More About Music History On This Day
15 May 1982
Asia went to No.1 on the US album chart with their self-titled album. It spent a total of nine weeks at No.1 and became the best-selling album in the US for the year 1982. The supergroup included former members of several veteran progressive rock bands, namely bassist/vocalist John Wetton (formerly in Mogul Thrash, Family, King Crimson, Roxy Music, Uriah Heep, U.K. and Wishbone Ash), guitarist Steve Howe (formerly in Yes), keyboardist Geoff Downes (of Yes and The Buggles) and drummer Carl Palmer (formerly in The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Atomic Rooster and Emerson, Lake & Palmer).
15 May 1982
Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney started a seven-week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Ebony and Ivory'. The song gave McCartney his 24th US No.1 as a songwriter. The title was inspired by McCartney hearing Spike Milligan say, "black notes, white notes, and you need to play the two to make harmony folks!". It was later named as the tenth worst song of all time by Blender magazine and in 2007 was named the worst duet in history by BBC 6 Music listeners.
15 May 1991
Manic Street Preacher guitarist Richey Edwards carved '4 real' into his arm with a razor blade while being interviewed by music paper The NME.
15 May 1992
Barbara Lee of the Chiffons died from a heart attack the day before her 45th birthday. Had the 1963 US No.1 single 'He's So Fine.'
15 May 1993
Janet Jackson started an eight week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'That's The Way Love Goes', her sixth US No.1, a No.2 hit in the UK.
15 May 1994
Blur scored their first UK No.1 album with Parklife which went on to spend over two years on the chart. The album featured four UK hit singles: 'Girls & Boys', 'End of a Century', 'Parklife' and 'To the End'. In the year following its release the album came to define the emerging Britpop scene. The album cover for Parklife was among the ten chosen by the Royal Mail for a set of "Classic Album Cover" postage stamps issued in January 2010.
15 May 1995
Supergrass released their debut studio album 'I Should Coco'. The album which peaked at No.1 on the UK chart featured their No.2 hit single 'Alright'. The album title is Cockney rhyming slang for "I should think so".
15 May 1997
Courtney Love sold the Seattle mansion she shared with Kurt Cobain. A local family purchased the house in the salubrious Denny Blaine area for $3m.
15 May 1997
Oasis became one of the first artists to attempt to exert censorship over the Internet. The group were working with Sony to put an end to unofficial websites carrying lyrics, sound files and photographs of the band.
15 May 1999
Rob Gretton manager of Joy Division and New Order died aged 46. He was also a partner in Factory Records, proprietor of the Rob's Records label and a co-founder along with Tony Wilson of The Hacienda nightclub in Manchester, England.
15 May 2000
Songwriter Geoff Goddard died aged 62. Wrote 'Johnny Remember Me',and played keyboards on The Tornadoes 1962 No.1 hit 'Telstar'. Wrote songs for Heinz, Mike Berry, The Outlaws, Freddie Starr and Screaming Lord Sutch.
15 May 2001
Brian Pendleton of The Pretty Things died of cancer aged 57, (1964 UK No.10 single 'Don't Bring Me Down'). The bands 1974 album Silk Torpedo was the first album release on Led Zeppelin's own label Swan Song.
15 May 2003
Country singer June Carter Cash, the second wife of Johnny Cash died in Nashville, Tennessee, of complications following heart valve replacement surgery, aged 73. She was a member of the Carter Family, and had hits with Johnny Cash, including the Grammy Award winning songs, 'Jackson', 'Ring Of Fire', (which she co-wrote about their courtship), and 'If I Were A Carpenter.'
15 May 2008
Neil Diamond reached the top of the US Billboard album chart for the first time in his career with Home Before Dark the 67-year-old's 29th studio album. His previous highest chart position was in 1973 when the soundtrack to the film Jonathan Livingston Seagull peaked at No.2. At the age of 67, Diamond became the oldest artist to have a US number one, the record was previously held by Bob Dylan in 2006 with Modern Times released when he was 65.
15 May 2015
R&B and jazz singer Ortheia Barnes-Kennerly died from heart failure in the US Virgin Islands, where she was visiting for a performance, she was 70 years old. Ortheia spent much of her career touring with and opening for some of Motown's biggest acts, including Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, and Gladys Knight.
15 May 2019
Charles 'Chuck' Barksdale a founding Member of the doo-wop group The Dells died age 84. They scored the hits ‘Oh, What a Night’, ‘Stay in My Corner,’ ‘Always Together,’ and ‘Give Your Baby a Standing Ovation.’
15 May 2019
Adria Petty and Annakim Violette daughters of the late Tom Petty filed suit against his widow, Dana York Petty, in a dispute about the singer-songwriter’s catalogue and estate. The papers accused York Petty of superseding the daughters’ right to ‘equal participation,’ as they claimed was in the terms of the trust, when making decisions regarding his catalogue. The suit was seeking at least $5 million in damages.
15 May 2020
Phil May, the front man of The Pretty Things, died aged 75 after suffering complications from emergency hip surgery. The Pretty Things were cited as an influence by a wide range of artists from David Bowie to Jimi Hendrix to Kasabian.
