This Date in Rock Music History: May 13

1958:  Jerry Lee Lewis was granted a divorce from his second wife six months after marrying 14-year-old cousin Myra.





1963:  The Kingsmen released their version of "Louie, Louie".  It didn't become a hit until being re-released in October.









1963:  Bobby Vinton released the single "Blue On Blue".
1965:  Elvis Presley's new movie, Tickle Me, premiered in Hollywood, California.
1966:  The Kinks recorded "Sunny Afternoon" at Pye Studios in London.







1967:  Scott McKenzie released the single "San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair)".










1967:  "The Happening" became the Supremes' 10th #1 song of their career on this date.  Only Elvis Presley & the Beatles had more to this juncture.  "Sweet Soul Music" by Arthur Conley was a strong #2, Nancy & Frank Sinatra fell to 3 with "Something' Stupid.  The rest of the Top 10:  The Young Rascals' smash "Groovin'" rose from 19 to 4, the Monkees had #5 with "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You", the Buckinghams moved up one with "Don't You Care", the Dave Clark Five were a familiar Top 10 fixture at #7 with "You Got What It Takes", the original Peaches and Herb were at 8 with "Close Your Eyes", The Happenings entered the Top 10 with "I Got Rhythm" and Tommy James & the Shondells were still hanging around in their 14th week with "I Think We're Alone Now".
1970:  Badfinger began recording the song "No Matter What" at Abbey Road Studios in London.
1970:  The Beatles movie Let It Be premiered in New York City.
1971:  After an all-night recording session, lead singer Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane crashed her car into a concrete wall in the vicinity of Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.  Slick had made the foolish decision to race guitarist Jorma Kaukonen into a tunnel, and nearly died as a result.







1972:  "Morning Has Broken" hit #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart for Cat Stevens.
1972:  First Take from Roberta Flack continued to rule the Album chart for the third straight week, with Neil Young's great album Harvest close behind.  The self-titled America album was at 3, Yes at #4 with Fragile and Graham Nash & David Crosby had a winner with their album.  The rest of the Top 10:  Smokin' from Humble Pie at #6, Eat a Peach by the Allman Brothers Band at #7, Manassas from Stephen Stills was #8, Carole King remained at #9 in her 58th week with Tapestry and Paul Simon's debut solo release was at #10.

1972:  Roberta Flack made it five weeks at #1 with "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face".

1974:  More than 50 people were injured when youths started throwing bottles outside a Jackson 5 concert at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C.  43 people were arrested for the incident.
1975:  Listeners in Jacksonville, Florida knocked out phone service in that city while calling in to win tickets from a radio station to an Elvis Presley concert.
1977:  Dolly Parton performed for the first of three nights at the Bottom Line in New York City.   Olivia Newton-John, Bruce Springsteen, Mick Jagger, Candice Bergen, and John Belushi are among those in the audience.
1978:  Jimmy Buffett sang "Son Of A Sailor" on the television show Saturday Night Live.
1978:  "Feels So Good" hit #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart for Chuck Mangione.
"More Than a Woman"--Never released as a single, but of course one of The Top Underrated Songs of All-Time...

  1978:  The count was up to 17 weeks at #1 for the Soundtrack to "Saturday Night Fever".  Wings had a distant #2 with London Town while Eric Clapton Slowhand was #3.  Kansas remained at #4 with Point of Know Return and Jefferson Starship checked in at 5 with Earth.  The rest of the Top 10:  Jackson Browne's Running On Empty was #6, Chuck Mangione moved up to 7 with Feels So Good, Warren Zevon had a Top 10 album in Excitable Boy, Billy Joel's great album The Stranger was finally on its way down at #9 in its 32nd week and Champagne Jam, a very underrated album from the Atlanta Rhythm Section was #10.






