16 APRIL
In Music History
1992 David Milgaard is released from jail in Canada after serving 23 years for a crime he didn't commit. The Tragically Hip, who have helped in his fight for justice, write the song "Wheat Kings" about the ordeal.
1980 Academy Award-winning composer Morris Stoloff - who worked with the likes of Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Dinah Shore during his long tenure as music director at Columbia Pictures - dies at age 81.
1977 David Soul's "Don't Give Up On Us," written by Tony MacAulay, hits #1 in the US.
1977 Stevie Wonder becomes a father for the second time when his son Kieta is born.
1976 Boz Scaggs goes to visit friend Bobby "Blue" Bland backstage at the famed Antone's in Austin, Texas, and is beaten unconscious by two bouncers.
1973 Paul McCartney's first television special, James Paul McCartney, airs on ABC, featuring a few Beatles songs, new Wings tracks, sketches, and a final performance of a song called "Gotta Sing, Gotta Dance," originally written for Twiggy.
1972 Electric Light Orchestra make their live debut at Croydon, England's Fox and Greyhound pub.
1971 Tejano singer Selena is born Selena Quintanilla in Lake Jackson, Texas.
1971 Ringo Starr releases his second solo single in the US, "It Don't Come Easy," which will peak at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100.
1969 Elektra Records drop the MC5 from their roster after the group takes out an ad in an underground newspaper castigating the department store chain Hudson's for not stocking their debut album, Kick Out The Jams. Hudson's didn't want it on their shelves because of a line in the title track: "Kick out the jams, motherf--ker!"More
1965 The Hollies make their US stage debut at New York's Paramount Theatre.
1964 The Rolling Stones release their self-titled debut album in the UK.
1964 David Pirner (frontman of Soul Asylum) is born in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
1963 Jimmy Osmond (of The Osmonds) is born in Canoga Park, California.
1962 Punk rocker Ian MacKaye (of Minor Threat, Fugazi) is born in Washington, DC.
Tribute Concert Celebrates Nelson Mandela's Release
1990The Nelson Mandela: An International Tribute for a Free South Africa concert is held in Wembley Stadium, London, to celebrate the release of Mandela, who had been imprisoned since 1962. Neil Young, Peter Gabriel, Lou Reed, Tracy Chapman, Jackson Browne and Bonnie Raitt all perform.
Read more16 APRIL
Featured Events
2007 Ornette Coleman wins the Pulitzer Prize for music for his 2006 album, Sound Grammar, the first jazz work to receive the honor.
1996 Kiss perform at the Grammys in full makeup and glorious costumes. It's just the second time since 1980 (following their 1995 MTV Unplugged taping) that all four original members have been on stage together.
1991 The Temple of the Dog album is released. The one-off project is a tribute to Andrew Wood, the Mother Love Bone lead singer who died in 1990. Temple of the Dog is comprised of Soundgarden members Chris Cornell and Matt Cameron, along with Stone Gossard, Jeff Ament, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam.More
1974 Queen make their US live debut at Regis College in Denver, Colorado, supporting Mott the Hoople. Their trek ends early when Brian May develops hepatitis a month later.
1971 The Rolling Stones issue "Brown Sugar," the first release on their own label, Rolling Stones Records.
1964 Needing one more song for his album, Dean Martin records "Everybody Loves Somebody," which his friend Frank Sinatra recorded in 1948 and several other singers tried in the '50s. Martin's version is the first to hit, and it hits big, knocking The Beatles off the top spot in August.
1955 Kool Herc is born in Kingston, Jamaica. Born Clive Campbell, his stage name is based on "Hercules," a nickname he earns for his strength. When he is 12, his family moves to the Bronx, where Herc becomes a DJ, throwing dance parties where MCs talk over extended breakbeats he creates with two turntables, one of the most important developments in hip-hop.
1944 On shore leave from the Merchant Marines, Woody Guthrie arrives at Folkway Records' studios in New York City, where he starts recording with the label's founder, Moses Asch, in what becomes known as the "Asch recordings." Among the songs recorded during these sessions is "This Land Is Your Land," which becomes an iconic populist protest anthem, covered by countless artists including Pete Seeger and Bruce Springsteen.More
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