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On This Day In Music 2nd July

1925 Marvin Rainwater born in Wichita, Kansas US Singer, 1957 US No.18 single ‘Gonna Find Me A Bluebird’, 1958 UK No.1 single ‘Whole Lotta Woman.’ He died of heart failure on September 17, 2013, in Minneapolis.
1926 Lee Allen born in Pittsburgh, Kansas. US Tenor Saxophonist on countless recordings. Worked with Fats Domino “Walkin’ With Mr. Lee’, Little Richard, Shirley & Lee. He died October 18, 1994.
1934 Tom Springfield (Dion O’Brien) born in Hampstead, England. Musician, Songwriter & brother of the late Dusty Springfield. Tom & Dusty sang in the trio The Springfields, (1963 UK No.5 single ‘Island Of Dreams’). He wrote The Seekers hits “I’ll Never Find Another You”, “A World Of Our Own”, “The Carnival Is Over”, “Walk with Me”, and co-wrote “Georgy Girl”, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song in 1966. He also wrote “Adios Amour (Goodbye My Love)”, recorded by José Feliciano.
1939 Paul Williams born in Birmingham, Alabama. Vocals, The Temptations, was a founder member in 1960. He was replaced by Richard Street in 1971. He died in Detroit, Micigan on 17/8/73 after shooting himself. (1971 US No.1 & UK No.8 single ‘Just My Imagination’
1942 Leapy Lee (Lee Graham) born in Eastbourne, England. UK singer. 1968 UK No.2 single ‘Little Arrows’. 
1945 Peter Cruickshank born in Calcutta, West Bengal, India. Bassist with UK band, The Groundhogs from 1963-1974 and 2003-2004 (1971 UK No.5 album ‘Split’). 
1949 Roy Bittanborn in Rockaway Beach, Queens, New York City. Keyboardist with the E Street Band, (1984 US No.2 & 1985 UK No.4 single ‘Dancing In The Dark’) Played piano on Meatloaf’s ‘Bat Out Of Hell’ album & Dire Straits ‘Making Movies’ album. 
1950 Duncan Mackay born in Leeds, Yorkshire. British composer, singer, arranger, and keyboard player who has recorded three solo albums. Also a keyboardist with Cockney Rebel, (1975 UK No.1 single ‘Make Me Smile, Come Up And See Me’). 
1951 Joe Puerta born in Lomita, California. US Leadsinger, Bassist & Songwriter with Ambrosia. He was a member of Sheena Easton’s band from 1983 to 1985. He also played Bass with Bruce Horsnby & The Range. 
1952 Johnny Colla born in Sacramento, California. Guitarist/Sax with Huey Lewis and the News, (1985 US No.1 & UK No.11 single ‘The Power Of Love’). 
1954 Pete Briquette born in Ballyjamesduff, County Cavan, Ireland. UK Bass Player/Vocals with The Boomtown Rats, (1979 UK No.1 single ‘I Don’t Like Mondays’, plus 10 other UK Top 40 singles). 
1955 Jerry Hall born in Gonzales, Texas. American former model and actress, also known for her former relationship with Mick Jagger. The couple have four children. She married Rupert Murdoch on 4 March 2016.
1956 Jeffrey Cooper – guitarist/keyboardist with Midnight Star, (1986 UK No.8 single ‘Midas Touch’). 
1956 Elvis Presley records “Don’t Be Cruel,” “Hound Dog” and “Anyway You Want Me” in RCA Studios New York. It marks the first time he uses the Jordanaires as background singers. The two-sided hit “Don’t Be Cruel/Hound Dog” tops Billboard’s Hot 100 for 
1957 Mike Anger, Bass player with The Blow Monkeys, (1987 UK No.5 single ‘It Doesn’t Have To Be This Way’). 
1961 Annie Ruddock, vocals, Amazulu, (1986 UK No.5 single ‘Too Good To Be Forgotten’). 
1961 Paul Geary, drums, Extreme, (1991 US No.1 & UK No.2 single ‘More Than Words’). 
1962 Jimi Hendrix was honourably discharged from the 101st Airborne Paratroopers, after breaking his ankle during his 26th and final parachute jump. 
