More About Music History On This Day
2 Apr 1967
154 Austrian Rolling Stones fans were arrested when a riot broke out at a 14,000-seated Town Hall gig; a smoke bomb was thrown on the stage.
2 Apr 1969
Bruce Springsteen's new group Child made their live debut at the Pandemonium Club in Wanamassa, New Jersey.
2 Apr 1970
Phil Spector completed final editing and mixing for The Beatles Let It Be album, 16 months after the Get Back project had begun.
2 Apr 1971
Janis Joplin was at No.1 on the US album charts with the posthumously released Pearl. The album features the No.1 hit 'Me and Bobby McGee', written by Kris Kristofferson and Fred Foster on which she played acoustic guitar.
2 Apr 1977
ABBA were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with their fifth No.1 'Knowing Me, Knowing You.' The song was also a Top 10 hit in over 15 countries.
2 Apr 1977
Fleetwood Mac went to No.1 on the US album chart with Rumors. The album is Fleetwood Mac's most successful release; along with winning the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1978, the record has sold over 45 million copies worldwide.
2 Apr 1977
Frank Sinatra scored his fourth UK No.1 album with Portrait Of Sinatra - Forty Songs from the Life of a Man, that consisted of 40 songs that were recorded for Reprise Records.
2 Apr 1981
CBS records launched the 'Nice Price' series of back catalogue albums in the UK. The first batch priced at £2.99 included early albums by Bob Dylan, Santana, Billy Joel, ABBA, Janis Joplin and Simon And Garfunkel.
2 Apr 1987
One of the greatest jazz drummers of all time, Buddy Rich died aged 69 due to complications caused by a brain tumor. Rich worked with many acts including, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Tommy Dorsey's band, Dizzy Gillespie and Oscar Peterson. Rush's Neil Peart organized a pair of 90s tribute albums (titled Burning for Buddy), which also featured the work of Kenny Aronoff, Dave Weckl, Steve Gadd, Max Roach, Steve Smith and Matt Sorum.
2 Apr 1990
Eric Clapton was fined by Walton-on-Thames Magistrates court, after being booked for speeding at 105mph; Clapton was also banned from driving for three months.
2 Apr 1990
Nirvana went into Smart Studios in Madison, Wisconsin and started work on demo versions of ‘In Bloom’, ‘Dive’, ‘Lithium’, ‘Pay To Play’, ‘Imodium’, ‘Sappy’ and ‘Polly’ with Butch Vig producing.
2 Apr 1998
Rob Pilatus, one half of pop duo Milli Vanilli was found dead in a Frankfurt Hotel room after taking a lethal combination of drugs and alcohol. Milli Vanilli won the 1989 best new artist Grammy after hits like 'Blame it on the Rain' and 'Girl, You Know It's True,' selling 30 million singles and 14 million albums. But in late 1990, the performers were stripped of the award after it was revealed that neither actually sang on the Milli Vanilli album.
2 Apr 1999
The Black Crowes played a concert in Knoxville, Tennessee. Joshua Harmon, a teenager sitting in the second row sued the band a year later for $5,000 claiming significant hearing loss.
2 Apr 2001
Mariah Carey signed the richest recording deal in history. The 31-year old singer signed a deal with Virgin for three albums worth £60m. The singer had sold over 120 million records worldwide, scoring 14 US No.1 singles.
2 Apr 2003
US soul singer Edwin Starr died at his British home in Nottingham aged 61. Formed The Future Tones in 1957, had the 1970 US No.1 and UK No.3 anti-Vietnam War protest song 'War', (which according to Starr was recorded in one take).
2 Apr 2004
Coldplay singer Chris Martin was accused of attacking a photographer after leaving a London restaurant with his wife Gwyneth Paltrow. A Coldplay spokesman said photographer Alessandro Copetti had been running after Paltrow's taxi and tripped. Mr Copetti said he had been taking pictures of the singer and his wife outside a restaurant when Martin kicked him from behind.
2 Apr 2005
Kanye West had to abandon a signing appearance in Fresno, California, after a fight broke out between a fan and a security guard. West was taken out of the back door of the new FTK urban boutique, while the owners locked all the doors and cleared around 1,000 fans from the store's parking area.
2 Apr 2006
Gnarls Barkley started an nine-week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Crazy.' The American duo made chart history by becoming the first act ever to reach No.1 through computer downloads only. The single was not available to buy in shops until the following week.
