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On This Day In Music 5th April

1928 Tony Williams born in Elizabeth, New Jersey. US singer & co-founder of The Platters, (1959 UK & US No.1 single ‘Smoke Gets In Your Eyes’). Died on 14th August 1992 (Diabeties). 
1929 Joe Meek (Robert George Meek) UK Record Producer born in England. Produced ‘Telstar’ the 1962 UK and US No.1 single by The Tornados. The first British act to have a No.1 in the US. Shot himself dead on 3rd February 1967 after killing his landlady. 
1932 Billy Bland born in Wilmington, North Carolina. US Singer who’s only hit was ‘Let The Little Girl Dance’ in 1960. He died on March 22, 2017. He was 84.
1935 Peter Grant born in South Norwood, London, England. manager of Led Zeppelin.Known as being one of the shrewdest and most ruthless managers in rock history, Grant secured 90% of concert gate money and intimidated record store owners who dealt in bootlegs. The former wrestler also worked as a film extra and bodyguard. During the early 60s Grant worked as a tour manager for Bo Diddley, The Everly Brothers, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Eddie Cochran, Gene Vincent and The Animals. Died from a heart attack on 21/11/95 aged 60. 
1944 Crispian St. Peters (Robin Peter Smith) born in Kent, England. English Pop Singer. He had two major hits in 1966 with ‘Pied Piper’ & ‘You Were On my Mind’ No.2 – UK). St. Peters died on 8 June 2010, after a long illness, at the age of 71.
1939 Ronnie White born in Detroit, Michigan. US Baritone Vocalist with Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, (1970 UK & US No.1 single with Smokey Robinson, ‘The Tears Of A Clown’). He died on August 26, 1995, at the age of 57 from leukemia.
1941 Dave Swarbick – Fiddle Player/Vocals with Fairport Convention, UK folk group, (1969 UK No.21 single ‘Si Tu Dois Partir’). 
1941 Allan Clarke (Harold Alan Clarke) born in Lahcashire, England. Lead Singer for The Hollies. (over 25 top 40 hits, 1972 US No.2 single ‘Long Cool Woman (In A Black Dress’), 1988 UK No.1 single ‘He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother’, first released in 1969. He retired from performing in 1999, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010.
1944 Nicholas Caldwell born in oma Linda, California US Singer with The Whispers, (1980 UK No.2 & US No.19 single ‘And The Beat Goes On’). Caldwell died on January 5, 2016 of congestive heart failure at his home in San Francisco. He was 71.
1950 Agnetha Faltskog born in Jonkoping, Sweden. Female Singer with Abba, (first UK hit 1974 No.1 ‘Waterloo’, followed by eight other UK No.1 singles and 9 UK No.1 albums, 1977 US No.1 single ‘Dancing Queen’).
1951 Evertt Morton born in St. Kitt’s, West Indies. UK Drummer with the Beat. (1983 UK No.3 single ‘Can’t Get Used To Losing You”). 
1954 Stan Ridgeway born in Barstow, California. US singer/Songwriter with Wall Of Voodoo, solo, (1986 UK No.4 single ‘Camouflage’). 
1954 Elvis Presley recorded ‘That’s All Right’ at Sun Studios. 
1955 Pia Zadora – US Singer. She sang on a duet with Jermaine Jackson ‘When The Rain Begins to Fall’ in 1984. 
1955 Ray Charles married his second wife Della Beatrice Howard Robinson; the couple had three children and divorced in 1977. 
1961 Jacob Slichter born in Boston, Massachusetts. Drummer, with Semisonic had hits with ‘Secret Smile’, ‘Closing Time’ and ‘Chemistry’. 
1962 Cliff Richard recorded ‘Summer Holiday at the Abbey Road Studios. 
1962 The Beatles performed at the Cavern Club in Liverpool as part of a special night presented by the Beatles’ fan club. The Beatles wear their black leather outfits for the first half of the performance, for old time’s sake, then change into their new suits for the second half of the show. 
