What Happened Today In Music

April 2nd

1955 - Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley (with Scotty Moore and Bill Black), Slim Whitman, Hoot and Curley, Johnny Horton, Tibby Edwards and Floyd Cramer all appeared at the Louisiana Hayride broadcast from Shreveport Auditorium in Shreveport, Louisiana, and shown on KWKH Television.

1964 - Beach Boys

Beach Boys recorded their next single 'I Get Around', which became their first US No.1 in the summer of this year. The song begins with a multi-part a cappella introduction that quickly shifts into rock-style verses sung by Mike Love and a pop chorus sung in falsetto by Brian Wilson.

1964 - The Beatles

The Beatles had their fourth UK No.1 single with 'Can't Buy Me Love.' With advanced sales of over 2.1 million, it holds the record for the greatest advanced orders for a single in the UK.

1965 - Ready Steady Goes Live!

The first edition of new music show 'Ready Steady Goes Live!' was shown on UK TV, featuring presenters Cathy McGowan and Keith Fordyce.

1967 - The Rolling Stones

154 Austrian Rolling Stones fans were arrested when a riot broke out at a 14,000-seated Town Hall gig; a smoke bomb was thrown on the stage.

1969 - Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen's new group Child made their live debut at the Pandemonium Club in Wanamassa, New Jersey.

1970 - The Beatles

Phil Spector completed final editing and mixing for The BeatlesLet It Be album, 16 months after the Get Back project had begun.

1971 - Janis Joplin

Janis Joplin was at No.1 on the US album charts with the posthumously released Pearl. The album features the No.1 hit 'Me and Bobby McGee', written by Kris Kristofferson and Fred Foster on which she played acoustic guitar.

1975 - Bay City Rollers

The Bay City Rollers were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with their version of The Four Seasons song 'Bye Bye Baby.' It gave the Scottish group the best selling single of 1975. 

1977 - Abba

ABBA were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with their fifth No.1 'Knowing Me, Knowing You.' The song was also a Top 10 hit in over 15 countries.

1977 - Fleetwood Mac

Fleetwood Mac went to No.1 on the US album chart with Rumours. The album is Fleetwood Mac's most successful release; along with winning the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1978, the record has sold over 45 million copies worldwide.

1977 - Frank Sinatra

Frank Sinatra scored his fourth UK No.1 album with Portrait Of Sinatra - Forty Songs from the Life of a Man, that consisted 40 songs that were recorded for Reprise Records.

1981 - Bob Dylan

CBS records launched the 'Nice Price' series of back catalogue albums in the UK. The first batch priced at £2.99 included early albums by Bob Dylan, Santana, Billy Joel, ABBA, Janis Joplinand Simon And Garfunkel.

1987 - Buddy Rich

One of the greatest jazz drummers of all time, Buddy Rich died aged 69 due to complications caused by a brain tumour. Rich worked with many acts including, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Tommy Dorsey's band, Dizzy Gillespie and Oscar Peterson. Rush's Neil Peart organized a pair of 90s tribute albums (titled Burning for Buddy), which also featured the work of Kenny Aronoff, Dave Weckl, Steve Gadd, Max Roach, Steve Smith and Matt Sorum.

1990 - Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton was fined by Walton-on-Thames Magistrates court, after being booked for speeding at 105mph; Clapton was also banned from driving for three months.

1990 - Nirvana

Nirvana went into Smart Studios in Madison, Wisconsin and started work on demo versions of ‘In Bloom’, ‘Dive’, ‘Lithium’, ‘Pay To Play’, ‘Imodium’, ‘Sappy’ and ‘Polly’ with Butch Vig producing.

1998 - Rob Pilatus

Rob Pilatus, one half of pop duo Milli Vanilli was found dead in a Frankfurt Hotel room after taking a lethal combination of drugs and alcohol. Milli Vanilli won the 1989 best new artist Grammy after hits like 'Blame it on the Rain' and 'Girl, You Know It's True,' selling 30 million singles and 14 million albums. But in late 1990, the performers were stripped of the award after it was revealed that neither actually sang on the Milli Vanilli album.

