This week in Music History: May 9-15

May 9
1707 - Dietrich Buxtehude, German organist/composer, dies at about 69

1949 - Billy Joel born in the Bronx

1962 - Brian Epstein met with EMI producer George Martin. Martin signed the Beatles to record demos on June 4, 1962. It was their first recording contract.

May 10

1929 - Fats Domino born

1963 - Decca signs Rolling Stones on advice of Beatle George Harrison

1965 - The Rolling Stones produced their very first recordings when they recorded "Come On" and "I Wanna Be Loved" from the album "Out of Our Heads."

1986 - Tommy Lee and Heather Locklear were married.
2003 - Steven Tyler given an honorary doctorate degree in music by the Berklee College of Music.

May 11

1742 - Francesco Stradivari, Italian violin maker/son of Antonius, dies at 70

1888 - Irving Berlin, [Isadore Balin], born in Temum Siberia

1967 - "All You Need Is Love" by the Beatles was certified as a million seller.

1981 - Bob Marley, reggae singer, dies of brain and lung cancer at 36

May 12
1845 - Composer Gabriel-Urbain Faure was born.
1884 - Bedrich Friedrich Smetana, Czech composer, dies at 60
1968 - Jimi Hendrix was arrested for possession of hashish and heroin when he crossed the Canadian border for a concert in Toronto. He claimed the drugs were planted and he was later exonerated.
1971 - Mick Jagger and Bianca Perez Morena de Macias were married.

May 13
1950 - Peter Gabriel born
1970 - The Beatles film "Let it Be" premiered in New York.
1988 - Chet Baker, jazz trumpeter, fell to death out of a hotel window at 59 

May 14
1985 - Michael Jackson received a humanitarian award from U.S. President Ronald Reagan at the White House.
1998 - Frank Sinatra died after a heart attack at the age of 82.

May 15
1941 - Nazi occupiers in Neth forbid Jewish music
1962 - The Beatles were called "a nothing group" after an interview with Peter Jones of the "London Daily Mirror."
1964 - The Beatles were ordered off the stage at Cleveland's Public auditorium so the screaming crowd could calm down.
1967 - Paul McCartney meets his future wife Linda Eastman
1969 - Deep Purple performed "Concerto for Rock Band and Orchestra" with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at London's Royal Albert Hall.
1970 - Beatles' last LP, "Let It Be," is released in US

*~*~*~*~*

"In this bright future, you can't forget your past." - Bob Marley