1965 Mike McCready born in Pensacola, Florida. Guitarist, and one of the founding members of Pearl Jam who had the 1992 UK No.15 single Jeremy, the 1993 US No.1 and UK No.2 album Vs and the 1994 US No.1 and UK No.4 album Vitalogy. McCready also has the side project bands Temple of the Dog, Mad Season and The Rockfords. 
1967 Monkees fans walked from London’s Marble Arch to the US Embassy in Grosvenor Square to protest Davy Jones’ planned call-up. Jones was exempted because he was deemed responsible for supporting his father. 
1968 Paula Cole born in Rickport, Massachusetts. US Singer. (1997 UK No.15 single, ‘Where Have All The Cowboys Gone”). “I Don’t Want to Wait”. 
1968 “Young Girl” single by Gary Puckett & The Union Gap was certified Gold by the RIAA 
1968 The first date of a twice-nightly UK tour featuring, Amen Corner, Gene Pitney, Status Quo, Simon Dupree & The Big Sound and Don Partridge kicked off at The Odeon Theatre, Lewisham, London. 
1972 Elvis Presley kicked of a 15 date US tour at the Memorial Auditorium in Buffalo, New York. 
1973 Pharrell Williams, one half of the writing duo, The Neptunes (with Chad Hugo). Produced numerous No.1 hits for Mystikal, Jay-Z, NSYNC, Britney Spears, Nelly. 2003 US No.1 album ‘The Neptunes Present Clones’. Featured on the 2013 worldwide hit ‘Blurred Lines’ with Robin Thicke, and his own 2013 single ‘Happy’ from the Despicable Me 2 soundtrack album was the most successful song of 2014, reaching No.1 on over 20 countries.
1973 Pharrell Williams born in Virginia Beach, Virginia. One half of the writing duo, The Neptunes (with Chad Hugo). Produced numerous No.1 hits for Mystikal, Jay-Z, NSYNC, Britney Spears, Nelly. 2003 US No.1 album ‘The Neptunes Present Clones’. Featured on the 2013 worldwide hit ‘Blurred Lines’ with Robin Thicke.
1975 American rapper, songwriter and record producer, Juicy J, (Jordan Michael Houston), founding member of the Southern hip hop group Three 6 Mafia. He featured on the 2014 US Katy Perry No.1 hit ‘Dark Horse’ 
1975 Minnie Riperton went to No.1 on the US singles chart with the Stevie Wonder produced song ‘Loving You’ (a No.2 hit in the UK). It was the singers only US chart hit. Riperton died of cancer on 12th July 1979. 
1975 “No No Song” by Ringo Starr peaked at #3 on the pop singles chart.
1975 “Satil Soul” by Love Unlimited Orchestra peaked at #22 on the pop singles chart. 
1977 “I Never Cry” single by Alice Cooper was certified Gold by the RIAA
1977 “The Roaring Silence” album by Manfred Mann’s Earth Band was certified Gold by the RIAA 
1978 Duran Duran made their live debut at The Lecture Theatre, Birmingham Polytechnic. 
1978 “Son Of A Son Of A Sailor” album by Jimmy Buffett was certified Gold by the RIAA
1980 Genesis scored their first UK No.1 album when ‘Duke’ went to the top of the charts. 
1980 The Bellamy Brothers were number one on the charts with “Sugar Daddy”
1980 “Too Hot” by Kool & The Gang peaked at #5 on the US singles chart.
1980 R.E.M. played their first ever gig when they appeared at St Mary’s Episcopal Church, Athens, Georgia. 
1981 Canned Heat singer Bob “The Bear” Hite died of a heart attack aged 36. (1970 UK No.2 & US No.26 single ‘Let’s Work Together’). Played at both the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival and the 1969 Woodstock Festival. 
