Legend: BTD – Born Today OTD – On This Day
| Date | Artist/Group | Description | Image |
|---|---|---|---|
| BTD May21,1901 | Horace Heidt | #BTD May21,1901 #HoraceHeidt pianist, #bigband leader; Horace Heidt and his Musical Knights 3 US #1s 1937 Gone with the Wind, 1938 Ti–Pi–Tin, 1941 Don't Want to Set the World on Fire, +48 Top40 singles; toured vaudeville, performed on radio & TV during the 1930s and 1940s | |
| BTD May21,1904 | Fats Waller | #BTD May21,1904 #FatsWaller (Thomas Waller) RIP jazz pianist, organist, composer, singer best-known compositions, 1929 "Ain't Misbehavin'" and 1934 "Honeysuckle Rose" Waller copyrighted over 400 songs, many of them co-written with collaborator #AndyRazaf | |
| BTD May21,1923 | Rick Jason | #BTD May21,1923 #RickJason (Richard Jacobson) RIP actor TV/Film; films such as 1953 Sombrero, 1956 The Lieutenant Wore Skirts; TV 1960s best known for his role as 2nd Lt. Gil Hanley on the series "Combat!" Jason served from 1943 to 1945 in US Army Air Corps, during World War II | |
| BTD May21,1940 | Tony Sheridan | #BTD May21,1940 #TonySheridan (Anthony McGinnity) RIP singer, songwriter, guitarist 1962 "My Bonnie" peaked at #62 on the US charts 1964 with The Beat Brothers (later The #Beatles). The only non-Beatle to appear as lead singer on a Beatles recording which charted as a single | |
| BTD May21,1941 | Ronald Isley | #BTD May21,1941 #RonaldIsley songwriter, producer, lead singer founding member of The #IsleyBrothers 1968 US #12 & UK #3 "This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)", 1969 US #2 "It's Your Thing", +9 US, 10 UK and 59 R&B Top40 singles with 7 R&B #1s #HBday @TheRealRonIsley | |
| BTD May21,1943 | Hilton Valentine | #BTD May21,1943 #HiltonValentine RIP original guitarist The #Animals 1964 UK & US #1 "The House of the Rising Sun", +12 UK & 13 US Top40 singles. 1994 inducted into the @rockhall of Fame as a member of The Animals #HBday @HiltonValentine | |
| BTD May21,1943 | John Dalton | #BTD May21,1943 #JohnDalton bass guitarist, a member of The #Kinks from 1966 & 1969 to 1976; replacing original member Pete Quaife. The Kinks had 19 UK Top40 singles @TheKinks | |
| BTD May21,1943 | Vincent Crane | #BTD May21,1943 #VincentCrane (Vincent Cheesman) RIP keyboards The Crazy world of Arthur Brown 1968 UK #1 & US #2 single "Fire" & #AtomicRooster 1971 UK #4 "The Devil's Answer" & 1971 UK #11 "Tomorrow Night" | |
| BTD May21,1948 | Leo Sayer | #BTD May21,1948 #LeoSayer (Gerard Hugh Sayer) singer, songwriter, career spans 4 decades. 1976 US & UK #1 "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing", 1977 UK & US #1 "When I Need You", +14 UK and 6 US Top40s. 2006 UK #1 "Thunder in My Heart Again" a remix by DJ Meck featuring Leo Sayer | |
| BTD May21,1955 | Stan Lynch | #BTD May21,1955 #StanLynch songwriter, record producer, original drummer for #TomPetty & The #Heartbreakers (left in 1994). Worked with many others and has toured with the #Eagles. 2002 inducted in the @rockhall with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers | |
| OTD May21,1961 | Del Shannon | #OTD May21,1961 #DelShannon is still at #1 on the @billboard Hot100 Singles chart with "Runaway" for the last week of a 4wk run at #1 | |
| OTD May21,1963 | Beatles | #OTD May21,1963 #Beatles at the Playhouse Theatre London, working on two #BBC radio programs, they record 5 songs for "Saturday Club" & 6 songs for "Steppin' Out" | |
| OTD May21,1964 | Ella Fitzgerald | #OTD May21,1964 #EllaFitzgerald peaks at #34 on the UK Singles Chart with her version of "Can't Buy Me Love" written by Paul McCartney; credited to Lennon–McCartney. Fitzgerald is the 1st artist to break the Top40 with a Beatles cover | |
