10 MAY
In Music History
1989 On his 29th birthday, U2 frontman Bono welcomes his first child when wife Ali gives birth to a daughter named Jordan.
1988 Prince releases his 10th album, Lovesexy, which becomes his first chart-topper in the UK.
1986 "West End Girls" by Pet Shop Boys, a synthy song about clubbing in London, hits #1 on the Hot 100 five months after going to #1 in their native UK. It's the first of many hits for the duo.
1986 Tommy Lee of Mötley Crüe marries actress Heather Locklear. They divorce seven years later.
1985 Pop singer Ashley Poole (of Dream) is born in Blythe, California.
1985 After three albums, The Go-Go's announce their breakup, with frontwoman Belinda Carlisle leaving to start a solo career with help from guitarist Charlotte Caffey. The first of their many reunions takes place in 1990.
1980 R&B singer Jason Dalyrimple (of Soul For Real) is born in Wheatley Heights, New York.
1979 A judge rules in favor of Peter Frampton in the lawsuit brought against him by Penny McCall, his live-in girlfriend from 1973-1978 and the inspiration behind songs like "Show Me The Way" and "Baby, I Love Your Way." She wanted half of his earnings from their time together, but they were never married and never had a formal agreement. The case sets a legal precedent for cohabitating couples.
1975 Apple Records officially dissolves.
1974 Eric Clapton records "I Shot The Sheriff," a cover of a Bob Marley song. He's reluctant to do it, but it becomes the only #1 hit of his career on the Hot 100.
1974 The Who sell out Madison Square Garden in a record eight hours.
1974 Led Zeppelin launch their record label, Swan Song, with lavish parties in London and Los Angeles. Bad Company and Dave Edmunds both record for the label, which shuts down in 1983.
1969 The Turtles and The Temptations perform at the White House for President Richard Nixon's daughter, Tricia. Things don't go so well for the Turtles' Mark Volman, who falls off the stage five times.
1967 Rapper Young MC is born Marvin Young in South Wimbledon, London, England.
1964 Dusty Springfield makes her US television debut on the Ed Sullivan Show on CBS.
Bono Is Born
1960Paul Hewson is born in Dublin. He shortens his nickname from Bono Vox (Latin for "good voice") to simply Bono and fronts the band U2.
Read more10 MAY
Featured Events
2006 Chris Daughtry gets voted off Season 5 of American Idol in a shocker, as he is favored to win. He finishes fourth, with Taylor Hicks claiming the victory.
1999 Shel Silverstein, the prolific author of beloved children's books who was also a top songwriter, dies of a massive heart attack at age 68. He wrote "A Boy Named Sue" for Johnny Cash.More
1994 Weezer release their self-titled debut (aka The Blue Album). It sells 90 copies the first week but picks up steam when "Undone - The Sweater Song" starts getting airplay. "Buddy Holly" becomes a hit on MTV, and the album eventually sells over 3 million copies.
1991 Bushwick Bill of the Geto Boys gets a signature look when he loses his right eye after being shot by his girlfriend.
1986 Paul Simon plays three songs from his upcoming Graceland album on Saturday Night Live. He's backed by South African musicians, including the vocal group Ladysmith Black Mambazo, who perform with him on "Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes." With South Africa under a cultural boycott in an attempt to stop Apartheid, its music is sequestered. Simon's appearance with musicians from the country and the subsequent album introduce the sound to a global audience, but also cause problems for Simon when he faces criticism for violating the boycott.
1981 Kraftwerk release their eighth studio album, Computer World, featuring prescient songs about the influence of computers on society.More
1975 Stevie Wonder headlines the fourth annual "Human Kindness Day" festival in Washington, DC. Belying the name of the festival, many in the estimated crowd of 125,000 turn violent, and hundreds of robberies and assaults are reported.
1899 Fred Astaire is born Frederick Austerlitz in Omaha, Nebraska. After appearing with his sister Adele on the Broadway stage, he becomes a Hollywood star.
©2026 Songfacts®, LLC