Musician Birthdays: Liza Minelli, (singer/actress, famous for hit, “Losing My Mind”. Born in 1946), James Taylor (US singer/songwriter, famous for hit, “You’ve Got a Friend”. Born in 1948), Pete Doherty (singer/songwriter/guitarist, known for playing for the Libertines and Babyshambles. Born in 1986)
– In 1958: A Philadelphia court sentenced jazz singer Billie Holiday to a year’s probation after being found guilty of narcotics possession.
– In 1963: The Beatles played at the Granada Cinema in Bedford. Also on the bill, Chris Montez and Tommy Roe. John Lennon, suffering from a heavy cold, was unable to perform, so The Beatles set was rearranged so that George and Paul could sing the parts that John usually sang.
– In 1968: The Rolling Stones started recording their next single ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash’ with new producer Jimmy Miller at Olympic studios in London. Keith Richards has stated that he and Jagger wrote the lyrics while staying at Richards’ country house, where they were awakened one morning by the sound of gardener Jack Dyer walking past the window. When Jagger asked what the noise was, Richards responded, “Oh, that’s Jack – that’s jumpin’ Jack.”
– In 1971: The Allman Brothers Band played the first of two nights at the Fillmore East, New York. Both show’s were recorded and released as The Allman Brothers live double album, which became the groups breakthrough album.
– In 1974: John Lennon made the headlines after an incident at the Troubadour Club, LA. Out on a drinking binge with Harry Nilsson, Lennon hurled insults at the performing Smothers Brothers and punched their manager before being forcibly removed.
– In 1977: The Sex Pistols were involved in a fight at London’s Speakeasy Club with Bob Harris, presenter of BBC 2’s The Old Grey Whistle Test resulting in one of the shows engineers needing 14 stitches in his head. Two days later Harris’s solicitors contact Derek Green at A&M the bands record label. Harris’s management also managed Peter Frampton, one of the label’s top acts at A&M. Green discussed the matter with the company’s two founders, Jerry Moss and Herb Alpert and the decision is made to cancel the Pistols contract and halt production of the bands first single, ‘God Save The Queen’.
– In 1983: U2 scored their first UK No.1 album with ‘War’, which went on to spend a total of 147 weeks on the chart. The album featured the singles ‘New Years Day’ and ‘Two Hearts Beat As One’.
– In 1990: Nirvana and Tad appeared at the Town Pump in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
– In 1995: The Spin Doctors played a gig at singer Chris Barron’s old School in Princeton and raised $10,000 (£5,882) towards a trip to France and the UK for the school choir.
– In 2001: Judy Garland’s ‘Over The Rainbow’ was voted the Song Of The Century in a poll published in America. Musicians, critics and fans compiled the list by the RIA. The highest placed UK act was The Rolling Stones ‘Satisfaction’ in 16th place. The Beatles had ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’ at No. 28.
– In 2006: Former Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour went to No.1 on the UK album chart with his third solo album ‘On An Island.’ In 2009 UK radio station Planet Rock held a poll asking listeners to name the ‘Greatest Solo Album Written By A Former Band Member’. David Gilmour was voted into first place with ‘On An Island.’
– In 2009: Hundreds of fans queued at the O2 arena in London as Michael Jackson tickets went on sale to the public. The 50-year-old pop veteran had confirmed he would be playing a 50-date residency at the venue, beginning on 8 July 2009. Some 360,000 pre-sale tickets had already sold. Organisers said the This Is It tour had become the fastest-selling in history, with 33 seats sold each minute. Prices ranged from £170 to £10,000, but tickets bought directly from the singer’s website cost up to £75. Jackson had said this would be the last time he would perform in the UK.
– In 2010: A 16-year-old was arrested and charged in connection with a break-in at singer Susan Boyle’s home in West Lothian, Scotland. Boyle disturbed the intruder as she returned home from London after recording a charity single for the victims of the Haiti earthquake.
– In 2012: Country star Taylor Swift beat Adele and Lady Gaga to be named the highest-earning pop artist of 2011. The 22-year-old earned $35,719,902 (£22.7m) in 2011 from a combination of music sales, royalties and touring. U2 took second place with $32m (£20m) thanks to their 360 tour, seen by more than seven million people while Adele came 10th.
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