12 MAY
Featured Events
2013 After the Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield records the David Bowie song "Space Oddity" on board the International Space Station, his sublime rendition is posted to YouTube, quickly garnering millions of views.More
2000 Following the launch of Metallica's legal case against the popular online file-sharing service Napster, Chuck D of Public Enemy and Lars Ulrich of Metallica appear on The Charlie Rose Show, where they debate whether MP3 downloading is a vehicle for piracy or a return of power to the people.More
1984 Lionel Richie's "Hello," a song inspired by his younger years when he was too shy to talk to the ladies, goes to #1 in America.
1977 The Sex Pistols sign with Virgin Records for £15,000 after being dropped by both EMI and A&M. This one takes, and Virgin issues their landmark album, Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols. "I've always liked Richard Branson because, pompous rich t--t that he is, he has a great sense of rebelliousness," lead singer Johnny Rotten says.
1972 The Rolling Stones release Exile On Main Street, a landmark double album recorded primarily at a villa in France, where the group is living to avoid British taxes (they are "tax exiles," thus the album name).
1967 The first Jimi Hendrix album, Are You Experienced?, is released. Songs include "Foxy Lady," "Hey Joe" and "Purple Haze."
1929 Burt Bacharach is born in Kansas City, Missouri.More
12 MAY
In Music History
2017 To commemorate the 30th anniversary of their acclaimed 1987 album, The Joshua Tree, U2 embarks upon The Joshua Tree Tour 2017, with an opener in Vancouver, Canada. The band plays through the entire album, including rare treats "Exit" and "Trip Through Your Wires," which haven't been performed since the '80s, and a live first for "Red Hill Mining Town."
2011 David Gilmour and Nick Mason join their former Pink Floyd bandmate Roger Waters at the London 02 Arena performance of Waters' The Wall tour, joining in on "Comfortably Numb" and "Outside The Wall." It's the first time they've played together since Live 8 in 2005.
2011 The Monkees, minus Mike Nesmith, embark on a 45th Anniversary Tour with a date at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, England. It's the group's fourth and final reunion tour, as Davy Jones dies in 2012.
2011 Jamaican drummer Lloyd Knibb (of The Skatalites) dies of liver cancer at age 80.
2008 4AD Records release Bon Iver's debut album, For Emma, Forever Ago, in the UK.
2007 Brian May of Queen goes under police protection after a schizophrenic leaves a letter at his home blaming him for his mental illness and threatening to kill him. The news is published in the Sunday Mirror the following day, against May's wishes.
2001 File this under strange but true: After 27 years as a fugitive from a New Jersey prison, convicted child-killer Edward Solly is arrested in St. Petersburg, Florida, where he has been masquerading as long-dead Sha Na Na guitarist Vinnie Taylor, complete with a website and nightclub act. More
2001 Perry Como dies in his sleep less than week before his 89th birthday.
1998 Lenny Kravitz releases his fifth studio album, aptly titled 5. The album features his first Grammy Award-winning hit, "Fly Away."
1997 Married country singers Tim McGraw and Faith Hill release their first duet, "It's Your Love."
1994 Garth Brooks guest stars on the "Up All Night" episode of the sitcom Mad About You.
1983 Meat Loaf files for bankruptcy.
1981 Debbie Harry branches off from Blondie, announcing her solo career. She continues working with the band, which proves more successful.
1978 Alex Ebert, lead singer of Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, is born in Los Angeles. His mother is the actress Lisa Richards, who had a regular role on the soap opera Dark Shadows and appeared on episodes of Fantasy Island and Chips.
1975 Russell Hitchcock and Graham Russell, each performing in the Sydney production of Jesus Christ Superstar, meet on the first day of rehearsals. Later in the year, they form Air Supply.
Dylan Ditches Ed Sullivan Show
1963Bob Dylan refuses to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show when they won't let him play "Talkin' John Birch Society Blues."
Dylan is big in the New York City folk scene, but unknown in large swaths of the country. The show would expose him to a huge audience, but the day he is scheduled to appear, CBS executives tell him he can't play "Talkin' John Birch Society Blues" as planned, perhaps because they finally listened to the lyrics, which mock the Communist-baiting John Birch Society. Dylan never does appear on The Ed Sullivan Show, which as the time is the highest rated variety show on TV. But he does benefit from the publicity surrounding the snub and earns a reputation for holding to his principles.
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