4 June

Pick a Day

4 JUNE

In Music History

Page 1
1 2 ... 5

2020 Producer Rupert Hine, whose credits include Tina Turner's hit "Better Be Good To Me" and the first four albums by The Fixx, dies at 72.

2019 Grammy-winning jazz drummer Lawrence Leathers dies at age 37 after being placed in a choke hold during an altercation involving a love triangle.

2013 Cornelius "Nini" Harp (original lead singer of The Marcels) dies of natural causes at age 73.

2013 Joey Covington (drummer for Jefferson Airplane, Hot Tuna) dies in a single-vehicle accident in Palm Springs, California, at age 67.

2007 Soul singer Freddie Scott dies at age 74.

2006 Sandi Thom's "I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker (With Flowers In My Hair)" hits #1 on the UK singles chart.

2006 Orson's Bright Idea hits #1 on the UK albums chart.

2005 System Of A Down's fourth album, Mezmerize, goes to #1 in America. Six months later, their next album, Hypnotize (recorded in the same sessions), takes the top spot.

2004 Nathan Moore, former singer with Brother Beyond and Worlds Apart, appears at Highbury Corner magistrates court and pleads guilty to a charge of kerb crawling in central London. He is fined £250 and ordered to pay £50 costs. The former pop singer was arrested on May 27 in the Kings Cross area after he approached a woman he thought was a prostitute and requested a sexual favor. He then rode away on his moped before being arrested.

2003 A grandfather who set up his own pirate radio station in Wakefield, Yorkshire, is under investigation by local broadcasting authorities. The man known as Ricky Rock had erected a 32-foot transmitter in his garden and had been playing hits by The Beach Boys, The Beatles, and Elvis Presley. Ricky said he set the station up because "talent-less boy bands and dance music" featured on local stations did not cater to the tastes of his generation.

2002 Avril Lavigne, 17, releases her debut album, Let Go, which goes to #1 in her native Canada and sells over 7 million copies in America.More

2002 Wyclef Jean is one of ten people arrested for disorderly conduct in a New York rally protesting cuts to education. Jean is arrested and led away in handcuffs following an attempt to perform, which was forbidden by the event's permit. Puff Daddy, Alicia Keys, Jay-Z, LL Cool J, Erykah Badu, Foxy Brown and Wu-Tang Clan were also at the rally to show their support and protest a proposed $1.2 billion cut to New York's public education system.

2002 George Michael is jeered and heckled by the audience of a CNN news show as he defends the video for his new single "Shoot The Dog," in which US President George Bush is shown in bed with UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. Michael says it is an attack on Blair and not President Bush.

2001 Folk singer John Hartford dies of non-Hodgkin lymphoma at age 63.

2000 Bon Jovi's Crush hits #1 on the UK albums chart.

Page 1
1 2 ... 5

Young Elvis Chosen For Stamp

1992

When the United States Post Office decides to do an Elvis stamp, they put it up for a vote: a young Elvis or an old Elvis image, and young Elvis wins by a landslide, getting more votes by a factor of three to one. Priscilla Presley makes the announcement at Graceland.


Never has the United States seen such widespread interest in a postage stamp, but such is the allure of the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley. The United States Postal Service's announcement that there will not only be an Elvis stamp but that the public will vote on the design sets off a national debate. The USPS first suggests the idea of a stamp honoring Elvis in 1987, ten years after his death. Many are opposed to the idea, citing concerns about his drug use and giving credence to conspiracy theories that he is still alive. In 1992, the debt-ridden USPS moves forward, mailing hundreds of thousands of pre-addressed ballots and offering additional ballots in the April 13 edition of People magazine. The choice is between two colorful portraits of the King, selected from 60 artist renderings. One is an airbrush and acrylic painting of "Young Elvis" and the second is an oil painting of "Old Elvis" in his ubiquitous white jumpsuit. The debate over "Young Elvis" versus "Old Elvis" is the subject of late night talk shows, water cooler discussions, and countless editorials. Even President Bill Clinton weighed in (he preferred the younger version of Elvis). When the 1.2 million ballots are tallied, the USPS ends the nation's suspense and announces that "Young Elvis" by Mark Stutzman is the decisive victor with more than 75 percent of the vote. The ceremony is held on the grounds of Graceland with various fans, stamp collectors and postal service luminaries present. At 6:36 am Memphis time (so morning news shows can cover it live), Priscilla Presley ends the suspense and reveals the winner. On January 8, 1993 - what would have been Elvis's 58th birthday - the 29-cent stamp is put into circulation.

Categories

Comments

send your comment
Be the first to comment...

©2024 Songfacts®, LLC