Asia went to No.1 on the US album chart with their self-titled album. It spent a total of nine weeks at No.1 and became the best-selling album in the US for the year 1982. The supergroup included former members of several veteran progressive rock bands, namely bassist/vocalist John Wetton (formerly in Mogul Thrash, Family, King Crimson, Roxy Music, Uriah Heep, U.K. and Wishbone Ash), guitarist Steve Howe (formerly in Yes), keyboardist Geoff Downes (of Yes and The Buggles) and drummer Carl Palmer (formerly in The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Atomic Rooster and Emerson, Lake & Palmer).
15 May 1982
Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney started a seven-week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Ebony and Ivory'. The song gave McCartney his 24th US No.1 as a songwriter. The title was inspired by McCartney hearing Spike Milligan say, "black notes, white notes, and you need to play the two to make harmony folks!". It was later named as the tenth worst song of all time by Blender magazine and in 2007 was named the worst duet in history by BBC 6 Music listeners.
15 May 1991
Manic Street Preacher guitarist Richey Edwards carved '4 real' into his arm with a razor blade while being interviewed by music paper The NME.
15 May 1992
Barbara Lee of the Chiffons died from a heart attack the day before her 45th birthday. Had the 1963 US No.1 single 'He's So Fine.'
15 May 1993
Janet Jackson started an eight week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'That's The Way Love Goes', her sixth US No.1, a No.2 hit in the UK.
15 May 1994
Blur scored their first UK No.1 album with Parklife which went on to spend over two years on the chart. The album featured four UK hit singles: 'Girls & Boys', 'End of a Century', 'Parklife' and 'To the End'. In the year following its release the album came to define the emerging Britpop scene. The album cover for Parklife was among the ten chosen by the Royal Mail for a set of "Classic Album Cover" postage stamps issued in January 2010.
15 May 1995
Supergrass released their debut studio album 'I Should Coco'. The album which peaked at No.1 on the UK chart featured their No.2 hit single 'Alright'. The album title is Cockney rhyming slang for "I should think so".
15 May 1997
Courtney Love sold the Seattle mansion she shared with Kurt Cobain. A local family purchased the house in the salubrious Denny Blaine area for $3m.
15 May 1997
Oasis became one of the first artists to attempt to exert censorship over the Internet. The group were working with Sony to put an end to unofficial websites carrying lyrics, sound files and photographs of the band.
15 May 1999
Rob Gretton manager of Joy Division and New Order died aged 46. He was also a partner in Factory Records, proprietor of the Rob's Records label and a co-founder along with Tony Wilson of The Hacienda nightclub in Manchester, England.
15 May 2000
Songwriter Geoff Goddard died aged 62. Wrote 'Johnny Remember Me',and played keyboards on The Tornadoes 1962 No.1 hit 'Telstar'. Wrote songs for Heinz, Mike Berry, The Outlaws, Freddie Starr and Screaming Lord Sutch.
15 May 2001
Brian Pendleton of The Pretty Things died of cancer aged 57, (1964 UK No.10 single 'Don't Bring Me Down'). The bands 1974 album Silk Torpedo was the first album release on Led Zeppelin's own label Swan Song.
15 May 2003
Country singer June Carter Cash, the second wife of Johnny Cash died in Nashville, Tennessee, of complications following heart valve replacement surgery, aged 73. She was a member of the Carter Family, and had hits with Johnny Cash, including the Grammy Award winning songs, 'Jackson', 'Ring Of Fire', (which she co-wrote about their courtship), and 'If I Were A Carpenter.'
15 May 2008
Neil Diamond reached the top of the US Billboard album chart for the first time in his career with Home Before Dark the 67-year-old's 29th studio album. His previous highest chart position was in 1973 when the soundtrack to the film Jonathan Livingston Seagull peaked at No.2. At the age of 67, Diamond became the oldest artist to have a US number one, the record was previously held by Bob Dylan in 2006 with Modern Times released when he was 65.
15 May 2015
R&B and jazz singer Ortheia Barnes-Kennerly died from heart failure in the US Virgin Islands, where she was visiting for a performance, she was 70 years old. Ortheia spent much of her career touring with and opening for some of Motown's biggest acts, including Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, and Gladys Knight.
15 May 2019
Charles 'Chuck' Barksdale a founding Member of the doo-wop group The Dells died age 84. They scored the hits ‘Oh, What a Night’, ‘Stay in My Corner,’ ‘Always Together,’ and ‘Give Your Baby a Standing Ovation.’
15 May 2019
Adria Petty and Annakim Violette daughters of the late Tom Petty filed suit against his widow, Dana York Petty, in a dispute about the singer-songwriter’s catalogue and estate. The papers accused York Petty of superseding the daughters’ right to ‘equal participation,’ as they claimed was in the terms of the trust, when making decisions regarding his catalogue. The suit was seeking at least $5 million in damages.
15 May 2020
Phil May, the front man of The Pretty Things, died aged 75 after suffering complications from emergency hip surgery. The Pretty Things were cited as an influence by a wide range of artists from David Bowie to Jimi Hendrix to Kasabian.
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