Legend: BTD – Born Today OTD – On This Day
| Date | Artist/Group | Description | Image |
|---|---|---|---|
| BTD May17,1911 | Maureen O'Sullivan | #BTD May17,1911 #MaureenOSullivan RIP. Actress Jane Porter 1932-1942 #Tarzan movies with #JohnnyWeissmuller Tarzan, plus films such as 1952 Bonzo Goes to College, 1965 Never Too Late. O'Sullivan & husband John Villiers Farrow were the parents of 7 children. One being #MiaFarrow | |
| BTD May17,1941 | Malcolm Hale | #BTD May17,1941 #MalcolmHale RIP lead guitarist Spanky And Our Gang 1967 US #9 single "Sunday Will Never Be The Same Again" On Oct31,1968, Malcolm Hale was found dead in his Chicago home, at the age 27 from carbon monoxide poisoning due to a bad heating system | |
| BTD May17,1942 | Taj Mahal | #BTD May17,1942 #TajMahal (Henry Fredericks) singer, songwriter, composer film soundtracks & formed The #RisingSons #HBay @tajmahalblues | |
| BTD May17,1944 | Jesse Winchester | #BTD May17,1944 #JesseWinchester (James Ridout Winchester Jr) RIP singer, songwriter 1970 CAN #20 single "Yankee Lady" His songs have been covered by many artists such as #PattiPage, #ElvisCostello, #EverlyBrothers | |
| BTD May17,1948 | Bill Bruford | #BTD May17,1948 #BillBruford drummer, composer, producer, & record label owner Original drummer for #Yes 1971 US #40 "Your Move" Spent 1970s in #KingCrimson, touring with #Genesis & #UK, forming Bruford and #Earthworks. 2017 inducted in @rockhall of Fame with Yes @yesofficial | |
| BTD May17,1949 | Keith | #BTD May17,1949 #Keith (James Keefer) singer 1966 US #7 & UK #24 "98.6", 1966 US #39 "Ain't Gonna Lie", 1967 US #37 & UK #51 "Tell Me to My Face" He legally changed his name to Bazza Keefer in 1988, in memory of his mother. 1986 set up A.I.R. Records in Redondo Beach, California | |
| BTD May17,1956 | Bob Saget | #BTD May17,1956 #BobSaget actor film/TV; 1987–1995 Full House as Danny Tanner; 1989–1997 America's Funniest Home Videos host; 2001–2002 Raising Dad as Matt Stewart; 2005–2014 How I Met Your Mother as Ted Mosby in 2030; 2009 Surviving Suburbia as Steve Patterson #HBday @bobsaget | |
| BTD May17,1958 | Alan Rankine | #BTD May17,1958 #AlanRankine keyboardist, guitarist, co-founder of the rock band The #Associates 1982 UK #9 "Party Fears Two", +3 UK Top40 singles and a solo artist | |
| BTD May17,1959 | Paul DiAnno | #BTD May17,1959 #PaulDiAnno (Paul Andrews) singer, 1st vocalist to record with heavy metal band #IronMaiden from 1978-1981 & solo artist | |
| BTD May17,1960 | Simon Fuller | #BTD May17,1960 #SimonFuller record, TV producer, manager of the #SpiceGirls & others, creator of the #Idol series with over 50 versions | |
| BTD May17,1961 | Enya | #BTD May17,1961 #Enya (Enya Patricia Brennan) singer, songwriter #Clannad 1982 UK #5 "Harry's Game" & solo 1988 UK #1 "Orinoco Flow", +8 UK Top40 singles #HBday @official_enya | |
| OTD May17,1875 | Kentucky Derby | #OTD May17,1875 1st #KentuckyDerby is held at Churchill Downs. The winning horse is #Aristides, jockey is Oliver Lewis, trainer Ansel Williamson and the owner H. P. McGrath (Henry Price McGrath) @KentuckyDerby | |
| OTD May17,1933 | Jimmie Rodgers | #OTD May17,1933 #JimmieRodgers (James Charles Rodgers) records a series of 24 songs. He would die 9 days later. One of the 1st to be inducted into the @countrymusichof fame | |
| OTD May17,1952 | Leroy Anderson | #OTD May17,1952 #LeroyAnderson "Pops" Concert Orchestra starts a 5wk run at #1 on the US Top40 Singles chart with "Blue Tango" written by Leroy Anderson. The single will be the #1 song of the year on the US charts | |
| OTD May17,1957 | Guy Mitchell | #OTD May17,1957 #GuyMitchell is at #1 on the UK singles chart with "Rock-A-Billy" written by by Woody Harris and Eddie V. Deane. Mitchell's fourth and final UK #1 | |
| OTD May17,1958 | Everly Brothers | #OTD May17,1958 The #EverlyBrothers are still at #1 on the US Hot 40 Singles Chart with "All I Have to Do Is Dream" for the 2nd week of a 3wk run at #1 | |
| OTD May17,1961 | Groucho Marx | #OTD May17,1961 Tapping of the final episode of the TV quiz show "You Bet Your Life" The show aired on radio & TV. Hosted by #GrouchoMarx | |
| OTD May17,1963 | Jan and Dean | #OTD May17,1963 #JanandDean's single "Surf City" is released co-written by #JanBerry & #BrianWilson. The single would became the 1st surf song to become a national #1 hit on Jul20 for 2wks @BrianWilsonLive | |
| OTD May17,1963 | Beatles | #OTD May17,1963 The #Beatles on a photo shoot with #DezoHoffman in London | |
| OTD May17,1963 | Beatles | #OTD May17,1963 The #Beatles perform at the Grosvenor Rooms, Norwich, Norfolk. Also there #RickyLee and The Hucklebucks | |
