bryant (of The Ray Bryant Combo) dies at age 79.

2010After being awarded the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, Paul McCartney sings "Michelle" to First Lady Michelle Obama at a White House performance.

2008Bo Diddley dies of heart failure at age 79.

2006Vince Welnick (keyboardist for The Tubes, Grateful Dead) commits suicide at age 55 after a long battle with depression.

2006Jackson Browne, Dar Williams and Pete Seeger play a hayloft in Garrison, New York, to kickstart Orleans founder John Hall's congressional campaign.More

2003A painting of Kylie Minogue wearing gold hot pants causes tempers to fray among drivers in Brighton. Artist Simon Etheridge put up the almost life-size picture in his own Art Asylum gallery as part of a Festival and since then motorists have caused regular traffic hold-ups as they stopped to take a second look.

2002S Club 7 member Hannah Spearitt announces she is quitting the group two months after her boyfriend and band member Paul Cattermole had left the group.

2002Pop Idol winner Will Young's version of The Doors' 1967 classic "Light My Fire" hits #1 on the UK singles chart.

2002The wedding ring that Paul McCartney had given his fiancée Heather Mills ends up thrown out of the window of the hotel where the couple is staying in Miami. Hotel staff use metal detectors to find the $25,000 ring the next day. Despite the quarrel, Paul and Heather go ahead with the wedding.

2002Rockabilly singer-songwriter Boyd Bennett (of the Rockets), known for the '50s hits "Seventeen" and "My Boy, Flat Top," dies of a lung ailment at age 77.

2000Western swing bandleader Adolph Hofner dies less than a week before his 84th birthday.

1999Junior Braithwaite (of Bob Marley's Wailers) is gunned down in front of a fellow musician's home in Kingston, Jamaica. Junior, age 47, is the third Wailer to be murdered, following Peter Tosh and Carlton Barrett's 1987 deaths.


Page 2123...5
1998Lynyrd Skynyrd release their fourth live album, Lyve from Steel Town.

199850 Cent makes his major-label debut, dropping a verse on the Onyx song "React." Over the next few years, he gets shot nine times, appears on the 8 Mile soundtrack, and releases his Dr. Dre-produced hit single, "In Da Club."

1997Jazz trumpeter Adolphus "Doc" Cheatham dies at age 91.

1995Stone Roses guitarist John Squire smashes his collarbone in a cycling accident, causing the band to pull out of major gigs.


1993Aerosmith appear at the Landon Arena in Kansas, the first night on their 169-date Get A Grip world tour.

1993Jamiroquai kick off a 13-date UK tour at Royal Holloway College in Egham.

1992Freedom Williams quits C and C Music Factory and files a $10 million fraud and breach of contract suit in New York against the group.

1990Soul II Soul's Vol. II (A New Decade) starts a 3-week run at #1 on the UK album chart.


1990Mariah Carey makes the Hot 100 for the first time when her debut single, "Vision Of Love," enters at #73. In August, the song goes to #1, as do her next four singles.

1987Spanish classical guitarist Andres Segovia dies at age 94.

1986Blues singer ZZ Ward is born Zsuzsanna Ward outside of Philadelphia.

1986Randy Travis releases his debut album, Storms Of Life. Thanks to the #1 Country hits "On The Other Hand" and "Diggin' Up Bones," it goes on to sell over 3 million copies, establishing Travis as a star.


1984Wham!'s "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go" hits #1 on the UK singles chart.

1984Joe Perry and Brad Whitford return to Aerosmith, reuniting their original lineup as they kick off their Back In The Saddle Tour in Concord, New Hampshire. Their comeback starts in earnest two years later when they all get sober and the rap reworking of "Walk This Way" takes off.

It's Safe To Dance
1983The 12-inch remix of "The Safety Dance" by Men Without Hats goes to #1 on the Billboard Dance chart. MTV begins playing the huzzah-worthy video, and the song soon rises up the Hot 100.


Page 312345
1981Prince makes his live British debut at The Lyceum Ballroom in London. He does not play the UK again for five years.

1980Fabrizio Moretti (drummer for The Strokes) is born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

1979Donna Summer's "Hot Stuff" goes to #1 in the US, where it stays for three weeks.

1978Bruce Springsteen releases Darkness On The Edge Of Town. It's his first album in almost three years due to a legal dispute with his ex-manager Mike Appel.

1976Tim Rice-Oxley (keyboardist for Keane) is born in Oxford, England.

1973Electric Light Orchestra begin their first US tour, a 40-date trek kicking off in San Diego.

1973The Wings album Red Rose Speedway hits the top of the albums chart in the US and "My Love" starts a four-week run as the #1 single on the Hot 100.

1972Former teen idol Dion performs in a reunion concert with The Belmonts at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

1972Pink Floyd release their seventh album, Obscured By Clouds, in the UK. It is released in America on June 17.

1970Dominic Greensmith (original drummer for Reef) is born in England.

1970Cypress Hill lead rapper B-Real is born Louis Freese in Los Angeles, California.

1969Jazz bassist Albert Stinson dies from a drug overdose at 24.

1966The Who kick off a 10-date European tour at the Grona Lund in Stockholm, Sweden.

1965Jeremy Cunningham (bass guitarist for The Levellers) is born in Cuckfield, Sussex, England.

1964The day after arriving in America for their first US tour, The Rolling Stones appear on American TV for the first time when they are interviewed on The Les Crane Show. When Crane asks if they are excited to be making their first US TV appearance, Keith Richards sarcastically replies, "Yeah, it knocks me out."


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1962Thor Eldon Jonsson (guitarist for The Sugarcubes) is born in Iceland.

1962Ray Charles' "I Can't Stop Loving You" hits #1 for the first of five weeks.

1960Tony Hadley (lead singer of Spandau Ballet) is born in Islington, London, England.

1960Bobby Darin plays the Copacabana in New York for the first time.


1958Alan Freed, who popularized R&B music by playing it for a white audience, moves from WINS in New York to WABC. Freed put on a lot of concerts featuring the artists he played, and WINS had suspended him over a show in Boston where a riot broke out.

1958Barry Sadler joins the US Air Force (he's later a Green Beret in the US Army).

1957Johnnie Ray's "Yes Tonight Josephine" hits #1 on the UK singles chart.

1955Michael Steele (bass guitarist for The Bangles) is born Susan Nancy Thomas in Pasadena, California. She is an early member of The Runaways, an all-girl punk rock group.


1952Pete Farndon (bassist for The Pretenders) is born in Hereford, England.

1951Steve Brookins (drummer for .38 Special from 1974-1987) is born.

1945The Les Brown Orchestra with Doris Day goes to #1 in America with "Sentimental Journey."

1945Soul singer Chubby Tavares (of Tavares) is born Antone Lee Tavares in Providence, Rhode Island.


