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Death
Fourteen crew members are killed and two injured when the United
States Navy dirigible airship Shenandoah, commanded by
Lieutenant Commander Zachary Lansdowne, is wrecked in a storm
near Caldwell, Ohio, USA, while flying from Lakehurst, New
Jersey, to St. Louis. Later in the same year, popular singer
Vernon Dalhart will
tell the sorry tale in his recording of The Wreck Of The
Shenandoah.
The Jimson Brothers, a pseudonym for Frank Luther and Carson Robison, record Waiting For A Train and I Wish I Had Died In My Cradle, at Edison Recording Studio, New York City, USA.
Notorious Chicago gangster Al Capone dies aged 48 at his home on Palm Island, Florida, USA. He had long been weak and mentally deficient from the effects of neurosyphilis, and then suffered a stroke, pneumonia and, finally, a cardiac arrest. Capone's life of crime will inspire several songs, including Al Capone [1967] by Prince Buster, Public Enemy No1 [2011] by Megadeth and Al Capone [1987] by Michael Jackson [which later became Smooth Criminal].
Calypsonian
Glen Campbell, releases a new single, Death Valley / Nothin' Better Than A Pretty Woman, on Capehart Records in the USA.
Hollywood leading man and popular singer Dick Powell dies of cancer, aged 59, in West Los Angeles, California, USA.
Leader Of The Pack by The Shangri-Las, written by Shadow Morton, Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, reaches No1 in the USA and in Australia.
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Scott Walker of The Walker Brothers is found unconscious in his gas-filled London, UK, apartment. The incident is widely interpreted as an attempted suicide.
The Detroit Race Riots [also known as the 12th Street Rioting] continue into a second day in Detroit, Michigan, USA. Over the five days of riots, 43 people will die. The Gordon Lightfoot song Black Day In July is about these riots.
Dewey Phillips, the Memphis, Tennessee, USA, deejay who first played an Elvis Presley record on air, dies in his sleep aged 42.
With the Paul Is Dead conspiracy theory at its height, Dr. Oscar Tosi, assistant professor of audiology at Michigan State University, compares voice recordings of Paul McCartney of The Beatles from before and after his alleged 1966 death date. The results prove conclusively that both voice prints are identical and, therefore, McCartney is not dead.
Pioneering urban blues and jazz guitarist Lonnie Johnson dies, virtually penniless, aged 71 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.The three-day-long Erie Canal Soda Pop Festival staggers into its third and last day on Bull Island in the Wabash River, Illinois, USA. The event was billed as featuring major bands including Black Sabbath, Santana, Joe Cocker, Fleetwood Mac, Canned Heat, The Allman Brothers, The Eagles and many more. In the end, over 200,000 people arrived instead of the 30,000 expected, and the event has become a disaster, with most of the bands pulling out because of the chaos. Bands who actually do play include Canned Heat, Brownsville Station, Black Oak Arkansas and Pure Prairie League. The angry crowd burns the stage down.
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Elvis Costello and Squeeze play at a benefit show in the Top Rank, Swansea, Wales, UK, Europe, for the family of Johnny Owen, a UK boxer whose injuries in a recent fight led to his death.
Harry Warren, composer of such songs as September In The Rain, I Only Have Eyes For You, Lullaby Of Broadway, Chatanooga Choo Choo, You Must Have Been A Beautiful Baby, I’ll String Along With You and many others, dies in Los Angeles, California, USA.
Leon Rene dies aged 80 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He found success as a songwriter during the 30s, 40s and 50s, composing When the Swallows Come Back To Capistrano, Rockin' Robin and When It's Sleepy Time Down South. he also founded and ran several independent record labels.
Jazz legend Count Basie dies of pancreatic cancer in hospital in Hollywood, Florida, USA, aged 79.
After years of drug problems, jazz guitarist Lenny Breau is found dead in a swimming pool at his apartment complex in Los Angeles, California, USA. Breau's death is first assumed to be an accident but a coroner's report reveals that he had been strangled. No-one is ever charged and the case remains unsolved.
Kenneth 'Thumbs' Carllisle dies from a heart attack while driving from Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA, to Decatur, Georgia. Carllisle was a highly-acclaimed guitarist known for playing lead guitar with the instrument lying across his lap. He played for many years with Little Jimmy Dickens and Roger Miller.Notorious serial killer, rapist, kidnapper and necrophiliac Ted Bundy dies in the electric chair at Raiford Prison in Starke, Florida, USA. Bundy's grim exploits will become the subject of such songs as The
Drifter by Green On
Red, Blackest
Eyes by Porcupine
Tree, and Ted, Just Admit
It by Jane's
Addiction.
R'n'b recording artist Bobby Mitchell dies of kidney failure, aged 53, in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.
