What Happened Today In Music

March 21st

1956 - Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley appeared at the 4,000 seated YMCA Gymnasium in Lexington, North Carolina. Also on the bill, Mother Maybelle and the Carter Sisters, featuring June Carter, Rod Brasfield, Hal and Ginger. Tickets cost $1 for general admission and $1.50 for reserved seats.

1961 - The Beatles

The Beatles played their first ever evening show at The Cavern Club in Liverpool, supporting The Swinging Bluegenes, (later to become The Swinging Blue Jeans).

1964 - The Beatles

After 'I Want To Hold Your Hand' had held the No.1 position on the US singles chart for seven weeks, The Beatles started a two-week run at No.1 with 'She Loves You'.

1971 - Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin appeared at the Boat Club, Nottingham, England on their 'Back To The Clubs' tour. This was the first tour which saw Zeppelin performing 'Stairway To Heaven', 'Black Dog' and 'Going To California'. Zeppelin opened the set with 'Immigrant Song' and 'Heartbreaker'. This small club on the banks of the River Trent had also seen performances by Elton John, Black Sabbath, Sex Pistols and Rod Stewart.

1973 - David Cassidy

The BBC banned all teenybopper acts appearing on UK TV show, Top Of The Pops after a riot following a David Cassidy performance.

1976 - Iggy Pop

After a David Bowie concert at the Community War Memorial arena in Rochester, New York, Iggy Pop and David Bowie were involved in a drug bust at their hotel room where the police found 182 grams (a little over 6.4 ounces) of marijuana. The pair spent the rest of the night in the Monroe County Jail and were released at about 7 a.m. on $2,000 bond each.

1980 - Hugh Cornwell

Hugh Cornwell of The Stranglers was sent to Pentonville Prison after losing his appeal against a drugs conviction.

1981 - REO Speedwagon

REO Speedwagon went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Keep On Loving You', the group's first top 40 hit and first No.1, a No.7 hit in the UK.

1984 - Yoko Ono

Strawberry Fields, an area in Central Park bought by Yoko Ono in memory of her late husband was opened.

1987 - U2

U2 scored their third UK No.1 album with The Joshua Treefeaturing the singles 'Where The Streets Have No Name', & 'I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For'. The album became the fastest selling in UK history and the first album to sell over a million CDs, spending a total of 156 weeks on the UK chart. Also a US No.1.

1991 - Leo Fender

Leo Fender, the inventor of The Telecaster and Stratocaster guitars died from Parkinson's disease. He started mass producing solid body electric guitars in the late 40s and when he sold his guitar company in 1965, sales were in excess of $40 million a year.

1994 - Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen won an Oscar for the song 'Streets of Philadelphia.'

1997 - Snoop Doggy Dog

Snoop Doggy Dog was sentenced to three years probation and fined $1,000 (£588) for a firearms violation after a handgun was found in his car when he was stopped for a traffic violation.

1998 - Jason Nevins

Run-DMC VS Jason Nevins started a six week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'It's Like That.' The Run-DMC track was from 1983 and was remixed by Jason Nevins, a US DJ and producer.

1999 - Blur

Blur went to No.1 on the UK album chart with '13', the bands fourth consecutive No.1 and making them only the third act to have four No.1's in the 90s, Simply Red and REM being the other two.

2000 - Kurt Cobain

Kurt Cobain and Happy Monday's singer Shaun Ryder both beat older stars such as Keith Richards and Keith Moon in a league of rock 'n' roll excess compiled by UK music weekly Melody Maker. Liam Gallagher, Robbie Williams, Courtney Love and Marilyn Manson all featured in the Top 10.

2001 - Eminem

Eminem was ordered to pay $476,000 (£280,000) as part of his divorce agreement with his ex-wife Kim. Also as part of the agreement Eminem would keep the US mansion and they would share custody of their five-year-old daughter, Hailie Jade.

2001 - Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson's interior decorator told The Times newspaper that the singer kept 17 life size dolls, adult and child sizes, all fully dressed in his bedroom for 'company.'