| OTD May21,1964 | Four Pennies | #OTD May21,1964 The #FourPennies are at #1 on the UK singles chart with "Juliet" Their only UK #1. Written by Mike Wilshaw, Lionel Morton and Fritz Fryer. The song is named after Fryer's 2yo niece. "Juliet" is the only 1964 #1 by a UK group not to chart in the US | |
| OTD May21,1964 | Beatles | #OTD May21,1964 The US release of The #Beatles single "Sie liebt dich" written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney with German translated lyrics by Camillo Felgen. The German-language version of the Beatles song She Loves You (Sie liebt dich) will peak at #97 in the US on Jun27 | |
| OTD May21,1965 | Time Magazine | #OTD May21,1965 #Time magazine cover with #Shindig dancers, Beach Boys, Petula Clark, Trini Lopez, Righteous Brothers, Herman's Hermits and the Supremes @TIME | |
| OTD May21,1966 | Castiles | #OTD May21,1966 The #Castiles (All juniors in High School) play at Freehold Regional High School NJ with #BruceSpringsteen on vocals | |
| OTD May21,1966 | Mamas and The Papas | #OTD May21,1966 The Mamas and The Papas are still at #1 on the @billboard Hot100 Singles Chart with "Monday, Monday" for the last week of a 3wk run at #1. The song won the #Grammy for Best Pop Performance #MamasandthePapas | |
| OTD May21,1967 | Jimi Hendrix | #OTD May21,1967 #JimiHendrix signs with #Reprise Records. Reprise Records eventually releases albums "Are You Experienced?" & "Axis: Bold as Love and Electric Ladyland" | |
| OTD May21,1970 | Crosby Stills Nash Young | #OTD May21,1970 #CrosbyStillsNashYoung record "Ohio" a protest song written by #NeilYoung in reaction to the Kent State shootings of May4,1970. The song will enter the #Billboard Hot100 charts on Jun27 at #58 and peak at #14 Aug8 | |
| OTD May21,1971 | Marvin Gaye | #OTD May21,1971 #MarvinGaye releases his 11th studio album “What’s Going On” via #Motown Records label #Tamla. His 1st LP to credit him as a producer & credits Motown's studio band the #FunkBrothers. The LP has 3 R&B #1 singles What's Going On, Mercy Mercy Me, Inner City Blues | |
| OTD May21,1972 | 2nd British Rock Meeting | #OTD May21,1972 The 2nd day of the 2nd British Rock Meeting Germersheim, West Germany. Article about the event with Pink Floyd, The Faces, The Kinks & more @pinkfloyd @TheKinks | |
| OTD May21,1975 | Beatles | #OTD May21,1975 TV special with The #Beatles hosted by #DavidFrost called "David Frost Salutes the Beatles" is broadcast in the US | |
| OTD May21,1977 | Stevie Wonder | #OTD May21,1977 #StevieWonder starts a 3wk run at #1 on the @billboard Hot100 Singles Chart with "Sir Duke" written & produced by Stevie Wonder; a tribute to Duke Ellington. Lyrics also refer to Count Basie, Glenn Miller, Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald. Wonder's 6th US #1 | |
| OTD May21,1983 | David Bowie | #OTD May21,1983 #DavidBowie is at #1 on the @billboard Hot100 Singles Chart with "Let's Dance" written by David Bowie; featuring a guitar solo by then-rising blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan | |
| OTD May21,1983 | Prince | #OTD May21,1983 #Prince peaks at #6 on the @billboard Hot100 singles chart with "Little Red Corvette" written and produced by Prince | |
| OTD May21,1988 | Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine | #OTD May21,1988 #GloriaEstefan & Miami Sound Machine are still at #1 on the @billboard Hot100 Singles Chart with "Anything For You" for the last week of a 2wk run at #1 @GloriaEstefan | |
| OTD May21,2018 | Clint Walker | #OTD May21,2018 #ClintWalker (Norman Eugene Walker) actor dies at the age of 90. Known for his starring role as cowboy Cheyenne Bodie in the ABC/Warner Bros. western series "Cheyenne" from 1955-63 and in many movies such as 1967 "The Dirty Dozen" as Samson Posey |