1941R&B singer William Guest (of Gladys Knight & The Pips) is born in Atlanta, Georgia.

1941The Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts is born Charles Robert Watts in London.

1937Jimmy Jones, known for the 1960 rock and roll hit "Handy Man," is born in Birmingham, Alabama.

1936Doo wop singer Otis Williams (of The Charms), not to be confused with The Temptations member of the same name, is born in Cincinnati, Ohio.

1932R&B singer Sammy Turner, known for the 1959 hit "Lavender-Blue," is born Samuel Black in Paterson, New Jersey.

1857Composer Edward Elgar is born in Worcester, England.

Whitney Houston Releases Hit-Filled Second Album1987
Whitney Houston's second album, Whitney, is released. It contains four #1 hits, including the enduring "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)."

Read more

2 JUNE
Featured Events
Music Industry Takes Stand Against Racism On "Blackout Tuesday"
2020The music industry recognizes "Blackout Tuesday" in response to the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. Using the hashtag #TheShowMustBePaused, many record labels and artists cease operations, while broadcasters and streaming services change their programming in support of efforts to address racism and injustice on a wide scale, and more specifically to end police brutality against African Americans.More

2018BTS become the first K-pop band to top the US albums chart when Love Yourself: Tear debuts at #1.

Muscle Shoals Sound Studios Added To National Historic Register
2006Muscle Shoals Sound Studios is added to the National Historic Register.More


2002Eminem's The Eminem Show hits #1 on both the UK and US album charts.

2001A cover of the chart-topping 1974 Labelle hit "Lady Marmalade" by Christina Aguilera, Missy Elliott, Pink, Mya and Lil' Kim takes the song back to the top spot, making Lil' Kim the first female rapper to appear on a Hot 100 #1 hit.

1989Rolling Stones bass player Bill Wyman, 52, marries 18-year-old Mandy Smith in a 15-minute civil ceremony held at a registry office in Suffolk, England. The only witnesses are Smith's sister and Wyman's son. A proper celebration takes place three days later.More


1944Marvin Hamlisch is born in New York City. The composer will not only win a Pulitzer Prize for Drama for A Chorus Line in 1975, but will snag multiple Emmy, Grammy, Tony, and Academy Awards for his work for stage and screen (The Way We Were, The Sting).


Notable Album Releases
1978: Thin Lizzy released their acclaimed live album Live and Dangerous, featuring performances from London, Philadelphia, and Toronto, which became a commercial success and is considered one of the greatest live albums of all time.
1
1972: Pink Floyd released Obscured by Clouds, serving as the soundtrack for the film La Vallée and peaking at No.6 in the UK.
2
1978: Bruce Springsteen released his fourth studio album Darkness on the Edge of Town via Columbia Records.
1
1973: Paul McCartney and Wings’ Red Rose Speedway topped the Billboard 200, while the single My Love reached No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
2
2012: Adam Lambert’s Trespassing reached No.1 in the US, and Fun featuring Janelle Monáe topped the UK Singles chart with We Are Young.
1
2016: Ariana Grande’s Dangerous Woman reached No.1 in the UK.
1
2018: BTS scored their first No.1 album on the US Billboard 200 with Love Yourself: Tear.
1
2022: Harry Styles’ Harry’s House became the No.1 album in the UK.
1


3 Sources
Chart-Topping Singles
1962: Ray Charles’ cover of Don Gibson’s I Can’t Stop Loving You hit No.1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and topped charts in Australia, Sweden, and the UK.
1
1966: Frank Sinatra’s Strangers in the Night reached No.1 on the UK Singles Chart and topped charts worldwide.
2
1975: David Bowie’s single Fame, featuring John Lennon, became his first US No.1 hit.
1
1979: Donna Summer’s disco hit Hot Stuff began a three-week run at the top of the Billboard Hot 100.
1
1984: Wham! scored their first UK No.1 with Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go, which also topped charts internationally.
1


4 Sources
Significant Performances and Milestones
1976: Paul McCartney and Wings performed to 67,100 fans in Seattle, setting a record for the largest indoor concert attendance at the time.
1
1981: Prince played his first UK show at London’s Lyceum Theatre.
1
1962: Island Records released its first single, Twist Baby by Owen Gray, marking the beginning of a label that would later sign Bob Marley, U2, and Amy Winehouse.
1

1 Source
Births and Deaths
1904: Jazz trumpeter Valaida Snow, known as the “Queen of the Trumpet,” was born.
1
1930: Singer-songwriter Jimmy Jones, famous for Handy Man, was born.
1
1932: Singer Sammy Turner, known for Lavender Blue and Always, was born.
1
1941: William Guest, founding member of Gladys Knight & the Pips, was born.
1
2008: Bo Diddley (Ellas Otha Bates), influential in bridging blues and rock ‘n’ roll, passed away at age 79.
2
2011: Jazz pianist Raphael “Ray” Bryant died at age 79.
1


2 Sources
Other Notable Events
1967: Capitol Records released The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band in the US with identical track listings to the UK version, topping charts for 15 weeks in the US and 22 weeks in the UK.
1
1992: Ringo Starr’s second All-Starr Band debuted in concert, featuring notable musicians like Joe Walsh and Todd Rundgren.
1
2000: Joni Mitchell completed her Both Sides Now Tour of America in Camden, New Jersey.
1
2010: Paul McCartney received the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize at the White House.
1

[Bikkie]

1917
New Zealand steamer captured by the Wolf
The steamer Wairuna, en route from Auckland to San Francisco, was captured by the German raider Wolf and later sunk near the Kermadec Islands. The crew of 42 was taken prisoner.



1970
Motor racing driver Bruce McLaren dies
In 1958 Bruce McLaren was the first recipient of the Driver to Europe award, which enabled promising Kiwis to race against the world’s best.



In Music History

2017-Luke Combs, who majored in criminal justice at Appalachian State University, releases his debut album, This One's For You. Music suits him: He wins the CMA for New Artist Of The Year and becomes a top concert draw.

2013-Taylor Swift poses for photos with KYGO radio DJ David Mueller before her concert in Denver. She later accuses him of putting his hand up her dress, and Mueller is fired. In 2015, he sues her, but Swift countersues and wins a sexual assault case against him. "He grabbed my bare ass," she says in her testimony.

2011-Pink and her husband, Carey Hart, welcome their first child, a daughter named Willow Sage.

2011-Jazz pianist/composer Ray Bryant (of The Ray Bryant Combo) dies at age 79.

2010-After being awarded the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, Paul McCartney sings "Michelle" to First Lady Michelle Obama at a White House performance.

2008-Bo Diddley dies of heart failure at age 79.

2006-Vince Welnick (keyboardist for The Tubes, Grateful Dead) commits suicide at age 55 after a long battle with depression.