1978:  "If I Can't Have You" by Yvonne Elliman became the fourth song from Saturday Night Fever to reach #1 on this date.  It finally toppled "Night Fever" by the Bee Gees, which fell to #5 after eight consecutive weeks at the top.  The Bee Gees also set a Rock Era record by writing four songs that were consecutive #1's for 15 weeks.  They were "Stayin' Alive", "(Love Is) Thicker Than Water" for Andy Gibb, "Night Fever" and finally the #1 for Elliman.  That broke the record set by the Beatles, when they wrote three songs ("I Want To Hold Your Hand", "She Loves You" and "Can't Buy Me Love"), that topped the charts for a total of 14 weeks.  "The Closer I Get To You", from Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway was #2 and Wings had the third most popular song "With A Little Luck".  Johnny Mathis & Deniece Williams teamed for #4--"Too Much, Too Little, Too Late" and "Night Fever", John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John had already moved on with "You're the One That I Want" from the great Grease Soundtrack, Jefferson Starship's fine "Count On Me" was #8, Kansas placed their classic "Dust In The Wind" at #9 after 16 weeks and "Imaginary Lover" became the second Top 10 for the Atlanta Rhythm Section.
1979:  The Donny & Marie Osmond television special A Little Bit of Country, A Little Bit of Rock 'n' Roll aired on ABC with guests Chuck Berry and Chubby Checker.
1981:  Joan Weber, whose one and only hit, "Let Me Go, Lover" spent four weeks at #1 in 1955, died of heart failure at the age of 45 in Ancora, New Jersey. 
1985:  Bruce Springsteen married Julianne Phillips in Lake Oswego, Oregon.


1989:  "Ill Be There For You" was Bon Jovi's 12th career hit and fourth #1.  It replaced "Like A Prayer", which fell to #2 for Madonna.  Jody Watley remained at 3 with "Real Love", while Paula Abdul's "Forever Your Girl" was destined for the top.  The rest of the Top 10:  Donny Osmond's comeback "Soldier Of Love" hit #5, Cher & Peter Cetera came in at 6 with "After All", "Second Chance" was at #7 for .38 Special, Michael Damian's remake of "Rock On" was #8, Guns N' Roses had #9 with "Patience" and Bette Midler moved from 19-10 with "Wind Beneath My Wings".
2003:  Tommy Chong of Cheech & Chong ("Earache My Eye") pleaded guilty to federal drug charges of selling drug paraphernalia over the Internet.
2006:  Godsmack topped the Album chart with IV.
2007:  Bo Diddley was hospitalized in Omaha, Nebraska after suffering a stroke.
2010:  Jimmy Dean died at the age of 81 of natural causes at his home in Varina, Virginia.
2010:  Patti LaBelle received an honorary doctorate in humane letters from her hometown university of Temple in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
2012:  Donald Dunn, bass guitarist of the Mar-Keys ("Last Night") and Booker T. & the M.G.'s, died in his sleep May 13, 2012 in Tokyo, Japan.  He was 70.


Born This Day:
1930:  Teddy Randazzo, who wrote many of Little Anthony's hits, was born in Brooklyn, New York; died of a heart attack November 21, 2003 at his home in Orlando, Florida.  (Note:  some websites say Randazzo was born May 20, but he was born on May 13, according to the newspaper 'The Honolulu Advertiser'.)

1941:  Ritchie Valens was born in Pacoima, California; died February 3, 1959 at the age of 17 in a plane crash with Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper.  (Note:  some websites claim Pacoima is a neighborhood, but it is a census-designated place, and the newspaper 'The Los Angeles Times' and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame confirm Valens was born in Pacoima.)







1943:  Mary Wells was born in Detroit, Michigan.
1949:  Pete Watts, bass player of Mott the Hoople, was born in Birmingham, Warwickshire, England.  (Note:  many websites make the mistake of saying Watts was born in Yardley, Birmingham, England.  Yardley is an area of Birmingham, not a town, and Birmingham is not a county.  At the time of Pete's birth, Birmingham was located in the county of Warwickshire.) 

1950:  Steveland Morris, the great Stevie Wonder, was born in Saginaw, Michigan.













1950:  Danny Kirwan, singer and elite guitarist for Fleetwood Mac, was born in Brixton, London.
1951:  Paul Thompson, drummer for Roxy Music, was born in Jarrow, England.  (Note:  some websites claim Thompson was born in Jarrow, Northumberland, England.  Jarrow is not and has never been a part of the county of Northumberland.  At the time of Thompson's birth, Jarrow was part of the county of Durham.)
1966:  Darius Rucker, lead singer and rhythm guitarist of Hootie & the Blowfish, was born in Charleston, South Carolina.
1967:  Melanie Thornton, lead singer of LaBouche, was born in Charleston, South Carolina; died November 24, 2001 in a plane crash near Bassersdorf, Switzerland.



