Willie Nelson was born on April 30, 1933

Country music legend Willie Nelson turns 74 years old today. Nelson wrote many of country music's best known songs including "Crazy" (made famous by Patsy Cline) & "Hello Walls."

Willie Nelson - "Always On My Mind"

Ringo Starr records the vocals for Octopus's Garden on April 29, 1969

"Octopus's Garden" a track from the 1969 Beatles album Abbey Road was one of only two Beatles songs that Ringo Starr wrote. The other was the White Album's "Don't Pass Me Buy."

On April 29th of 1969 Ringo's lead vocal was recorded onto the song.

Listen to these early recordings of "Octopus's Garden" as Ringo seems to be showing the other Beatles the song idea and they then work on it to try and flesh it out.

Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon Goes To #1 On The US Album Charts On April 28, 1973

On April 28, 1973 Pink Floyd's classic album Dark Side of the Moon went to #1 on the US album charts.

Although it was only at #1 for a single week, Dark Side of the Moon spent a record total of 741 consecutive weeks on the top 200 Billboard album charts and has sold over 40 million copies worldwide to date.

The album is filled with classic tracks but "Money" is probably the most well known song to the classic rock radio listener.

Video for "Money" -

We Are The World Started A 3 Week Run At #1 On The US Album Charts On April 27, 1985

We Are The World by USA For Africa went to #1 on the US album charts on April 27, 1985 and stayed there for a total of 3 weeks.

USA For Africa was a super group of almost entirely American musicians/singers that recorded the hit single "We Are The World" which was the lead & title track for this album.

The rest of the songs on the album were previously unreleased recordings donated by Steve Perry, The Pointer Sisters, Bruce Springsteen, Northern Lights, Prince, Chicago, Tina Turner, Kenny Rogers, and Huey Lewis & The News.

Among the singers featured on the "We Are The World" single: Dan Aykroyd (the only Canadian), Harry Belafonte, Lindsey Buckingham, Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, Bob Geldof (the only Irishman, Aykroyd & Geldof were the only non Americans), Huey Lewis & The News, Hall & Oates, Michael Jackson, Waylon Jennings, Billy Joel, Cyndi Lauper, Kenny Loggins, Bette Midler, Willie Nelson, The Pointer Sisters, Kenny Rogers, Diana Ross, Lionel Richie, Smokey Robinson, Paul Simon, Tina Turner, Dionne Warwick, and Stevie Wonder.

This was of course a charity album & single to benefit Africa. There is some controversy over how much of the money actually went to benefit the people of Africa rather than the corrupt governments of African countries.

The video for the "We Are The World"

Gary Wright was born on April 26, 1943

Gary Wright turns 64 today. He was born on April 26th of 1943 in Cresskill, New Jersey.

Wright is best known for his 1976 hit "Dream Weaver." The song was from an album by the same name released in 1975.

"Dream Weaver" was played during the ending credits for the film "The People Vs. Larry Flint."

Check out this video for "Dream Weaver"

U2's The Joshua Tree Goes To The Top Of The US Charts On April 25, 1987

20 years ago today U2's album The Joshua Tree went to the top of the US album charts where it stayed for a total of 5 weeks.

Video for one of the album's most known tracks "With Or Without You"

Bob Dylan Record Harmonica For Harry Belafonte On April 24, 1961

On April 24th of 1961 Bob Dylan recorded harmonica for Harry Belafonte's album Midnight Special. This was the very first recording of Bob Dylan on a professional recording. He was paid $50 for his services as a harmonica player.

Belafonte is best known for his 1956 album Calypso which introduced America to calypso music and became the first album in American history to sell over one million copies. It spent 31 weeks at #1 on the charts.

David Bowie Hits #1 On UK Albums Chart With Let's Dance On April 23, 1983

David Bowie's 1983 album Let's Dance hit #1 on the UK charts on April 23rd of 1983. It spent a total of 3 weeks at #1 on the UK Charts.

Video for the title track "Let's Dance":

Peter Frampton was born on April 22, 1950

Peter Frampton was born on April 22nd of 1950 in England.

Frampton is best known for his 1976 live album Frampton Comes Alive! which featured the songs "Baby, I love Your Way," "Show Me The Way," and "Do You Feel Like We Do." He's also known for his use of the talk box which enabled him to make it sound like his guitar was talking.

Live performance of "Baby, I Love Your Way"

Oasis goes to #1 on the UK charts with "Hindu Times" on April 21, 2002.

Oasis had their 6th UK #1 single with "Hindu Times" from Heathen Chemistry on April 21st of 2002.

Oasis performing "Hindu Times" live in 2002:

The Chemical Brothers "Dig Your Own Hole" Is At #1 On The UK Album Charts

Ten years ago today, April 20th, The Chemical Brothers second album Dig Your Own Hole reached #1 on the UK album charts.

Watch the video for "Electrobank" which is a track from this album. It was directed by Spike Jonze and starred Sofia Copola.

Prince's "Kiss" goes to the top of the US charts on April 19, 1986

"Kiss" by Prince made it to the #1 slot on the US singles charts on this day 21 years ago. "Kiss" would remain #1 for next week as well.

