1966, John Lennon’s statement that The Beatles were ‘more popular than Jesus Christ’ was published in The London Evening Standard. “Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. We’re more popular then Jesus now; I don’t know which will go first, rock ‘n’ roll or Christianity. Jesus was alright, but his disciples were thick and ordinary.” Christian groups in the US were outraged resulting in some states burning Beatles records. Lennon later apologised.
1967, The Rolling Stones went to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Ruby Tuesday’, the group’s fourth US No.1 single. ‘Lets Spend The Night Together’ was the original A side but after radio stations banned the song ‘Tuesday’ became the A side.
1978, The US internal Revenue Service carried out a dawn raid at the home of Jerry Lee Lewis and removed cars worth over £100,000 ($170,000) to pay off his tax debts.
1979, Randy Jackson of The Jackson Five was seriously injured in a car crash breaking both legs and almost died in the emergency room when a nurse inadvertently injects him with methadone.
1982, Frank Zappa’s son Dweezil and his daughter Moon Unit formed a band called Fred Zeppelin. Their first single was ‘My Mother is a Space Cadet’.
1986, American songwriter Howard Greenfield died of a brain tumour aged 50. Working out of the famous Brill Building with Neil Sedaka he co-wrote many hits including ‘Calendar Girl’, ‘Breaking Up Is Hard To Do’, and ‘Crying In The Rain’ with Carole King. Also wrote TV theme songs including the theme to ‘Bewitched.’
1986, After just completing a two set show with The Band in Winter Park, Florida, 41 year old Richard Manuel of The Band hanged himself from a shower curtain rod in a hotel room in Florida. His band mate, Robbie Robertson honoured his friend with the song, ‘Fallen Angel’ in 1987.
1993, Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown became parents when Whitney gave birth to a baby girl, Bobbi Kristina Houston Brown. Bobbi went on to become an reality television and media personality, singer, and actress. Brown died in hospice care on July 26, 2015, at the age of 22 after being found face down in a bathtub in her Georgia home. She was later placed into a medically induced coma.
1994, Kurt Cobain was rushed to hospital after overdosing on alcohol and drugs in a Rome hotel during a Nirvana European tour. Cobain had taken 50-60 pills of Rohypnol mixed with champagne; rumours on the internet claimed that Kurt was dead.
1997, Raymond Edwards American bassist with The Silhouettes died. The doo wop/R&B groups single ‘Get A Job’ was a No.1 hit on the Billboard R&B singles chart and pop singles chart in 1958. The doo-wop revival group Sha Na Na derived their name from the song’s lyrics. ‘Get A Job’ is included in the soundtracks of the film American Graffiti, Trading Places and Stand By Me. The Silhouettes performed in the 1986 movie Joey.
2001, Village People singer Glenn Hughes died of lung cancer aged 50 in his Manhattan apartment in New York. He was the original “Biker” character in the disco group who scored the 1978 UK No.1 & US No.2 single Y.M.C.A.
2002, Doreen Waddell, singer with Soul II Soul was killed after attempting to run across the A27 in Brighton, England after being caught shoplifting.
2003, A noisy neighbour was banned from playing her music and had her stereo system impounded, after she had played Cliff Richard music too loudly. 23 year-old Sian Davies was fined £1,000 ($1,700) plus court costs after environmental protection officers raided her flat in Porth, Rhondda, Wales and seized 15 amplifiers and speakers, plus 135 CDs and cassette tapes. The disc found in her CD player was the Cliff Richard single, ‘Peace in Our Time’. A spokesman for the Cliff Richard Organization said he was delighted to hear of somebody in their early 20s owning one of his many recordings. He added, Cliff would not want anyone to play his music so that it caused a nuisance.
2007, Take That went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Shine’, their 10th UK No.1 single. The song was featured in several commercials for the re-launched Morrisons supermarkets in the UK, and went on to win the British single of the year award at the 2008 Brit Awards.
2009, Britney Spears kicked off a world tour in New Orleans, her first concert tour for five years. The 27-year-old who dressed as a ringmaster in the show, featured jugglers, acrobats and martial arts dancers.
2012, According to Nielsen SoundScan in the US, vinyl sales increased 36 percent in 2011 compared to the previous year, concluding that vinyl records where making a big comeback for music fans.
2015, Daryl Hall and John Oates were suing cereal maker Early Bird Foods & Co. over the company’s use of the name Haulin’ Oates for their maple syrup granola bars. The two musicians accused the Brooklyn-based firm of infringing on their trademark with the packet of cereal deliberately creating a phonetic play on the band’s well-known name.
