5 JUNE
In Music History
1966 Gladys Presley, Elvis' mother, awakens suddenly in Memphis, convinced that her boy is in danger; at that moment, Elvis' first pink Cadillac catches on fire while en route from Fulton, Arkansas. Elvis is unharmed.
1964 The first recording featuring David Bowie is released. He's still known as David Jones when "Liza Jane" by David Jones and the King Bees comes out.
1964 The Rolling Stones play their first show in America when they begin a nine-date tour at the Swing Auditorium in San Bernardino, California.
1961 Roy Orbison's "Running Scared" hits #1.
1958 The first-ever greatest hits compilation, Johnny Mathis' Johnny's Greatest Hits goes #1 in America. It stays on the chart for nine years.
1957 Bill Justis records the instrumental hit "Raunchy."
1956 Richard Butler (lead singer of The Psychedelic Furs) is born in Kingston upon Thames, London, England.
1956 Saxophone player Kenny G is born Kenneth Gorelick in Seattle, Washington. His instrumental hits "Songbird" and "Silhouette" usher in a new radio format in the '80s: Smooth Jazz. With at least 50 million albums sold, he lays claim to the title of best-selling instrumentalist in history.
1956 Elvis Presley appears on The Milton Berle Show where the pair do a comedy bit performing Elvis' "Hound Dog" and "I Want You, I Need You, I Love You." It marks the first TV appearance of The Jordanaires backing up Elvis, and the last Milton Berle show for 10 years.
1956 Gene Vincent releases "Be-Bop-a-Lula."
1954 Kitty Kallen's "Little Things Mean A Lot" hits #1.
1954 Jazz drummer Pete Erskine (of Weather Report) is born in Somers Point, New Jersey.
1952 Iron Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain is born Michael Henry McBrain outside of London, England.
1950 Ronnie Dyson, an actor-turned-singer known for his breakout role in the Broadway production of Hair and his hit single "(If You Let Me Make Love To You Then) Why Can't I Touch You?," is born in Washington, DC, though he'll grow up in Brooklyn, New York.
1947 Badfinger guitarist Tom Evans is born in Liverpool, England.
Tom Cruise Turns Rock Star In Rock Of Ages
2012Tom Cruise stars as rocker Stacee Jaxx in the film adaptation of the Broadway hit Rock of Ages, an homage to '80s rock and glam metal that features songs from Bon Jovi, Twisted Sister, Pat Benatar, and Journey.
Read more5 JUNE
Featured Events
2025 The Velvet Sundown release their debut album, Floating On Echoes. Their songs quickly populate algorithm-driven playlists and amass millions of streams, even though nobody has heard of the band or any of its members. They're later revealed to be an AI-generated act, the first to garner big streaming numbers.More
2004 Jennifer Lopez marries Marc Anthony. The union lasts 10 years and produces two children: twins Max and Emme.
1993 Mariah Carey marries Tommy Mottola, the music executive who signed her to Columbia Records. The marriage, her first, lasts four years.
1983 U2 play the Red Rocks amphitheater in Colorado. Despite rain, the concert is intimate and energetic; it is later released as a concert film called Under a Blood Red Sky.
1968 Senator Robert Kennedy is shot three times while exiting through a kitchen at a hotel where he delivered a speech after winning the Democratic nomination for president of the United States. This event prompts David Crosby to write "Long Time Gone" and The Rolling Stones to insert the lyrics, "Who killed the Kennedys?" to their new song "Sympathy For The Devil."
1959 Robert Zimmerman graduates from Hibbing High School in Minnesota. He moves on to the University of Minnesota, but soon leaves for New York City to become the full-time folk singer, Bob Dylan.
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