2004 - Ozzy Osbourne

Ozzy Osbourne was named the nation's favourite ambassador to welcome aliens to planet earth. The 55-year-old singer came top of a poll as the face people want to represent them to alien life. The poll of internet users was carried out following the discovery of signs of water on Mars. Ozzy won 26 per cent of the vote. A spokesman for Yahoo! News said: 'As the world waits desperately for signs of alien life, we decided to ask our users who they thought was best suited for this most auspicious of roles. Ozzy is a great choice but I'm not sure what the Martians would make of his individual approach to the English language.'

2006 - Solomon Linda

Three South African women whose father, Solomon Linda, wrote ‘The Lion Sleeps Tonight’ in 1939, won a six-year court battle that gave them 25 per cent of all past and future royalties from the song. Linda who was a cleaner at a Johannesburg record company when he wrote the song, received virtually nothing for his work and died in 1962 with $25 in his bank account. The song had been recorded by Pete Seeger (as ‘Wimoweh’), The Kingston Trio, The Tokens, Karl Denver and R.E.M. and was featured in the Disney film The Lion King. It was estimated that the song had earned $15 million for its use in The Lion King alone.

2008 - The Beach Boys

A five-year legal row over the use of The Beach Boys name was settled by two former members of the group. Mike Love had argued he was the only person allowed to perform under the name of the band and sued Al Jardine, whom he claimed was appearing as an unlicensed Beach Boys act. Mr Jardine's lawyer said "a friendly settlement" had been reached that allowed them to focus on the talent and future of this American iconic band.’

2013 - Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd's  The Dark Side Of The Moon was set to seal its place in history at the US Library of Congress as part of its National Recording Registry. The recording that received the highest number of public nominations for this year's registry was Dark Side, Floyd's groundbreaking 1973 album.

2015 - Jackie Trent

English singer-songwriter, and actress Jackie Trent died in hospital, aged 74, in Minorca, Spain, after a long illness. Her 1966 hit, 'I Couldn't Live Without Your Love' was inspired by the ongoing affair between Trent and record producer Tony Hatch, who she later married. The couple went on to write songs for Scott Walker, Frank Sinatra, Nancy Wilson, Des O'Connor, Val Doonican, Shirley Bassey, Vikki Carr, and Dean Martin.

2016 - The Beatles

A rare Beatles record found in the loft of Les Maguire - the keyboardist in fellow Liverpool act, Gerry and the Pacemakers sold for £77,500 at auction. The 10-inch acetate of 'Till There Was You' and 'Hello Little Girl' from 1962 was described as 'a Holy Grail item'. It was the first Beatles disc to be cut before the band broke into the national charts.

Born Today In Music

March 21st

1940 - Solomon Burke

American preacher and singer Solomon Burke, known as the king of rock & soul. He had the 1961 US No.24 single 'Just Out Of Reach Of My Open Arms', and the 1963 US No.1 R&B hit, 'Got To Get You Off My Mind'. Burke died on October 10, 2010 at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport while on a plane from Washington Dulles Airport that had just landed.

1940 - Chip Taylor

Chip Taylor, American songwriter, noted for writing ‘Angel of the Morning’ and ‘Wild Thing’ a major hit for The Troggs in 1966. His songs have been covered by a wide range of artists, from Janis Joplin, Anne Murray, Ace Frehley, Jimi Hendrix, Chrissie Hynde, Linda Rondstat and Emmylou Harris.

1941 - John Boylan

John Boylan, American producer and songwriter. Worked with Rick Nelson, the Association, the Dillards. He also managed Linda Ronstadt and introduced her to a then unknown group of musicians who went on to become her backing band in 1971, and later became the Eagles.

1943 - Viv Stanshall

English singer-songwriter, musician, author, poet and wit, Vivian Stanshall a founding member of Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band who had the 1968 UK No.5 single 'I'm The Urban Spaceman'. He was Master of Ceremonies on Mike Oldfield's album Tubular Bells. Stanshall died on March 5th 1995 after an electrical fire had broken out as he slept in his top floor flat in Muswell Hill, North London.