2006-Jackson Browne, Dar Williams and Pete Seeger play a hayloft in Garrison, New York, to kickstart Orleans founder John Hall's congressional campaign.More

2003-A painting of Kylie Minogue wearing gold hot pants causes tempers to fray among drivers in Brighton. Artist Simon Etheridge put up the almost life-size picture in his own Art Asylum gallery as part of a Festival and since then motorists have caused regular traffic hold-ups as they stopped to take a second look.

2002-S Club 7 member Hannah Spearitt announces she is quitting the group two months after her boyfriend and band member Paul Cattermole had left the group.

2002-Pop Idol winner Will Young's version of The Doors' 1967 classic "Light My Fire" hits #1 on the UK singles chart.

2002-The wedding ring that Paul McCartney had given his fiancée Heather Mills ends up thrown out of the window of the hotel where the couple is staying in Miami. Hotel staff use metal detectors to find the $25,000 ring the next day. Despite the quarrel, Paul and Heather go ahead with the wedding.

2002-Rockabilly singer-songwriter Boyd Bennett (of the Rockets), known for the '50s hits "Seventeen" and "My Boy, Flat Top," dies of a lung ailment at age 77.

2000-Western swing bandleader Adolph Hofner dies less than a week before his 84th birthday.

1999-Junior Braithwaite (of Bob Marley's Wailers) is gunned down in front of a fellow musician's home in Kingston, Jamaica. Junior, age 47, is the third Wailer to be murdered, following Peter Tosh and Carlton Barrett's 1987 deaths.

1998-Lynyrd Skynyrd release their fourth live album, Lyve from Steel Town.

1998-50 Cent makes his major-label debut, dropping a verse on the Onyx song "React." Over the next few years, he gets shot nine times, appears on the 8 Mile soundtrack, and releases his Dr. Dre-produced hit single, "In Da Club."

1997-Jazz trumpeter Adolphus "Doc" Cheatham dies at age 91.

1995-Stone Roses guitarist John Squire smashes his collarbone in a cycling accident, causing the band to pull out of major gigs.

1993-Aerosmith appear at the Landon Arena in Kansas, the first night on their 169-date Get A Grip world tour.

1993-Jamiroquai kick off a 13-date UK tour at Royal Holloway College in Egham.

1992-Freedom Williams quits C and C Music Factory and files a $10 million fraud and breach of contract suit in New York against the group.

1990-Soul II Soul's Vol. II (A New Decade) starts a 3-week run at #1 on the UK album chart.

1990-Mariah Carey makes the Hot 100 for the first time when her debut single, "Vision Of Love," enters at #73. In August, the song goes to #1, as do her next four singles.

1987-Whitney Houston Releases Hit-Filled Second Album.
Whitney Houston's second album, Whitney, is released. It contains four #1 hits, including the enduring "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)."

1987-Spanish classical guitarist Andres Segovia dies at age 94.

1986-Blues singer ZZ Ward is born Zsuzsanna Ward outside of Philadelphia.

1986-Randy Travis releases his debut album, Storms Of Life. Thanks to the #1 Country hits "On The Other Hand" and "Diggin' Up Bones," it goes on to sell over 3 million copies, establishing Travis as a star.

1984-Wham!'s "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go" hits #1 on the UK singles chart.

1984-Joe Perry and Brad Whitford return to Aerosmith, reuniting their original lineup as they kick off their Back In The Saddle Tour in Concord, New Hampshire. Their comeback starts in earnest two years later when they all get sober and the rap reworking of "Walk This Way" takes off.

It's Safe To Dance
1983-The 12-inch remix of "The Safety Dance" by Men Without Hats goes to #1 on the Billboard Dance chart. MTV begins playing the huzzah-worthy video, and the song soon rises up the Hot 100.

1981-Prince makes his live British debut at The Lyceum Ballroom in London. He does not play the UK again for five years.

1980-Fabrizio Moretti (drummer for The Strokes) is born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

1979-Donna Summer's "Hot Stuff" goes to #1 in the US, where it stays for three weeks.

1978-Bruce Springsteen releases Darkness On The Edge Of Town. It's his first album in almost three years due to a legal dispute with his ex-manager Mike Appel.

1976-Tim Rice-Oxley (keyboardist for Keane) is born in Oxford, England.

1973-Electric Light Orchestra begin their first US tour, a 40-date trek kicking off in San Diego.

1973-The Wings album Red Rose Speedway hits the top of the albums chart in the US and "My Love" starts a four-week run as the #1 single on the Hot 100.

1972-Former teen idol Dion performs in a reunion concert with The Belmonts at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

1972-Pink Floyd release their seventh album, Obscured By Clouds, in the UK. It is released in America on June 17.

1970-Dominic Greensmith (original drummer for Reef) is born in England.

1970-Cypress Hill lead rapper B-Real is born Louis Freese in Los Angeles, California.

1969-Jazz bassist Albert Stinson dies from a drug overdose at 24.

1966-The Who kick off a 10-date European tour at the Grona Lund in Stockholm, Sweden.

1965-Jeremy Cunningham (bass guitarist for The Levellers) is born in Cuckfield, Sussex, England.

1964The day after arriving in America for their first US tour, The Rolling Stones appear on American TV for the first time when they are interviewed on The Les Crane Show. When Crane asks if they are excited to be making their first US TV appearance, Keith Richards sarcastically replies, "Yeah, it knocks me out."

1962-Thor Eldon Jonsson (guitarist for The Sugarcubes) is born in Iceland.

1962-Ray Charles' "I Can't Stop Loving You" hits #1 for the first of five weeks.

1960-Tony Hadley (lead singer of Spandau Ballet) is born in Islington, London, England.

1960-Bobby Darin plays the Copacabana in New York for the first time.

1958-Alan Freed, who popularized R&B music by playing it for a white audience, moves from WINS in New York to WABC. Freed put on a lot of concerts featuring the artists he played, and WINS had suspended him over a show in Boston where a riot broke out.

1958-Barry Sadler joins the US Air Force (he's later a Green Beret in the US Army).

1957-Johnnie Ray's "Yes Tonight Josephine" hits #1 on the UK singles chart.

1955-Michael Steele (bass guitarist for The Bangles) is born Susan Nancy Thomas in Pasadena, California. She is an early member of The Runaways, an all-girl punk rock group.

1952-Pete Farndon (bassist for The Pretenders) is born in Hereford, England.

1951-Steve Brookins (drummer for .38 Special from 1974-1987) is born.

1945-The Les Brown Orchestra with Doris Day goes to #1 in America with "Sentimental Journey."

1945-Soul singer Chubby Tavares (of Tavares) is born Antone Lee Tavares in Providence, Rhode Island.

1941-R&B singer William Guest (of Gladys Knight & The Pips) is born in Atlanta, Georgia.

