10 APRIL
In Music History
1970 Heavy metal guitarist Mike Mushok (of Staind) is born in Manhasset, New York.
1970 Elton John releases Elton John, his first album in America and second in the UK. It includes "Your Song" and "Take Me To The Pilot."
1970 Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest is born Jonathan Davis in New York City. Also known as "The Abstract," he works to elevate hip-hop by incorporating more eclectic samples (many from jazz records) and writing lyrics that carry a socially conscious message that never comes off preachy.
1970 R&B singer Kenny Lattimore ("Never Too Busy," "For You") is born in Washington, DC.
1968 Bill Kreutzmann invites Mickey Hart to join Grateful Dead as its second drummer.
1967 Paul McCartney attends a Beach Boys recording session in Hollywood.
1965 Freddie & the Dreamers' "I'm Telling You Now" goes to #1 in the US.
1960 Katrina Leskanich of Katrina & the Waves is born in Topeka, Kansas.
1960 Hip hop DJ Afrika Bambaataa (of Afrika Bambaataa & The Soulsonic Force) is born Kevin Donovan in The Bronx, New York.
1959 R&B singer-songwriter Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds is born in Indianapolis, Indiana.
1959 Brian Setzer (of Stray Cats, The Brian Setzer Orchestra) is born in Massapequa, New York.
1958 Bobby Darin records "Splish Splash" and "Queen Of The Hop" at Atlantic Studios in New York.
1958 Rock 'n roll singer Chuck Willis dies at age 30 of peritonitis.
1957 Ricky Nelson, 16, performs his first single, a cover of Fats Domino's "I'm Walking," on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, the TV series he stars in alongside his real-life family. The song quickly climbs the charts and launches his music career.
1957 Bass guitarist Steve Gustafson (of 10,000 Maniacs) is born in Seville, Spain.
Paul McCartney Quits The Beatles - Sort Of
1970In publicity materials released to promote his first solo album, McCartney, Paul McCartney indicates that he's done with The Beatles. Paul's comments in the press release are considered official confirmation that the band has broken up.
Read more10 APRIL
Featured Events
1998 Three days after being arrested in a Los Angeles park for lewd conduct, George Michael comes out as gay in an interview with CNN. "I have no problem with people knowing that I'm in a relationship with a man right now," he says.
1993 Depeche Mode's eighth album, Songs of Faith and Devotion, reaches #1 in America, knocking Whitney Houston's soundtrack from The Bodyguard off the top spot, and holding off challengers Eric Clapton, Kenny G and Sting. Inspired by the grunge scene, the band adds distorted guitars and live drums to their signature synth sound.More
1985 Madonna begins her first tour, the Virgin Tour, in Seattle. Her opening act is a petulant, little-known white rap trio called the Beastie Boys, which gets booed throughout their set.
1976 Peter Frampton's album Frampton Comes Alive! hits #1 in the US, where it stays for 10 non-consecutive weeks, more than any other album in 1976.
1970 At one of the band's last concerts, in Boston, Doors frontman Jim Morrison asks the audience if they'd like to see something of his "that rhymes with 'sock,'" and then, more bluntly, screams "Would you like to see my genitals?" The power in the stadium is switched off, and keyboardist Ray Manzarek pulls the singer, already facing similar charges from a Miami gig, off the stage.
1969 Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin's steamy duet "Je T'aime... Moi Non Plus" hits #1 in the UK, where it's banned by the BBC.More
1962 Stu Sutcliffe, original bass guitarist for The Beatles, dies at age 21 of a brain aneurysm.
1956 Performing to an all-white audience at a segregated show in Birmingham, Alabama, Nat King Cole is attacked by four members of the Ku Klux Klan who rush the stage to assault him. Cole suffers a back injury and is treated at the hospital, but returns that night to play his second show, this time to an all-black audience. The attackers receive the maximum sentence of 180 days in jail.
©2026 Songfacts®, LLC