What Happened Today In Music

September 16th

1956 - Anne Shelton

Anne Shelton was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Lay Down Your Arms.' Shelton was a British vocal star of the 40s & 50s and one time singer with the Glenn Miller Orchestra.

1963 - The Beatles

'She Loves You' by The Beatles was released by Swan Records in the US. Although the song was currently No.1 in the UK, 'She Loves You' was ignored in the US until 1964 when it would reach the top of the US Pop chart.

1966 - The Rolling Stones

Member of Parliament Tom Drilberg asked Britain's House of Commons to officially "deplore" the action of a magistrate who'd earlier called The Rolling Stones "complete morons...who wear filthy clothes."

1967 - Jimi Hendrix

Jimi Hendrix's debut LP, Are You Experienced? entered the Billboard Hot 200 album chart, where it stayed for 106 weeks, including 77 weeks in the Top 40. In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine ranked it No.15 on their 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and two years later it was selected for permanent preservation in the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress in the United States.

1967 - The Beatles

Working at Abbey Road studios in London The Beatles recorded 11 takes of 'Your Mother Should Know', giving the song a stronger beat, but this version of the song was discarded in favour of the original recording.

1970 - Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin won 'best group' in the Melody Maker readers Poll. This was the first time in eight years that The Beatles hadn't won 'best group.'

1970 - Jimi Hendrix

Jimi Hendrix joined Eric Burdon on stage at Ronnie Scotts in London for what would become the guitarist's last ever public appearance.

1972 - John Kay

Wishbone Ash, Family, Steppenwolf, John Kay Band, Slade, Uriah Heep, Roy Wood and Wizzard, Wild Angels, Glencoe, Sunshine and Cold Comfort Farm all appeared at this years Buxton Festival in Derbyshire, England.

1977 - Marc Bolan

29-year-old former T Rex singer Marc Bolan was killed instantly when the car driven by his girlfriend, Gloria Jones, left the road and hit a tree in Barnes, London. Miss Jones broke her jaw in the accident. The couple were on the way to Bolan's home in Richmond after a night out at a Mayfair restaurant. A local man who witnessed the crash said, 'When I arrived a girl was lying on the bonnet and a man with long dark curly hair was stretched out in the road - there was a hell of a mess.'

1979 - Sugarhill Gang

The Sugarhill Gang's 'Rapper's Delight' was released. While it was not the first single to feature rapping, it is generally considered to be the song that first popularized hip hop in the United States and around the world. The song's opening lyric "I said a hip, hop, the hippie, the hippie to the hip hip hop" is world-renowned.

1985 - Kate Bush

Kate Bush released her fifth studio album Hounds of Love. The album's lead single, 'Running Up That Hill', became one of Bush's biggest hits and the album produced three further successful singles, 'Cloudbusting', 'Hounds of Love', and 'The Big Sky'. NME placed Hounds of Love 48th on their "500 Greatest Albums of All-Time" list.

1988 - Topper Headon

Former Clash drummer Topper Headon was released from jail after serving 10 months of a 15-month sentence on a narcotics charge.

1996 - Pearl Jam

Pearl Jam played the first night on their 'No Code' tour at the Key Arena in Seattle, Washington. Because of the band's refusal to play in Ticketmaster's venue areas, they were forced to use alternate ticketing companies for the shows which fans complained were to be out-of-the-way and hard to get to.

1996 - Bjork

21 year-old Ricardo Lopez was found dead in his Hollywood apartment after committing suicide. Before his death Ricardo had mailed an acid bomb to Icelandic singer Bjork's London management.

1998 - John Lennon

At a Sotheby's auction a notebook belonging to former Beatles roadie Mal Evans containing the lyrics to 'Hey Jude' sold for £111,500, a two-tone denim jacket belonging to John Lennonwent for £9,200 and the Union Jack dress worn by Spice GirlGinger Spice sold for £41,320.

2001 - DJ Otzi

Austrian act DJ Otzi went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Hey Baby', a Euro-dance version of Bruce Channel's No.2 hit from 1962.

2004 - Izora Armstead

Weather Girls singer Izora Armstead died aged 62 of heart failure at a hospital in San Leandro, East San Francisco. Also member of Two Tons O' Fun featured on four Sylvester albums, including '(You Make Me Feel) Mighty Real.'

2006 - Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan was at No.1 on the US album chart with ‘Modern Times.’ Entering the U.S. charts at No.1, making it Dylan's first album to reach that position since 1976's Desire, 30 years prior. At 65, Dylan became the oldest living musician to top the Billboard albums chart. (85 year-old Tony Bennett broke this record in 2011 with his Duets album). The record also reached number one in Australia, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway and Switzerland.

2008 - Norman Whitfield

Norman Whitfield died in Los Angeles, California from diabetes and other illnesses. The Motown songwriter and producer collaborated with Barrett Strong on such hits as 'I Heard It Through the Grapevine', ‘Ain't Too Proud to Beg’, ‘(I Know) I'm Losing You’, ‘Cloud Nine’, ‘War’, ‘Papa Was a Rolling Stone’, and ‘Car Wash’.

2009 - Mary Travers

Mary Travers from Folk trio Peter, Paul And Mary, passed away after suffering from leukemia for several years. She was 72. Mary's lead vocal can be heard on the group's biggest hit, 1969's 'Leaving On A Jet Plane'.

2013 - Jimi Hendrix

A souvenir booklet from the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival signed by Jimi Hendrix fetched $6,500 on eBay. The artifact also included autographs from three members of the Mamas and Papas.

