What Happened Today In Music

October 2nd

1960 - Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs

'Stay' by Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs entered the US chart on its way to No.1. At just 1:37, it becomes the shortest US chart topper in Rock and Roll history.

1961 - Phil Spector

Phil Spector and partner Lester Sill released the first single on their new label Philles, The Crystals’, ‘Oh Yeah Maybe Baby.’ A little over a year later, they had a No.1 hit with ‘He’s a Rebel,’ and soon after, ‘Da Doo Ron Ron’ and ‘Then He Kissed Me.’

1965 - Peter Paul and Mary

Peter Paul and Mary appeared at The Winter Gardens, Bournemouth, England.

1965 - The McCoys

The McCoys were at No. 1 on the US singles chart with ‘Hang On Sloopy’ (No.5 in the UK when released on Andrew Oldham’s new Immediate label). The song was first released by The Vibrations and called ‘My Girl Sloopy’. 

1967 - The Grateful Dead

All six members of the Grateful Dead were busted by California narcotics agents for possession of marijuana at the groups' 710 Ashbury Street House in San Francisco, California.

1970 - Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd released their fifth, and first UK No.1 album Atom Heart Mother in the UK. The original album cover shows a cow standing in a pasture with no text, nor any other clue as to what might be on the record. Storm Thorgerson, inspired by Andy Warhol's famous ‘cow wallpaper,’ has said that he simply drove out into a rural area near Potters Bar, England and photographed the first cow he saw. The cow's owner identified her name as ‘Lulubelle III’.

1971 - Rod Stewart

Rod Stewart started a five week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Maggie May / Reason To Believe', his first solo No.1. Stewarts album Every Picture Tells A Story also started a four-week run on this day at No.1 on the UK and US chart.

1977 - Elvis Presley

The body of Elvis Presley and his mother Gladys were moved from the cemetery where they were buried to Graceland's after an unsuccessful attempt was made to body snatch the coffin.

1980 - Leaveil Degree

Leaveil Degree from the soul group The Whispers started a two-year prison sentence in Boron California for his part in diamond robbery.

1982 - Genesis

Peter Gabriel and Steve Hacket joined their former band mates in Genesis for a one-time benefit performance at The Milton Keynes Bowl in Buckinghamshire, England to help raise money for Gabriel's WOMAD project (World of Music, Arts and Dance).

1982 - Dire Straits

Dire Straits started a four-week run at No.1 on UK the album charts with 'Love Over Gold'.

1982 - John Cougar

John Cougar started a four week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Jack and Diane', his first US No.1a No.25 hit in the UK.

1982 - Musical Youth

Musical Youth were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Pass The Dutchie'. The group were made up of Birmingham school boys, aged 11-16. The song was a cover of The Mighty Diamonds song called 'Pass The Kutchie', a slang term for a cannabis smoking pipe, but the word was changed to avoid the song being banned for it's drug reference.

1983 - Bonnie Tyler

Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler was at No.1 on the US singles chart with the Jim Steinman written and produced track 'Total Eclipse Of The Heart'. It made her the only Welsh artist to score a US No.1.

1995 - Oasis

Oasis released their second album '(What's The Story), Morning Glory', which entered the UK chart at No.1. The album has gone on to sell over 18 million copies worldwide, and it won the award for the best British Album of the last 30 Years at the 2010 Brit Awards.

1995 - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and Kylie Minogue

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and Kylie Minogue released the duet 'Where the Wild Roses Grow'. The song later won 1996 ARIA Awards: 'Single of the Year', 'Song of the Year' and 'Best Pop Release'.

1996 - Pearl Jam

A Pearl Jam show in Hartford Connecticut ended in a riot when mass fighting broke out among the 30,000 strong crowds.

1998 - Gene Autry

America's singing cowboy Gene Autry died aged 91. During his career he scored 25 successive Top 10 Country hits. In 1995 it was estimated he was worth $320 million.