1941-The Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts is born Charles Robert Watts in London.

1937-Jimmy Jones, known for the 1960 rock and roll hit "Handy Man," is born in Birmingham, Alabama.

1936-Doo wop singer Otis Williams (of The Charms), not to be confused with The Temptations member of the same name, is born in Cincinnati, Ohio.

1932-R&B singer Sammy Turner, known for the 1959 hit "Lavender-Blue," is born Samuel Black in Paterson, New Jersey.

1857-Composer Edward Elgar is born in Worcester, England.




Featured Events

Music Industry Takes Stand Against Racism On "Blackout Tuesday"
2020-The music industry recognizes "Blackout Tuesday" in response to the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. Using the hashtag #TheShowMustBePaused, many record labels and artists cease operations, while broadcasters and streaming services change their programming in support of efforts to address racism and injustice on a wide scale, and more specifically to end police brutality against African Americans.More

2018-BTS become the first K-pop band to top the US albums chart when Love Yourself: Tear debuts at #1.

Muscle Shoals Sound Studios Added To National Historic Register
2006-Muscle Shoals Sound Studios is added to the National Historic Register.More

2002-Eminem's The Eminem Show hits #1 on both the UK and US album charts.

2001-A cover of the chart-topping 1974 Labelle hit "Lady Marmalade" by Christina Aguilera, Missy Elliott, Pink, Mya and Lil' Kim takes the song back to the top spot, making Lil' Kim the first female rapper to appear on a Hot 100 #1 hit.

1989-Rolling Stones bass player Bill Wyman, 52, marries 18-year-old Mandy Smith in a 15-minute civil ceremony held at a registry office in Suffolk, England. The only witnesses are Smith's sister and Wyman's son. A proper celebration takes place three days later.

1944-Marvin Hamlisch is born in New York City. The composer will not only win a Pulitzer Prize for Drama for A Chorus Line in 1975, but will snag multiple Emmy, Grammy, Tony, and Academy Awards for his work for stage and screen (The Way We Were, The Sting).



Notable Album Releases

1978- Thin Lizzy released their acclaimed live album Live and Dangerous, featuring performances from London, Philadelphia, and Toronto, which became a commercial success and is considered one of the greatest live albums of all time.

1972- Pink Floyd released Obscured by Clouds, serving as the soundtrack for the film La Vallée and peaking at No.6 in the UK.

1978- Bruce Springsteen released his fourth studio album Darkness on the Edge of Town via Columbia Records.

1973- Paul McCartney and Wings’ Red Rose Speedway topped the Billboard 200, while the single My Love reached No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

2012- Adam Lambert’s Trespassing reached No.1 in the US, and Fun featuring Janelle Monáe topped the UK Singles chart with We Are Young.

2016:-Ariana Grande’s Dangerous Woman reached No.1 in the UK.

2018- BTS scored their first No.1 album on the US Billboard 200 with Love Yourself: Tear.

2022- Harry Styles’ Harry’s House became the No.1 album in the UK.




Chart-Topping Singles

1962- Ray Charles’ cover of Don Gibson’s I Can’t Stop Loving You hit No.1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and topped charts in Australia, Sweden, and the UK.

1966- Frank Sinatra’s Strangers in the Night reached No.1 on the UK Singles Chart and topped charts worldwide.

1975- David Bowie’s single Fame, featuring John Lennon, became his first US No.1 hit.

1979- Donna Summer’s disco hit Hot Stuff began a three-week run at the top of the Billboard Hot 100.

1984- Wham! scored their first UK No.1 with Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go, which also topped charts internationally.




Significant Performances and Milestones

1976- Paul McCartney and Wings performed to 67,100 fans in Seattle, setting a record for the largest indoor concert attendance at the time.

1981- Prince played his first UK show at London’s Lyceum Theatre.

1962- Island Records released its first single, Twist Baby by Owen Gray, marking the beginning of a label that would later sign Bob Marley, U2, and Amy Winehouse.



Births and Deaths

1904- Jazz trumpeter Valaida Snow, known as the “Queen of the Trumpet,” was born.

1930- Singer-songwriter Jimmy Jones, famous for Handy Man, was born.

1932- Singer Sammy Turner, known for Lavender Blue and Always, was born.

1941- William Guest, founding member of Gladys Knight & the Pips, was born.

2008- Bo Diddley (Ellas Otha Bates), influential in bridging blues and rock ‘n’ roll, passed away at age 79.

2011- Jazz pianist Raphael “Ray” Bryant died at age 79.




Other Notable Events

1967- Capitol Records released The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band in the US with identical track listings to the UK version, topping charts for 15 weeks in the US and 22 weeks in the UK.

1992- Ringo Starr’s second All-Starr Band debuted in concert, featuring notable musicians like Joe Walsh and Todd Rundgren.

2000- Joni Mitchell completed her Both Sides Now Tour of America in Camden, New Jersey.

2010- Paul McCartney received the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize at the White House.

[Bikkie]

1869
University of Otago founded
Governor George Bowen gave his assent to the Otago Provincial Council’s University of Otago Ordinance, enabling the establishment of New Zealand’s first university.

1936
Colin 'Pinetree' Meads born
The legendary All Black lock was a physically tough, uncompromising player. Rugby writer Lindsay Knight described Colin Meads as New Zealand's equivalent of Australia's Sir Donald Bradman or American Babe Ruth as a sporting legend.

1941
First women enter police training
Calls for policewomen had been made since the 1930s, when the National Council of Women started lobbying for women officers.



In Music History

2023-Lauryn Hill stages a surprise Fugees reunion when she brings Wyclef Jean and Pras Michel on stage to perform at her concert in Philadelphia.

2016-After a 32-year battle with Parkinson's disease, Muhammad Ali, the heavyweight boxing champion and civil rights activist who was the subject of the 1975 hit "Black Superman," dies of respiratory complications at age 74.

2014-Jade Castrinos, the female vocalist in Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, updates her Instagram bio to read: "For seven years i sang and wrote music with edward sharpe. they voted me off of tour a week before they left, via email. lol."More

2011-Andrew Gold, who penned what would famously become the theme song to The Golden Girls, dies of heart failure at age 59.

2011-R&B singer Benny Spellman dies of respiratory failure at age 79.

2010-Esquire posts video of a fashion shoot where Gavin Rossdale's daughter Daisy Lowe dances to the song "Tiger" by Maximum Balloon, garnering millions of views and giving the song a huge boost.More

2009-Blues singer Koko Taylor, known for her popular cover of Willie Dixon's "Wang Dang Doodle," dies of surgical complications after a procedure for gastrointestinal bleeding at age 80.

2006-At the Rock am Ring Festival in Nürburgring, Germany, Metallica perform their classic album Master Of Puppets in its entirety for the first time ever.

