EVENTS THAT HAPPENED ON THIS DAY MAY 10 IN MUSIC HISTORY
On this day May 10 in 1958 – The original cast of the musical ‘My Fair Lady’ started an impressive nineteen-week stint at No.1 on the UK Albums chart.
1963 – The Rolling Stones recorded their version of Chuck Berry’s hit ‘Come On’ at the Olympic Studios in London which was released few weeks later as their debut single on June 7. It peaked at No.21 in the UK.
1969 – With their fourth studio album ‘On The Threshold of a Dream’, The Moody Blues reached number one in the UK on this day May 10 in music history.
1970 – David Bowie won the Ivor Novello Award for Best Original Song with ‘Space Oddity’. The song tells the story of a fictional astronaut named Major Tom who is launched into space. It was released just five days before the Apollo 11 moon landing mission which was one of his main inspirations for writing the song along with Stanly Kubrick’s cult classic 1968 film ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’. ‘Space Oddity’ also became his first chart-topping single in the UK.
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1975 – Stevie Wonder headlined the fourth and last annual ‘Human Kindness Day’ festival held on the National Mall in Washington, DC on this day May 10. The Commodores and Sly and the Family Stone also performed at the event which saw over 125,000 people in the audience.
1986 – Austrian singer, songwriter and instrumentalist Falco topped the UK Singles chart with ‘Rock Me Amadeus’. The song also became a chart-topper in nine other countries worldwide, including the US.
1988 – Singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Prince released his 10th studio album ‘Lovesexy’ on this day May 10 in music history. The album was recorded in seven weeks and it became a No.1 hit in six countries internationally while in the US it peaked at No.11.
1986 – British synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys topped the US Billboard Hot 100 chart with ‘West End Girls’. The song also reached No.1 in the UK, Norway, New Zealand, Canada, and Finland that year.
1992 – American jazz singer Sylvia Blagman better known by her stage name Sylvia Syms died from a heart attack while performing on stage at the Algonquin Hotel in New York City on this day May 10, aged 74.
1994 – American rock band Weezer released their eponymous debut studio album also known as ‘The Blue Album’ through DGC Records. As of May 2023, it remains the group’s best-selling album with more than 15 million copies sold worldwide.
1997 – English singer Gary Barlow reached No.1 on the UK Singles chart for a second time as a solo artist on this day May 10 with ‘Love Won’t Wait’.
1997 – With her third studio album ‘Share My World’, R&B singer Mary J. Blige scored her first chart-topper on the US Billboard 200 chart.
1999 – American singer, songwriter, writer, cartoonist, poet, and playwright Shel Silverstein died on this day May 10 in music history at the age of 68. Best remembered for writing Johnny Cash’s hit song ‘A Boy Named Sue’.
2003 – With ‘Get Busy’, Jamaican reggae musician Sean Paul hit number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart for the first of three consecutive weeks.
2003 – German DJ and record producer Tomcraft topped the Singles charts in Ireland and the UK with ‘Loneliness’ on this day May 10.
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2003 – Madonna scored her fifth number one album in the United States on this day with her ninth studio release ‘American Life’.
2008 – Five years later on the same day May 10, Madonna scored her eighth number one album in the UK with her eleventh studio LP ‘Hard Candy’. The album was a worldwide hit and it also reached No.1 in 20 other countries.
2011 – American vocalist Norma Zimmer died at the age of 87. Best remembered as the ‘Champagne Lady’ on the ‘Lawrence Welk Show’ on which she appeared for 22 years.
2014 – The No.1 single in the UK on this day May 10 in music history was ‘Summer’ by the Scottish DJ and producer Calvin Harris who scored his sixth chat-topper in Britain.
2018 – With his second studio album ‘Beerbongs & Bentleys’, rapper and singer Post Malone reached number one in the UK. The album was a chart-topper in ten other countries that year, including the US, Canada, and Australia.
2018 -Scottish singer, songwriter, guitarist, and artist Scott Hutchison committed suicide on this day May 10 at the age of 36. Best remembered as the founder and frontman of the indie rock band Frightened Rabbit,
BORN ON THIS DAY MAY 10 IN MUSIC HISTORY
1899 – American dancer, singer, choreographer and actor Frederick Austerlitz better known as Fred Astaire was born in Omaha, Nebraska on this day May 10 in music history. He is considered one of the greatest popular music dancers of all time.
1907 – American jazz trombonist, bandleader and vocalist Walter Gerhardt “Pee Wee” Hunt was born on this day in Mount Healthy, Ohio.
1920 – Influential guitarist Herbert ‘Bert’ Weedon was born on this day May 10 in London, England. He was the first guitarist to have a hit song on the UK Singles chart in 1959 with ‘Guitar Boogie Shuffle’.
1935 – R&B and rock and roll singer-songwriter, pianist and producer Lawrence “Larry” Williams was born in New Orleans, Louisiana.
1937 – American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, and prolific session musician Mike Melvoin was born on this day May 10 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. He worked with the likes of Frank Sinatra, The Beatles, Jackson 5, etc. and served as the chairman and president of The Recording Academy.
1938 – Singer and founding member of the vocal group The Spinners, Henry Lee Fambrough was born on this day in Detroit, Michigan.
1940 – Country and soul music singer-songwriter Arthur Alexander was born in Sheffield, Alabama on this day May 10 in music history.
1944 – Guitarist and singer-songwriter Jackie Lomax was born in Wallasey, England. Best known for his work with the likes of George Harrison, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Nicky Hopkins, and others.
1946 – Singer, songwriter and guitarist Graham Gouldman was born on this day May 10 in Salford, England. Best known as the only constant member of the art rock band 10cc since their formation.
1947 – Singer-songwriter and guitarist David “Dave” Mason was born on this day in Worcester, England. He rose to fame as a member of the rock band Traffic.
1952 – Drummer and one half of the reggae music duo Sly and Robbie, Lowell Fillmore “Sly” Dunbar was born on this day May 10 in Kingston, Jamaica.
1957 – English bassist John Simon Ritchie better known by his stage name Sid Vicious was born in London. Best known as a member of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols.
1960 – Co-founder and frontman of the rock band U2, Paul Hewson better known professionally as Bono was born in Dublin, Ireland on this day May 10 in music history.
1980 – American singer Jason Dalyrimple also known as Jase4Real was born on Long Island, New York. He came to prominence as a member of the R&B vocal group Soul for Real.