TODAY IN HISTORY – MAY 4TH
INTERNATIONAL STAR WARS DAY – “May the Fourth be with You”
1951 - Born this day, Jackie Jackson [Sigmund], singer, The Jackson Five, 1970 US No.1 and UK No.2 single I Want You Back, with The Jacksons, 1977 UK No.1 single Show You The Way To Go.
1951 - Born this day, Bruce Day, Santana, 1970 US No.4 single Black Magic Woman, 1977 UK No.11 single She's Not There, also with Pablo Cruise
1956 - Gene Vincent recorded the classic rock 'n roll song 'Be Bop-A-Lula', at Owen Bradley's studio in Nashville, Tennessee. The song went on to be a US & UK Top 20 hit in this year. Vincent has said that he wrote the words to the song after being inspired by a comic strip called "Little Lulu".
1967 - The Young Rascals started a four week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with Groovin'.
1968 - Mary Hopkin won her heat on the ITV talent show 'Opportunity Knocks'. She later signed with The Beatles owned Apple Records, Paul McCartney produced her UK No.1 single 'Those Were The Days', which also made No. 2 in the US. Hopkin later married record producer Tony Visconti.
1970 - Four students at Kent University were killed and eleven wounded by National Guard troops at a campus demonstration protesting the escalation of the Vietnam War. The incident inspired Neil Young to compose 'Ohio' which became a hit for Crosby Stills Nash & Young.
1973 - Led Zeppelin opened their 1973 US tour, which is billed as the 'biggest and most profitable rock & roll tour in the history of the United States'. The group grossed over $3 million.
1974 - Abba reached the top of the charts with Waterloo, the Eurovision winner. This was the group's first of nine UK No.1’s.
1976 - Kiss performed their first concert.
1978 - Night Fever, the theme from the film Saturday Night Fever, by The Bee Gees was at No.1 on the UK singles chart. The group's third No.1.
1987 - American blues vocalist, harmonica player Paul Butterfield, who fronted The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, died at his home in North Hollywood, California, of drug-related heart failure, he was 44. Gained international recognition, as one of the early acts performing during the Summer of Love, at The Monterey festival and Woodstock festival.
1989 - Stevie Ray Vaughan set out on what would be his last ever tour at the Orpheum Theatre, Vancouver, British Columbia. The guitarist was killed in a helicopter crash on 27th Aug 1999 after a concert at Alpine Valley Music Theater in Wisconsin, after playing 107 of the 110 dates.
1991 - 25 years after her chart debut, Cher scored her first solo UK No.1 single with The Shoop Shoop Song.
1996 - Alanis Morissette started a six week run at No.1 on the UK album chart with Jagged Little Pill.
1996 - George Michael scored his seventh UK No.1 single as a solo artist when 'Fastlove' started a three-week run at the top of the chart. The second of six singles to be taken from George's comeback album Older.
1997 - Courtney Love placed an advert in The Seattle Times selling the house she had shared with Kurt Cobain. The five bedroom four bathroom house was on the market for $3m. The carriage house where Kurt Cobain died had been knocked down during refurbishment.
2000 - Metallica were demanding online music service Napster cut off 335,000 users who they claimed had been illegally trading their songs. The band had passed on the names of all those they considered to be "stealing" their material over the internet in the latest development in an ongoing battle over the protection of music copyrights on the web.
2008 - Thieves broke into the childhood home of Motown star Martha Reeves and stole about $1 million worth of uninsured recording equipment, including speakers, microphones and karaoke machines. A suspect was arrested at his home later in the day after he tried to sell the goods to a pawnshop for $400.
2010 – A survey commissioned my MySpace (which interviewed 1000 music fans) found that Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” is the most influential video in pop music history. “Here it goes again” by OK Go dancing on treadmills (2006) was 2nd followed by “Baby one more time” – Britney Spears and “Take on me” – Aha. Johnny Cash came in 5th with “Hurt” followed by the classic Queen clip “Bohemian Rhapsody”.
2008 - Rap star Sean 'Diddy' Combs was honoured with a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame. The 38-year-old dedicated the star to his father, who was shot dead in 1972.
