More About Music History On This Day

16 Apr 1970
The Led Zeppelin single 'Whole Lotta Love' was certified Gold in the US after selling over a million copies. The single had peaked at No. 4 on the US singles chart. In the UK Atlantic Records had expected to issue the edited version themselves,and pressed initial copies for release on 5th December 1969. However, band manager Peter Grant was adamant that the band maintain a 'no-singles' approach to marketing their recorded music in the UK, and he halted the release.

16 Apr 1972
Pink Floyd appeared at the Township Auditorium, Columbia, South Carolina, USA. A typical set list on this The Dark Side of The Moon tour was: The Dark Side of the Moon (entire album), One of These Days, Careful with that Axe Eugene, Echoes, Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun.

16 Apr 1973
Paul McCartney's first television special, James Paul McCartney, was aired in America on the ABC network. The show, which includes performances by McCartney and Wings, would be broadcast in the UK on May 10th.

16 Apr 1977
David Soul one half of TV cop show Starsky & Hutch, went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Don't Give Up On Us', his only US hit. Also No.1 in the UK.

16 Apr 1993
David Lee Roth was arrested in New York's Washington Square Park for allegedly buying a $10 bag of marijuana.

16 Apr 1993
Paul McCartney headlined a concert at the Hollywood Bowl to celebrate 'Earth Day' along with Ringo Starr, Don Henley and Steve Miller. McCartney had last performed there as a member of The Beatles in 1965.

16 Apr 1994
Prince had his first UK No.1 with 'The Most Beautiful Girl In The World', (his 37th single release). It was his first release since changing his stage name to an unpronounceable symbol.

16 Apr 1996
Kiss appeared in full make-up at the 38th Grammy Awards, where they announced a reunion tour. It would mark the first time all four members had appeared together in over fifteen years.

16 Apr 1997
Mark Morrison was convicted with threatening a police officer with an illegal 23,000-volt electric stun gun. The singer left Maryebone Magistrates' Court in tears after being warned he was likely to be sent to prison.

16 Apr 1999
Skip Spence, an original member of Jefferson Airplane and founding member of Moby Grape, died of lung cancer in a San Francisco hospital aged 52. He had battled schizophrenia and alcoholism.

16 Apr 2003
Jerry Lee Lewis filed for divorce from his sixth wife, Kerrie McCarver Lewis. The 67-year-old singer married Kerrie in 1984 who was the president of Lewis Enterprises Inc. fan club.

16 Apr 2013
Edwin Shirley the co-founded Edwin Shirley Trucking, which became one of the largest music transport companies in Europe died of cancer. Brian May noted Shirley's importance to their touring operation: 'Edwin was at the head of Queen's vehicle convoy for so many years I can't begin to remember how many... He was a great pal of Gerry Stickells, our illustrious Tour Manager and the two of them wrote the book on how to party on tour.'

16 Apr 2015
An auction of part of the model railway collection owned by record producer Pete Waterman raised more than $600,000. Waterman said he was selling the collection, which included 56 Gauge 1 steam models, to fund apprenticeships at the heritage trust he runs.

16 Apr 2021
English songwriter Barry Mason died age 85. A leading songwriter of the 1960s, he wrote the bulk of his most successful songs in partnership with Les Reed. His song writing credits included three UK Singles Chart No.1s, "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)", "The Last Waltz", and "I Pretend". His songs have been recorded by many artists including Tom Jones, David Essex, The Drifters, Rod Stewart, Petula Clark, Perry Como, Elvis Presley and Engelbert Humperdinck.

16 Apr 2021
The Kingsmen guitarist Mike Mitchell died. The 1960s garage rock and blue-eyed soul band from Portland, Oregon, are best known for their 1963 recording of R&B singer Richard Berry's 'Louie Louie'. Their first album, The Kingsmen in Person, remained on the Billboard Top LPs chart for 131 weeks from January 1964 to August 1966.

16 Apr 2021
English harmonica player and vocalist Lew Lewis died. He was a member of Eddie and the Hot Rods before forming his own bands and released a solo single for Stiff Records. Influenced in style by Little Walter, he also guested on albums by The Stranglers, The Clash and others. In 1987, Lewis was given a seven-year jail sentence for armed robbery, after holding up a post office with a fake pistol, stealing $5,000 and trying to escape on a shopping bike.

Date & Time

April 16, 2024

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