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For a fee of £100, popular operatic star Enrico Caruso makes his first recordings, ten arias including E lucevan le stelle, for The Gramophone Company in a room at The Hotel Di Milano, Milan, Italy, Europe.
Orville Gibson dies in Ogdensburg, New York State, USA. A musical instrument maker, Gibson formed the Gibson Mandolin Manufacturing Company in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in 1902. After his death the company will increasingly make guitars, the pinnacle of which is generally considered to be the Gibson Les Paul, first manufactured in 1952.
Mamie Smith records Crazy Blues and It's Right Here For You, If You Don't Get It, 'Tain't No Fault of Mine, for Okeh Records in New York City, USA. These are the first recordings of vocal blues by an African American singer - arguably the first blues recordings - and Crazy Blues will become an explosive best seller, selling a million copies in one year.
Frank Sinatra publicly denies a widespread rumour that he attempted suicide at Lake Tahoe with an overdose of sleeping pills after a fight with his wife, Ava Gardner.
Leo Fender is granted a patent for his Precision Bass, a pioneering instrument in the development of the electric bass guitar.
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Nina Simone, Odetta, Lionel Hampton, Brock Peters, local Atilogu dancers and Natalie Hinderas perform at the American Society of African Culture (AMSAC) Festival in the King George V Stadium in Lagos, Nigeria, Africa. This is the first AMSAC event to be held on African soil.
Riots break out when James Meredith becomes the first black American to be admitted to the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi, USA. Bob Dylan will write his song Oxford Town about this violent racist action by white residents of the town, in which two people die and over 75 are injured.
Postal worker William Moore, known for staging lone protests against racial segregation, is murdered on a rural stretch of Highway 11 near Attalla, Alabama, USA. He had been planning to deliver a letter of protest to the Mississippi Governor's mansion but instead he was shot twice in the head at close range with a .22 caliber rifle owned by a certain Floyd Simpson, with whom Moore had argued earlier that day. No charges were ever laid against Simpson. Several songs will be inspired by Moore's death, including William Moore, The Mailman by Pete Seeger [1963] and William Moore by Phil Ochs [1964].
In Jackson, Mississippi, USA, anti-segregation campaigner Medgar Evers is shot in the back and killed by a white racist gunman. Evers' death will be the spark for the Bob Dylan song Only A Pawn In Their Game. Nina Simone's 1964 song Mississippi Goddam will also deal with the death of Medgar Evers.
Roger Alan Painter is born in Pomona, California, USA. He will find success as musician, poet, artist, and performance artist Rozz Williams, best-known for his work with the bands Christian Death, Shadow Project (with musician Eva O), and with the industrial project Premature Ejaculation.
Gladys Knight gives birth to her second child, a girl, Kenya Maria Newman.
Otis Redding and four of The Bar-Kays are killed when their plane crashes into Lake Monoma in Wisconsin, USA. The song I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know by Blood, Sweat And Tears will be inspired by their leader Al Kooper hearing about Redding's death.
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Phluph have a recording session for Verve Records in New York City, USA, during which they record Girl In Tears, Elliptical Machine, Lovely Lady, Death Of A Nation, Love Eyes and the Bob Dylan composition, It Takes A Lot To Laugh It Takes A Train To Cry.
Don Drummond, saxophonist with influential ska/reggae band The Skatalites, dies in Bellevue Hospital, Jamaica, Caribbean, aged 37. He had been committed to the hospital as insane, and his death (controversially) will be listed as a suicide.
At the 14th Annual Grammy Awards in The Felt Forum, New York City, USA, Carole King wins Record Of The Year for It’s Too Late, Song Of The Year for You’ve Got A Friend, Album of The Year for Tapestry, plus Best Female Vocal Performance. Ain’t No Sunshine by Bill Withers is Best R’n’B Song. James Taylor scoops the Best Pop Vocal Grammy. The Beatles are given a NARAS Trustee Award in recognition of their ‘outstanding talent, originality and music creativity’.