1999 - Black Crowes

The Black Crowes played a concert in Knoxville, Tennessee. Joshua Harmon, a teenager sitting in the second row sued the band a year later for $5,000 claiming significant hearing loss.

2001 - Mariah Carey

Mariah Carey signed the richest recording deal in history. The 31-year old singer signed a deal with Virgin for three albums worth £60m. The singer had sold over 120 million records worldwide, scoring 14 US No.1 singles.

2003 - Edwin Starr

US soul singer Edwin Starr died at his British home in Nottingham aged 61. Formed The Future Tones in 1957, had the 1970 US No.1 and UK No.3 anti-Vietnam War protest song 'War', (which according to Starr was recorded in one take).

2004 - Chris Martin

Coldplay singer Chris Martin was accused of attacking a photographer after leaving a London restaurant with his wife Gwyneth Paltrow. A Coldplay spokesman said photographer Alessandro Copetti had been running after Paltrow's taxi and tripped. Mr Copetti said he had been taking pictures of the singer and his wife outside a restaurant when Martin kicked him from behind.

2005 - Kanye West

Kanye West had to abandon a signing appearance in Fresno, California, after a fight broke out between a fan and a security guard. West was taken out of the back door of the new FTK urban boutique, while the owners locked all the doors and cleared around 1,000 fans from the store's parking area.

2006 - Gnarls Barkley

Gnarls Barkley started an nine-week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Crazy.' The American duo made chart history by becoming the first act ever to reach No.1 through computer downloads only. The single was not available to buy in shops until the following week.

2006 - John Lennon

A John Lennon schoolbook containing the 12-year-old's drawing of Lewis Carroll's poem The Walrus and the Carpenter was sold at auction for £126,500, ($239,733). The poem inspired Lennon to write The Beatles' 1967 song ‘I Am The Walrus’. Also sold for £12,000, ($22,741) was a ship's log book written by Lennon during a stormy trip to Bermuda in 1980, and a letter from Paul McCartney to his bandmates Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr failed to reach its £50,000, ($94,742) reserve price. 

2006 - Marvin Gaye

An area in Washington D.C. formally called Watts Branch Park, was officially rededicated as Marvin Gaye Park on what would have been the singer's 67th birthday. Gaye grew up in East Capitol Dwellings, at #12 60th Street, NE, near the east end of the park. 

2013 - Coldplay

Coldplay beat the likes of Pink Floyd and The Beatles to the top of a BBC Radio 2 poll to find listeners' favourite album of all time. A Rush Of Blood To The Head, came top of the list. Keane's Hopes And Fears took second place, with Duran Duran's Rio in third. Pink Floyd's The Dark Side Of The Moon came fourth, while The Beatles' 1967 classic Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band could only manage eighth place. The poll was held to tie in with the recent BBC season The Golden Age of the Album.

2013 - Motown Records

A grand piano used in the Motown Records studios was fully restored and put on display at a museum dedicated to the legendary record label in Detroit. Sir Paul McCartney helped fund the restoration of the 1877 Steinway, which was originally in Motown's Studio B.and was used to create hits for names including Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and Edwin Starr.

2014 - U2

Recordings by U2, (The Joshua Tree), the Everly Brothers, ('Cathy's Clown'), Jeff Buckley, ('Hallelujah'), Linda Ronstadt, (Heart Like a Wheel) and Creedence Clearwater Revival's('Fortunate Son') were among those newly selected for induction into the Library of Congress National Recording Registry.

2019 - Kim English

American electronica, soul, gospel, and house music singer, Kim English died age 48. She had been diagnosed with kidney failure for five years, and had been on dialysis, and awaiting a transplant. By 2007, English had earned her sixth, seventh and eighth US dance number ones with ‘It Makes a Difference’, ‘C’est La Vie’ and ‘My Destiny’.

Born Today In Music

April 2nd

1928 - Serge Gainsbourg

Serge Gainsbourg, French singer-songwriter, actor and director. Had the 1969 UK No.1 single with Jane Birkin 'Je t'aime... Moi non plus' the only French language chart topper in the UK. The track was originally written for and sung with Brigitte Bardot in 1967, but that version was not released until 1986. Gainsbourg died of a heart attack on March 2nd 1991.