The #2 US single at this time "Manic Monday" by The Bangles was written by Prince. He was credited by the pseudonym Christopher.

So in effect Prince owned the top two slots of the charts simultaneously on April 19th of 1986.

The video for "Kiss"


Want to play guitar like Prince?

The video for "Manic Monday"

Sanjaya Malakar was voted off of American Idol on April 18th, 2007

Sanjaya Malakar was voted off of American Idol on April 18th of 2007. He had made it into the top 7 contestants.

People who take this game show seriously (which unfortunately is way too many people) became upset that someone of his singing ability (or lack of singing ability) had made it so far in the show. Others rooted him on and voted for him as a way of "destroying American Idol" including Howard Stern and the website VoteForTheWorst.com

Do you want to make it past the first round of the American Idol auditions? Try the American Idol Advantage to learn how.

Liz Phair was born on April 17, 1967

Elizabeth Clark Phair was born on April 17th of 1967 in New Haven, Connecticut. She turns 40 years old today.

Phair was adopted and although she was born in Connecticut she grew up in Illinois.

Phair is a singer-songwriter-guitarist who is best known for her 1993 debut album Exile In Guyville. The album has received much critical acclaim including being included on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 best albums of all time (#328.)

Video for "Stratford-On-Guy" from Exile In Guyville.

Ian MacKaye was born on April 16, 1962

Ian Thomas Garner MacKaye was born on April 16th of 1962 in Washington DC. He is 45 years old today.

MacKaye is known as the singer of Minor Threat & Fugazi. He has also worked as a recording engineer on releases from bands such as Rites of Spring and Rollins Band.

Fugazi - "Waiting Room" live:

Ed O'Brien of Radiohead was born on April 15, 1968

Edward "Ed" John O'Brien was born on April 15th of 1968 in Oxford, England.

O'Brien is a guitarist and harmony vocalist for the groundbreaking rock band Radiohead.

O'Brien played lead guitar on the OK Computer classic "Climbing Up The Walls."

He also plays drums on "There There" on Hail To The Thief.

Video of a live performance of "There There"

"Ballad Of John & Yoko" by The Beatles was recorded on April 14, 1969

"Ballad of John & Yoko" by The Beatles was recorded on April 14th of 1969 by John Lennon & Paul McCartney at Abbey Road studios in London.

The song is not a "ballad" in the sense usually used today but a ballad in the sense that it's a story set to music. The lyrics describe John & Yoko's recently completed honeymoon.

John had the inspiration for the song and did not want to wait for George & Ringo who were not available at the time due to a vacation (George) and working on a film (Ringo) so he called up Paul and they laid it down just with the two of them on this day April 14th, 38 years ago. Paul played drums, bass, piano, maracas, and provided backing vocals while John played the guitar and sang lead vocals.

It was released as a single only 6 weeks later and went to #1 in the UK (#8 in the US) The song did not do as well in the US because of the use of the word "Christ" and the lyric "They're gonna crucify me." The song was actually banned by a number of radio stations in the US.

Max Weinberg was born on April 13, 1951

The drummer Max Weinberg was born on April 13th of 1951 in Newark, New Jersey. Today he is 56 years old.

Weinberg is today best known as the leader of the Max Weinberg 7 on the Conan O'Brien show. He has been the band leader for the show since it's inception in 1993.

Besides being the band leader he also takes part in skits and jokes with Conan. He often is presented as a pervert to humorous effect.

Weinberg has been the drummer for Bruce Springsteen's E-Street Band since 1974. Weinberg has taken some leaves of absence from the Conan show in order to tour with Springsteen as his drummer.

Weinberg and his band often play rather interesting songs on the Conan show. In this video clip they play a song by Tool called "The Pot."

"Rock Around The Clock" is recorded on April 12, 1954

Bill Haley & His Comets recorded the seminal rock n roll song "Rock Around The Clock" on April 12th of 1954.

Although it was released as a single in 1954, it was not until 1955 that the song became a #1 hit. The song was used during the opening credits of the movie Blackboard Jungle which seems to have spurred it's popularity.

Live performance by Bill Haley & His Comets:


Learn To Play Rock N Roll Guitar

Lisa Stansfield was born on April 11, 1966

Lisa Jane Stansfield was born on April 11th of 1966 in England. She turns 41 years old today.

Her best known song is 1989's All Around The World which peaked at #1 in the UK and #3 in the US.

The video for "All Around The World" by Lisa Stansfield:

The Beatles break up is official on April 10, 1970

Paul McCartney was the first to publicly announce The Beatles breakup when he did so on April 10th, 1970. This was a week prior to the release of his first solo album the self titled McCartney. The fact that Paul chose to announce the breakup in this way did not please the other Beatles.

John Lennon had told the rest of the band that he was leaving The Beatles on September 20th of '69 but the rest of the band convinced him not to announce it publicly. He resented that McCartney was the first to announce the break up publicly.

The Beatles Let It Be album was released in May of 1970 after the Beatles break up was already official.

