What Happened Today In Music

July 19th

1954 - Elvis Presley

Sun Records released the first Elvis Presley single, 'That's All Right', a cover of Arthur Crudup's 1946 tune 'That's All Right, Mama'. Only about 7,000 original copies were pressed, but the disc became a local hit in Memphis.

1967 - The Beatles

The Beatles were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'All You Need Is Love' the group's 12th UK No.1 single. The Beatles had been selected to represent the UK for the first-ever global-wide satellite broadcast. The group agreed to be shown in the studio recording a song written especially for the occasion, (which was aired on June 25). John Lennon wrote ‘All You Need is Love’ which was thought to sum up the 1967 'summer of love' and The Beatles' sympathies.

1967 - Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley was working on his latest movie Speedway co-starring Nancy Sinatra at the MGM Soundstage, Hollywood, California. (It was Presley's twenty-seventh film).

1968 - Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd played the second of three nights at the Boston Tea Party, Boston, Massachusetts. Opened in January 1967 as a psychedelic club, many many famous artists, including Grateful Dead, Neil Young, The J. Geils Band, Frank Zappa, Cream, Fleetwood Mac, The Allman Brothers Band, Led Zeppelin, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Jeff Beck, The Who, Santana, Taj Mahal, Ten Years After and Sly & the Family Stone all appeared.

1969 - Johnny Cash

Special guests on this week's Johnny Cash ABC television music variety show included, Ed Ames, Roy Clark, The Monkees and Joni Mitchell. Cash introduced The Monkees by playing the first verse of their hit 'Last Train To Clarksville' with The Monkees on backing vocals, The Monkees then performed a version of the Johnny Cash song 'Everybody Loves a Nut', with Cash.

1972 - Mick Jagger

Rolling Stones Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were arrested in Warwick, Rhode Island on charges of assault after a fight broke out with a newspaper photographer.

1974 - Ozark Music Festival

The Ozark Music Festival was held over three days on the Missouri State Fairgrounds in Sedalia, Missouri. One of the largest music festivals ever held, some estimates have put the crowd count at 350,000 people. Acts who appeared included, Bachman–Turner Overdrive, Blue Öyster Cult, the Eagles, America, Marshall Tucker Band, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Boz Scaggs, Ted Nugent, Lynyrd Skynyrd,Electric Flag, Joe Walsh, Aerosmith and Spirit.

1975 - Bob Marley & the Wailers

On his Natty Dread tour, Bob Marley & the Wailers appeared at the Lyceum Theatre in London. The show was recorded and the live single 'No Woman, No Cry' was later released.

1975 - Bay City Rollers

The Bay City Rollers were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Give A Little Love', the group's second and final UK No.1.

1975 - Paul McCartney

Paul McCartney and Wings went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Listen To What The Man Said', his fourth US No.1, and No.6 hit in the UK, (the track features Tom Scott playing the saxophone solo). It would go on to sell a million copies in America and reach No.6 in the UK. Wings also had the US No.1 album chart with 'Venus And Mars'. Paul McCartney's fourth No.1 album since The Beatles. 

1976 - David Coverdale

Deep Purple split up at the end of an UK tour. David Coverdale went on to form Whitesnake, Jon Lord and Ian Paice formed a band with Tony Ashton. The classic line up of Blackmore, Gillan, Glover, Lord & Paice reformed in 1984. Glenn Hughes returned to Trapeze and Tommy Bolin put together his own band, (but would die before the end of the year).

1980 - Queen

Queen scored their third UK No.1 album with 'The Game', featuring the single 'Another One Bites The Dust'.

1981 - Roy Orbison

It was Roy Orbison Day in Odessa, Texas. Orbison was given the keys to the city, and performed for the crowd, the first time in Odessa in 15 years.

1986 - Peter Gabriel

Genesis went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Invisible Touch'. The bands former lead singer Peter Gabriel was at No.2 with 'Sledgehammer'.

1987 - Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen played his first ever show behind the Iron Curtain when he appeared in East Berlin in front of 180,000 people. The show was broadcast on East German TV.

1989 - James Brown

James Brown changed accommodations behind bars after $40000 in cash and cheques was discovered in his minimum security cell. The Godfather of Soul had been given a six year sentence the previous December after several run-ins with the law, including illegal gun possession, resisting arrest, assault and leading the authorities on a number of car chases. His new home was at a medium security cell at the Stevenson Correctional Institute.

1989 - The Rolling Stones

Residents of Washington, Connecticut formed a ‘Roll the Stones Out of Town’, action group after they were unhappy with The Rolling Stones and their entourage setting up in the town for rehearsals for their forthcoming tour. Residents said it was like the army had moved in and taken over, with security guards stopping locals and asking them what they were doing there.

1991 - Steven Adler

Steven Adler ex drummer with Guns N' Roses filed a suit in Los Angeles county court alleging that he was fraudulently removed from the group and that the band introduced him to hard drugs.

1996 - Spice Girls

The Spice Girls made their debut on UK TV music show Top Of The Pops performing their debut single ' Wannabe' which gave them their first of nine UK chart toppers.

1997 - Oasis

Oasis went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'D'You Know What I Mean'. The first single from their third album 'Be Here Now'.

1999 - Tim Westwood

A gunman who sprayed bullets at Westwood's car in Kensington, London, shot BBC Radio 1 DJ Tim Westwood. A statement the following day said he was recovering in a London Hospital.

