What Happened Today In Music

July 30th

1954 - Hillbilly Hoedown

Slim Whitman, Billy Walker, Sugarfoot Collins, Sonny Harvelle, Tinker Fry, Curly Harris and a young Elvis Presley, all appeared at the Hillbilly Hoedown, Overton Park Shell, in Memphis Tennessee. Elvis was so nervous he stood up on the balls of his feet and shook his leg in time with the music, when he came offstage he asked why people were yelling at him. Someone told him it was because he was shaking his leg, which with the baggy pleated pants created a wild gyrating effect in time with the music.

1955 - Johnny Cash

Johnny Cash recorded his first version of 'Folsom Prison Blues' at the Sun Recording Studio in Memphis, Tennessee. Cash was inspired to write this song after seeing the movie Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison (1951) while serving in West Germany in the United States Air Force at Landsberg, Bavaria (itself the location of a famous prison).

1966 - The Beatles

The Beatles started a five week run at No.1 on the US album chart with 'Yesterday...And Today', the group's 8th No.1 album. Issued only in the United States and Canada, the album is remembered primarily for the controversy surrounding its original cover image, the "butcher cover" featuring the band dressed in white smocks and covered with decapitated baby dolls and pieces of meat.

1966 - Tremeloes

The Troggs started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Wild Thing'. Because of a distribution dispute, The Troggs' single was available on two competing labels: Atco and Fontana. Because both pressings were taken from the identical master recording, Billboard combined the sales for both releases, making it the only single to simultaneously reach No. 1 for two companies.

1968 - The Beatles

The Beatles closed their Apple Boutique in London after seven months of business, giving away all the stock to passers by and Apple staff.

1969 - The Beatles

The Beatles continued working on Abbey Road recording overdubs on ‘Come Together’, ‘Polythene Pam/She Came In Through the Bathroom Window’, ‘You Never Give Me Your Money’ and ‘Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight’. The Beatles began to assemble the "medley" that would make up side two of the album. Paul McCartney told tape operator John Kurlander to discard ‘Her Majesty’, but Kurlander tacked it onto the end of the tape, about 20 seconds after the end of ‘The End’. Hearing it like this, Paul decides to keep it, including the lengthy silence preceding it.

1974 - Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band played The Troubadour in Los Angeles, California on a double bill with Roger McGuinn from The Byrds.

1977 - Andy Gibb

The Bee Gees younger brother Andy Gibb started a four-week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'I Just Wanna Be Your Everything', his first of three US No.1's, it peaked at No.26 in the UK.

1986 - John Denver

Variety magazine reported that RCA had dropped John Denver from its roster after the release of his single, ‘What Are We Making Weapons For’. Variety said the song upset the record company's new owner, General Electric, one of the largest defense contractors in the US.

1987 - David Bowie

David Bowie kicked of the North American leg of The Glass Spider Tour at the Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The tour's set, described at the time as "the largest touring set ever," was designed to look like a giant spider. It was 60 feet (18.3m) high, 64 feet (19.5m) wide. A single set took 43 trucks to move from each city.

1988 - Steve Winwood

Steve Winwood started a four week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Roll With It', a No.53 hit in the UK. Later Motownsongwriters Holland-Dozier-Holland were credited with co-writing the song due to its resemblance to the Junior Walker hit (I'm a) Roadrunner.

1991 - Axl Rose

A police officer was forced to tear up a traffic ticket given to the limousine that Axl Rose was travelling in after it made an illegal turn. Rose threatened to pull that nights Guns N' Roses gig if the ticket was issued.

1993 - Rob Jones

Founder member and original bassist for The Wonder Stuff, Rob Jones died in New York aged 29. Vic Reeves and The Wonder Stuff had the 1991 UK No.1 with 'Dizzy', (a No.1 for Tommy Roe in 1969).

1997 - Michael Jackson

A judge in Los Angeles ruled that Michael Jackson and members of his family were not liable for losses incurred by the producers of the failed 1994 Jackson Family Honors TV special. The show was delayed for several weeks because Jackson was ill and could not perform solo as expected.