The last time The Beatles ever recorded together with all four members present was August 20th of 1969 for the completion of the Abbey Road track "I Want You (She's So Heavy)"

The final Beatles recording (save the 1990s Anthology recordings for Free As A Bird and Real Love) was January 3rd of 1970 when one of George Harrison's contributions to the Let It Be album "I Me Mine" was completed.

The Beatles - "Let It Be"

Albert Hammond Jr was born on April 9, 1980

Albert Hammond Jr. was born in Los Angeles on April 9th of 1980. Today he turns 27 years old.

Hammond is a guitarist for the indie rock band The Strokes. He plays both rhythm and lead guitar parts.

Hammond released a solo album in 2006 called Yours To Keep. Sean Lennon collaborated with him on this album.

Video for The Strokes song "Reptilia"

Izzy Stradlin was born on April 8, 1962

Izzy Stradlin is most well known as the rhythm guitarist of Guns N' Roses. He was a member of the band from 1985 to 1991. Although often overlooked, Stradlin was an important songwriter for Guns N' Roses as well.

Stradlin has appeared with the new version of Guns N' Roses during live shows in 2006.

Stradlin was born in Lafayette, Indiana.

See Stradlin and Guns N Roses play "Welcome To The Jungle" live in 1988:


Learn To Play Guitar Like Guns N Roses

LSD is first synthesized on April 7, 1938

Some may ask what does LSD have to do with music history?

LSD use was hugely influential on the psychedelic music of the 60s and beyond. Certainly LSD use has also been an influence on much of the music made since then. It's a myth to think that psychedelic music or psychedelic drugs are something that happened in 1967 (or whatever) and then went away.

While LSD was first synthesized in 1938, the psychedelic properties of it were not known until 5 years later. I highly recommend going to the Wikipedia page on LSD to learn more about it.

Check out this video of Tenacious D taking LSD:

Frank Black of The Pixies Was Born On April 6, 1965

Frank Black was born as Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV in Boston on April 6th of 1965.

He is also sometimes known as Black Francis. In fact in his early career he was known as Black Francis and then he inverted that to become Frank Black. Both Frank Black and Black Francis are stage names while his "real" name is still Charles Thompson.

He is most known for his work as the lead singer and songwriter for the Pixies.

The Pixies song "Where Is My Mind?" was famously used in the closing scene of the movie Fight Club.

Thom Yorke of Radiohead and Kurt Cobain of Nirvana have both said that they are greatly influenced by The Pixies music.

Video of The Pixies performing "Where Is My Mind?" in 1988:

Mike McCready of Pearl Jam was born April 5, 1966.

Mike McCready, the lead guitarist of Pearl Jam, was born April 5th, 1966. He turns 41 years old today.

"Jeremy" Video:

The Beatles occupy the top five slots of the Billboard charts on April 4, 1964

The Billboard charts for the week of April 4th of 1964 had the Beatles ranked 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th on the singles chart.

This amazing feat has never been equaled by anyone since.

The songs were as follows:

5th - "Please Please Me"

4th - "I Want To Hold Your Hand"

3rd - "She Loves You"

2nd - "Twist & Shout"

1st - "Can't Buy Me Love"

They also had the following songs all in the top 100 the week of April 4th, 1964:

31st - "I Saw Her Standing There"
41st - "From Me To You"
46th - "Do You Want To Know A Secret?"
58th - "All My Loving"
65th - "You Can't Do That"
68th - "Roll Over Beethoven"

The Beatles also had an incredible 6 #1 singles released in 1964 in America:

I Want To Hold Your Hand, She Loves You, Can't Buy Me Love, Love Me Do, A Hard Day's Night, and I Feel Fine all hit #1 in '64.

Check out the scene for "Can't Buy Me Love" from the A Hard Day's Night movie:

Elvis Presley sings "Heartbreak Hotel" on the Milton Berle Show on April 3, 1956

51 years ago today Elvis Presley performed "Heartbreak Hotel" on the Milton Berle Show. This was seen by an estimated 25% of the United States population.

He performed on the Milton Berle show again on June 3rd of that same year ('56) performing "Hound Dog." This performance caused quite a controversy due to his "swiveling hips." See that performance below:



Want to learn to sing like Elvis Presley? Online Singing Lessons.

Marvin Gaye was born on April 2, 1939

Marvin Gaye would have been 68 years old today if he were still alive, sadly Gaye was killed by his own father on April 1, 1984; One day before his 45th birthday.

His father was a fundamentalist minister of the Seventh Day Adventist Church.

Gaye is known for distinctive singing voice and his many hit songs including "Let's Get It On" and "Sexual Healing."

Learn To Sing Like Marvin Gaye - Online Singing Lessons.


Video For "Sexual Healing"

John Lennon & Yoko Ono April Fools Joke On April 1, 1970

37 years ago today John Lennon & Yoko Ono released a statement that they were going to be undergoing side by side sex change operations so that Lennon would become a woman and Ono a man. This of course turned out to be an April Fools Joke.

Watch this interview with John & Yoko from around this same time period. In this interview they are defending their activities for peace.