2006-Red Hot Chili Peppers' Stadium Arcadium hits #1 on both the UK and US albums charts.

Shakira Releases Fijacion Oral Vol. 1
2005-Shakira releases the Spanish-language portion of her double-album project, Oral Fixation, which is joined by its English counterpart in the fall. The two-part project is a followup to her first English-language album, Laundry Service, and reflects the singer's evolution from a Colombian pop princess to an international superstar.More

2003-Barry Manilow suffers a broken nose after he accidentally walks into a wall at his home in Palm Springs, California, and knocks himself unconscious. Although he passed out for four hours, he doesn't endure any lasting effects and doctors determine that surgery is not necessary.

2002-Paul McCartney and Elton John are among the many famous performers at Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee celebrating the 50th year of her reign.

2001-Tom Petty marries Dana York in a ceremony officiated by Little Richard. It's his second marriage, and his last - he and Dana are still married when he dies in 2017.

2001-Staind's Break The Cycle starts a three-week run at #1 on the US albums chart.

2001-Shaggy's "Angel" starts a four-week run at #1 on the UK singles chart. His album Hot Shot also goes to #1 on the UK albums chart.

2000-Allman Brothers guitarist Dickey Betts is arrested after allegedly trashing his house, threatening his wife's life, and then disappearing. He is captured and ordered to get psychiatric help.

2000-In what becomes known as "the horse incident," Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw are arrested in Buffalo, New York, after Chesney mounts a police horse and rides off. At trial, they're found not guilty; Chesney says he thought he had permission to get on the horse.

1997-Wu-Tang Forever, the second album by the 9-man rap group, is released.

1995-Bryan Adams' "Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman?," featured in the Johnny Depp movie Don Juan DeMarco, starts a five-week run at #1 on the US singles chart.

1994-Mark Wahlberg of Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch makes his film debut in the comedy Renaissance Man as an army private who is teased by his fellow recruits for having no rhythm.

1993-The Australian band Midnight Oil, of "Beds Are Burning" fame, appear on MTV's Unplugged. Not all the band members are happy with the format, but drummer Rob Hirst is pleasantly surprised: "We spent a few weeks stripping the whole thing down, and what we found was underneath the grunt of the amps and the drums, there were actually some really good, melodic songs."

Bill Clinton Plays Sax On Arsenio
1992
Arkansas governor Bill Clinton, campaigning for US president, makes a whistle stop on The Arsenio Hall Show, where he plays the Elvis Presley hit "Heartbreak Hotel" on the saxophone to a cheering, youthful audience. The appearance is later seen as the definitive moment when Clinton captured the trust and support of young voters, and locked the election on charisma points.

1990-Richard Sohl, pianist and songwriter known for his work with Patti Smith, dies of a heart attack at age 37.

1990-The Big Day free festival takes place in Glasgow, Scotland, with Wet Wet Wet, Deacon Blue, Hothouse Flowers, Sheena Easton, Texas, Hue and Cry, John Martyn, Eddi Reader, The Average White Band and others. Channel 4 TV runs a six-hour live broadcast from the event.

1989-The Fine Young Cannibals' The Raw & The Cooked starts a seven-week run at #1 on the US albums chart.

1989-Queen's 13th album, The Miracle, hits #1 in the UK.

1989-Michael Damian's "Rock On" hits #1 on the Hot 100. Damian grew up listening to the song, which was written and recorded by David Essex in 1973.

1988-Tom Hanks and Robert Loggia play a memorable duet of "Heart and Soul" and "Chopsticks" on a foot-operated electronic keyboard in the fantasy comedy Big.

1988-A judge rejects the defense of James Brown's wife Adrienne, who claims diplomatic immunity in an effort to get out of traffic tickets. Her reasoning is that two years earlier, Congressman Douglas Bernard, Jr. called her husband the "#1 Ambassador" as part of James Brown Appreciation Day. The judge doesn't go for it.

1985-Bryan Ferry releases his sixth solo album, Boys and Girls.

1983-Already undergoing psychiatric treatment and suffering from, among other things, voices in his head, Derek & the Dominos drummer Jim Gordon brutally murders his own mother with a hammer and knife in their home. Gordon, who co-wrote the band's biggest hit, "Layla," is sentenced to life in prison.

1981-Just before The Duprees are about to embark on a reunion tour, the doo wop group's Joe Santollo dies of internal bleeding after suffering a heart attack at age 37.

1978-Johnny Mathis and Deniece Williams' "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late" hits #1 in America.

1975-Ozzie Nelson, who starred with his real-life family, including son Rick Nelson, in the long-running radio and television series The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, dies of liver cancer at age 69.

1974-Kelly Jones (lead singer of Stereophonics) is born in Cwmaman, Wales.

Jethro Tull's Album Thick As A Brick Goes To #1
1972-Jethro Tull's concept album Thick As A Brick, complete with an insert from the fictional newspaper St. Cleve Chronicle and Linwell Advertiser, hits #1 in America.More

1972-The Eagles release "Take It Easy."

1972-With Martha Reeves and Stevie Wonder opening, The Rolling Stones kick off their Exile On Main Street tour in Vancouver, BC. The 32-date tour grosses $4 million, making it the richest rock tour in history at the time.

1972-Joe Cocker, The Beach Boys, Melanie, Richie Havens and Sha Na Na all appear at the Crystal Palace Garden Party in England.

1971-The Band appear at London's Royal Albert Hall during a European tour.

1971-Twin brothers Ariel and Gabriel Hernandez (of the pop band No Mercy) are born in Cuba.

1970-Stevie Wonder's "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours," with a funky descending bass line courtesy of Motown Funk Brother Bob Babbitt, is released as a single.

1970-Jimi Hendrix's Band Of Gypsys is certified Gold.

1969-Elton John's first album, Empty Sky, is released in the UK and initially sells 4,000 copies. It isn't released in America until 1975.

1968-Valerie Solanas shoots Andy Warhol and art critic and curator Mario Amaya at Warhol's studio in New York City. Solanas had been to see Warhol after asking for the return of a script which had apparently been misplaced. Warhol is seriously wounded in the attack and barely survives.

1968-Saffron (lead singer of Republica) is born Samantha Marie Sprackling is born in Lagos, Nigeria.

1967-It's a very trippy episode of American Bandstand, with Jefferson Airplane performing "Somebody To Love" and "White Rabbit."

1965-Mike Gordon (bass guitarist for Phish) is born in Sudbury, Massachusetts.

1964-The Rolling Stones perform for the first time on American TV when they're guests on a variety show called Hollywood Palace, which is hosted that week by Dean Martin. They play their cover of Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away," and endure ridicule from Martin, who quips, "Their hair is not that long - it's just smaller foreheads."

