EVENTS THAT HAPPENED ON THIS DAY MAY 3 IN MUSIC HISTORY
On this day May 3 in 1964 – Thirteen-year-old Stevie Wonder performed ‘Fingertips’ on the Ed Sullivan Show. Beat group Gerry and the Pacemakers also appeared on the show and they performed their hit single ‘Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying’
1968 – The Beach Boys kicked off their US concert tour with a show at Washington Coliseum in Washington, D.C. The tour featured Indian meditation guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi who gave the audience a lecture on the benefits of meditation at the end of the concert. However, the feedback was so bad that the group had to cancel 24 of their 29 scheduled shows.
1969 – Jimi Hendrix was arrested by customs officers at the Toronto International Airport on this day May 3 in music history after they found heroin and hashish in his luggage. The rockstar was charged with drug possession but was later released on $10,000 bail
1972 – Scottish guitarist Leslie Harvey died on stage while performing after being electrocuted when he touched an ungrounded microphone, aged 27. Best remembered as the co-founder of the blues rock band Stone the Crows.
1975 – With their seventh studio album ‘Chicago VIII’, rock band Chicago went to number one in the US on this day May 3.
1975 – With their second studio release ‘Once Upon A Star’, The Bay City Rollers started a three-week stint at No.1 on the UK Albums chart.
1975 – Tony Orlando and Dawn topped the US Billboard Hot 100 with ‘He Don’t Love You (Like I Love You)’ on this day May 3.
1975 – Glam rock band Mud scored their third and last No.1 single in the UK with their rendition of the Crickets song ‘Oh, Boy!’.
1976 – Rock band Wings kicked off the North American leg of their ‘Wings Over the World’ tour with a concert in Fort Worth, Texas on this day May 3 in music history. This was Paul McCartney‘s first live performance in the US since The Beatles‘ final tour in 1966.
1977 – German bassist, guitarist, and singer Helmut Köllen died from carbon monoxide poisoning while listening to music in his car, aged 27. Best remembered for his work with the influential krautrock band Triumvirat.
1980 – Instrumental progressive rock band Sky started a two-week stint at No.1 in the UK with their second studio album ‘Sky 2’ on this day May 3.
1980 – With their eleventh studio album ‘Against the Wind’, Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band hit number one on the US Billboard 200 for the first of six consecutive weeks.
1980 – Pop rock band Dexy’s Midnight Runners topped the UK Singles chart for the first time with ‘Geno’ on this day May 3.
1986 – With ‘Addicted to Love’, English singer-songwriter Robert Palmer scored his first number one single on the US Billboard Hot 100.
1987 – Italian-French singer and actress Iolanda Gigiliotti better known by her stage name Dalida died on this day May 3 in music history, aged 54 from an overdose.
1993 – English rock band New Order released their sixth studio album ‘Republic’ through London Records. The LP became their second consecutive chart-topper in the UK.
1996 – Country music singer and songwriter Ruby Rose Blevins also known professionally as Patsy Montana died on this day May 3 at the age of 87. She was the first female country artist to have a million-selling single with her hit song ‘I Want to Be a Cowboy’s Sweetheart’.
1997 – Rapper The Notorious B.I.G. hit No.1 in the US with ‘Hypnotize’ for the first of three consecutive weeks. The song was the fifth posthumous chart-topper on the Billboard Hot 100.
1997 – The number one single in the United Kingdom on this day May 3 was ‘Blood on the Dance Floor’ by Michael Jackson.
1997 – With their fifth studio release ‘Tellin’ Stories’, alternative rock band The Charlatans reached number one on the UK Albums chart.
2001 – American jazz drummer Billy Higgins died on this day May 3 in music history at the age of 64 from a kidney failure.
2003 – English pop punk band Busted were at number one in the UK on this day with their single ‘You Said No’ also known as ‘Cras and Burn’.
Busted – You Said No
2003 – Madonna scored her third chart-topping album in the UK with her ninth studio release ‘American Life’ on this day May 3.