1981 Filipino American musician and singer-songwriter Mariqueen Maandig, vocalist for How to Destroy Angels, (with her husband Trent Reznor). 
1983 Danny Rapp, leader of 50’s group Danny and the Juniors committed suicide in a hotel in Arizona by shooting himself. (1958 US No.1 & UK No.3 single ‘At The Hop’). 
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 At 3:50pm GMT, over 5,000 radio stations worldwide aired the charity single by USA for Africa ‘We Are The World’. The single went on to be a No.1 in the US & UK, and most Western territories. 
1985 UK Channel 4 music show The Tube aired a two-hour end of series special featuring UB40, Alison Moyet, Style Council, The Pogues, Spandau Ballet, Frankie Goes To Hollywood and Bronski Beat. 
1986 “Calling America” by ELO peaked at #18 on the US singles chart.
1986 “R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.” by John Cougar Mellencamp peaked at #2 on the US singles chart.
1990 “Storm Front” album by Billy Joel was certified Multi Platinum 3.00 by the RIAA. Including ‘We Didn’t Start The Fire’, ‘I Go To Extremes’, ‘Leningrad’, ‘And So It Goes’ & ‘The Downeaster Alexa’.
1994 Kurt Cobain committed suicide by shooting himself in the head at his home in Seattle. Cobain’s body wasn’t discovered until April 8, by an electrician who had arrived to install a security system, who initially believed that Cobain was asleep, until he saw the shotgun pointing at his chin. A suicide note was found that said, “I haven’t felt the excitement of listening to as well as creating music, along with really writing . . . for too many years now”. A high concentration of heroin and traces of Valium were found in Cobain’s body. His death was officially ruled as suicide by a self-inflicted shotgun wound to the head. 
1995 Jimi Hendrix’s one-time girlfriend Monika Dannerman committed suicide, two days after losing a court battle with another of the guitarist’s ex-lovers. 
1995 The Sign” album by Ace Of Base was certified Multi Platinum 8.00 by the RIAA
1995 “Candy-o” album by The Cars was certified Multi Platinum 3.00 by the RIAA. Including ‘Lets Go’. 
1995 God Shuffled His Feet” album by Crash Test Dummies was certified Multi Platinum 2.00 by the RIAA. Inclduing ‘MMM, MMM, MMM, MMM, ‘Afternoons & Coffespoons’ & ‘I Think I’ll Dissapear Now’. 
1995 “The Best Of The Doors” album by The Doors was certified Multi Platinum 3.00 by the RIAA
1995 “The Cars” album by The Cars was certified Multi Platinum 6.00 by the RIAA. Including ‘My Best Friends Girl’, ‘Just What I Needed’ & ‘Good Times Roll’. 
1995 “Can’t Fight Fate” album by Taylor Dayne was certified Multi Platinum 2.00 by the RIAA. Including ‘I’ll Be Your Shelter’ & ‘Love Will Lead Your Back’. 
1995 “I’m Your Baby Tonight” album by Whitney Houston was certified Multi Platinum 4.00 by the RIAA 
1995 Toni Braxton” album by Toni Braxton was certified Multi Platinum 6.00 by the RIAA. Including ‘Breathe Again’
1995 “Whitney Houston” album by Whitney Houston was certified Multi Platinum 12.00 by the RIAA 
1997 The Chemical Brothers went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Block Rockin Beats.’ Taken from their second album Dig Your Own Hole the song won a Grammy award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. 
1988 UK Drummer Cozy Powell was killed when his car smashed into crash barriers on a motorway in Bristol, England. Worked with Whitesnake, ELP, Black Sabbath, Rainbow and the ELP spin-off Emerson, Lake, & Powell. Plus sessions wi
1998 James went to No.1 on the UK album chart with ‘The Best Of James.’ 
1998 British drummer Cozy Powell (Colin Flooks) was killed when his car smashed into crash barriers on the M4 motorway near Bristol, England. Powell had worked with the Jeff Beck Group, Whitesnake, Black Sabbath, Rainbow, Brian May, Peter Green and the ELP spin-off Emerson, Lake, and Powell. Powell, known as one of the most driving drummers in rock, had also had hits as a solo artist, including Dance WithThe Devil and The Man In Black, and had fronted his own band, Cozy Powell’s Hammer. 