1964-During a photo shoot for The Saturday Evening Post, an exhausted Ringo Starr collapses and is rushed to the hospital, where he is diagnosed with tonsillitis and pharyngitis. Jimmy Nicol replaces him on the Beatles tour.

1964-Slayer guitarist Kerry King is born in Los Angeles, California.

1962-David Cole (of C and C Music Factory) is born in Johnson City, Tennessee.

1959-Billboard magazine responds to the growing popularity of stereophonic recordings by splitting its album chart in two: one chart for mono, one for stereo.

1957-Pat Boone's "Love Letters In The Sand" hits #1 on the US Top 100 and stays for seven weeks. Boone would have two of the Top 5 songs of 1957 ("April Love" is the other), while Elvis has the other three.

1957-The Isley Brothers release "Angels Cried."

1956-Danny Wilde (of The Rembrandts) is born Daniel Thomas in Houlton, Maine.

1955-Buddy Holly opens for Elvis Presley at a matinee concert in Lubbock, Texas. After the show, they sign autographs in a promotional appearance at the Johnson-Connelley Pontiac car dealership.

1954-Dan Hill, known for the 1977 ballad "Sometimes When We Touch," is born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

1953-Florence Beatrice Price, the first African American composer to have a composition played by a major orchestra, dies of a stroke at age 66.

1952-Lynyrd Skynyrd keyboard player Billy Powell is born in Corpus Christi, Texas.

1950-Florian Pilkington-Miksa (original drummer for Curved Air) is born in Roehampton, South West London, England.

1950-Soul singer Deniece Williams is born June Deniece Chandler in Gary, Indiana.

1950-Perry Como's "Hoop-Dee-Doo" hits #1.

1947-T. Rex drummer Mickey Finn is born Michael Norman Finn outside of London, England.

1947-Dave Alexander (original bassist for The Stooges) is born in Whitmore Lake, Michigan, and will be raised in nearby Ann Arbor.

1946-Eddie Holman, known for his 1970 hit "Hey There Lonely Girl," is born in Norfolk, Virginia.

1946-Michael Clarke (original drummer for The Byrds) is born Michael James Dick is born in Spokane, Washington.

1942-Curtis Mayfield is born in Chicago, Illinois. With his group The Impressions, he writes, produces and sings on '60s classics like "People Get Ready" and "Keep On Pushing." He makes his mark in the '70s as a solo artist with songs like "Superfly" and "Move On Up."

1939-Ian Hunter (lead singer of Mott the Hoople) is born Ian Hunter Patterson in Shropshire, England, to a Scottish father.

1930-Jazz singer Dakota Staton is born in the Homewood neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Known for the 1957 hit "The Late, Late Show."

1927-Boots Randolph, popular saxophonist and pioneer of the Nashville Sound, is born Homer Louis Randolph III in Paducah, Kentucky.

1906-Josephine Baker is born in in St. Louis, Missouri, but makes her mark in France, where she becomes a renowned singer, dancer and actress.





Featured Events

2019-Forbes declares Jay-Z a billionaire, making him the first rapper to hit that mark. $310 million of his fortune comes from his stake in Armand de Brignac champagne.

2007-During a gig in New York, a fan throws something at Akon during his set. The singer brings the offender on stage, picks him up and hurls him into the crowd.More

1991-In an effort to pay off his tax debt, Willie Nelson releases Who'll Buy My Memories: The IRS Tapes. Available by mail order at (800) IRS-TAPE, it's part of a deal Nelson made with the IRS to help reconcile his whopping $32 million tax bill.

1972-The Staple Singers' "I'll Take You There" hits #1 as the group makes a successful transition from gospel to secular music.

Kinks Take Coca-Cola Out Of "Lola"
1970-With the BBC refusing to air The Kinks' new single "Lola" because of its reference to "Coca-Cola" (brand names being a no-no for the corporation), lead singer Ray Davies flies all the way from London to New York to re-record the line as "Where you drink champagne and it tastes just like cherry-cola."More

1967-"It was the third of June, another sleepy, dusty delta day," as Billie Joe McAllister jumps off the Tallahatchee Bridge, according to the Bobbie Gentry song "Ode To Billie Joe."

1967-Aretha Franklin's "Respect" hits #1 in America. The song was written and originally recorded by Otis Redding, whose version hit #35 in 1965.

1950-Suzi Quatro is born in Detroit. She makes her musical mark in England, where she moves in 1971 after Mickie Most signs her to his label. In America, she's best known for her role as Leather Tuscadero on the TV series Happy Days.



Here are some key events that occurred on this day:

1967- Aretha Franklin's "Respect" became her first No.1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

1977- Bob Marley and the Wailers released their album "Exodus," featuring hits like "Three Little Birds" and "One Love."

1978- Deniece Williams and Johnny Mathis topped the US Billboard Hot 100 chart with "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late."

1983- Composer Charles Lecocq was born.

1998 Van Halen cancelled a show at the Docks club in Hamburg, Germany, after a piece of ceiling plaster fell and hit Alex Van Halen.

[Bikkie]

Military and Naval History on June 4

1940 – Dunkirk Evacuation Completed
British forces completed the miraculous evacuation of 338,000 Allied troops from Dunkirk’s beaches as German forces closed in. Winston Churchill delivered his famous “We shall fight on the beaches” speech to rally British morale.

The operation transformed a military disaster into a symbol of British resilience and determination. Small civilian boats joined naval vessels in rescuing soldiers from the French coast.

1942 – Battle of Midway Begins
Admiral Chūichi Nagumo launched a massive Japanese strike against Midway Island, initiating one of the Pacific War’s most decisive battles. The Imperial Navy deployed its most powerful carriers and aircraft.

American codebreakers had intercepted Japanese plans, positioning U.S. forces for a surprise counterattack. The battle would determine control of the central Pacific for the remainder of the war.

1944 – U.S. Navy Captures German U-Boat
A U.S. Navy hunter-killer group captured the German submarine U-505 intact, marking the first enemy vessel seizure at sea since the 19th century. The dramatic boarding operation yielded valuable intelligence materials.

The submarine’s capture provided crucial insights into German naval codes and technology. American sailors risked their lives to prevent the U-boat’s scuttling and secure its secrets.

1944 – Allied Forces Liberate Rome
The U.S. Fifth Army entered Rome as German forces withdrew northward toward defensive positions. The liberation marked the first Axis capital to fall to Allied forces.

Pope Pius XII welcomed the Allied troops while Italian civilians celebrated their freedom from Nazi occupation. The victory boosted Allied morale despite allowing most German forces to escape.

1916 – Russia Launches Brusilov Offensive
Russian forces began a massive artillery bombardment of Austro-Hungarian positions in Galicia, launching the war’s most successful Russian offensive. General Alexei Brusilov employed innovative tactics to break enemy lines.