In the wake of the failure of their most recent album, Mardi Gras, Creedence Clearwater Revival split up.
Stranglers' fan Dagenham Dave commits suicide by jumping off Tower Bridge, London, England, UK, Europe, into the River Thames. A song of the same name, inspired by Dave, appears on The Stranglers' 1977 album No More Heroes.
The investigation into the causes of Elvis Presley's death is re-opened in the wake of allegations, in the tv show 20/20 in the USA, of malpractice by Presley’s doctor.
Darby Crash, leader of seminal Los Angeles, California, USA, punk band The Germs, dies of a heroin overdose in a suicide pact.
At a Peter Frampton gig in Hermann Park, Houston, Texas, USA, one fan is stabbed to death, a second is killed by a gunshot, and a third seriously injured in another knifing incident.
Guitarist Jimmy Nolen, dies, aged 47, of a heart attack in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Nolen had worked with James Brown from 1965 until his death, and was renowned for his distinctive 'chicken scratch' guitar playing style.
When Suzanne Vega appears at Glastonbury Festival, Worthy Farm, Pilton, Somerset, England, UK, Europe, she is wearing a bullet-proof vest because she had received a death threat.
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Soul star Curtis Mayfield is paralysed from the neck down when a lighting rig collapses on him at an outdoor show at Wingate High School, Brooklyn, New York City, USA.
Suicide Blonde by INXS enters the ARIA Singles Chat in Australia at No6. It will peak at No2. The blues harp intro to the song is a sample from a Charlie Musselwhite track.
Rob Pilatus of shamed pop duo Milli Vanilli attempts suicide in the Mondrian Hotel, Sunset Strip, Los Angeles, California, USA, by taking an overdose of pills and slashing his wrists.
English-born soul / neo-soul and R'n'B singer and songwriter Ephraim Lewis dies dies after having apparently jumped from a fourth floor balcony in Los Angeles, California, USA. His death will be ruled as suicide, but some reports say that LAPD officers stunned him with a Taser after a hyperactive exchange, perhaps connected to his use of methamphetamine.
British pop star Heinz (Heinz Burt) dies, aged 57, following a stroke, in Eastleigh, Hampshire, England, UK, Europe. He had long suffered from motor neurone disease, but performed live from a wheelchair at a social club just two weeks before his death.
A series of four co-ordinated suicide attacks on the USA, usually referred to as The 9/11 Attacks, take place in New York City and Washington, D.C. Terrorists from the Islamist militant group Al-Qaeda hijack four passenger jets and deliberately crash two of them, American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175, into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. Another plane, American Airlines Flight 77, is crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. The fourth jet, United Airlines Flight 93, crashes into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania after passengers attempt to take control before it can reach its intended target in Washington, D.C. Nearly 3,000 people die in the attacks. Several songs will be written about the attacks including The Rising by Bruce Springsteen, Let's Roll by Neil Youn, Wall Street by Van Dyke Parks and This Ain't No Rag, It's A Flag by Charlie Daniels. The track 9-11-01 by Soulfly consists of one minute of silence. Several songs on Trouble Is Real, the debut LP by Johnathan Rice, are about the attacks, including City On Fire, Put Me In Your Holy War, and Salvation Day.
Drummer Ronnie Verrell dies in Kingston-upon-Thames, UK, one day after his 76th birthday. The cause of death is a chest infection he contracted during an operation to fix a crushed vertebra resulting from a fall down stairs. Verrell was perhaps most famous for playing in the house band for the Muppet TV Series where he provided the soundtrack for maniacal Muppet drummer Animal. Verrell also found acclaim working with Ted Heath, Dizzy Gillespie, Buddy Rich, Jack Parnell, Cyril Stapleton, Peggy Lee, Shirley Bassey, Tom Jones, Dusty Springfield, The Dave Clark Five and The Pizza Express All Stars.
The Six Parts Seven and The Black Keys release a joint EP, The Six Parts Seven/The Black Keys, on Suicide S queeze records in the USA.