1998 The Spice Girls performed their first ever-live UK concert when they appeared in front of a 9,000 strong audience in Glasgow, Scotland. 
2003 Paul McCartney kicked off the UK leg of his ‘Back In The World Tour’ at Hallam FM Arena a year after it began in America. The set included 22 Beatles songs. 
2006 Marion “Suge” Knight staved off receivership by seeking bankruptcy protection for himself and his music label, Death Row Records. The record producer had been ordered to pay more than $100m (£57m) to a former associate who said she had helped start the record label in 1989. Lawyers for Mr Knight said he did not have the money to pay the judgement, and was forced to seek federal protection. The label helped launch the careers of rappers such as Snoop Doggy Dogg. 
2006 Gene Pitney was found dead aged 65 in his bed in a Cardiff hotel. The American singer was on a UK tour and had shown no signs of illness. Pitney helped the Rolling Stones break the American market with his endorsement of the band. Jagger and Richards wrote his hit That Girl Belongs to Yesterday which became the Stones duo’s first composition to reach the American charts. He scored the 1962 US No.4 single ‘Only Love Can Break A Heart’. and 1967 solo UK No.5 & 1989 UK No.1 single with Marc Almond ‘Something’s Gotten Hold Of My Heart’, plus over 15 other US & UK Top 40 hits. 
2007 Former Kiss guitarist Mark St. John died from an apparent brain haemorrhage at the age of 51. St. John was Kiss’ third official guitarist, having replaced Vinnie Vincent in 1984 and appeared on the album ‘Animalize’. 
2008 Apple’s iTunes overtook supermarket group Wal-Mart to become the largest music retailer in the US. Market research firm NPD said iTunes surpassed Wal-Mart in January and February if 12 downloads are considered equal to the sale of one CD album. iTunes had sold more than four billion songs since its launch in 2003. 
2008 Lady GaGa started a four week run at No.1 on the UK album chart with ‘The Fame’ the American singers debut album. 
2011 A statue in tribute to Nirvana singer Kurt Cobain was unveiled in his hometown of Aberdeen, Washington, The unveiling marked the 17th anniversary of Cobain’s death, which occurred on April 5, 1994. The statue designed by local artists Kim and Lora Malakoff was of his signature Fender Jag-Stang guitar. The concrete guitar was eight and a half feet tall and also featured a ribbon with lyrics written on it from Nirvana’s ‘On a Plain’. It reads: “One more special message to go and then I’m done and I can go home.” 
2012 Jim Marshall, who made rock ’n’ roll rawer and noisier by inventing the Marshall amplifier died at a hospice in London, aged 88. His amplifiers and speakers known as ‘Marshall stacks’ were used by Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and almost every other major rock guitarist in the ’60s and ’70s and by the next generation of guitarists as well, including Kurt Cobain, Eddie Van Halen and Slash. 
2013 Mark Knopfler cancelled two shows in Russia in protest over what he called the country’s “crackdown” on human rights groups. The former Dire Straits frontman pulled out of the gigs in June after Russian authorities searched the offices of organisations including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. Critics said the raids were an attempt to crush government dissent. 
2017 Canadian hip hop artist Drake released the single ‘One Dance’. The track reached No.1 in ten countries including the US and topped the UK Singles Chart for 15 consecutive weeks, making it the joint-second longest consecutive No.1 in the country with Scottish band Wet Wet Wet’s cover of ‘Love Is All Around’. The track also became the most played song on streaming media service Spotify, with over 950 million individual streams.

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