1963 UK record companies increased the price of records making singles, 6 shillings and 8 and albums £1.12 shillings. 
1964 Cilla Black recorded the Lennon McCartney song ‘It’s For You’. 
1964 Cliff Richard’s film ‘Wonderful Life’ premiered in London.
1964 Roy Boulter, drums, The Farm, (1990 UK No.4 single ‘All Together Now’). 
1965 The Beach Boys and Sam the Sham appeared at the Community Concourse, San Diego, California. 
1966 Dave Parsons, bass, Transvision Vamp, (1989 UK No.3 single ‘Baby I Don’t Care’), Bush, (1997 UK No.7 single ‘Swallowed’). 
1966 Frank Sinatra went to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Strangers In The Night’. The song was taken from the film ‘A Man Could Get Killed’. Also a No.1 in the UK. 
1966 David Bowie and The Lower Third appeared at The Lion Hotel in Warrington, England, (they were paid £30 for the gig). Also appearing was The Powerhouse which featured Eric Clapton Jack Bruce, Steve Winwood and Paul Jones. 
1969 Thunderclap Newman started a three week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with the Pete Townshend produced track ‘Something In The Air.’ Featured on the soundtrack for the movie, ‘The Magic Christian’. The band featured guitarist Jimmy McCulloch who went on to work with Wings. 
1969 Working at Abbey Road Paul McCartney recorded ‘Her Majesty’. Then Paul, George, and Ringo record 15 takes of ‘Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight’. John Lennon was absent, in hospital in Golspie, Scotland, following a car accident the previous day. 
1969 Bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell quit the Jimi Hendrix Experience after completing the three-day Denver Pop Festival. Hendrix and drummer Mitch Mitchell would later team with bassist Billy Cox to form the short-lived Gypsy Sun and Rainbows, who played at the Woodstock Festival. 
1970 Monie Love born Simone Gooden in Battersea, London.UK female rapper, (1990 UK No. 12 single ‘It’s A Shame’, plus eight other UK Top 40 singles). 
1971 Queen appeared at Surrey College, England. This was the group’s first gig with the line-up of Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon. 
1973 Roxy Music’s synthesiser player Brian Eno quit after personality clashes with the bands singer Bryan Ferry. 
1974 Rocky Gray, drummer, Evanescence, (2003 UK No.1 & US No.5 single ‘Bring Me To Life’, 2003 UK No.1 & US No.3 album ‘Fallen’). Also a member of Living Sacrifice and Soul Embraced. 
1977 A Star Is Born’ soundtrack album went to No.1 on the UK chart, No.2 was The Johnny Mathis Collection and No.3 Donna Summer with ‘I Remember Yesterday.’ 
1977 Bill Conti went to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Gonna Fly Now’ (Theme from Rocky). 
1979 Sony introduced the Walkman, the first portable audio cassette player. Over the next 30 years they sold over 385 million Walkmans in cassette, CD, mini-disc and digital file versions, and were the market leaders until the arrival of Apple’s iPod and other new digital devices. 
1980 Sheena Easton was featured in the BBC-TV series ‘Big Time’, recording her first single and undergoing the marketing process as a new artist. 
1980 Bob Weir and Mickey Hart from The Grateful Dead were arrested on suspicion of starting a riot at the San Diego Sports Arena after they tried to interfere in a drugs bust. 
1981 Bruce Springsteen played the first of six nights at the new Brendan Byrne Arena, New Jersey. 
1982 Nicky Headon of The Clash was remanded on bail, charged with stealing a bus stop worth £30 from London’s’ Fulham Road. 
1983 Michelle Branch born in Flagstaff, Arizona. US singer, songwriter, guitarist, (2002 UK No. 18 single ‘Everywhere’ 2002 US No.5 & UK No.16 with Santana ‘The Game Of Love’, 2003 US No.2 album ‘Hotel Paper’). 
1983 Daron Malakian, guitar System of a Down, (2001 US No.1 & UK No.13 album ‘Toxicity’, 2005 US No.1 & UK No.2 album ‘Mezmerize’). 
1983 Rod Stewart started a three week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Baby Jane’, his sixth UK No.1. 
1984 Sweet And Sour began on ABC TV. The local series followed the fortunes of a rock band known as The Takeaways. The teme song made No.13 on the singles Chart. 