2013 - Jackie Lomax

Jackie Lomax died at his home in England aged 69. He first gained notice as the vocalist and bass player with The Undertakers, which were part of the Mersey Beat movement. He was later one of the first artists to sign with The Beatles label, Apple, with George Harrison penning his single 'Sour Milk Sea'.

2014 - Ariana Grande

American singer Ariana Grande was at No.1 on the US album chart with My Everything the singers second studio album. The album also debuted at No.1 in Australia and Canada and peaked in the top ten of twenty countries worldwide.

2018 - Maartin Allcock

English multi-instrumentalist musician and record producer Maartin Allcock died aged 61. He was a member of British folk rock band Fairport Convention and Jethro Tull and also played keyboards for The Mission.

Born Today In Music

September 16th

1925 - B.B. King

B.B. King, US blues guitarist. He gained the nickname "Beale Street Blues Boy", which was later shortened to "Blues Boy" and finally to B.B. King. He was a major influence on Eric Clapton and Rolling Stone magazine placed him behind only Jimi Hendrix and Duane Allman in its list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. King died in his sleep on May 14, 2015 from a series of small strokes caused by type 2 diabetes.

1941 - Joe Butler

Joe Butler, The Lovin Spoonful, (1966 US No.1 & UK No.8 single 'Summer In The City').

1942 - Bernie Calvert

Bernie Calvert, bassist with British pop/rock group The Hollies ( from 1966 until 1981), who have scored over 30 top 40 hits, including 'Just One Look', 'Bus Stop', 'Carrie Anne', and later 'He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother' and 'The Air That I Breathe'.

1944 - Betty Kelly

Betty Kelly, Martha And The Vandellas, (1964 US No.2 & 1969 UK No.4 single 'Dancing In The Street').

1948 - Kenny Jones

Kenny Jones, drummer, The Small Faces (1967 UK No.3 single 'Itchycoo Park' & 1968 UK No.1 album 'Ogden's Nut Gone Flake'). The Faces (1972 UK No.6 single 'Stay With Me'). The Who (after Keith Moon, 1981 UK No.9 single 'You Better You Bet').

1950 - David Bellamy

David Bellamy, Bellamy Brothers, (1976 US No.1 single 'Let Your Love Flow', 1979 UK No.3 single 'If I Said I Had A Beautiful Body Would You Hold It Against Me').

1952 - Ron Blair

Ron Blair, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, (1977 single 'American Girl', 1989 UK No.28 single 'I Won't Back Down', 1991 UK No.3 album 'Into The Great Wide Open').

1953 - Alan Barton

Alan Barton from Black Lace who had the 1984 UK No.2 single 'Agadoo'. The track earned them the dubious accolade of being voted as the worst song of all time by a panel of music writers for Q Magazine. Barton replaced Chris Norman in Smokie in 1986, recording six albums with them. He died on 23 March 1995 aged 41 from injuries incurred when Smokie's tour bus crashed during a hailstorm in Cologne, Germany.

1961 - Bilinda Butcher

Bilinda Butcher, My Bloody Valentine, (1991 UK No.29 single 'To Here Knows When').

1962 - Stephen Jones

Stephen Jones, singer, guitarist, from British indie band Babybird, who had the 996 UK No.3 single ‘You’re Gorgeous’, and the 1996 UK No. 9 album Ugly Beautiful.

1963 - Richard Marx

Richard Marx, singer, songwriter, (1989 US No.1 & UK No.2 single 'Right Here Waiting', 1992 UK No.3 single 'Hazard').

1964 - Dave Sabo

Dave Sabo, guitarist from American heavy metal band Skid Row. The group achieved commercial success in the late 1980s and early 1990s, with its first two albums Skid Row (1989) and Slave to the Grind (1991) the latter of which reached No.1 on the Billboard chart. He was the original lead guitar player for Bon Jovi, playing several local shows with them before Richie Sambora replaced him in 1983.

1969 - Justine Frischmann

Justine Frischmann, guitar, vocals, Elastica, (1995 UK No.13 single 'Waking Up'). Also a member of early Suede.

1975 - Shannon Noll

Shannon Noll, Australian singer, runner-up of the first series of Australian Idol (2003). 2004 Australian No.1 single ‘What About Me?'

1976 - Tina Barrett

Tina Barrett from English pop group S Club 7 who had the 1999 UK No.1 single 'Bring It All Back'. Their 2000 UK No.1 album 7 spent over a year on the UK chart. The group was formed in 1998 and quickly rose to fame by starring in their own BBC television series, Miami 7.

1977 - Musiq Soulchild

Musiq Soulchild, (Talib Johnson), American R&B artist, (2007 US No.1 album ‘Luvanmusiq').

1979 - Flo Rida

Flo Rida (Tramar Lacel Dillard), American rapper. Worked with 2 Live Crew. 2008 US No.1 single ‘Low’, featuring T-Pain.

1984 - Katie Melua

Katie Melua, UK singer, songwriter, (2004 UK No.1 album 'Call Off The Search', 2004 UK Top 10 single 'The Closest Thing To Crazy', 2007 UK No.1 single 'What a Wonderful World' with Eva Cassidy).

1992 - Nick Jonas

Nick Jonas, American singer-songwriter and actor, Jonas Brothers, 2009 US No.1 album 'Lines, Vines and Trying Times'.

1992 - Jake Roche

Jake Roche, British singer, songwriter and actor, best known as the lead vocalist of the band Rixton, who scored the 2014 UK No.1 single ‘Me and My Broken Heart’.