2003 - Sam Phillips

Sam Phillips the founder of Sun Records and studio died of respiratory failure at St. Francis Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. In the 1940s, Phillips worked as a DJ for Muscle Shoals, Alabama radio station WLAY. Phillips recorded what some consider to be the first rock and roll record, ‘Rocket 88’ by Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats in 1951. He discovered Elvis Presley, worked with Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Ike Turner, B.B. King and Jerry Lee Lewis.

2003 - SARS Benefit Concert

The Rolling Stones, AC/DC, Rush, The Guess Who, Justin Timberlake, The Flaming Lips, Sass Jordan and The Isley Brothers played a benefit concert in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to prove that the city is safe from SARS. With 450,000 spectators, it was the largest concert in Canadian history.

2005 - Jimi Hendrix

A new book published to mark the 35th anniversary of the death of Jimi Hendrix claimed the guitarist pretended to be gay so he would be discharged from the army. 'Room Full of Mirrors' by Charles Cross said army records showed Hendrix was discharged from the 101st Airborne Division aged 19 in 1962 for "homosexual tendencies."

2006 - Shakira

Shakira feat Wyclef Jean started a four week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Hips Don't Lie.’ A remake of Wyclef Jean's 2004 song 'Dance Like This', the song went on to top the charts in over 50 countries. The song is the biggest selling single of the 21st century by a female artist worldwide.

2006 - Attitude

British gay magazine Attitude listed the ‘Top 10 Gay Albums’ of all time. No.1 was Scissor Sisters - Scissor Sisters, 2, Arrival - ABBA, 3, Vauxhall and I - Morrissey, 4, Light Years - Kylie Minogue, 5, Older - George Michael, 6, Welcome To The Pleasuredome - Frankie Goes To Hollywood, 7, Erotica - Madonna, 8, I Am a Bird Now - Antony and the Johnsons, 9, Bad Girls - Donna Summer and No. 10 The Man Who Sold The World - David Bowie.

2007 - Led Zeppelin

A man admitted bootlegging charges after hearing evidence from Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page. Robert Langley, 57, from Buckingham, originally denied three trademark and two copyright infringements after being caught at a record fair in Glasgow. The seizure of CDs and DVDs two years ago included £11,500 of counterfeit Led Zeppelin material.

2009 - Procol Harum

Procol Harum organist Matthew Fisher won his long battle to be recognised as co-writer of the band's hit ’A Whiter Shade Of Pale’. Law Lords ruled that Fisher, who claimed he wrote the song's organ melody, was entitled to a share of future royalties. In 2006, the High Court ruled he was entitled to 40% of the copyright, but the Court Of Appeal overturned the ruling in 2008 saying he waited too long, 38 years, to bring the case to court.

2014 - Dick Wagner

American rock guitarist, and songwriter Dick Wagner, who worked with Alice Cooper and Lou Reed died from a lung infection aged 71. One of the best-known songs written by Wagner is 'Only Women Bleed', which was one of Alice Coppers biggest hits.

2014 - Jail Guitar Doors

A ban on steel-string guitars in prison cells in England and Wales was reversed after a campaign including Billy Bragg, David Gilmour, Elbow's Guy Garvey and Johnny Marr. Billy Bragg founded Jail Guitar Doors, a scheme that has sent around 350 guitars to prisons since 2007.

2015 - Lynn Anderson

American country music singer, Lynn Anderson, died aged 67. The multi-award-winning singer scored the 1970 US No.3 & 1971 UK No.3 single 'Rose Garden', and charted 12 No.1, 18 Top 10, and more than 50 Top 40 hits. Anderson was the first female country artist to win the American Music Award (in 1974), as well as the first to headline and sellout Madison Square Garden that same year.

2016 - Jack White

Jack White’s mission to play the first record in space was accomplished. 'A Glorious Dawn' by composer John Boswell, mixed with audio of American scientist Carl Sagan describing the universe, was played 28,000 metres above Earth on a “space-proof” turntable. The record played for about 80 minutes until the high-altitude balloon which carried the contraption burst and propelled the turntable back towards Marsing, Idaho.

