On This Day In Music 16th July

1940 Tony Jackson born in Dingle, Liverpool, England. Lead Singer & Bass Guitarist with The Searchers, (1964 UK No.1 & US No.13 single ‘Needles And Pins’). Jackson on died 18th August 2003. 
1941 Desmond Dekker (Desmond Dacres) born in Jamaica – Jamaican singer, (with The Aces, 1969 UK No.1 & US No.9 single ‘Israelites’). Dekker died of a heart attack on 25 May 2006, at his home in Thornton Heath in the London Borough of Croydon, England, aged 64
1947 Thomas Boggs born in Wynne, Arkansas. US Drummer with The Box Tops, (1967 US No.1 & UK No.5 single ‘The Letter’). He died in May 5, 2008 from cancer in Memphis.
1952 Stewart Copeland born in Alexandria, Virginia. (aka Klark Kent) Drummer with Curved Air, (1971 UK No.4 single ‘Back Street Luv’), Police, (1983 UK & US No.1 single ‘Every Breath You Take’ plus four other UK No.1 singles). The re-formed Doors. 
1959 The Coasters recorded ‘Poison Ivy’ 
1961 Mark EcEntee born in Perth, WA. Guitarist with Australian Band The Divinyls. Mark & vocalist Chrissie Amphlett were the nucleus for the band which began in Sydney in 1980. 
1962 The Beach Boys signed to Capitol Records in the US. 
1966 Tommy James and the Shondells started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Hanky Panky’, a song first recorded by The Raindrops. A No.38 hit in the UK. 
1966 Cream formed on this day. The English super group comprised of Eric Clapton (guitar), Jack Bruce (Lead Vocals/Bass) and Ginger Baker (drums). The group broke up two years late with Clapton and Baker joining the short-lived Blind Faith. 
1972 Smokey Robinson made his last appearance with The Miracles at a concert in Washington DC. 
1976 Loggins And Messina split up. 
1976 The Allman Brothers Band splits up.
1977 Barry Manilow went to No.1 on the US album chart with ‘Barry Manilow Live’, the singers only US chart topper. 
1977 Shaun Cassidy went to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Da Doo Ron Ron’, his only US No. Shaun is the half brother of David Cassidy. 
1977 The Johnny Mathis Collection’ started a four-week run at No.1 on the UK album chart. 
1978 TJ, vocals, 3T, (1996 UK No.2 single ‘Anything’). 
1981 US singer songwriter Harry Chapin was killed when a tractor- trailer crashed into the car he was driving in Jericho, N.Y., while on his way to play a benefit performance. 
1984 US singer Billy Williams died aged 74. Had the 1957 US No.3 single ‘I’m Gonna Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter’). 
1988 Steve Cayter a road crew technician with Def Leppard, died of a brain haemorrhage on stage before an American show at the Alpine Valley Music Theatre. 
1990 Nigerian songwriter and performer Wizkid who started his musical career at age 11, releasing a collaborative album with Glorious Five. His work and contribution to the Nigerian Music Industry has earned him several achievements, including a BET Award, a MOBO Award. 
1994 The film soundtrack to ‘The Lion King’ started a nine-week run at No.1 on the US album chart. 
1995 Wayne Osmond underwent a brain tumour operation at Duke University Medical Centre, North Carolina. 
1996 Luke Hemmings, guitarist and lead vocalist for the Australian rock band 5 Seconds of Summer. The Australian rock band achieved the biggest first-week sales for a debut album by a group since Daughtry’s self-titled album in 2006. 5 Seconds of Summer were also the first Australian act to achieve a US No.1 album with their debut album. 
1996 John Panozzo, drummer with Styx, died from cirrhosis of the liver, aged 48. 
2000 Matchbox 20 went to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Bent.’ 
2000 The Corrs presented a petition to the European Commission demanding legislation to end piracy on the Internet. The Manic Street Preachers and The Spice Girls also added their names to the petition. 
2001 Robbie Williams started a two week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Eternity / The Road To Mandalay.’ 
2007 Three masked men, carrying sledgehammers and crowbars, broke into the home of former Atomic Kitten singer Kerry Katona and escaped with goods including the singers BMW M5 sports car, two laptops, two gaming machines and two televisions. The robbers held a knife to the neck of the former pop star during the raid on her home in Wilmslow, Cheshire.
2007 The White Stripes played their ‘shortest live show ever’ at George Street, St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada. Jack White played a single C# note accompanied by a bass drum/crash cymbal hit from Meg. At the end of the show, Jack announced, “We have now officially played in every province and territory in Canada.” They then left the stage and performed a full show later that night in St John’s.
2009 A stage being built in France for a concert by Madonna collapsed, killing two workers and injuring six others. Technicians had been setting up the stage at the Velodrome stadium in Marseille when the partially-built roof fell in, bringing down a crane. Madonna was performing on her Sticky and Sweet tour in Udine, Italy, when she received news of the incident and was said to be “devastated” by the news.
2012 Jon Lord the former keyboard player with Deep Purple, died aged 71. Lord was a co-founder of Deep Purple in 1968 and co-wrote many of the group’s songs including Smoke On The Water. He also played with bands including Whitesnake. He had been receiving treatment for pancreatic cancer since last August.
2012 Queen’s 1975 classic Bohemian Rhapsody was voted as the UK.’s “Favorite No. 1 Single,” narrowly beating out Michael Jackson’s ‘Billie Jean’ for the top spot. The poll conducted by the Official Charts Company had The Beatles ‘Hey Jude’ at No.5, with Adele’s hit ‘Someone Like You’ at No.3.
2012 American country music singer Kitty Wells died in Madison, Tennessee, from complications of a stroke. She was 92. Her 1952 hit ‘It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels’, made her the first female country singer to top the US country charts, and turned her into the first female country star. Her Top 10 hits continued until the mid-1960s, inspiring a long list of female country singers who came to prominence in the 1960s.
2014 Blues guitarist Johnny Winter died at the age of 70 in Zurich, just days after playing at the Lovely Days Festival in Austria. Winter, who was instantly recognisable by his long white hair, worked with some of the greatest bluesmen, producing several albums for his childhood hero Muddy Waters – with whom he won a number of Grammys.
2015 A sports car belonging to US hip-hop pioneer Grandmaster Flash which contained valuable vintage records was mistakenly given away by a parking attendant. The incident happened in a Manhattan garage where the musician returned to pick up the vehicle after nearly two hours, the attendant said he had given it to someone else thinking he was the owner.
2016 American vocalist, punk icon and visual artist Alan Vega died aged 78. Primarily known for his work with the electronic protopunk duo Suicide. The duo released their influential self-titled debut in 1977, one of Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
2017 DMX was charged with tax fraud in the US after allegedly hiding millions of dollars in earnings. The rapper, whose real name is Earl Simmons, was arrested in New York. Law enforcement officers claimed he owed millions of dollars in taxes from songs and said he “went out of his way” to break the law. He faced up to 44 years in prison if he was found guilty on all 14 counts.