Pick a Day

Music History Events: Tributes

October 9, 1985 On what would have been John Lennon's 45th birthday, a section of Central Park in New York City is christened "Strawberry Fields" in his memory.More

January 24, 1982 The Super Bowl is held in Pontiac, Michigan, so the halftime show is a salute to Motown. Diana Ross sings the national anthem.

December 14, 1980 At Yoko Ono's request, a 10-minute worldwide silent vigil takes place at 2:00 p.m. EST for John Lennon, who was shot and killed six days earlier. Lennon was cremated without a funeral, so the vigil is the public outpouring of support and mourning. A large crowd gathers in Central Park near where Lennon lived with Yoko to take part; this becomes a tradition on each anniversary of Lennon's death.

December 9, 1980 The airwaves are filled with the music of John Lennon, who was shot and killed the previous evening. In Philadelphia, Bruce Springsteen opens his concert by telling the crowd, "It's hard to come out here and play tonight, but there's nothing else to do."

July 25, 1980 AC/DC release Back In Black, their first album without lead singer Bon Scott, who died five months earlier.More

August 17, 1977 It's the day after Elvis Presley is found dead, and throngs of fans come to Graceland to mourn. President Jimmy Carter releases a statement saying, in part, "Elvis Presley's death deprives our country of a part of itself. He was unique and irreplaceable."

September 20, 1973 The body of The Byrds guitarist Gram Parsons is stolen and taken to Joshua Tree National Park, where it is set on fire.More

November 7, 2018 Joni Mitchell is feted at a concert in Los Angeles to celebrate her 75th birthday. James Taylor sings "Woodstock," Chaka Khan does "Help Me," and Graham Nash performs the song he wrote when they moved in together: "Our House."

April 14, 2009 Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne, Paul McCartney, Olivia Harrison and Dhani Harrison hit the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles to take part in the ceremony honoring George Harrison with his very own star in Hollywood.

June 1, 2007 Contemporary musicians record their own versions of songs from The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's album to mark 40 years since it was released. Acts including Oasis, Travis, The Fray, Kaiser Chiefs, Razorlight, Bryan Adams and The Magic Numbers all work with Geoff Emerick - the engineer in charge of the original 1967 sessions - using the original analogue 4-track equipment to demonstrate the techniques employed for the recording at Abbey Road studios in 1967.

November 19, 2006 The ill-fated Bob Dylan musical tribute The Times They Are A-Changin' closes on Broadway after a scant 28 showings.

June 14, 2006 Rufus Wainwright, son of folk singer Loudon Wainwright III, recreates the whole of Judy Garland's legendary 1961 Carnegie Hall concert at the famous institution in order to mark the show's 35th anniversary.

November 16, 2005 I Walk the Line: A Night for Johnny Cash airs on CBS, with U2, Kris Kristofferson, Jerry Lee Lewis and several others paying tribute to the singer.

April 24, 2005 After 94 performances, the Broadway musical and Beach Boys tribute Good Vibrations closes.

September 28, 2004 A Beverly Hills tribute concert in honor of Ray Charles, featuring Stevie Wonder, Michael McDonald, ]Patti Austin and James Ingram, raises $15 million for Atlanta's African-American institution, Morehouse College.

November 10, 2003 An emotional tribute to the recently deceased Johnny Cash is held at Nashville's famous Ryman Auditorium, featuring classic Cash songs performed by Sheryl Crow, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, Kid Rock, and Steve Earle, among others.

October 3, 2003 The film of the benefit concert The Concert For George, an all-star tribute to the recently deceased ex-Beatle George Harrison, opens in US theaters.

August 16, 2003 The USPS unveils a new commemorative postage stamp of recently deceased composer Henry Mancini, famous for the Pink Panther theme and several other film works.

March 4, 2003 Bruce Springsteen plays Hank Ballard's 1960 hit "Let's Go, Let's Go, Let's Go" at his show in Jacksonville, Florida, to honor Ballard, who died two days earlier.

June 3, 2002 Paul McCartney and Aretha Franklin are the performers at Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee celebrating the 50th year of her reign.

February 4, 2002 On the occasion of civil-rights activist Rosa Parks' 89th birthday, Stevie Wonder sings his song "Happy Birthday" to her at the premiere of her TV-movie biography The Rosa Parks Story. The song had originally been written by Wonder to help bring about a national Martin Luther King holiday.

February 27, 2001 Carlos Santana (Santana) returns to the Mexican town where he grew up, Autlan De Navarro, for the first time in 46 years. A statue honor of Carlos and his father, mariachi player Jose Santana, is unveiled.

October 9, 2000 The John Lennon museum opens in Japan on what would have been his 60th birthday. Yoko Ono allows it to operate for 10 years before terminating the agreement, as she feels Lennon's spirit should stay in motion.

September 28, 2000 Ballet For Life, a ballet tribute to late Queen singer and AIDS casualty Freddie Mercury, premieres at London's Sadler's Wells Theatre.

July 12, 2000 London's Trafalgar Square unveils a sculpture of John Lennon, created by Swedish artist Carl Fredrik Reutersward, which also features a handgun twisted into an unusable shape.

February 22, 2000 The recently departed soul legend Curtis Mayfield is honored at a First African Methodist Episcopal Church service in Los Angeles, featuring performances from Stevie Wonder, Eric Clapton, and, spontaneously, Lauryn Hill.

September 24, 1999 Hank Williams is the subject of the first-ever country music symposium at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. "A Tribute To Hank Williams" begins with Lucinda Williams, Kim Richey, Kathy Mattea, and Steve Earle performing the works of the late country music godfather.

April 10, 1999 The all-star tribute concert Here There and Everywhere: A Concert For Linda is held at London's Royal Albert Hall, where Paul McCartney, George Michael, Chrissie Hynde (of The Pretenders), Elvis Costello and Sinead O'Connor raise money for animal charities while remembering Paul's wife Linda, who has recently succumbed to breast cancer.

January 16, 1999 The inaugural ball for Minnesota Governor (and former professional wrestler) Jesse Ventura goes down at the Target Center in Minneapolis. America play "Ventura Highway," and Warren Zevon does "Werewolves Of London" with Ventura, wearing his trademark bandana and feather boa, howling along on stage.

September 18, 1998 On the Grand Ole Opry, Jett Williams pays tribute to her late father, Hank Williams, who would have been 75 the day before. Daughter salutes father by performing "Your Cheatin' Heart," a song released after his death on New Year's Eve, 1952. "He never sang the song on the Opry. He never sang it live," Williams tells the audience.