The offensive initially achieved spectacular success, capturing thousands of prisoners and vast territory. However, Russian losses eventually exceeded their gains, contributing to the army’s eventual collapse.



In Music History

2020-Producer Rupert Hine, whose credits include Tina Turner's hit "Better Be Good To Me" and the first four albums by The Fixx, dies at 72.

2019-Grammy-winning jazz drummer Lawrence Leathers dies at age 37 after being placed in a choke hold during an altercation involving a love triangle.

2013-Cornelius "Nini" Harp (original lead singer of The Marcels) dies of natural causes at age 73.

2013-Joey Covington (drummer for Jefferson Airplane, Hot Tuna) dies in a single-vehicle accident in Palm Springs, California, at age 67.

2007-Soul singer Freddie Scott dies at age 74.

2006-Sandi Thom's "I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker (With Flowers In My Hair)" hits #1 on the UK singles chart.

2006-Orson's Bright Idea hits #1 on the UK albums chart.

2005-System Of A Down's fourth album, Mezmerize, goes to #1 in America. Six months later, their next album, Hypnotize (recorded in the same sessions), takes the top spot.

2004-Creed, who haven't played together since 2002, announce their breakup, with lead singer Scott Stapp going solo and the other original members forming Alter Bridge. The band reunites in 2009 and again in 2024.

2004-Nathan Moore, former singer with Brother Beyond and Worlds Apart, appears at Highbury Corner magistrates court and pleads guilty to a charge of kerb crawling in central London. He is fined £250 and ordered to pay £50 costs. The former pop singer was arrested on May 27 in the Kings Cross area after he approached a woman he thought was a prostitute and requested a sexual favor. He then rode away on his moped before being arrested.

2003-A grandfather who set up his own pirate radio station in Wakefield, Yorkshire, is under investigation by local broadcasting authorities. The man known as Ricky Rock had erected a 32-foot transmitter in his garden and had been playing hits by The Beach Boys, The Beatles, and Elvis Presley. Ricky said he set the station up because "talent-less boy bands and dance music" featured on local stations did not cater to the tastes of his generation.

2002-Wyclef Jean is one of ten people arrested for disorderly conduct in a New York rally protesting cuts to education. Jean is arrested and led away in handcuffs following an attempt to perform, which was forbidden by the event's permit. Puff Daddy, Alicia Keys, Jay-Z, LL Cool J, Erykah Badu, Foxy Brown and Wu-Tang Clan were also at the rally to show their support and protest a proposed $1.2 billion cut to New York's public education system.

2002-George Michael is jeered and heckled by the audience of a CNN news show as he defends the video for his new single "Shoot The Dog," in which US President George Bush is shown in bed with UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. Michael says it is an attack on Blair and not President Bush.

Avril Lavigne Releases Debut Album
2002-Avril Lavigne, 17, releases her debut album, Let Go, which goes to #1 in her native Canada and sells over 7 million copies in America.More

2001-Folk singer John Hartford dies of non-Hodgkin lymphoma at age 63.

2000-Bon Jovi's Crush hits #1 on the UK albums chart.

2000-In Atlanta, Bruce Springsteen debuts "American Skin (41 Shots)," a song he wrote about the New York police killing of Amadou Diallo, an unarmed suspect. Eight days later, he performs the song at his concert in Madison Square Garden, which is protested by some members of the NYPD.More

1999-As he predicted on the title track, Kid Rock goes Platinum with his album Devil Without A Cause. It goes on to sell another 10 million copies.

1998-Ray Charles reunites with his legendary touring band to perform in celebration of his 50th year in show business at the 15th annual Chicago Blues Festival in Grant Park.

1997-Ronnie Lane (bass guitarist of The Small Faces, The Faces) dies at age 51 after a 21-year battle with multiple sclerosis.

Metallica Follow Up Black Album With Load
1996-Metallica release Load, their first album in five years.More

1996-After 10 years together, Crowded House announce they are splitting up. They reunite in 2007.

1994-The soundtrack from the film The Crow hits #1 on the US Albums chart.

1994-Wet Wet Wet's "Love Is All Around" starts a 15-week run at #1 on the UK singles chart.

1994-Derek Leckenby (lead guitarist for Herman's Hermits) dies of non-Hodgkin lymphoma at age 51.

1993-Police are called to a domestic dispute at the house of Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love, and the Nirvana lead singer is arrested. Cobain claims that reports of him choking his wife are false, and that police were called because they were playing music too loud.

1992-Iron Maiden play a gig at the Oval pub in Norwich before 400 fans as The Nodding Donkeys, as a thank you to the pub's landlord, Chris Hiles.

1992-Smokey Robinson's half sister, Rose Ella Jones, files a suit against Smokey claiming she had been cheated out of royalty payments from songs written during the 1980s.

1992-The Children Of The Night foundation opens a shelter in Van Nuys, California for teenagers who have been forced into prostitution. It is funded in part from proceeds from Richard Marx' song "Children Of The Night," which he wrote after spending time with kids who were helped by the organization.

1990-Stiv Bators (frontman for The Dead Boys, The Lords of the New Church), age 40, dies of a concussion in his sleep hours after being struck by a taxi.

1986-After a years-long court battle, the producers of The Beatles' tribute Beatlemania! are forced to pay Apple $10 million in royalties.

1985-Elton John begins a high court battle with Dick James Music, seeking the rights to early songs and recordings plus damages estimated at more than $51 million.

1983-The Police's "Every Breath You Take" starts a four-week run at #1 in the UK.

Fleetwood Mac Record The USC Marching Band For "Tusk"
1979
Fleetwood Mac record the USC Trojan Marching Band at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles for use in their song "Tusk," the title track to their first album since Rumours. A film crew captures the action (including Stevie Nicks deftly twirling a baton) which is made into the video for the song.

1979-US President Jimmy Carter hosts Chuck Berry, who plays a concert for The First Family at the White House.

1976-Blondie, Mink DeVille, Talking Heads, Laughing Dogs, and Tuff Darts play a show at CBGB that is packaged in the album Live At CBGB'S New York. The grimy club has become the mecca of the burgeoning punk/new wave scene in the city.

1976-Country singer Kasey Chambers is born in Mount Gambier, South Australia, Australia.

1975-The Rolling Stones become the first rock band to receive royalties for sales of their records in Russia.

1974-Stefan Lessard (bassist for The Dave Matthews Band) is born in Anaheim, California. He's just 16 when he joins the band as a founding member in 1991.

1973-Jimmy Buffett releases A White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean, his first Key West-themed album with producer Don Gant. It features the country-music parody "Why Don't We Get Drunk."

1973-Beach Boys patriarch Murry Wilson dies at age 55.

1970-Just one month after the Kent State Shootings, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young release "Ohio," a song about the tragedy.

