TODAY IN HISTORY – MAY 1ST
1945 – Born this day, Rita Coolidge. Biggest solo hit was “Higher and Higher” (1977) also recorded duet albums with her husband Kris Kristofferson.
1954 - Born this day, Ray Parker, Jr., singer, songwriter. 1984 US No.1 and UK No.2 single Ghostbusters, spent 31 weeks on the UK chart.
1962 - The Beatles started a month long residency at The Star Club, Hamburg, Germany. American musicians including Ray Charles, Bo Diddley, Fats Domino, Everly Brothers, Bill Haley, Jimi Hendrix and Jerry Lee Lewis also all appeared here.
1964 - The Beatles received $140,000 dollars for the rights to having their pictures included in packages of bubble gum in the USA.
1965 - Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter by Herman's Hermits hit the No.1 spot on the US pop chart.
1967 - Born this day, Tim McGraw, country singer, 1994 US No.1 album Not A Moment Too Soon. Married to fellow country singer, Faith Hill.
1967 - 32 year old Elvis Presley married 21 year old Priscilla Beaulieu, a girl he first met in 1959 when she was just 14 years old. When Elvis got out of the army in 1960, Beaulieu moved into the singer's Graceland mansion with her family's blessing. The wedding ceremony took place at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas and although the marriage license was only $15, the wedding cake cost $3,500. The couple divorced after five years of marriage on October 9, 1973.
1967 - The F.B.I. arrested The Beach Boys' Carl Wilson on charges of avoiding the military draft and refusing to take the Oath of Allegiance. He was later released and joined the rest of the band in Ireland for a British tour.
1969 - Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash taped a TV special at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville.
1968 - Born on this day, D'arcy Wretsky-Brown, bass, Smashing Pumpkins, (1995 US No.1 album 'Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness', 1996 UK No.7 single 'Tonight Tonight').
1970 - Born on this day, Bernard Butler, guitar, vocals, Suede, (1994 UK No.3 single 'Stay Together', left in 1994), solo, (1995 UK No.8 single 'Yes' with David McAlmont),
1971 - Brown Sugar recorded by The Rolling Stones, debuted on Billboard's pop charts on this date. The song was on the charts for 12 weeks and was in the Number 1 position for 2 weeks. Also a UK 1971 No.2 single.
1973 - In the US, Washington DC, proclaimed a 'Marvin Gaye Day'.
1974 - The Carpenters performed at the White House, at the request of President Nixon.
1976 - The Bellamy Brothers went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Let Your Love Flow', the duo's only US No.1, a No.7 hit in the UK.
1979 - Elton John became the first pop star to perform in Israel. In three weeks time he also became the first Western solo pop performer to tour Russia.
1980 - The South African government banned Pink Floyd's single 'Another Brick In The Wall' after black children adopted the song as their anthem in protest against inferior education.
1984 - Fleetwood Mac drummer and founder member Mick Fleetwood filed for bankruptcy.
1997 - Status Quo guitarist Rick Parfitt had a quadruple heart by-pass operation after visiting his Harley Street doctor and complaining of chest pains.
1997 - The house where Kurt Cobain committed suicide went up for sale. The asking price for the five-bedroom house built in 1902 was $3 million. The carriage house where the Nirvana guitarist died had been demolished.
2000 - A writer who claimed Neil Young went back on an agreement to have a biography written about him filed a $1.8 million civil fraud suit against Young in Los Angeles Superior Court. Young had blocked the book's publication.
2005 - Coldplay became the first British band to have a new entry in the US Top 10 singles chart since The Beatles. Coldplay's latest single 'Speed Of Sound' entered the chart at number eight, only the second time a UK band has achieved the feat. The Beatles managed it with 'Hey Jude' in 1968.
2005 - Tony Christie made chart history by hanging on to the UK number one spot for the seventh week in a row with '(Is This The Way To) Amarillo.' The last single to spend that long at number one was 'Believe' by Cher from October to December 1998.
2005 - Matchbox 20 singer Rob Thomas went to No.1 on the US album chart with his first solo album 'Something To Be.' This marked the first time a male artist from a rock group had debuted at number one with his first solo album since the Billboard Top 200 was introduced 50 years ago.
2013 - A Minnesota man was accused of pretending to be a member of Pink Floyd at a US hospital racked up as much as $100,000 in unpaid medical bills. Phillip Michael Schaeffer, 53, went for treatment April 20 and claimed he was Pink Floyd singer-guitarist David Gilmour and that he didn't have health insurance. The man was treated and released from the St. Cloud Hospital, Minnesota, but not before he signed an autograph for an employee’s son.
