24 MAY
In Music History
1982 An 11-minute Paul McCartney/Ringo Starr film is screened at the Cannes Film Festival in France.
1979 The three remaining members of Genesis give the fans a thrill by manning the box office and selling their own tickets to the upcoming show at the Roxy in Los Angeles.
1977 At Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky, Emerson, Lake & Palmer begin an extravagant, 11-month tour with a 70-piece orchestra, 63 roadies, a choir and a karate instructor for drummer Carl Palmer. The tour is a stunning spectacle, but a financial disaster.
1977 Marc Bolan plays his last show with T. Rex. The concert takes place at Gröna Lund in Stockholm, Sweden, with Bolan the only original member of the band at that point. The singer would die in an auto accident on September 16 that year.
1975 On his 34th birthday, Bob Dylan attends the annual Romani celebration of their patron saint Sarah the Black in Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, France. The experience inspires the song "One More Cup of Coffee (Valley Below)."
1975 Earth, Wind & Fire's "Shining Star," a song celebrating the band's credo of clean living and spiritual health, hits #1 in America.
1974 NBC-TV's wildly successful variety show The Dean Martin Show signs off after nine years.
1974 Duke Ellington dies of lung cancer at age 75.
1969 The Beatles' "Get Back," featuring piano from Billy Preston, hits #1 in America.
1969 The Guess Who make their debut on American television, singing "These Eyes" and "Laughing" on American Bandstand.
1969 Rich Robinson (guitarist for The Black Crowes) is born in Atlanta, Georgia.
1967 Rapper Heavy D is born Dwight Errington Myers in Mandeville, Middlesex, Jamaica.
1966 Elvis Presley begins filming his 20th film, Frankie And Johnny, in Hollywood.
1965 Sonny Boy Williamson dies. His age is uncertain, possibly 52.
1963 Blues guitarist Elmore James dies of a heart attack at age 45.
Madonna Puts Her Life On Display In Truth Or Dare
1991After a limited release in major cities (starting with Los Angeles), Madonna's concert documentary Truth or Dare opens in theaters.
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Featured Events
2006 Taylor Hicks wins Season 5 of American Idol, defeating Katharine McPhee.
2000 50 Cent is shot nine times while in the backseat of a parked car. He lives, but is dropped by his label, Columbia. Moving to G-Unit, he becomes a superstar a few years later, with the shooting front and center on his bio.
1997 The Spice Girls album Spice hits #1 in the US, making them the first British act to reach #1 in the US with their debut album.
1997 Hanson land a #1 hit with their debut single, "MMMbop," one of the most insidious earworms in music history.More
1941 Bob Dylan is born Robert Allen Zimmerman in Duluth, Minnesota.
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