1939 - Marvin Gaye

Marvin Gaye, singer, songwriter who had a 1968 US No.1 & 1969 UK No.1 single with ‘I Heard It Through The Grapevine’ and a 1982 US No.3 & UK No.4 single with ‘Sexual Healing’. Gaye was a member of the doo-wop group The Moonglows in the late 1950s, and then signed with Motown Records subsidiary, Tamla. He started off as a session drummer, but later ranked as the label's top-selling solo artist during the 1960s. He was crowned "The Prince of Motown" and "The Prince of Soul". He was shot dead by his father on April 1st 1984.

1941 - Leon Russell

Leon Russell, singer songwriter, mult-instumentalist. Worked with Phil Spector, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones Glenn Campbell, wrote 'Delta Lady' a hit for Joe Cocker. Played on The Byrds hit 'Mr Tambourine Man.' Russell died on 13th Nov 2016 aged 74.

1943 - Glen Dale

Glen Dale, guitar, vocals, from English harmony beat group The Fortunes, who had the 1965 UK No.2 & US No.7 single 'You've Got Your Troubles' and the hits 'Here It Comes Again and 'Storm in a Teacup'.

1946 - Kurt Winter

Canadian guitarist and songwriter Kurt Winter from Canadian rock band Guess Who who had the 1970 US No.1 & UK No.19 single 'American Woman'. Winter penned the hit singles ‘Bus Rider’ and ‘Hand Me Down World’, both of which were hits for The Guess Who. Winter died of kidney failure at the age of 51 on 14 December 1997.

1947 - Emmylou Harris

American singer, songwriter and musician Emmylou Harris who has won 14 Grammys, the Polar Music Prize, and numerous other honors, including induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame. She has worked with numerous leading artists, including Gram Parsons, Bob Dylan, John Denver, Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton, Roy Orbison, The Band, Mark Knopfler, Albert Lee, Delbert McClinton, Guy Clark, Willie Nelson, Neil Young, Steve Earle and Ryan Adams.

1952 - Leon Wilkeson

Leon Wilkeson, bassist 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'. Wilkeson was found dead on July 27, 2001, in a Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, hotel room; he was 49 years old. He had apparently been suffering from chronic liver and lung disease.

1953 - David Robinson

David Robinson, The Cars, who had the 1978 UK No.3 single 'My Best Friend's Girl.' Their 1984 US No.3 & 1985 UK No.4 'Drive' was used as part of the soundtrack for the Live Aid concert.

1956 - Gregory Abbott

American singer, Gregory Abbott who had the 1986 UK No.6 single 'Shake You Down'.

1963 - Keren Woodward

Keren Woodward, singer with British female pop group Bananarama who had the 1984 UK No.3 single 'Robert De Niro's Waiting', plus over 20 other UK Top 40 singles, and the 1986 US No.1 single 'Venus' a cover of the Dutch rock band Shocking Blue 1970 hit.

1967 - Greg Camp

Songwriter, guitarist, and vocalist Greg Camp from American rock band Smash Mouth. Camp has written Smash Mouth's most memorable songs of the later 1990s and early 2000s, including 'Walkin' on the Sun,' 'All Star,' and 'Then the Morning Comes'.

1971 - Chico

Chico, (Yousseph Slimani), singer, reached the semi-finals of the UK 2005 series of The X Factor, (2006 UK No.1 single, ‘It's Chico Time’).

1979 - Jesse Carmichael

Jesse Carmichael, keyboards, Maroon 5, who had the 2004 UK No.1 album Songs About Jane’ the 2004 US No.1 & UK No.4 single ‘She Will Be Loved’ and the 2014 US No.1 album V.

1981 - Scott Cain

Scott Cain, Australian singer and winner of the third Australian Popstars competition. (2002 Australian No.1 single 'I'm Moving On').

1983 - Yung Joc

Jasiel A. Robinson, (Yung Joc), 2007 US No.1 with T-Pain, ‘Buy U a Drank, Shawty Snappin'.

1991 - Quavo

American hip hop recording artist Quavo best known as a member of the southern hip hop group Migos. Their second album, Culture, released in January 2017 debuted atop the Billboard 200 chart.