1957 – Elvis Presley bought the Graceland mansion from Mrs Ruth Brown-Moore for $102,500. The 23 room, 10,000 square foot home, on 13.8 acres of land, would be expanded to 17,552 square feet of living space before the king moved in a few weeks later. The original building had at one time been a place of worship, used by the Graceland Christian Church and was named after the builder’s daughter, Grace Toof.
1966 – The Walker Brothers had their second UK No.1 with the single ‘The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore’, (originally recorded by Frankie Valli).
1967 – Working at Abbey Road studios in London, The Beatles finished the recording of ‘She’s Leaving Home’ after adding backing vocals to the track. Harpist Sheila Bromberg who was part of the string section on the track became the first woman to play on a Beatles recording.
1973 – Dr Hook’s single ‘On The Cover Of Rolling Stone’ peaked at No.6 on the US chart. The single was banned in the UK by the BBC due to the reference of the magazine.
1978 – U2 won £500 ($850) and a chance to audition for CBS Ireland in a talent contest held in Dublin. The Limerick Civic Week Pop ’78 Competition was sponsored by The Evening Express and Guinness Harp Lager.
1979 – Gloria Gaynor started a four-week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘I Will Survive.’ The song was originally released as the B-side to a song first recorded by The Righteous Brothers called ‘Substitute.’
1979 – The Bee Gees went to No.1 on the UK album chart with their fifteenth studio album release ‘Spirits Having Flown.’ the group’s first album after their collaboration on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. The album’s first three tracks were released as singles and all reached No.1 in the US, giving the Bee Gees an unbroken run of six US chart-toppers and tying a record set by The Beatles.
1984 – Van Halen’s ‘Jump’ peaked at No.1 in the US. Over the years David Lee Roth has given various accounts of the meaning behind the lyrics, but most often says they are about a TV news story he saw where a man was about to kill himself by jumping off a building.
1990 – British multi-instrumentalist. Rick Grech who had worked with Family, Blind Faith, Traffic, and Ginger Baker’s Air Force died of renal failure at the age of 43, as a result of alcoholism. As a session musician Grech also worked with Rod Stewart, Ronnie Lane, Vivian Stanshall, Muddy Waters, The Crickets, Bee Gees and Gram Parsons.
1996 – American singer and songwriter Terry Stafford died of liver failure, at the age of 54. He is best known for his 1964 US Top 10 hit, ‘Suspicion’, (also recorded by Elvis Presley) and the 1973 country music hit, ‘Amarillo by Morning’. ‘Suspicion’ had the distinction of being sixth on the Billboard Hot 100 on April 4, 1964, when the Beatles held down the top five spots. ‘Amarillo by Morning’, was later covered by George Strait on Strait’s 1982 album Strait from the Heart. The song was named No.12 country song of all-time by Country Music Television.
1997 – American R&B singer Jermaine Stewart died of AIDS-related liver cancer at age 39. Stewart scored the 1986 UK No.2 and US No.5 single ‘We Don’t Have To…Take Our Clothes Off’. He gained recognition as a dancer on the television show Soul Train. Stewart later worked with Shalamar, The Temptations and Boy George.
1997 – Elvis Presley Enterprises of Memphis, Tennessee, lost its Court of Appeal battle to stop London trader Sid Shaw using the name of ‘The King’ on his souvenirs. The legal tussle with Mr Shaw, who ran a memorabilia shop called ‘Elvisly Yours’, had been going on for over 17 years. Speaking after the ruling, Mr Shaw said: “I’m delighted. I’ve proved that Elvis belongs to all of us – Elvis is part of our history, part of our culture.
2004 – The Kinks singer Ray Davies received his CBE medal from the Queen at Buckingham Palace for services to the music industry.
2005 – Justin Hawkins from The Darkness became the centre of the latest hands-on activity at Madame Tussauds in London. His wax double would judge the air guitar skills of visitors who would be invited to play an imaginary guitar with smoke and music pumping out. Hawkins said: “I find the process of air guitaring rather silly. What makes a good air guitarist? Alcohol.”
2006 – The Smiths turned down a $5m offer to reform for a music festival. The band who split acrimoniously in 1987, rejected the bid to get back together for this year’s Coachella US festival.
2007 – Zola Taylor from American vocal group The Platters who had the 1959 UK & US No.1 single ‘Smoke Gets In Your Eyes’. She was the original female member of The Platters from 1954 to 1962. The Platters were one of the first African-American groups to be accepted as a major chart group and were, for a period of time, the most successful vocal group in the world.
2008 – Ola Brunkert, the former drummer with the Swedish group ABBA, was found dead with his throat cut at his home in Majorca, Spain. Brunkert died after he hit his head against a glass door in the dining room at his home. He had managed to wrap a towel around his neck and leave the house to seek help, but collapsed and was found dead in his garden. The 62-year old musician had played on every Abba album the group released and had toured with the group.
2010 – American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer, Alex Chilton died in hospital of heart problems in New Orleans aged 59. As a teenager Chilton had been a member of The Box Tops who had the 1967 hit ‘The Letter’ and later in 1971 co-founded the power-pop group Big Star, with Chris Bell. In the 1980s both R.E.M., and the Replacements cited Big Star group as a major influence.
2013 – John Lennon and George Harrison were honoured with a blue plaque at the site of the former Apple Boutique in a ceremony in London held at at 94 Baker Street. The new plaque reads “John Lennon, M.B.E., 1940-1980, and George Harrison, M.B.E., 1943-2001, worked here.”
2016 – English indie rock band The 1975 were at No.1 on the US album chart with their second album I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware of It. The album title set the record for the longest of a Billboard No.1 album with 71 characters.
