Medical

Edith Giovanna Gassion is born in the Hospital Tenon in the Rue de Chine, Paris, France, Europe. She will grow up to become legendary French chanteuse Edith Piaf, known as the 'little sparrow'.

Sadako Sasaki, a girl who lived in Hiroshima, Japan, at the time of the 1945 atomic bombing by the United States, dies of leukemia, aged 12, having spent the last days of her brief life folding origami cranes in the belief that anyone who folds 1000 paper cranes would be granted a wish by the Gods. In her case, she simply wished to live but managed only 644 cranes before the illness finally consumed her. Sadako's tragedy will inspire the songs Song For Sadako Sasaki by Oguz Altinbas, One Thousand Paper Cranes by Maggie Stiefvater [2012], Sadako's Song by Mary Hulefield [2012] and Sadako Folding Cranes [2013] by Laura Veirs.


One Thousand Paper Cranes

Ray Price And The New Port Jackson Jazz Band play at a concert in aid of St. Vincents Hospital Centenary Appeal, Sydney Town Hall, Sydney, Australia.

UK pop music weekly the New Musical Express (NME) reports that tv's Doctor Kildare - Richard Chamberlain - has been signed by MGM Records.

While recovering from a dislocated neck in hospital in Camden, New Jersey, USA, Brenda Lee appears on tv show American Bandstand via videotape.

During a UK tour, John McNally of The Searchers is taken ill, forcing them to miss their next two dates, in Taunton and Swindon.

Wayne Fontana, suffering nervous exhaustion, pulls out of a UK tour (with Del Shannon and Herman's Hermits). His backing group, The Mindbenders, carries on without him.

Gary Walker of The Walker Brothers flies home from the UK to California, USA, to recover from a bout of pneumonia.

Donovan collapses in Los Angeles airport, Los Angeles, California, USA, with Hong Kong flu, causing him to miss rehearsals for the Andy Williams Show.

Joey Castle, an Elvis Presley-styled rockabilly-rock'n'roll singer and recording artist, dies of cancer in New York City, USA.

Nikki Sixx and Tommy Lee of Motley Crue are partying at the home of record producer Roy Thomas Baker in Los Angeles, California, USA. Sixx sets off in his Porsche to rendezvous with Lita Ford at her house. Reaching speeds in excess of 90 mph, he wraps the German sports car around a telephone pole. A couple driving by pull Sixx into their car and take him to the hospital, where he is treated for a separated shoulder.

Jim Kerr of Simple Minds succumbs to an allergic reaction to antibiotics during a gig the Odeon, Birmingham, England, UK, Europe. The following night’s show and a week-long stint at Hammersmith Odeon, London, are cancelled.

Respected blues and rhythm and blues singer and recording artist McKinley Mitchell dies of a heart attack, aged 51, in Chicago Heights, Illinois, USA.

Evelyn Dove dies of pneumonia, aged 85, at Horton Hospital in Epsom, Surrey, England, UK, Europe. She enjoyed success as a singer, cabaret star and actress in the UK and abroad.

While Slash and Steven Adler of Guns N'Roses are visiting the San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, California, USA, home of Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx, their host is overcome by the combination of toxic yuletide liquors and chemicals they are partaking of. As Sixx's pallor becomes increasingly blue, Slash calls for an ambulance, then administers mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Paramedics are able to revive Sixx and take to him hospital where he recovers. Sixx later writes the song Kickstart My Heart, inspired by the incident.

Nesuhi Ertegun, one of the founders of Atlantic Records, dies aged 71 from complications following cancer surgery at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City, USA.

Richard Goodman of 50s hitmakers Buchanan And Goodman dies aged 55 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the home of his son, Jon, in Fayetteville, North Carolina, USA.

Madonna cancels a third scheduled 'Blond Ambition' tour concert at Rosemont Horizon, Chicago, Illinois, USA, due to laryngitis.

British bandleader Joe Loss dies aged 80, of kidney failure in hospital in London, England, UK.