1970-Elvis Presley records "Twenty Days And Twenty Nights," "I've Lost You," "I Was Born About Ten Thousand Years Ago," "The Sound Of Your Cry," "Faded Love," "The Fool," "A Hundred Years From Now," "Little Cabin On The Hill," and "Cindy, Cindy."

1969-Tommy Roe's "Dizzy" hits #1 on the UK singles chart.

1969-Nicky Hopkins leaves The Jeff Beck Group.

1969-Hundreds of people in Glenrowan, Australia, sign a petition protesting against the casting of Mick Jagger in the role of the Australian folk hero Ned Kelly for the film of the same name. Jagger plays the part anyway.

1967-The movie To Sir With Love, featuring Lulu, premieres in New York City.

1967-The Monkees, starring the eponymous band, wins an Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series.

1966-Janis Joplin arrives in San Francisco to join Big Brother & the Holding Company as their new lead singer.

1964-The Beatles begin their first world tour, playing the K.B. Hallen Gardens in Copenhagen, Denmark. Session drummer Jimmy Nicol, wearing Ringo's suit, sits in for the ailing drummer for this and the next five dates.

1964-Chris Kavanagh (drummer for Sigue Sigu Sputnik, Big Audio Dynamite) is born in Woolwich, London, England.

1963-Pop Goes The Beatles debuts on the BBC. the band is a big draw on the network, but this is the first time they get their own show, where they perform, take requests, and crack jokes. They record a rock version of "Pop Goes The Weasel" for the theme song. It lasts 16 episodes.

1963-The Searchers release "Sweets For My Sweet."

Beach Boys Release "Surfin' Safari"
1962-The Beach Boys release their second single, "Surfin' Safari" backed with "409."More

1961-El DeBarge is born Eldra Patrick DeBarge in Detroit, Michigan. He will become the lead singer of his family's group, DeBarge.

1958-With the public outraged over his marriage to 13-year-old Myra Gale Brown, an indignant Jerry Lee Lewis renews their vows, since he wasn't actually divorced from a previous wife when he originally married her.

1956-Gene Vincent makes his stage debut, performing in his hometown of Norfolk, Virginia.

1953-Jimmy McCulloch (guitarist for Thunderclap Newman, lead guitarist, bassist for Wings) is born in Dumbarton, Scotland.

1945-Gordon Waller (of Peter & Gordon) is born in Braemar, Scotland.

1944-Roger Ball (keyboardist, saxophonist for The Average White Band) is born in Broughty Ferry, Scotland.

1944-Michelle Phillips of The Mamas & The Papas is born Holly Michelle Gilliam in Long Beach, California. After the group disbands, she launches a successful acting career that includes a regular role on the TV series Knots Landing.

1942-Johnny Mercer's label, Capitol Records, becomes the first record company to give an album to a radio station when he gives one to a Los Angeles DJ. It's a brilliant move, as the station plays the record and promotes it. In coming years, labels will try all sorts of tricks to get their records played on radio.

1941-Linda Martell, the first Black woman to land songs on the Country chart and the first to play the Grand Ole Opry, is born Thelma Bynem in Leesville, South Carolina. She releases just one album but influences singers like Beyoncé, who includes Martell on her 2024 album Cowboy Carter.

1940-Cliff Bennett (of Cliff Bennett and the Rebel Rousers) is born in Slough, Berkshire, England.

1937-Freddy Fender is born Baldemar Huerta in San Benito, Texas. He'll have a #1 hit in 1974 with "Before The Next Teardrop Falls."

1930-Jazz singer Morgana King is born Maria Grazia Morgana Messina in Pleasantville, New York. As an actress, she plays Carmela Corleone, wife of Don Vito Corleone, in the first two Godfather films.





Featured Events

2017-Ariana Grande hosts the "One Love Manchester" benefit concert to honor the victims of the terrorist bombing at her May 22 concert at the Manchester Arena, which killed 22 people. The show takes place at the Old Trafford Cricket Ground, about three miles from the arena.More

Young Elvis Chosen For Stamp
1992-When the United States Post Office decides to do an Elvis stamp, they put it up for a vote: a young Elvis or an old Elvis image, and young Elvis wins by a landslide, getting more votes by a factor of three to one. Priscilla Presley makes the announcement at Graceland.

1986-The first of a six-date Conspiracy of Hope tour is held at the Cow Palace in San Francisco. The concerts benefit Amnesty International and celebrate the human rights organization's 25th anniversary. The shows are headlined by U2 and Sting, and also feature Bryan Adams, Peter Gabriel, Lou Reed, Joan Baez, and The Neville Brothers.

1984-Bruce Springsteen releases the album Born In The U.S.A. The cover photo, showing Bruce posed in front of the American flag, gives many the wrong idea about the title track, which is about the struggles of a veteran returning home from the Vietnam War.

1976-The Sex Pistols play a show at Lesser Free Trade Hall in Manchester. Inspired by the gig, many in the audience form bands, propelling the nascent punk rock scene.Mor



Key Events in Music History on June 4

1964- The Beatles began their first and only world tour with two ten-song shows at KB Halle in Copenhagen, Denmark. British drummer Jimmie Nicol temporarily replaced Ringo Starr, who was recovering from tonsillitis, for the first five dates of the tour

1967- Guitarist Jimi Hendrix performed a cover of the Beatles’ "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" at London’s Saville Theatre, with George Harrison and Paul McCartney in attendance

1969- The Beatles released "The Ballad of John & Yoko" in the US, backed with George Harrison’s "Old Brown Shoe"

1984- Bruce Springsteen released his seventh studio album, "Born in the U.S.A.", which became his biggest commercial success, topping charts in 11 countries and selling over 30 million copies worldwide. The album produced seven Top Ten hits, including "Dancing in the Dark," "I’m on Fire," and the title track

1984- Sheila E. released her album "The Glamorous Life", marking a significant contribution to pop and funk music

1992- The U.S. Postal Service announced that 1.2 million people voted for the artwork on the Elvis Presley stamp, with 75% preferring a portrait of young Elvis

1996- Metallica released their album "Load", adding to their influential heavy metal discography

1997 The body of singer Jeff Buckley was found in a Memphis harbor, marking a tragic moment in music history

1998- Brooks & Dunn, Reba McEntire, and Hanson performed a benefit concert for Children’s Miracle Network hospitals


Other Notable Moments

1934- The Dorsey Brothers recorded "Annie’s Cousin Fanny," featuring Glenn Miller on vocals

1963- The Searchers released their debut single "Sweets For My Sweet"

Pop Culture Milestones: On June 4, Pop Goes The Beatles debuted on the BBC, giving the band their own television show for the first time

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young released "Ohio", a protest song about the Kent State shootings, which became a significant political and musical statement