2001 - John Lennon

Actor Kevin Spacey hosted Come Together: A Night for John Lennon's Words and Music at New York's Radio City Music Hall. Performers include, Alanis Morissette, Moby, Stone Temple Pilots and the Dave Mathews Band. The evening was closed with those present singing 'Give Peace A Chance'.

2002 - Adam Ant

Adam Ant escaped a prison sentence after a judge ruled that an incident in which he threatened drinkers with a replica pistol in a London pub was a result of mental illness. The 1980s pop star had been voluntarily having psychiatric treatment since the incident.

2002 - Robbie Williams

Robbie Williams signed the most lucrative British record deal in history when he signed with EMI records for £80m. Asked what he was going to do with money Robbie said, "I'm going to count it all."

2003 - Courtney Love

Police were called to a suspected burglary at the Los Angeles house of Courtney Love's former boyfriend and ex-manager Jim Barber in the early hours. Ms Love was picked up in the street outside and detained - with officers noting "Miss Love's behaviour was consistent with being under the influence of a controlled substance". Shortly after her arrest, Ms Love was taken to hospital with a suspected drug overdose.

2003 - Queen

A pair of trousers worn in 1984 by the late Queen star Freddie Mercury were sold to the Hard Rock Cafe for £4,230 at a Christie's auction of pop memorabilia held in London, England. A wooden sculpture of a cupboard, designed by John Lennon, claimed the highest price of the day, £28,200. Hundreds of items related to The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and Jimi Hendrix also went under the hammer at the sale.

2004 - Billy Joel

Billy Joel married 23-year-old Kate Lee at his Centre Island, New York mansion. It was the third marriage for Joel.

2006 - Katie Melua

British singer, songwriter Katie Melua entered the Guinness Book of Records for playing the deepest underwater concert. This took palce 303 metres below sea level on the Norwegian Statoil's Troll A platform in the North Sea. Melua and her band underwent extensive medical tests and survival training in Norway before the concert. Melua later described achieving the record as "the most surreal gig I have ever done".

2007 - Britney Spears

Britney Spears was ordered to hand over her two young children to her former husband Kevin Federline by a judge in Los Angeles. The court ruled that Federline would be given custody of Sean Preston, two, and one-year-old Jayden James, until further notice. Last month Judge Scott Gordon had said Ms Spears showed "a habitual, frequent and continuous use of controlled substances and alcohol." The singer was ordered to undergo random drug and alcohol tests twice a week as part of her child custody dispute with Mr Federline.

2009 - Mumford & Sons

Mumford & Sons released their debut album 'Sigh No More' in the UK. It peaked at No. 2 on 20 February 2011, in its 72nd week on the chart following its Album of the Year win at the 2011 BRIT Awards. In early 2011, the album peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 in the US. In the United States, it was the 3rd most digitally-downloaded album of 2011, selling 761,000 copies

2012 - Big Jim Sullivan

British session guitarist Big Jim Sullivan (born James George Tomkins) died at the age of 71. Sullivan started his career in 1959 as a member of Marty Wilde’s band and when Wilde bought Sullivan a Gibson Les Paul guitar, it was allegedly the first in Britain. Sullivan taught future Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore to play guitar, as well as helping Yes and Asia guitarist Steve Howe on his road to success. He featured on 55 No.1 hits, and worked with George Harrison, Frank Zappa, Thunderclap Newman, Love Affair, Long John Baldry, Marmalade and The Tremeloes. During Jimmy Page's session career, he was known as ‘Little Jim’, to differentiate him from Big Jim.

2017 - Tom Petty

American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer Tom Petty was found unconscious at his home, not breathing and in cardiac arrest and was taken to the UCLA Medical Center in Santa Monica, California, where he died at 8:40 pm. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner later announced that Petty had died accidentally from mixed drug toxicity. He was the lead singer and guitarist of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, formed in 1976. He previously led the band Mudcrutch, and was also a member of the late 1980s supergroup the Traveling Wilburys. In his career, he sold more than 80 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time.