1969:  Buckethead (real name Brian Carroll), virtuoso guitarist of Guns N' Roses
1979:  Michael "Mickey" Madden, bassist of Maroon 5, was born in Austin, Texas.

The Top 100 Guitarists of the Rock Era: The Complete List

We began on February 1 with Inside the Rock Era's Top 100 Guitarists of the Rock Era*.  The Rock Era, of course, covers 1955 through the present.  Here is the complete list:

#100--John Sykes


#99--Mick Barr


#98--Jerry Cantrell


#97--Mike Bloomfield


#96--Danny Kirwan


#94--Daron Malakian


#93--Kerry King


#92--Alex Lifeson


#91--Robbie Krieger


#90--Ted Nugent


#89--Jason Becker


#88--John 4


#87--Jake E. Lee


#86--Michael Wilton


#85--James "Munky" Shaffer


#84--Uli Jon Roth


#83--Richie Sambora


#82--Tom Morello

#81--Michael Schenker


#80--Rick Derringer


#79--Dave Mason


#78--Warren DeMartini


#77--Synyster Gates

#76:  C.C. DeVille

#75:  Peter Frampton


#74: Gary Rossington


#73:  Neil Giraldo


#72:  Keith Richards


#71:  Michael Schenker


#70:  Tom Morello


#69:  Neal Schon


#68: Vivian Campbell


#67:  Dave Mustaine


#66:  Danny Gatton


#65:  Timo Tolkki


#64:  Allen Holdsworth

#63:  Dave Murray


#62:  Nuno Bettencourt


#61:  Ace Frehley


#60: Reb Beach


#59:  Allen Collins


#58:  Kurt Cobain


#57:  John Petrucci


#56:  Ritchie Kotzen


#55:  Michael Angelo Battio


#54: Scotty Moore


#53: Rick Nielsen


#52:  Eddie Clarke


#51: Vinnie Moore

#50:  Joe Walsh


#49:  Roy Buchanan


#48: Chuck Berry


#47:  Rory Gallagher


#46:  Steve Lukather


#45:  Tommy Bolin


#44:  Frank Zappa


#43:  Gary Moore


#42:  Stephen Stills


#41:  Mick Ronson


#40:  Edge


#39:  Mike Campbell


#38:  Derek Trucks


#37:  Zakk Wylde


#36:  Dimebag Darrell


#35:  Lee Ranaldo


#34:  Kirk Hammett


#33:  John Frusciante


#32:  Slash


#31:  Albert Lee


#30:  Mark Knopfler


#29:  Pete Townshend


#28:  Glenn Tipton


#27:  Marty Friedman


#26:  Dick Dale


#25:  David Gilmour


#24:  Adrian Smith


#23:  Angus Young


#22:  Paco DeLucia


#21:  Paul Gilbert


#20:  Randy Rhoads


#19:  Richard Thompson


#18:  Brian May


#17:  Ritchie Blackmore


#16:  Eric Clapton


#15:  Robert Fripp


#14:  Tony Iommi


#13:  Eric Johnson


#12:  Yngwie Malmsteen


#11:  Joe Satriani


#10:  Duane Allman


#9:  Steve Vai


#8:  B.B. King


#7:  John McLaughlin


#6:  Stevie Ray Vaughan


#5:  Carlos Santana


#4:  Eddie Van Halen


#3:  Jeff Beck


#2:  Jimmy Page


#1:  Jimi Hendrix

Hits List: Queen

Though not near as popular in the United States as their native England, Queen still put a pretty impressive group of hits together in the 70's and 80's.  They gave us four of The Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era*--"Another One Bites the Dust", "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "We Will Rock You"/"We Are the Champions".  Here is the complete Hits List for Queen:

1973:  "Keep Yourself Alive"
1974:  "Liar"
           "Seven Seas of Rhye" (#10 U.K.)
           "Killer Queen" (#12, #2 U.K., #24 Australia, #10 Austria, #3 Netherlands, #2 Ireland)
1975:  "Now I'm Here" (#11 U.K., #29 Netherlands, #14 Ireland)
            "Lily of the Valley"
            "Bohemian Rhapsody" (#9, #1 U.K., #1 Australia, #1 Netherlands, #1 Ireland)