2001 - Russell Jones

Wu Tang Clan rapper ODB, (Russell Jones), was sentenced to spend between two and four years behind bars after being found guilty of drug possession. He was arrested in July 1999 when police found cocaine and marijuana in his car after he was pulled over for driving through a red light. The rapper was later sent to a Los Angeles rehabilitation centre, but went on the run from authorities last October.

2001 - Judy Clay

American soul and gospel singer Judy Clay died. Was a member of the Drinkard Singers - who later became better known as The Sweet Inspirations , also worked with Billy Vera, and had hits with William Bell (Private Number), and sang with Wilson Pickett and Ray Charles.

2005 - James Blunt

James Blunt was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'You're Beautiful', from his debut album 'Back To Bedlam'. The UK singer songwriters first No.1, spent 5 weeks at the top of the charts.

2010 - Ozzy Osbourne

Ozzy Osbourne and his former Black Sabbath band mate Tony Iommi settled a long-running legal dispute over the use of the group's name. Ozzy had filed suit against the guitarist in May of last year, accusing Iommi of falsely proclaiming to be the sole owner of the Black Sabbath name by lodging an application with the US Patent and Trademark Office. The pair released a joint statement confirming they have settled the dispute "amicably".

2014 - Ed Sheeran

Ed Sheeran was at No.1 on the UK album chart with X (pronounced multiply), his second studio album. The album peaked at No. 1 in fifteen countries, and the lead single, 'Sing', became Sheeran's first UK No.1 song. By the end of 2014 Spotify named X the most-streamed album in the world for 2014, racking up more than 430 million streams for the year.

2017 - Madonna

A US judge halted an auction of personal items of Madonna, after she said her privacy was violated. Madonna's underwear, a chequebook, a hairbrush, photos and a break-up letter from the late rapper Tupac Shakur had been among the scheduled lots. The singer said her possessions had been stolen by a former friend.

2019 - Tramlines Festival

Crowds dancing at a festival triggered minor earthquakes. The biggest tremors were recorded during a headline set by indie band Two Door Cinema Club at Tramlines Festival in Sheffield, England. Manic Street Preachers, Lewis Capaldi and Nile Rogers and Chic were also on the bill.

Born Today In Music

July 19th

1931 - Papa Dee Allen

Thomas Allen, (Papa Dee), percussionist with American funk band War. Their album The World Is a Ghetto was the best-selling US album of 1973. Allen died from a heart attack while performing on stage on 30 August 1988.

1937 - George Hamilton

George Hamilton IV, US country singer, (1958 US No.10 & UK No.22 single 'Why Don't They Understand'). Hamilton had a heart attack on September 13, and died September 17 at Saint Thomas Midtown Hospital in Nashville.

1941 - Phil Upchurch

American blues, jazz and R&B guitarist and bassist Phil Upchurch who has worked with Curtis Mayfield, Otis Rush, Jimmy Reed, Cat Stevens, David Sanborn, and appeared on Michael Jackson's Off The Wall album.

1944 - Commander Cody

Commander Cody, (George Frayne), piano, vocals, Commander Cody And His Lost Planet Airmen, country rock group.

1946 - Allan Gorrie

Allan Gorrie, bassist from Scottish funk and R&B group the Average White Band who scored the 1975 US No.1 and UK No.6 single 'Pick Up The Pieces'.

1947 - Bernie Leadon

Bernie Leadon, guitar, the Eagles, quit the band in Jan 1976. (1974 US No.1 single 'Best Of My Love').

1947 - Brian May

Brian May, guitarist, singer and songwriter with Queen who had the 1975 UK No.1 single 'Bohemian Rhapsody' which returned to No.1 in 1991. Queen scored over 40 other UK Top 40 singles, and also scored the 1980 US No.1 single 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love'. May had the solo 1992 UK No.5 single 'Too Much Love Will Kill You'. May was made Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2005 for 'services to the music industry and his charity work'. May earned a PhD in astrophysics from Imperial College, London, in 2007.

1947 - Keith Godchaux

Keith Godchaux, pianist, best known for his tenure in Grateful Dead from 1971 to 1979. Godchaux sustained massive head injuries after being involved in a car crash while being driven home on his birthday. He died four days later on 23 July 1979 aged 32.

1952 - Allen Collins

Allen Collins, guitarist with southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd who had the 1974 US No. 8 single 'Sweet Home Alabama' the 1977 US No. 5 album Street Survivors and the 1982 UK No.21 single 'Freebird'. Collins was behind the wheel in a car accident in 1986 that killed his girlfriend and left him paralysed from the waist down. Collins died on January 23, 1990 from chronic pneumonia, a complication of the paralysis.

1960 - Kevin Haskins

Kevin Haskins, from English post-punk band Bauhaus, who had the 1982 UK No.15 single with their version of the David Bowiesong 'Ziggy Stardust'.

1968 - Ged Lynch

Ged Lynch, drums, Black Grape, (1995 UK No.8 single 'In The Name Of The Father').

1971 - Urs Buhler

Urs B'hler, from the multi-national classical crossover vocal group Il Divo. Their 2004 self-titled album, was No.1 in 14 countries around the world.

1976 - Eric Prydz

Eric Prydz, Swedish DJ and producer, ( 2004 UK No.1 single 'Call on Me').

1979 - Michelle Heaton

Michelle Heaton, singer, from British-Irish group Liberty X, who had the 2002 UK No.1 single 'Just A Little'. The group was formed by the five finalists of the British talent show Popstars who failed to make it into the group Hear'Say. Liberty X went on to achieve ten consecutive UK Top 20 singles.