On their Hot In The Shade tour, when Kiss play at The War Memorial Arena, Johnstown, Pennsylvania, USA, Paul Stanley runs into the guardrail on stage and cracks his ribs, which results in the cancellation of dates later in the month at Sydney, Halifax and Moncton.

Welsh-born entertainer Tessie O'Shea dies of congestive heart failure, aged 82, at her home in East Lake Weir, Marion County, Florida, USA.

On the HIStory World Tour, Michael Jackson plays the second of three nights at the Amsterdam Arena, Amsterdam, Holland.

Nina Simone dies, aged 70, in Carry-le-Rouet, Bouches-du-Rhône, France, Europe, after suffering from breast cancer for several years.

Michael Jackson arrives forty minutes late at his child molestation trial in Santa Maria, California, USA, claiming that back pain has delayed him.

A guitar autographed by the members of No Doubt is among items at an auction in the Hard Rock Café, Los Angeles, California, USA, with profits going to Rock the Cure, which benefits breast cancer research.

Stricken with cancer, calypso singer and songwriter The Mighty Terror is confined at the Radiotherapy Centre, St James Medical Complex, Trinidad.

Influential Finnish prog-rock bass player, composer and band leader. Pekka Pohjola dies aged 56 of alcoholism, near Helsinki, Finland, Europe.

It is announced that three dancers on Britney Spears' Circus World Tour have been fired for drug use. That afternoon, Britney makes an unannounced visit to a group of sick children at Miami Children's Hospital before playing that evening's concert.

Appearing on CNN's Larry King Live, Joe Jackson states that he believes the doctor who attended his son, Michael Jackson, may be to blame for the singer's death. Joe Jackson tells King, "The doctor gave him something to make him rest, and then he don't wake up no more. Something is wrong there."

Kelly Clarkson plays at the Tennis Indoor Senayan, Jakarta, Indonesia, Asia. The show makes a loss because cigarette company LA Lights are forced to pull their sponsorship by protests from the Campaign For Tobacco-Free Kids.

Randy Jackson, younger brother of Michael Jackson, is admitted to Huntington Memorial Hospital, Pasadena, California, USA, with a suspected mild heart attack.

Drummer George Newcom of 60s psychedelic band The Loading Zone dies aged 63 from a heart attack in Red Bluff, California, USA.

Bassist Jim Sheppard of Nevermore undergoes successful brain surgery to remove a benign tumour.

Jerry Leiber, one of the most important songwriters in the history of rock and roll, dies of cardiopulmonary failure aged 78 in Los Angeles, California, USA. Leiber's 60-year partnership with Mike Stoller produced, to name but a few of many hits, Stand By Me, Hound Dog, Jailhouse Rock, On B roadway and Yakety-Yak.

Revered blues guitarist Hubert Sumlin dies aged 80 of heart failure in Wayne, New Jersey, USA. A longtime collaborator with Howlin' Wolf, Sumlin's playing on songs including Wang Dang Doodle, Spoonful and Back Door Man influenced generations of guitarists.

Levon Helm, singer and drummer for The Band, dies aged 71 of throat cancer in New York, USA.

Herb Reed, who sang on every recording ever made by The Platters, dies at the age of 83 in a hospice in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, after having a number of health problems including heart disease. Reed was the last surviving member of the original group.

Grammy-winning country singer Randy Travis undergoes a procedure to place a device in his heart to help it pump on its own, at Baylor Plano Hospital, near Dallas, Texas, USA. Soon after, he suffers a delibilitating stroke.

Meat Loaf collapses onstage during a performance of I'd Do Anything For Love at The Northern Jubilee Auditorium, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He is taken by ambulance to a local hospital and diagnosed with 'severe dehydration'. He had cancelled two previous performances earlier in the week, saying he was unwell.

Singer-songwriter Greg Trooper dies of pancreatic cancer, two days after his 61st birthday.

Radio deejay Brian Matthew, who worked for the BBC for 63 years (1954 - 2017), broadcasts his final show for the BBC. He had been suffering ill-health for some time.

Michael Putland, one of the most revered of rock photographers, dies aged 72 of prostate cancer.