This Day in Music: June 15th

Born on this day:

1941, Harry Nilsson, US singer, songwriter
1946, Noddy Holder, guitar, vocals, Slade
1976, Gary Lightbody, guitar, vocals, Snow Patrol
1985, Nadine Coyle, Girls Aloud

1958, The first teenage all-music show Oh Boy was broadcast for the first time in the U.K.

1963, Kyu Sakamoto started a three week run at No.1 on the U.S. singles chart with “Sukiyaki” the first-ever Japanese song to do so.

1967, Guitarist Peter Green quit the John Mayall Band. Green went on to form Fleetwood Mac. For more on this, see This Day in Music Spotlight.

1974, Elvis Presley played the first night of an 18 date U.S. tour by playing four shows at the Tarrant County Center, Fort Worth, Texas.

1982, Pete Farndon bass player with The Pretenders was fired from the group, he went on to form a group with Topper Headon from The Clash. Farndon was found dead in his bath on April 14, 1983.

1985, Dire Straits started a nine-week run at #1 on the U.S. album chart with, Brothers in Arms

1989, Nirvana's debut album Bleach was released in the U.S.

1996, US jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald died in Beverly Hills, California, aged 79. Already blinded by the effects of diabetes, Fitzgerald had both her legs amputated in 1993. Winner of 13 Grammy Awards, the 1956 Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Songboo was the first of eight Songbook sets. Appeared in the TV commercial for Memorex, where she sang a note that shattered a glass while being recorded on a Memorex cassette tape. The tape was played back and the recording also broke the glass, asking "Is it live, or is it Memorex?"

2002, A rare autographed copy of The Beatles’ album Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band sold at auction for ?34,000 ($57,800), more than five times the estimated price.

2005, Coldplay went straight to #1 on the U.S. album chart with their third album X&Y having already entered at #1 in the U.K. The last time a British artist had a simultaneous U.S. and U.K. #1 was in November 2000 with 1, a compilation of hits by The Beatles. The last studio album to reach number one on both sides of the Atlantic was Radiohead's Kid A in October 2000. X&Y went on to top over 30 global charts.

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