22 MAY
In Music History
1967 Florence Ballard makes her last appearance with The Supremes when the group performs on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.
1966 Johnny Gill is born in Washington, DC. He joins New Edition in 1987, replacing Bobby Brown, and has a solo hits in 1990 with "Rub You the Right Way" and "My, My, My."
1966 Bruce Springsteen releases his first recording, "That's What You Get" by his group, The Castiles.
1965 Two months before The Beatles' famous concert at Shea Stadium, The Rolling Stones play a much smaller stadium: Ratcliffe Stadium in Fresno, California, with opening act The Byrds. Attendance is about 4,000, a fraction of the 56,000 who see The Beatles at Shea.
1965 Two months before The Beatles' famous concert at Shea Stadium, The Rolling Stones play a much smaller stadium: Ratcliffe Stadium in Fresno, California, with opening act The Byrds. Attendance is about 4,000, a fraction of the 56,000 who see The Beatles at Shea.
1965 "Ticket To Ride" becomes The Beatles' eighth #1 US single.
1962 Jesse Valenzuela (original vocalist, then guitarist for Gin Blossoms) is born.
1961 Ernie K-Doe's "Mother-in-Law," written by Allen Toussaint, hits #1 in America.
1959 Morrissey is born Steven Patrick Morrissey in Davyhulme, Lancashire, England. From 1982-1987 he fronts The Smiths, earning a reputation for gloom with songs like "How Soon Is Now?" and "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now." His solo career continues that theme and is even more successful as he extends his fanbase to America.
1958 Jerry Lee Lewis arrives in London for a tour. When a reporter for the Daily Mail notices a young girl in the entourage, he asks her who she is. "I'm Jerry Lee's wife," she replies, revealing their taboo union. Word spreads that Lewis has married his 13-year-old second cousin, Myra Gale Brown, tanking the tour and sending him back home to America a pariah.
1955 John Grimaldi (guitarist for Argent) is born in St Albans, Hertfordshire, England.
1955 Police cancel a Fats Domino show at the Ritz ballroom in Bridgeport, Connecticut, fearing his music will lead to a riot.
1955 Jerry Dammers (keyboardist for The Specials) is born in Ootacamund, Tamil Nadu, South India.
1954 Robert Zimmerman (Bob Dylan) has his bar mitzvah in Hibbing, Minnesota.
1930 Jazz bandleader/trumpeter Kenny Ball is born in Ilford, Essex, England.
Sticky Fingers Zips To #1
1971The Rolling Stones' Sticky Fingers album, with a working zipper on the cover, hits #1 in the US.
Read more22 MAY
Featured Events
2019 The biographical film Rocketman, starring Taron Egerton as Elton John, debuts in US theaters.More
2017 Minutes after an Ariana Grande concert ends at the Manchester Arena in England, a suicide bomber detonates a device, killing 22 and injuring at least 60 others in an act of terrorism.More
1986 Cher, making her first appearance on David Letterman's show, tells him why she declined the many invitations to come on before: Because she thought he was an "a--hole."More
1967 The Monkees release Headquarters, proving they're more than a group of actors who just play a band on TV. Although it's their third album, it's the first that allows them creative control over songwriting and performing without relying on session musicians. The album goes to #1 on the Billboard 200.
1950 Bernie Taupin is born in Lincolnshire, England. He becomes Elton John's lyricist, and also co-writes #1 hits for two other acts: "These Dreams" for Heart and "We Built This City" for Starship.
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