2 Apr 2006
A John Lennon schoolbook containing the 12-year-old's drawing of Lewis Carroll's poem The Walrus and the Carpenter was sold at auction for $239,733. The poem inspired Lennon to write The Beatles' 1967 song ‘I Am The Walrus’. Also sold for $22,741 was a ship's log book written by Lennon during a stormy trip to Bermuda in 1980, and a letter from Paul McCartney to his bandmates Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr failed to reach its $94,742 reserve price.
2 Apr 2006
An area in Washington D.C. formally called Watts Branch Park, was officially rededicated as Marvin Gaye Park on what would have been the singer's 67th birthday. Gaye grew up in East Capitol Dwellings, at #12 60th Street, NE, near the east end of the park.
2 Apr 2013
Coldplay beat the likes of Pink Floyd and The Beatles to the top of a BBC Radio 2 poll to find listeners' favorite album of all time. A Rush Of Blood To The Head, came top of the list. Keane's Hopes And Fears took second place, with Duran Duran's Rio in third. Pink Floyd's The Dark Side Of The Moon came fourth, while The Beatles' 1967 classic Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band could only manage eighth place. The poll was held to tie in with the recent BBC season The Golden Age of the Album.
2 Apr 2013
A grand piano used in the Motown Records studios was fully restored and put on display at a museum dedicated to the legendary record label in Detroit. Sir Paul McCartney helped fund the restoration of the 1877 Steinway, which was originally in Motown's Studio B.and was used to create hits for names including Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and Edwin Starr.
2 Apr 2014
Recordings by U2, (The Joshua Tree), the Everly Brothers, ('Cathy's Clown'), Jeff Buckley, ('Hallelujah'), Linda Ronstadt, (Heart Like a Wheel) and Creedence Clearwater Revival's ('Fortunate Son') were among those newly selected for induction into the Library of Congress National Recording Registry.
2 Apr 2019
American electronica, soul, gospel, and house music singer, Kim English died age 48. She had been diagnosed with kidney failure for five years, and had been on dialysis, and awaiting a transplant. By 2007, English had earned her sixth, seventh and eighth US dance number ones with ‘It Makes a Difference’, ‘C’est La Vie’ and ‘My Destiny’.
2 Apr 2021
American bassist Morris BB Dickerson died age 71. He was a founding member of the 70s funk-rock-soul band War who scored hits such as 'Low Rider', 'Why Can’t We Be Friends?' and 'The Cisco Kid'.
154 Austrian Rolling Stones fans were arrested when a riot broke out at a 14,000-seated Town Hall gig; a smoke bomb was thrown on the stage.
2 Apr 1969
Bruce Springsteen's new group Child made their live debut at the Pandemonium Club in Wanamassa, New Jersey.
2 Apr 1970
Phil Spector completed final editing and mixing for The Beatles Let It Be album, 16 months after the Get Back project had begun.
2 Apr 1971
Janis Joplin was at No.1 on the US album charts with the posthumously released Pearl. The album features the No.1 hit 'Me and Bobby McGee', written by Kris Kristofferson and Fred Foster on which she played acoustic guitar.
2 Apr 1977
ABBA were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with their fifth No.1 'Knowing Me, Knowing You.' The song was also a Top 10 hit in over 15 countries.
2 Apr 1977
Fleetwood Mac went to No.1 on the US album chart with Rumors. The album is Fleetwood Mac's most successful release; along with winning the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1978, the record has sold over 45 million copies worldwide.
2 Apr 1977
Frank Sinatra scored his fourth UK No.1 album with Portrait Of Sinatra - Forty Songs from the Life of a Man, that consisted of 40 songs that were recorded for Reprise Records.
2 Apr 1981
CBS records launched the 'Nice Price' series of back catalogue albums in the UK. The first batch priced at £2.99 included early albums by Bob Dylan, Santana, Billy Joel, ABBA, Janis Joplin and Simon And Garfunkel.
2 Apr 1987
One of the greatest jazz drummers of all time, Buddy Rich died aged 69 due to complications caused by a brain tumor. Rich worked with many acts including, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Tommy Dorsey's band, Dizzy Gillespie and Oscar Peterson. Rush's Neil Peart organized a pair of 90s tribute albums (titled Burning for Buddy), which also featured the work of Kenny Aronoff, Dave Weckl, Steve Gadd, Max Roach, Steve Smith and Matt Sorum.
2 Apr 1990
Eric Clapton was fined by Walton-on-Thames Magistrates court, after being booked for speeding at 105mph; Clapton was also banned from driving for three months.