1976:  "You're My Best Friend" (#16, #7 U.K., #40 Australia, #6 Netherlands, #3 Ireland)--underrated.
            "Somebody to Love" (#13, #2 U.K., #15 Australia, #1 Netherlands, #6 Ireland)
1977:  "Tie Your Mother Down" (#49, #31 U.K., #47 Australia, #10 Netherlands)
            "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy" (#17 U.K.)
            "Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together)"
            "Long Away"

1978:  "We Are the Champions"/We Will Rock You" (#4, #2 U.K., #8 Australia, #12 Austria, #2 Netherlands, #3 Ireland)
            "Spread Your Wings" (#34 U.K., #26 Netherlands)
            "It's Late" (#74)
            "Bicycle Race"/"Fat Bottomed Girls" (#24, #11 U.K., #25 Australia, #21 Austria, #5 Netherlands, #10 Ireland)
1979:  "Don't Stop Me Now" (#86, #9 U.K., #16 Netherlands, #10 Ireland)
            "Jealousy"
            "Mustapha"
            "Love of My Life" (Live)
            "We Will Rock You" (Live)

1980:  "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" (#1, #2 U.K., #1 Australia, #9 Austria, #1 Netherlands, #2 Ireland)
            "Save Me" (#11 U.K., #76 Australia, #6 Netherlands, #8 Ireland)
            "Play the Game" (#42, #14 U.K., #85 Australia, #10 Netherlands, #9 Ireland)
            "Another One Bites the Dust" (#1, #7 U.K., #5 Australia, #6 Austria, #11 Netherlands, #4 Ireland)
            "Need Your Loving Tonight" (#44)
            "Flash" (#42, #10 U.K., #16 Australia, #1 Austria, #13 Netherlands, #10 Ireland)
1981:  "Under Pressure" (with David Bowie) (#29, #1 U.K., #6 Australia, #10 Austria, #1 Netherlands, #2 Ireland)
1982:  "Body Language" (#11, #25 U.K., #23 Australia, #11 Austria, #4 Netherlands, #13 Ireland)
            "Las Palabras de Amor (The Words of Love)" (#17 U.K., #18 Netherlands, #10 Ireland)
            "Calling All Girls" (#60)
            "Staying Power"
            "Back Chat" (#40 U.K., #19 Ireland)
1984:  "Radio Ga Ga" (#16, #2 U.K., #2 Australia, #2 Austria, #2 Netherlands, #1 Ireland)
            "I Want to Break Free" (#45, #3 U.K., #8 Australia, #1 Austria, #1 Netherlands, #2 Ireland)
            "It's a Hard Life" (#72, #6 U.K., #65 Australia, #20 Netherlands, #2 Ireland)
            "Hammer to Fall" (#13 U.K., #69 Australia, #10 Ireland)
            "Thank God It's Christmas" (#21 U.K., #21 Austria, #31 Netherlands, #8 Ireland)
1985:  "One Vision" (#61, #7 U.K., #35 Australia, #21 Netherlands, #5 Ireland)

