4 MAY
In Music History
1940 Ronnie Bond (drummer for The Troggs) is born Ronald James Bullis in Andover, Hampshire, England.
1938 Tyrone Davis is born Tyrone Fettson in Greenville, Mississippi, but is raised by his father in Saginaw, Michigan. Known for his #1 R&B hits, "Can I Change My Mind" (1968), "Turn Back The Hands Of Time" (1970), and "Turning Point" (1975).
1937 Surf rocker Dick Burns (of The Hondells) is born in Buffalo, New York.
1928 Jazz trumpeter Maynard Ferguson is born in Verdun, Quebec, Canada.
1923 Ed Cassidy (drummer for Spirit) is born in Harvey, Illinois.
1655 Florentine harpsichord maker Bartolomeo Cristofori is born. He invents the piano in 1709.
Four Dead In Ohio
1970Later memorialized in the Neil Young song "Ohio," the Ohio National Guard fires on protesters at Kent State University, killing four students, two of whom weren't even protesting. This shameful event in American history leads to the formation of Devo, as Mark Mothersbaugh and Jerry Casale are both on campus and horrified by the events.
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Featured Events
2012 Adam Yauch (aka MCA of the Beastie Boys) dies of cancer at age 47 in New York City.
1999 Former In Living Color Fly Girl Jennifer Lopez issues her first single, "If You Had My Love." The song lands at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, making Lopez the first artist to top the chart with a debut single since Britney Spears did the same with "...Baby One More Time" four months earlier.More
1990 David Bowie's ex-wife Angela goes on The Joan Rivers Show and says that she once walked in on Bowie and Mick Jagger naked in bed. Angela signed a gag order when she divorced Bowie that kept her from talking for 10 years, and was taking advantage of the opportunity.
1982 Under the leadership of chairman Elton John, who has invested heavily in the team, the Watford Football Club is promoted to the First Division of English football with a win over Wrexham. The team was in the lowly Fourth Division when Elton took over as chairman in 1976.
1974 The Sting soundtrack, featuring Marvin Hamlisch's adaptations of Scott Joplin's ragtime piano tunes, hits #1 in America, where it stays for five weeks.
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1974 Grand Funk's cover of "The Loco-Motion" hits #1 in America. It's the second time the song has topped the chart: Little Eva's original went to #1 in 1962.
1959 The very first Grammy Awards are held in Los Angeles, with Record of the Year going to Domenico Modugno's "Nel Blu, Dipinto di Blu (Volare)" and Henry Mancini's The Music From Peter Gunn soundtrack winning Album of the Year. The Champs' "Tequila," for some reason, takes home Best Rhythm and Blues Performance.
1937 Surf rock guitarist Dick Dale is born Richard Anthony Monsour in Boston, Massachusetts.
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