2 Apr 1990
Nirvana went into Smart Studios in Madison, Wisconsin and started work on demo versions of ‘In Bloom’, ‘Dive’, ‘Lithium’, ‘Pay To Play’, ‘Imodium’, ‘Sappy’ and ‘Polly’ with Butch Vig producing.
2 Apr 1998
Rob Pilatus, one half of pop duo Milli Vanilli was found dead in a Frankfurt Hotel room after taking a lethal combination of drugs and alcohol. Milli Vanilli won the 1989 best new artist Grammy after hits like 'Blame it on the Rain' and 'Girl, You Know It's True,' selling 30 million singles and 14 million albums. But in late 1990, the performers were stripped of the award after it was revealed that neither actually sang on the Milli Vanilli album.
2 Apr 1999
The Black Crowes played a concert in Knoxville, Tennessee. Joshua Harmon, a teenager sitting in the second row sued the band a year later for $5,000 claiming significant hearing loss.
2 Apr 2001
Mariah Carey signed the richest recording deal in history. The 31-year old singer signed a deal with Virgin for three albums worth £60m. The singer had sold over 120 million records worldwide, scoring 14 US No.1 singles.
2 Apr 2003
US soul singer Edwin Starr died at his British home in Nottingham aged 61. Formed The Future Tones in 1957, had the 1970 US No.1 and UK No.3 anti-Vietnam War protest song 'War', (which according to Starr was recorded in one take).
2 Apr 2004
Coldplay singer Chris Martin was accused of attacking a photographer after leaving a London restaurant with his wife Gwyneth Paltrow. A Coldplay spokesman said photographer Alessandro Copetti had been running after Paltrow's taxi and tripped. Mr Copetti said he had been taking pictures of the singer and his wife outside a restaurant when Martin kicked him from behind.
2 Apr 2005
Kanye West had to abandon a signing appearance in Fresno, California, after a fight broke out between a fan and a security guard. West was taken out of the back door of the new FTK urban boutique, while the owners locked all the doors and cleared around 1,000 fans from the store's parking area.
2 Apr 2006
Gnarls Barkley started an nine-week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Crazy.' The American duo made chart history by becoming the first act ever to reach No.1 through computer downloads only. The single was not available to buy in shops until the following week.
2 Apr 2006
A John Lennon schoolbook containing the 12-year-old's drawing of Lewis Carroll's poem The Walrus and the Carpenter was sold at auction for $239,733. The poem inspired Lennon to write The Beatles' 1967 song ‘I Am The Walrus’. Also sold for $22,741 was a ship's log book written by Lennon during a stormy trip to Bermuda in 1980, and a letter from Paul McCartney to his bandmates Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr failed to reach its $94,742 reserve price.
2 Apr 2006
An area in Washington D.C. formally called Watts Branch Park, was officially rededicated as Marvin Gaye Park on what would have been the singer's 67th birthday. Gaye grew up in East Capitol Dwellings, at #12 60th Street, NE, near the east end of the park.
2 Apr 2013
Coldplay beat the likes of Pink Floyd and The Beatles to the top of a BBC Radio 2 poll to find listeners' favorite album of all time. A Rush Of Blood To The Head, came top of the list. Keane's Hopes And Fears took second place, with Duran Duran's Rio in third. Pink Floyd's The Dark Side Of The Moon came fourth, while The Beatles' 1967 classic Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band could only manage eighth place. The poll was held to tie in with the recent BBC season The Golden Age of the Album.
2 Apr 2013
A grand piano used in the Motown Records studios was fully restored and put on display at a museum dedicated to the legendary record label in Detroit. Sir Paul McCartney helped fund the restoration of the 1877 Steinway, which was originally in Motown's Studio B.and was used to create hits for names including Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and Edwin Starr.
2 Apr 2014
Recordings by U2, (The Joshua Tree), the Everly Brothers, ('Cathy's Clown'), Jeff Buckley, ('Hallelujah'), Linda Ronstadt, (Heart Like a Wheel) and Creedence Clearwater Revival's ('Fortunate Son') were among those newly selected for induction into the Library of Congress National Recording Registry.
2 Apr 2019
American electronica, soul, gospel, and house music singer, Kim English died age 48. She had been diagnosed with kidney failure for five years, and had been on dialysis, and awaiting a transplant. By 2007, English had earned her sixth, seventh and eighth US dance number ones with ‘It Makes a Difference’, ‘C’est La Vie’ and ‘My Destiny’.
2 Apr 2021
American bassist Morris BB Dickerson died age 71. He was a founding member of the 70s funk-rock-soul band War who scored hits such as 'Low Rider', 'Why Can’t We Be Friends?' and 'The Cisco Kid'.
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