2019 - Barrie Masters

Barrie Masters lead singer with Eddie & The Hot Rods died age 63. Formed in Canvey Island, Essex in 1975, they were part of the pub rock scene and were best known for their top 10 hit in 1977, 'Do Anything You Wanna Do'.

2019 - Kim Shattuck

Kim Shattuck lead singer, guitarist and songwriter of the band The Muffs and former Pixies bassist died after a two-year-long battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis age 56. 

Born Today In Music

October 2nd

1939 - Lolly Vegas

Lolly Vegas, guitarist and singer with Redbone, who had the 1971 UK No.2 & US No.21 single 'The Witch Queen Of New Orleans' and the 1974 US No. 4 hit single, 'Come and Get Your Love.' Redbone are accredited in the NY Smithsonian as the first Native American rock/Cajun group to have a No.1 single in the United States and internationally. Jimi Hendrix stated that Lolly Vegas was his favorite guitar player and biggest influence in music. He died of cancer on 4 March 2010.

1941 - Ron Meagher

Ron Meagher, The Beau Brummels, (1965 US No.8 single 'Just A Little.')

1945 - Don McLean

Don McLean, US singer, songwriter, 1971 US & 1972 UK No.1 single 'American Pie', a song inspired by the death of Buddy Holly.

1949 - Richard Hell

Richard Hell, vocals, The Voidoids, (1977 album 'Blank Generation' features the track 'Love Comes In Spurts').

1950 - Mike Rutherford

Mike Rutherford, guitar, Genesis, (1986 US No.1 single 'Invisible Touch', 1992 UK No.7 single 'I Can't Dance' & 6 UK No.1 albums). & Mike And The Mechanics, (1989 US No.1 & UK No.2 single 'The Living Years').

1951 - Sting

Sting, (Gordon Sumner), singer, songwriter, The Police, (1983 UK & US No.1 single 'Every Breath You Take', plus 4 other UK No.1 singles). Solo, (1990 UK No.15 single 'Englishman In New York' plus over 15 other UK Top 40 singles). As a solo musician and a member of The Police, he received 16 Grammy Awards and has sold over 100 million records.

1952 - John Otway

John Otway, UK singer, songwriter, guitarist, (1977 UK No.27 single 'Really Free', with Wild Willy Barrett). 2002 UK No.7 single 'Bunsen Burner'.

1955 - Phil Oakey

Phil Oakey singer, songwriter with The Human League. Formed in Sheffield, England in 1977 the group attained widespread commercial success with their third album Dare in 1981. The album contained four hit singles, including the UK/US No.1 hit 'Don't You Want Me'. The Human League has sold more than 20 million records worldwide.

1956 - Freddie Jackson

Freddie Jackson, US soul singer, scored US 10 R&B No. 1's.

1961 - Robbie Nevil

Robbie Nevil, singer, (1987 UK No.3 single 'C'est La Vie').

1962 - Sigtryggur Baldursson

Sigtryggur Baldursson, drums, The Sugarcubes, (1992 UK No.17 single 'Hit').

1969 - Badly Drawn Boy

Badly Drawn Boy, (Damon Gough), singer, songwriter, 2002 UK No.9 single 'You Were Right', 2002 UK No. 10 album, 'Have You Fed The Fish'.

1971 - Jim Root

Jim Root, American musician, songwriter and guitarist, best known for being the lead guitarist for the American heavy metal band Slipknot and the former lead guitarist for the American alternative metal band Stone Sour.

1971 - Tiffany

Tiffany, US singer (1987 US No.1 & 1988 UK No.1 single 'I Think We're Alone Now').

1973 - Lene G Nystrom

Lene G Nystrom, from Danish eurodance group Aqua, who scored the 1997 UK No.1 single 'Barbie Girl' a song that topped the charts worldwide.

1988 - Brittany Howard

American musician Brittany Howard, best known as lead vocalist and guitarist of Alabama Shakes and Thunderbitch. Their second record, Sound & Color, released in 2015 debuted at No.1 on the Billboard 200, and won four Grammy Awards.