| OTD May17,1963 | Monterey Folk Festival | #OTD May17,1963 The 1st #Monterey Folk Festival began. 3 days in Monterey, CA Featuring #JoanBaez with #BobDylan #PeterPaulandMary and The #WildWoodBoys | |
| OTD May17,1964 | Bob Dylan | #OTD May17,1964 #BobDylan's 1st major concert in the UK at the #RoyalFestivalHall with a show listed as a "Folksong Concert" @bobdylan | |
| OTD May17,1967 | Brian Epstein | #OTD May17,1967 Physician advice's #BrianEpstein to check into the Priory Hospital in Roehampton for a much needed rest. He would eventually be trying to cure his acute insomnia and addiction to amphetamines. On Aug27,1967 #BrianEpstein would die; ruled an accidental suicide | |
| OTD May17,1967 | Beatles | #OTD May17,1967 The #Beatles began recording the song "You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)", it will not be finished until Nov1969. Originally released as the B-side of the single "Let It Be" The song features a saxophone part played by Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones | |
| OTD May17,1969 | Joni Mitchell | #OTD May17,1969 #JoniMitchell is featured on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine @RollingStone @JoniMitchellcom | |
| OTD May17,1969 | Album, 45s | #OTD May17,1969 For the 1st time LP sales overtake single sales in the UK. 49,184,000 albums produced during 1968 compared with 49,161,000 singles or better known as 45s | |
| OTD May17,1969 | 5th Dimension | #OTD May17,1969 The #5thDimension (#FifthDimension) are still at #1 on the @billboard Hot100 Singles chart with "Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In" for the last week of a 6wk run at #1 | |
| OTD May17,1970 | Beatles | #OTD May17,1970 The #Beatles jump straight to #1 starting a 3wk run at #1 on the UK album chart with their 12th & final studio album "Let It Be" | |
| OTD May17,1971 | Godspell | #OTD May17,1971 The musical #Godspell opens off Broadway in New York City and ran for 2,124 performances | |
| OTD May17,1971 | Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney | #OTD May17,1971 The US release of "Ram" an album by #PaulMcCartney & #LindaMcCartney on the #Apple Records Label. The only LP credited to both Linda and Paul McCartney @PaulMcCartney | |
| OTD May17,1973 | Led Zeppelin | #OTD May17,1973 An article in the #DailyEspress about #LedZeppelin headline "Impossible - but they ARE bigger than the Beatles" @Daily_Express @ledzeppelin | |
| OTD May17,1973 | BTO, Bachman-Turner Overdrive | #OTD May17,1973 Bachman-Turner Overdrive #BTO releases their 1st LP with former Guess Who guitarist #RandyBachman guitar, lead vocals; #FredTurner bass guitar, vocals; #TimBachman guitar, vocals and #RobbieBachman drums. 1974 #BlairThornton replaces Tim Bachman @randybachmancbc | |
| OTD May17,1975 | Elton John | #OTD May17,1975 #EltonJohn is awarded a Platinum LP for 1M sales of the album "Captain Fantastic and The Brown Dirt Cowboy" John has the 1st Platinum LP on the day of an albums release @eltonofficial | |
| OTD May17,1975 | John Lennon | #OTD May17,1975 #JohnLennon sits in as a guest DJ for the Philadelphia radio station #WFIL for the Helping Hand Marathon fundraiser | |
| OTD May17,1975 | Tony Orlando | #OTD May17,1975 #TonyOrlando & #Dawn are still at #1 on the @billboard Hot100 Singles Chart with "He Don’t Love You (Like I Love You)" for the last week of a 3k run at #1 @TonyOrlando | |
| OTD May17,1978 | Thank God It's Friday | #OTD May17,1978 The movie "Thank God It's Friday" premiers in LA. Features The #Commodores & #DonnaSummer A musical disco comedy film directed by #RobertKlane and produced by Motown Productions and #Casablanca Film Works @motown | |
| OTD May17,1980 | Blondie | #OTD May17,1980 #Blondie is still at #1 on the @billboard Hot100 Singles Chart with "Call Me" for the 5th week of a 6wk run at #1 @BlondieOfficial | |
| OTD May17,1986 | Whitney Houston | #OTD May17,1986 #WhitneyHouston starts a 3wk run at #1 on the @billboard Hot100 Singles chart with "Greatest Love Of All" written by #MichaelMasser with lyrics by #LindaCreed. 1977 originally recorded by #GeorgeBenson who peaked at #24 on Oct8,1977 | |
| OTD May17,2012 | Donna Summer | #OTD May17,2012 #DonnaSummer (LaDonna Gaines) dies at the age of 63. 1970s pop singer known as the Queen of Disco. 5 #GRAMMY awards and 1977 UK #1 "I Feel Love", 1979 US #1 & UK #11 "Hot Stuff", +25 Top40 hits singles | |
| OTD May17,2021 | Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith | #OTD May17,2021 Micky Dolenz and Michael Nesmith a reunion of the two remaining #Monkees @TheMickyDolenz1 |