1945 - Rosemary Stone

Rosemary Stone, vocals, piano, Sly and The Family Stone, who had the 1968 US No.1 singles 'Everyday People', the 1971 US No.1 'Family Affair' and the 1971 US No.1 album There's a Riot Goin' On.

1946 - Ray Dorset

English guitarist, singer, songwriter, Ray Dorset, founder of Mungo Jerry, who had the 1970 UK No.1 & US No.3 single 'In The Summertime' as well as the hits 'Baby Jump' and 'Lady Rose'.

1949 - Eddie Money

American singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Eddie Money, who is well known for the 1970s and 1980s songs like 'Baby Hold On', 'Two Tickets To Paradise', 'Maybe I'm A Fool'. Money died of cancer on 13 September 2019 age 70. 

1950 - Roger Hodgson

English musician, singer and songwriter Roger Hodgson, known as the former co-frontman with Supertramp. He composed and sang the majority of their hits such as 'Dreamer', 'Give a Little Bit', 'Breakfast in America', 'Take the Long Way Home', 'The Logical Song' and 'It's Raining Again'.

1951 - Conrad Lozano

American musician Conrad Lozano, bass player for Los Lobos (Spanish for "the Wolves"), who had the 1987 UK & US No.1 single their their cover version of 'La Bamba', which was a 1958 hit for Ritchie Valens and one of early rock and roll's best-known songs.

1951 - Russell Thompkins

Russell Thompkins Jr, singer with the Philadelphia soul group The Stylistics who had the 1974 US No.2 single 'You Make Me Feel Brand New', and the 1975 UK No.1 single 'Can't Give You Anything But My Love' and twelve consecutive US R&B top ten hits.

1953 - Robert Johnson

Robert Johnson, singer with American disco and funk group KC and the Sunshine Band who had the 1975 US No.1 single 'That's The Way, I Like It', and the 1983 UK No.1 single 'Give It Up'.

1956 - Guy Chadwick

English singer, songwriter and guitarist Guy Chadwick from House Of Love, who rose to prominence in 1987 with their first single 'Shine On' released on the independent label Creation.

1958 - Jonathan Norton

Jonathan Norton, drummer/percussionist/vocalist worked with Eels, Lisa Germano, Tracy Chapman, Rufus Wainwright, Fiona Apple, Michael Penn, Aimee Mann and Lucinda Williams.

1967 - Jonas Berggren

Jonas Berggren, guitar, keyboards with Swedish pop group Ace Of Base who had the 1993 UK No.1 single 'All That She Wants' and the 1994 US No.1 single 'The Sign'. The group sold more than 30 million albums worldwide, making it the third-most successful Swedish band of all time, after ABBA and Roxette.

1967 - Keith Palmer

Keith Palmer, singer with English electronic dance music group The Prodigy who scored the 1996 UK No.1 & US No. 30 single 'Firestarter' and the 1997 UK & US No.1 album 'The Fat Of The Land'.

1967 - Sean Dickson

Sean Dickson, from The Soup Dragons, who had the 1990 UK No.5 single 'I'm Free'. The Scottish alternative rock band of the late 1980s and early 1990s were named after a character in the 1970s children's television show Clangers.

1977 - Mark Hamilton

Irish musician Mark Hamilton from Northern Irish alternative rock band Ash who scored the 1995 UK No.11 single 'Girl From Mars' and the 1996 UK No.1 album 1977.

1980 - Deryck Whibley

Canadian musician Deryck 'Bizzy D' Whibley, guitar, vocals with Sum 41. Their 2001 album All Killer No Filler achieved mainstream success with their first single from the album, 'Fat Lip', reaching No.1 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. Whibley dated Hilton Hotels heiress Paris Hilton in 2003 and married singer Avril Lavigne in 2006.

1989 - Rochelle Humes

Rochelle Humes, best known for being a member of girl group The Saturdays who scored the 2013 UK No.1 hit single 'What About Us' featuring Sean Paul.