2003 – With her debut studio album ‘Thankful’, singer Kelly Clarkson reached the top spot on the US Billboard 200 chart.
2005 – Rock band Fall Out Boy released their second studio album ‘From Under the Cork Tree’ through Island Records on this day May 3. It was a commercial success and it peaked within the Top 10 in Canada, New Zealand, and the US.
2008 – With their debut studio album ‘The Age of Understatement’, English supergroup The Last Shadow Puppets hit No.1 in the UK.
2008 – Rapper Lil Wayne featuring singer Static Major went to number one in the United States with ‘Lollipop’ on this day May 3 in music history.
2008 – Singer and songwriter Mariah Carey started a two-week stint at No.1 on the US Albums chart with ‘E=MC² ‘, her eleventh studio release.
2011 – American jazz organist Odell Brown died on this day May 3, aged 71. Best remembered for his work with musicians such as Marvin Gaye, Johnny Cash, Curtis Mayfield and others.
2014 – Dutch record producer, singer, songwriter, and rapper Mr. Probz reached No.1 on the UK Singles chart with ‘Waves’.
2014 – American drummer and record producer Robert ‘Bobby’ Gregg died on this day May 3 at the age of 78. Best remembered for his solo work and for his collaborations with Bob Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel, and The Band.
BORN ON THIS DAY MAY 3 IN MUSIC HISTORY
1903 – American singer and actor Bing Crosby was born in Tacoma, Washington on this day May 3 in music history. He was one the first global multimedia stars.
1919 – Folk music singer-songwriter and social activist Pete Seeger was born on this day in Manhattan, New York. Best known as a member of the quartet Weavers and for writing songs such as ‘If I Had a Hammer’, ‘Where Have All the Flowers Gone’, ‘Turn! Turn! Turn!’, etc.
1920 – Jazz composer, pianist, and arranger John Lewis was born on this day May 3 in La Grange, Illinois. He rose to fame as the founder and director of the Modern Jazz Quartet.
1926 – American jazz electric-bass pioneer, composer, and bandleader Jymie Merritt was born today in Philadelphia Pennsylvania.
1928 – Country music singer David Pedruska also known professionally as Dave Dudley was born on this day May 3 in Spencer, Wisconsin.
1933 – The ‘Godfather of Soul’ – James Brown was born on this day in Barnwell, South Carolina. Best remembered for his 17 chart-topping singles, including ‘It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World’ and ‘I Got You(I Feel Good)’.
1934 – American singer and actor Frankie Valli was born in Newark, New Jersey on this day May 3 in music history. He rose to fame as the frontman of the group The Four Seasons.
1944 – Bassist, backing vocalist and founding member of the rock band The Troggs, Pete Staples was born on this day in Andover, England.
1950 – Welsh folk singer Mary Hopkin was born on this day May 3 in Pontardawe, Wales. Best known for her 1968 chart-topping single ‘Those Were the Days’.
1951 – American singer-songwriter and guitarist Christopher Cross was born in San Antonio, Texas. Best known for the chart-topping singles ‘Sailing’ and ‘Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do)’.
1953 – Bass guitarist and vocalist Bruce Hall was born on this day May 3 in Champaign, Illinois. He rose to fame as a member of the rock band REO Speedwagon.
1959 – Multi-instrumentalist and record producer David Ball was born on this day in Blackpool, England. Best known for his work with the bands Soft Cell and The Grid.
1964 – American drummer and songwriter Sterling Campbell was born in New York City on this day May 3 in music history. He has collaborated with the likes of David Bowie, The B-52s, Cyndi Lauper, Spandau Ballet, Duran Duran, etc.
1971 – Multi-instrumentalist and founding member of the Zac Brown Band, John Driskell Hopkins was born on this day in San Antonio, Texas.
1972 – American singer and songwriter Joseph “Josey” Scott was born on this day May 3 in Memphis, Tennessee. He came to prominence as the lead vocalist of the rock group Saliva.