Innovative rock guitarist Robert Quine dies aged 61 in New York City, USA. Depressed by the death of his wife, Alice, he deliberately takes an overdose of heroin at his New York City apartment. Quine worked with Richard Hell, Lou Reed, Brian Eno, Tom Waits and many others.
Rap record company boss Marion "Suge" Knight is ordered to pay $107m (£57m) to Lydia Harris who helped found Knight's Death Row record label in 1989. She claimed she had invested in the label but was ousted by Knight.
Death Cab For Cutie release their fifth album, Plans, in the USA.
Britney Spears, 23 years old, becomes a mum, giving birth to a baby boy, Preston, by Caesarean Section in UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica, California, USA.
Jay-Z premieres a new song, D.O.A. (The Death of Auto-Tune) from his forthcoming album Blueprint 3 on New York City's Hot 97 radio station. The song lambasts rappers for singing too much and exhorts rappers to get back to rapping.
Ken Schoppmeyer an acclaimed blues harmonica player who led the King Biscuit Blues band for over ten years, commits suicide in a hotel room in Oceanside, San Diego, California, USA, aged 60.
Polly Samson, wife of Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour, helps police to rescue a man attempting to commit suicide in freezing water near her beach-side home in Hove, East Sussex, UK. The man - who resisted being rescued - is then taken to the Royal Sussex Country Hospital, where he is arrested and sectioned.
Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett joins members of his former band, Exodus, on stage at Oakland Metro, Oakland, California, USA, during a memorial concert to mark the 10th anniversary of the death of Exodus's former singer Paul Baloff. The concert, titled 'Bonded By Baloff: A Decade Of Remembrance', also features performances from Possessed, Forbidden, Heathen and others.
Country singer Mindy McCready gives birth to her second son, Zayne, in the USA.
Los Angeles Superior Court approves a search wa rrant for police to investigate the identity of an individual going by the name of @Gunn2urhead who has been sending death threats via Twitter to Shirley Manson, the singer with Garbage.
It is reported that U2, Foo Fighters, Prince and a number of other high profile artists have cancelled their live dates after the brutal attack on concert goers at an Eagles Of Death Metal show at The Batlacan in Paris, France, Europe.
John 'Brad' Bradbury, drummer with The Specials, dies aged 62 in England, UK. No cause of death is announced.
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The body of singer, songwriter, musician and producer Prince is found dead, aged 57, in a lift at his Paisley Park recording studio in Chanhassen, Minnesota, USA. CPR was performed but it was not possible to revive him. He is pronounced dead on the scene at 10:07 AM Central Time. The cause of his death is not immediately established.
Grammy Award-winning country music singer-songwriter Guy Clark, dies aged 74 at his home in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. His death follows a long illness, including a ten-year struggle with lymphoma.
The Eagles Of Death Metal return to The Bataclan, Paris, France, Europe, to complete the gig that was violently disrupted by a terrorist attack three months earlier. After the show, the band's vocalist-guitarist Jesse Hughes, tells a French tv reporter that guns should be available to anybody who wants them.
Minus The Bear release their sixth LP, Voids, on Suicide Squeeze Records.
Police discover the body of Frightened Rabbit singer and songwriter Scott Hutchison at Port Edgar, near South Queensferry, Scotland, UK, Europe. Hutchison had addressed mental health difficulties in his songwriting and was thought to be in a 'fragile' state of mind in the days before his death. He had talked about having suicidal thoughts in what is believed to be his final interview.
Ranking Roger (Roger Charlery) of The Beat dies of lung cancer, aged 56, at his home. His death also followed a stroke and the discovery of two brain tumours.
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Johnny Rogan, among the most prolific and well-regarded music biographers of his generation, dies unexpectedly aged 67 in London, England, UK, Europe. His body will not be found until several days later in his London flat.
Rapper Coolio dies aged 59 in Los Angeles, Californa, USA. He is found dead on the bathroom floor in a friend's house. No cause of death is announced at the time.
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