San Francisco-born voice actor Mel Blanc [aka The Man Of 1000 Voices] dies at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California, USA, of heart disease and emphysema, aged 81. Blanc was beloved by millions as the voice of Woody Woodpecker, Bugs Bunny, Foghorn Leghorn, Daffy Duck and countless other animated characters in movies, on tv and on records. The inscription on his gravestone is headed, "That's all Folks!"
Influential metal band Death plays at Streets, New Rochelle, New York State, USA.
Trouble T Roy, hip-hop dancer and rapper with Heavy D And The Boyz, dies at the age of 22, when he falls from a ramp outside an arena in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. He suffers head injuries and is rushed to hospital but later dies.Having long suffered from congestive heart failure, innovative and controversial jazz/boogie-woogie singer and songwriter Harry 'The Hipster' Gibson shoots himself in the head and dies, aged 74, in Brawley, California, USA.
Freddie Mercury of Queen dies of AIDS, aged 45, at his home in London, England, UK, Europe.
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Dale Potter, a former member of Hank Williams' Drifting Cowboys, dies in Puxico, Missouri, USA.
Clarinet and saxophone player Kenny Haries, who was popular for many years on WIBW radio in Topeka, Kansas, USA, dies. He also played with The Jack Cole Orchestra and Ted Fio Rito.
Delta blues singer and guitarist Jack Owens dies aged 92 in Yazoo City, Mississippi, USA.
Oscar-winning song writer Jay Livingston, dies aged 86 in Los Angeles, California, USA. Livingston was usually partnered with lyricist Ray Evans. Their many hits include Buttons And Bows, Que Sera and Mona Lisa.
John Entwistle, bassist for The Who, dies of a heart attack in his sleep in his room at the Hard Rock Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. It is revealed that a stripper was in Entwistle's room earlier that evening.
Internationally renowned reggae vocalist Junior Delgado dies aged 46 in South London, England, UK. The cause of his death is reported as "natural causes".
Pioneering US rock guitarist Link Wray dies in Copenhagen, Denmark, Europe, of heart failure.
Cuban tv announces the death at 79 of Jorge Serguera, the former Cuban TV and radio boss who banned The Beatles' music from the country's airwaves, fearing the band's music could threaten the communist revolution.Flambouyant cabaret singer Hildegarde, best known for the song Darling, Je Vous Aime Beaucoup, dies of natural causes, aged 99, in New York City, USA.
The Cure headline the Bestival 2011, at Robin Hill Country Park, Isle Of Wight, UK. Also on the bill is PJ Harvey.Mike Smith, a Decca Records producer who worked with Billy Fury, Brian Poole, Georgie Fame and many others, dies in Camberly, Surrey, England, UK, Europe. Smith also invited The Beatles to audition at Decca in 1961, but the group was turned down.
Lana Del Rey releases Born To Die in Ireland, Europe. It is the first single and title track from her second album, Born To Die.
On the third anniversary of his death, Michael Jackson's brothers host a dinner to remember the late superstar singer for a group of 25 friends in the Canaletto Italian restuarant in New York City, USA.
Actor Clive Dunn, who scored a one-off No1 hit in the UK in 1971 with the novelty song Grandad, dies from complications following an operation earlier in the week in Portugal, Europe.
Gordon Stoker, leader of legendary gospel/country/rock'n'roll vocal group The Jordanaires (best-known for their work with Elvis Presley), dies in Brentwood, Tennessee, USA.
Cynthia Lennon, the first wife of John Lennon of The Beatles, dies of cancer aged 75 in Calvia, Majorca, Spain, Europe.
Singer, guitarist and songwriter Keith McCormack, best known as a member of The String-A-Longs, dies aged 74 of a stroke. The band's biggest hit came in 1961 with the instrumental Wheels.
When U2 play at AccorHotels Arena in Paris, France, Europe, they bring The Eagles Of Death Metal onstage as special guests. This is the EODM's first live show since their performance at Le Bataclan was disrupted by a terrorist attack which killed 90 fans. U2 and EODM perform the Patti Smith song People Have The Power together.
A hearing is held in Chaska, Minnesota, USA, to determine whether to declare Prince's siblings as his heirs, and who should manage the rock superstar's estate going forward. No will has surfaced since Prince died.
Mikio Fujioka, heavy metal guitarist with the band Babymetal, falls from an observation tower while stargazing. He will die a few days later from the injuries he sustains.Country singer-songwriter Jimmy Work, who composed hits for Kitty Wells, Red Foley, Emmylou Harris and Moe Bandy, as well as recording for Decca and Dot Records, dies aged 94 in Dukedom, Tennessee, USA. The cause of his death is not disclosed.
Songwriter Bill Martin, best known as the composer of such hits as Puppet On A String, Congratulations and Back Home, dies aged 81 in London, England, UK, Europe.
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