1986:  "A Kind of Magic" (#42, #3 U.K., #25 Australia, #12 Austria, #5 Netherlands, #4 Ireland)
            "Princes of the Universe" (#32 Australia)
            "Friends Will Be Friends" (#14 U.K., #16 Netherlands, #4 Ireland)
            "Pain Is So Close to Pleasure" (#43 Netherlands)
            "Who Wants to Live Forever" (#24 U.K., #29 Netherlands, #15 Ireland)
            "One Year of Love"
1989:  "I Want It All" (#50, #3 U.K., #10 Australia, #11 Austria, #2 Netherlands, #3 Ireland)
            "Breakthru" (#7 U.K., #45 Australia, #6 Netherlands, #6 Ireland)
            "The Invisible Man" (#12 U.K., #6 Netherlands, #10 Ireland)
            "Scandal" (#25 U.K., #12 Netherlands, #14 Ireland)
            "The Miracle" (#21 U.K., #16 Netherlands, #23 Ireland)
1991:  "Innuendo" (#1 U.K., #28 Australia, #12 Austria, #4 Netherlands, #4 Ireland)
            "I'm Going Slightly Mad" (#22 U.K., #20 Netherlands, #19 Ireland)
            "Headlong" (#14 U.K., #43 Netherlands, #25 Ireland)
            "I Can't Live With You"
            "The Show Must Go On" (#16 U.K., #75 Australia, #6 Netherlands, #17 Ireland)
            "Ride the Wild Wind"
            "Bohemian Rhapsody" (re-release) (#2, #1 U.K., #5 Australia, #8 Austria, #1 Netherlands, #1 Ireland)
1992:  "Who Wants to Live Forever" (#6 Netherlands)
            "We Will Rock You"/"We Are the Champions" (Live) (#9 Netherlands)
            "We are the Champions" (Re-release) (#81 Australia)
1993:  "Somebody to Love" (Live with George Michael) (#30, #1 U.K., #19 Australia, #15 Austria, #6 Netherlands, #1 Ireland)
1995:  "Heaven for Everyone" (#2 U.K., #15 Australia, #4 Austria, #2 Netherlands, #7 Ireland)
            "A Winter's Tale" (#6 U.K., #71 Australia, #23 Austria, #16 Netherlands, #23 Ireland)
1996:  "I Was Born to Love You"
            "Too Much Love Will Kill You" (#15 U.K., #28 Ireland)
            "Let Me Live" (#9 U.K., #28 Netherlands)
            "You Don't Fool Me" (#17 U.K., #23 Austria, #22 Netherlands, #23 Ireland)
1997:  "No-One but You (Only the Good Die Young)" (#13 U.K., #33 Netherlands)
1998:  "We Are the Champions" (Re-release)
            "Another One Bites the Dust" (with Wyclef Jean) (#5 U.K., #23 Austria, #21 Netherlands, #11 Ireland)
1999:  "Under Pressure (Rah Mix)" (with David Bowie) (#14 U.K.
2000:  "We Will Rock You" (Queen and 5ive) (#1 U.K., #3 Australia, #2 Austria, #6 Netherlands, #8 Ireland)
            "Princes of the Universe" (re-release)
2003:  "We Will Rock You" (re-release) 
            "Another One Bites the Dust" (re-release)
            "Flash" (with Vanguard) (#15 U.K., #95 Australia, #44 Austria)
2005:  "Reaching Out"/"Tie Your Mother Down"
2006:  "Another One Bites the Dust" (with the Miami Project) (#31 U.K., #49 Netherlands)
2007:  "Say It's Not True" (with Paul Rodgers) (#90 U.K., #62 Netherlands)
2008:  "C-lebrity" (with Paul Rodgers) (#33 U.K., #50 Netherlands)
2008:  "We Believe"
2009:  "Bohemian Rhapsody" (with the Muppets) (#32 U.K.
2011:  "Stormtroopers in Stilettos"


Not counting re-releases and live releases of previous hits, Queen rang up 48 hits in the U.K., with 20 of those going Top 10 and three #1's.  That dwarfs their chart record in the U.S.--22 hits with 4 Top 10's and two #1's.

This Day in Rock Music History: May 12

1958:  The movie Let's Rock, starring Paul Anka, Danny & the Juniors and the Royal Teens opened to audiences.

1960:  Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley appeared on Sinatra's Welcome Home Elvis television special on ABC.  Elvis sang "Witchcraft" while Sinatra sang Elvis's hit "Love Me Tender".











1962:  Billboard announced that "Big Bad John" by Jimmy Dean was the top jukebox song of 1961.
1962:  "Mashed Potato Time" by Dee Dee Sharp was the top R&B song for a third week.
1962:  Mr. Acker Bilk continued to hold down the #1 spot on the Easy Listening chart for a fourth week with "Stranger On The Shore".
1963:  Bob Dylan walked out of rehearsals for The Ed Sullivan Show after CBS censors told him he could not perform "Talkin' John Birch Paranoid Blues".






1964:  "The Days Of Wine And Roses" was named Best Song at the Grammy Awards.  The great movie should be required viewing for all pre-teens.
1967:  Pink Floyd played Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, experimenting with quadrophonic sound.
1967:  Radio London debuted Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band in its entirety.