1984 No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: “When Doves Cry,” by the artist then known as Prince. The song is the first single released from Prince’s “Purple Rain” LP and his biggest hit, selling more than 2 million copies and topping the pop chart for five weeks.
1985 Ashley Michelle Tisdale, actress and singer from High School Musical, as part of the cast had the 2006 US No.1 ‘High School Musical’ album and 2007, US No.1 ‘High School Musical 2’ album. Over 17 million viewers in the United States watched the TV premier of High School Musical; making it the highest rated basic cable broadcast in U.S. history. Released her debut album ‘Headstrong’ in 2007. 
1988 Michael Jackson became the first artist to have five number one singles from one album when ‘Dirty Diana’ went to the top of the US charts. The other four chart-toppers from the LP ‘Bad’ were the title track, ‘I Just Can’t Stop Loving You’, ‘The Way You Make Me Feel’ and ‘Man in the Mirror’. 
1988 Tracy Chapman started a three-week run at No.1 on the UK album chart with her self-titled debut LP. Helped by her performance at the ‘Nelson Mandela’s 70th Birthday Tribute Concert’ at Wembley Stadium, also No.1 in the US. 
1989 American singer, songwriter, rapper Devin Tailes better known as Dev. Her 2010 song ‘Booty Bounce’ was sampled in Far East Movement’s hit single ‘Like a G6’ which reached No.1 in the US. 
1991 Axl Rose caused a riot to break out during a Guns N’ Roses gig after leaping into the crowd to remove a camera from a fan at the Riverpoint Amphitheatre, Maryland Heights. Over 50 people were injured and 15 fans were arrested. 
1992 Mick Jagger’s daughter Jade gives birth to a daughter. She is the first grandchild for the 48-year-old Rolling Stone.
1999 R.E.M. Skunk Anansie, Barenaked Ladies, Blur, Blondie, Built To Spill, The Chemical Brothers, Marilyn Manson, Metallica, Placebo, Suede and Wilco all appeared at this years Oskilde Festival, Roskilde, Denmark. 
2000 Richard Ashcroft went to No.1 on the UK album chart with his debut solo album ‘Alone With Everybody’. 
2001 Liverpool Airport at Speke was renamed John Lennon Airport. Yoko Ono was present to unveil a new logo that included the late Beatle’s famous self- portrait and the words, ‘Above Us Only Sky’ taken from his ‘Imagine’ album. 
2005 The world’s biggest music stars united in concerts around the world to put pressure on political leaders ahead of the G8 summit to tackle poverty in Africa. Concerts in 10 cities, including London, Philadelphia, Paris, Berlin, Johannesburg, Rome and Moscow played to hundreds of thousands of people. A TV audience of several hundred million watched the gigs. In London Pink Floyd, The Who, Madonna, U2, Coldplay, Sting, The Scissor Sisters, Keane, and Paul McCartney performed. Philadelphia saw, Destiny’s Child, Jay-Z and Bon Jovi, Canada, Bryan Adams and Neil Young headlined, Bjork headlined in Tokyo and Green Day played in Berlin.
2007 Lyricist Hy Zaret, who wrote the words for the song Unchained Melody died at his home in Westport, Connecticut, aged 99. The song (which does not feature the word “unchained”), has been recorded over 300 times. Zaret co-wrote the song with film composer Alex North for the 1955 prison film Unchained. The Righteous Brothers’ 1965 version was produced by Phil Spector. 
2008 The gravestone of former Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis was stolen. Cheshire Police said his memorial stone was taken from where he is buried in Macclesfield Cemetery. Officers were appealing for anyone with information on its whereabouts, detectives said the stone, had the inscription ‘Ian Curtis 18 – 5 – 80’ and the words ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’.
2015 Buddy Holly’s widow, Maria Elena Holly, announced that she had entrusted the publishing rights to her late husband’s influential catalog to the artist’s performance rights group, BMG. The company was now authorised to administer royalties worldwide of nearly all of Buddy Holly’s recordings. 
2018 Alan Longmuir from Scottish pop band Bay City Rollers died aged 70 after contracting an illness while on holiday in Mexico. The Rollers had the 1975 UK No.1 single ‘Bye Bye Baby’, plus 11 other UK Top 20 singles’, and the 1976 US No.1 single ‘Saturday Night’.

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