INTERNATIONAL STAR WARS DAY – “May the Fourth be with You”
1951 - Born this day, Jackie Jackson [Sigmund], singer, The Jackson Five, 1970 US No.1 and UK No.2 single I Want You Back, with The Jacksons, 1977 UK No.1 single Show You The Way To Go.
1951 - Born this day, Bruce Day, Santana, 1970 US No.4 single Black Magic Woman, 1977 UK No.11 single She's Not There, also with Pablo Cruise
1956 - Gene Vincent recorded the classic rock 'n roll song 'Be Bop-A-Lula', at Owen Bradley's studio in Nashville, Tennessee. The song went on to be a US & UK Top 20 hit in this year. Vincent has said that he wrote the words to the song after being inspired by a comic strip called "Little Lulu".
1967 - The Young Rascals started a four week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with Groovin'.
1968 - Mary Hopkin won her heat on the ITV talent show 'Opportunity Knocks'. She later signed with The Beatles owned Apple Records, Paul McCartney produced her UK No.1 single 'Those Were The Days', which also made No. 2 in the US. Hopkin later married record producer Tony Visconti.
1970 - Four students at Kent University were killed and eleven wounded by National Guard troops at a campus demonstration protesting the escalation of the Vietnam War. The incident inspired Neil Young to compose 'Ohio' which became a hit for Crosby Stills Nash & Young.
1973 - Led Zeppelin opened their 1973 US tour, which is billed as the 'biggest and most profitable rock & roll tour in the history of the United States'. The group grossed over $3 million.
1974 - Abba reached the top of the charts with Waterloo, the Eurovision winner. This was the group's first of nine UK No.1’s.
1976 - Kiss performed their first concert.
1978 - Night Fever, the theme from the film Saturday Night Fever, by The Bee Gees was at No.1 on the UK singles chart. The group's third No.1.
1987 - American blues vocalist, harmonica player Paul Butterfield, who fronted The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, died at his home in North Hollywood, California, of drug-related heart failure, he was 44. Gained international recognition, as one of the early acts performing during the Summer of Love, at The Monterey festival and Woodstock festival.
1989 - Stevie Ray Vaughan set out on what would be his last ever tour at the Orpheum Theatre, Vancouver, British Columbia. The guitarist was killed in a helicopter crash on 27th Aug 1999 after a concert at Alpine Valley Music Theater in Wisconsin, after playing 107 of the 110 dates.
1991 - 25 years after her chart debut, Cher scored her first solo UK No.1 single with The Shoop Shoop Song.
1996 - Alanis Morissette started a six week run at No.1 on the UK album chart with Jagged Little Pill.
1996 - George Michael scored his seventh UK No.1 single as a solo artist when 'Fastlove' started a three-week run at the top of the chart. The second of six singles to be taken from George's comeback album Older.
1997 - Courtney Love placed an advert in The Seattle Times selling the house she had shared with Kurt Cobain. The five bedroom four bathroom house was on the market for $3m. The carriage house where Kurt Cobain died had been knocked down during refurbishment.
2000 - Metallica were demanding online music service Napster cut off 335,000 users who they claimed had been illegally trading their songs. The band had passed on the names of all those they considered to be "stealing" their material over the internet in the latest development in an ongoing battle over the protection of music copyrights on the web.
2008 - Thieves broke into the childhood home of Motown star Martha Reeves and stole about $1 million worth of uninsured recording equipment, including speakers, microphones and karaoke machines. A suspect was arrested at his home later in the day after he tried to sell the goods to a pawnshop for $400.
2010 – A survey commissioned my MySpace (which interviewed 1000 music fans) found that Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” is the most influential video in pop music history. “Here it goes again” by OK Go dancing on treadmills (2006) was 2nd followed by “Baby one more time” – Britney Spears and “Take on me” – Aha. Johnny Cash came in 5th with “Hurt” followed by the classic Queen clip “Bohemian Rhapsody”.
2008 - Rap star Sean 'Diddy' Combs was honoured with a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame. The 38-year-old dedicated the star to his father, who was shot dead in 1972.