1967:  Archie Bell of the Drells was drafted into the United States military for a tour of Vietnam.
1971:  Jerry Lee Lewis divorced his cousin Myra.
1971:  Mick Jagger married Bianca Perez Morena de Macias in St. Tropez.  Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Stephen Stills and the other members of the Stones were in attendance. 
1972:  The Rolling Stones released the album Exile on Main Street on Rolling Stones Records.  (Note:  some websites claim the album was released on April 12.  They are a month off, according to 'Mojo' magazine and other reliable sources.)
1973:  "Daniel" hit #1 for Elton John on the Adult Contemporary chart.






   
                             Dobie Gray could only reach #5 amidst stiff competition...

1973:  It was one of the best times for music in rock history.  "Tie A Yellow Ribbon 'Round The Ole Oak Tree" spent a fourth week at #1 for Dawn, with Stevie Wonder moving up to #2 with "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life".  Sweet's "Little Willy" remained at #3, War was at 4 with "The Cisco Kid" and Dobie Gray had #5 with "Drift Away".  The rest of the Top 10:  "Stuck In The Middle With You" by Stealers Wheel, the Edgar Winter Group's classic "Frankenstein" at #7, Vicki Lawrence at #8 with her former #1 "The Night The Lights Went Out in Georgia", "Daniel" entering the Top 10 at #9 for Elton John and Donny Osmond at #10 with "The Twelfth Of Never".






1975:  10cc released the single "I'm Not In Love".  We prefer to only feature the long version.
1975:  Jefferson Starship gave a free concert in New York City's Central Park to commemorate the group's 10th anniversary.
1975:  Elite guitarist Brian May of Queen collapsed onstage after a performance at the Uris Theatre in New York City.  The group had to cancel the rest of their tour, and May flew back to London on May 16.  He was later diagnosed with hepatitis.  (Note:  some websites report that May collapsed on May 11, and several say it was May 16, 1980.  The latter couldn't be more wrong; the correct date is May 12, 1975, according to the book 'The Queen Chronology:  The Recording & Release History of the Band' by Patrick Lemieux and Adam Unger.) 










1977:  The song "Hotel California" by the Eagles was certified Gold.
1979:  Jefferson Starship gave a free concert in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, introducing new lead singer Mickey Thomas.











1979:  "Love Is The Answer", the timeless song from England Dan & John Ford Coley, remained at #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
1979:  Peaches & Herb remained at the top of the R&B chart for a third week with "Reunited".
1983:  Meat Loaf filed for bankruptcy.
1984:  "Hello" spent a sixth week at #1 for Lionel Richie on the Adult Contemporary chart.







1984:  "Hello" also hit #1 on the Popular chart, taking down the great Phil Collins song "Against All Odds".  The Thompson Twins had #3 "Hold Me Now" while Deniece Williams was climbing fast with "Let's Hear It For The Boy", another single from the movie Footloose.  The rest of the Top 10:  Rick Springfield's rocker "Love Somebody", Julio Iglesias & Willie Nelson bragged about their conquests at #6 with "To All The Girls I've Loved Before", the Cars held steady at 7 with "You Might Think", "Footloose" was #8 for Kenny Loggins, Steve Perry's first solo hit "Oh Sherrie" entered the top 10 at #9 and Cyndi Lauper had #10--"Time After Time".

1985:  Lionel Richie earned an honorary Doctor of Music degree from his Alma mater of Tuskegee Institute in Alabama.
1989:  Ron Wilson, whose drumming you hear on the great instrumental "Wipe Out" by the Surfaris, died of a brain aneurysm at age 44.  (Note:  some websites report that Wilson died on May 7, while others say he died May 19.  While sadly there are no credible sources for his date of death, our best information indicates that Ron died May 12.)
1990:  Former Eagles members Don Henley, Glenn Frey and Timothy B. Schmidt performed together at a rock and roll convention in Los Angeles.
1990:  Sinead O'Connor topped the chart for a fourth week with "Nothing Compares 2 (sic) U" (sic).

                                                 Ummm--perhaps Man of the Century?


1992:  Paul Simon and Billy Joel met with the great Mikhail Gorbachev, who gave so many people freedom.  Now, our sympathies are with the Russian people who must endure yet another poor leader in Putin.