2019 - Kraftwerk

Kraftwerk won a long-running legal battle over their song ‘Metal On Metal’, when The European Court of Justice ruled against the sampling of the track by hip-hop producers Moses Pelham and Martin Haas in 1999. The ‘Metal On Metal’ sample, specifically a drum sequence repeated throughout, was used by the producers over a version of the Sabrina Setlur song ‘Nur Mir (Only Me)’.

Born Today In Music

July 30th

1936 - George "Buddy" Guy

George "Buddy" Guy, American blues guitarist and singer. Critically acclaimed, he is a pioneer of the Chicago blues sound.

1941 - Paul Anka

Paul Anka, singer, (1957 UK & US No.1 single 'Diana'. The single sold over 9 million copies world- wide). Wrote many classic songs including: 'It Doesn't Matter Anymore', 'Puppy Love' and the lyrics to 'My Way.'

1945 - David Sanborn

David Sanborn, saxophone, US session player, worked with Stevie Wonder, James Taylor, David Bowie.

1946 - Jeffrey Hammond

Jeffrey Hammond former bass guitar player for the progressive rock band Jethro Tull. Hammond appeared on the classic Tull albums Aqualung (1971) and Thick as a Brick (1972).

1949 - Joyce Jones

Joyce Jones, singer, First Choice, (1973 UK No.9 single 'Smarty Pants).

1949 - Hugh Nicholson

Hugh Nicholson, from Scottish pop rock band Marmalade, (originally formed in 1961 as The Gaylords). They scored the 1969 UK No.1 single with their version of The Beatles song 'Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da'. 

1956 - Phil Phearon

Phil Phearon, vocals, Galaxy, (1983 UK No.4 single 'Dancing Night').

1957 - Rat Scabies

Chris Miller (Rat Scabies), drummer from English punk rock band The Damned, who had the 1983 UK No.3 single 'Eloise'.

1958 - Kate Bush

Kate Bush, UK singer, songwriter, who had the 1978 UK No.1 single 'Wuthering Heights' (at the age of 19). Her 1985 UK No.1 album 'Hounds Of Love' spent 52 weeks on the chart. In 1987, she won a Brit Award for Best British Female Solo Artist, and in 2002 an Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music. Bush was appointed Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to music.

1959 - Vaughan Toulouse

Vaughan Toulouse, Dept S. He died from an Aids related illness in 1991, Dept S had the 1981 UK No.22 single 'Is Vic There'.

1966 - Jyoti Mishra

Jyoti Mishra, White Town, (1997 UK No.1 single 'Your Woman').

1966 - Craig Gannon

Craig Gannon, from Scottish indie rock band The Bluebells who had the 1993 UK No.1 single with the re-issued 'Young At Heart' after it was used in a Volkswagen television advertisement.

1968 - Louise Wener

Louise Wener, singer, songwriter from English Britpop band Sleeper, who scored the 1996 UK No.10 single 'Sale Of The Century'.

1968 - Sean Moore

Sean Moore, drums, Manic Street Preachers, (1996 UK No.2 single 'A Design For Life' 1998 UK No.1 album 'This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours'). 

1972 - Brad Hargraves

Brad Hargraves, Third Eye Blind, (1997 US No.4 & UK No. 33 single 'Semi- Charmed Life').

1979 - Ian Watkins

Ian Watkins, singer, from Welsh rock band Lostprophets, who scored the 2006 UK No.1 album Liberation Transmission. Lostprophets disbanded in 2013 after Watkins was charged with sexual offences in late 2012. In November 2013, he pleaded guilty to 13 charges, including the attempted rape and sexual assault of a child under 13 and was subsequently jailed for 29 years.

1980 - Seth Avett

Seth Avett, lead singer and founding member of the folk-rock band The Avett Brothers. Had the 2013 US No.5 album 'Magpie And The Dandelion'.