1945 – Born this day, Rita Coolidge. Biggest solo hit was “Higher and Higher” (1977) also recorded duet albums with her husband Kris Kristofferson.
1954 - Born this day, Ray Parker, Jr., singer, songwriter. 1984 US No.1 and UK No.2 single Ghostbusters, spent 31 weeks on the UK chart.
1962 - The Beatles started a month long residency at The Star Club, Hamburg, Germany. American musicians including Ray Charles, Bo Diddley, Fats Domino, Everly Brothers, Bill Haley, Jimi Hendrix and Jerry Lee Lewis also all appeared here.
1964 - The Beatles received $140,000 dollars for the rights to having their pictures included in packages of bubble gum in the USA.
1965 - Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter by Herman's Hermits hit the No.1 spot on the US pop chart.
1967 - Born this day, Tim McGraw, country singer, 1994 US No.1 album Not A Moment Too Soon. Married to fellow country singer, Faith Hill.
1967 - 32 year old Elvis Presley married 21 year old Priscilla Beaulieu, a girl he first met in 1959 when she was just 14 years old. When Elvis got out of the army in 1960, Beaulieu moved into the singer's Graceland mansion with her family's blessing. The wedding ceremony took place at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas and although the marriage license was only $15, the wedding cake cost $3,500. The couple divorced after five years of marriage on October 9, 1973.
1967 - The F.B.I. arrested The Beach Boys' Carl Wilson on charges of avoiding the military draft and refusing to take the Oath of Allegiance. He was later released and joined the rest of the band in Ireland for a British tour.
1969 - Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash taped a TV special at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville.
1968 - Born on this day, D'arcy Wretsky-Brown, bass, Smashing Pumpkins, (1995 US No.1 album 'Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness', 1996 UK No.7 single 'Tonight Tonight').
1970 - Born on this day, Bernard Butler, guitar, vocals, Suede, (1994 UK No.3 single 'Stay Together', left in 1994), solo, (1995 UK No.8 single 'Yes' with David McAlmont),
1971 - Brown Sugar recorded by The Rolling Stones, debuted on Billboard's pop charts on this date. The song was on the charts for 12 weeks and was in the Number 1 position for 2 weeks. Also a UK 1971 No.2 single.
1973 - In the US, Washington DC, proclaimed a 'Marvin Gaye Day'.
1974 - The Carpenters performed at the White House, at the request of President Nixon.
1976 - The Bellamy Brothers went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Let Your Love Flow', the duo's only US No.1, a No.7 hit in the UK.
1979 - Elton John became the first pop star to perform in Israel. In three weeks time he also became the first Western solo pop performer to tour Russia.
1980 - The South African government banned Pink Floyd's single 'Another Brick In The Wall' after black children adopted the song as their anthem in protest against inferior education.
1984 - Fleetwood Mac drummer and founder member Mick Fleetwood filed for bankruptcy.
1997 - Status Quo guitarist Rick Parfitt had a quadruple heart by-pass operation after visiting his Harley Street doctor and complaining of chest pains.
1997 - The house where Kurt Cobain committed suicide went up for sale. The asking price for the five-bedroom house built in 1902 was $3 million. The carriage house where the Nirvana guitarist died had been demolished.
2000 - A writer who claimed Neil Young went back on an agreement to have a biography written about him filed a $1.8 million civil fraud suit against Young in Los Angeles Superior Court. Young had blocked the book's publication.
2005 - Coldplay became the first British band to have a new entry in the US Top 10 singles chart since The Beatles. Coldplay's latest single 'Speed Of Sound' entered the chart at number eight, only the second time a UK band has achieved the feat. The Beatles managed it with 'Hey Jude' in 1968.
2005 - Tony Christie made chart history by hanging on to the UK number one spot for the seventh week in a row with '(Is This The Way To) Amarillo.' The last single to spend that long at number one was 'Believe' by Cher from October to December 1998.
2005 - Matchbox 20 singer Rob Thomas went to No.1 on the US album chart with his first solo album 'Something To Be.' This marked the first time a male artist from a rock group had debuted at number one with his first solo album since the Billboard Top 200 was introduced 50 years ago.
2013 - A Minnesota man was accused of pretending to be a member of Pink Floyd at a US hospital racked up as much as $100,000 in unpaid medical bills. Phillip Michael Schaeffer, 53, went for treatment April 20 and claimed he was Pink Floyd singer-guitarist David Gilmour and that he didn't have health insurance. The man was treated and released from the St. Cloud Hospital, Minnesota, but not before he signed an autograph for an employee’s son.