1994:  Elton John released the single "Can You Feel The Love Tonight".
1995:  Peter Tork of the Monkees made an appearance on the ABC-TV show Boy Meets World.
1998:  Garbage released their second album Version 2.0.  (Note:  many websites report the album was released May 11, but according to 'Billboard' and 'MTV', the correct date is May 12.)
2000:  Thieves stole the gates to the famous children's home Strawberry Fields in Liverpool, England.  A scrap dealer later saved the day by turning them in.

2001:  The great Perry Como, whose recording and television career spanned 50 years and whose popularity spanned generations, died shortly before his 89th birthday in Jupiter Inlet Colony, Florida.
2002:  Dionne Warwick was arrested at Miami International Airport after baggage screeners found 11 marijuana cigarettes inside her lipstick container.








2003:  The great jazz artist and pianist Diana Krall confirmed her engagement to Elvis Costello.
2004:  John Whitehead of the duo McFadden & Whitehead ("Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now", the platinum single from 1979) was shot dead while fixing his car in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by two unknown gunmen.  He was 55.
2006:  Guns N' Roses played at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City, previewing six songs from their upcoming Chinese Democracy album.
2011:  Stevie Wonder received an honorary degree of fine arts from Tulane University in New Orleans.


Born This Day:

1929:  Burt Bacharach, who wrote "Close To You" for the Carpenters, "Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head" for B.J. Thomas, "Arthur's Theme" for Christopher Cross, "Heartlight" by Neil Diamond, "The Look Of Love" and "Wishin' And Hopin'" by Dusty Springfield, "What The World Needs Now Is Love" by Jackie DeShannon, "One Less Bell To Answer" by the 5th Dimension, "Baby, It's You" by the Shirelles, and many of Dionne Warwick's hits (including "I Say A Little Prayer", "Do You Know The Way To San Jose", and "I'll Never Fall In Love Again", "Walk On By"), was born in Kansas City, Missouri.
1935:  Steve Knight, keyboardist of Mountain, was born in New York City; died January 19, 2013 from complications of Parkinson's disease in Riverdale, New York.









1942:  Billy Swan, who gave us "I Can Help" in 1974, was born in Cape Girardeau, Missouri .
1944:  James Purify (of James & Bobby Purify--"I'm Your Puppet") was born in Pensacola, Florida.
1946:  Ian McLagan, keyboardist of Small Faces and Faces, was born in Hounslow, Middlesex, England; died December 3, 2014 in Austin, Texas, a day after he suffered a stroke.  (Note:  the newspaper 'The New York Times' reports that McLagan was born in London, and several websites report that he was born in Hounslow, London.  McLagan was born in Hounslow, Middlesex, England, according to 'Billboard' magazine and the English newspapers 'The Independent' and 'The Telegraph'.  Hounslow is now a Borough of London located in the county of Greater London, but at the time of McLagan's birth, Hounslow was located in the county of Middlesex.  Even 'The New York Times", which is nearly infallible, is not as accurate as 'Inside The Rock Era' when it comes to music news.) 

Winwood joined the Spencer Davis Group at age 15...

1948:  Steve Winwood, member of Spencer Davis Group, Blind Faith and Traffic and huge solo star, was born in Handsworth, Staffordshire, England.  (Note:  some websites list Winwood's birthplace as Birmingham, England, while others say he was born in Handsworth, Birmingham, England, and others that say he was born in Great Barr, Birmingham, England, or Handsworth, West Midlands, England.  Steve was born in Handsworth, according to the book 'Encyclopedia of Pop Music Aliases, 1950-2000' by Bob Leszckak and other reputable sources.  However, Handsworth is not in the county of Birmingham, and the county of West Midlands did not exist until the Local Government Act of 1974, 26 years after Winwood was born.  No, at the time of his birth, Handsworth was part of the county of Staffordshire, and no official birth certificate will list the county as either Birmingham or West Midlands.)

1950:  Billy Squier was born in Wellesley Hills, Massachusetts.
1958:  Eric Singer (real name Eric Mensinger), drummer for Kiss, was born in Cleveland, Ohio.
1961:  Billy Duffy, guitarist and songwriter of the Cult, was born in Hulme, Manchester, England.
1967:  Paul D'Amour, bass guitarist of Tool, was born in Spokane, Washington.