On This Day, May 19 in Music History
EVENTS ON MAY 19 IN MUSIC HISTORY
On this day May 19 in 1964 – British composer and music publisher Frederick Lawrence Wright died at the age of 76. He was the founder of the music journal Melody Maker and went under the pseudonyms Horatio Nicholls and Everett Lynton for his songwriting credits.
1973 – With ‘See My Baby Jive’, glam rock group Wizzard reached No.1 on the UK Singles chart for the first of four consecutive weeks.
1973 – Stevie Wonder scored his second No.1 single of the year in the US with ‘You Are The Sunshine Of My Life’ on this day May 19 in music history. He previously topped the Billboard Hot 100 on January 27 with ‘Superstition’.
1973 – Singer-songwriter Paul Simon released ‘Kodachrome’. It was the lead single on his third studio album ‘There Goes Rhymin’ Simon’ and it peaked at No.2 in the US, Canada and New Zealand while in the UK the song couldn’t chart because the BBC banned it.
1979 – English rock band Supertramp started a four-week run at number one on the US Billboard 200 with their 6th studio album ‘Breakfast in America’. The album was a big hit worldwide and it features several hit songs, including ‘The Logical Song’ and ‘Goodbye Stranger’.
1979 – With their sixth studio album ‘Voulez-Vous’, ABBA started a four-week stint at No.1 in the UK on this day May 19. It also topped the charts in Finland, Japan, Sweden, Norway, Germany, and the Netherlands that year, while in the US it peaked at No.19.
1984 – Bob Marley and the Wailers hit No.1 on the UK Albums chart with their greatest hits compilation ‘Legend’ for the first of massive twelve consecutive weeks.
1990 – With ‘Vogue’, Madonna topped the US Billboard Hot 100 chart on this day May 19 in music history. It was her eighth number one single in the country.
1991 – American singer Odia Coates died at the age of 49 from breast cancer. Best remembered for her hit duets with Canadian singer-songwriter Paul Anka – ‘(You’re) Having My Baby’, ‘One Man Woman/One Woman Man’, and ‘I Don’t Like to Sleep Alone’.
1992 – Country music singer Billy Ray Cyrus released his debut studio album ‘Some Gave All’ on this day May 19 on Mercury Records. The album was a chart-topper in the US for seventeen consecutive weeks and it sold over ten million copies.
2001 – With their third and breakthrough studio album ‘Survivor’, girl group Destiny’s Child topped the US Billboard 200 chart. The album was a big international hit that year and reached No.1 in a dozen countries worldwide.
2004 – American blues and gospel singer, songwriter, DJ and preacher Arnold ‘Gatemouth’ Moore died at the age of 90.
2006 – English singer and actor Freddie Garrity died at the age of 69. Best remembered as the co-founder and frontman of the beat band Freddie & the Dreamers.
2007 – Singer and songwriter Ne-Yo reached number one in the US with his second studio album ‘Because of You’ on this day May 19.
2007 – With ‘Baby’s Coming Back’ / ‘Transylvania’, pop rock band McFly scored their seventh chart-topper on the UK Singles chart.
2012 – English alternative rock band Keane scored their fifth consecutive No.1 album in the UK with ‘Strangeland’ on this day May 19 in music history.
2012 – With her fourth studio album ‘Blown Away’, singer Carrie Underwood became the third female country artist to score three chart-toppers on the US Billboard 200 after Linda Ronstadt and Faith Hill.
2012 – English singer and songwriter Rita Ora featuring rapper Tinie Tempah started a two-week run at number one on the UK Singles chart with ‘R.I.P’ on this day May 19.
2016 – The number one album in the UK on this day was ‘A Moon Shaped Pool’ by the rock band Radiohead. Their sixth domestic chart-topper.
2016 – Founding member of the hip-hop group the Beastie Boys, John Berry died on this day May 19 at the age of 52. He was the one who came up with the group’s name but left before they rose to fame.
2018 – With ‘This Is America’, singer and actor Childish Gambino started a two-week stint at No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
2022 – Canadian indie rock group Arcade Fire topped the UK Albums chart with their sixth studio release ‘We’ today May 19.
BORN ON MAY 19 IN MUSIC HISTORY
1945 – English guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter Peter Townshend was born in London. He came to prominence as the co-founder and leader of the rock band The Who.
1947 – English bass guitarist Steve Currie was born in Grimsby. Best known as a long-term member of the glam rock band T-Rex.
1949 – Bass guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist, Joe Michael “Dusty” Hill was born in Dallas, Texas. Best known as one third of the blues rock trio ZZ Top.
1951 – American singer Jeffrey Ross Hyman better known by his stage name Joey Ramone was born in Queens, New York. Best known as a founding member and lead vocalist of the punk rock band Ramones.
1954 – Australian drummer Phillip ‘Phil’ Rudd was born in Melbourne. Best known as a member of the hard rock band AC/DC.
1956 – Multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger and record producer Martyn Ware was born in Sheffield, England. Best known as a founding member of the new wave bands The Human League and Heaven 17.
1962 – Scottish guitarist Iain Harvie was born in Glasgow. He gained popularity as a member of the rock band Del Amitri.
1970 – American rapper and singer Attrell Stephen Cordes better known by his stage name Prince Be was born in Jersey City, New Jersey. He came to prominence as a member of the hip hop group P.M. Dawn.
1972 – Swedish mezzo-soprano singer Jenny Berggren was born in Gothenburg. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the pop group Ace of Base.
1992 – Electronic music producer and DJ Christopher Comstock better known professionally as Marshmello was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1992 – English singer -songwriter Sam Smith was born in London. Best known for chart-topping singles such as ‘Stay with Me’, ‘Promises’, ‘Too Good at Goodbyes’, etc.