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Today in Music

April, 2

  • 1999 The European festival season kicks off with the start of a two-day event at the former Spanish Formula 1 racing circuit in the southern sherry-producing city of Jerez de la Frontera. More than 20,000 fans attend the 11th Festival Esparrago Rock, one of Spain’s biggest summer outdoor events.
  • 1999 When Trisha Yearwood makes a visit to Sesame Street, the Country Music Association female vocalist of the year gets to rub shoulders with a major childhood influence. “As a child,” she explains, “Grover was my hero. To finally get to meet my childhood hero and have an opportunity to perform with him is something I will never forget.”
  • 1998 Rob Pilatus, half of the dreadlocked pop act Milli Vanilli, is found dead in a Frankfurt, Germany, hotel room. According to Germany’s Bild am Sonntag newspaper, Pilatus is alone and consuming alcohol and pills when he dies.
  • 1996 Singer and guitarist, Guitar Gabriel (Robert Lewis Jones) dies at the age of 71.
  • 1987 Drummer Buddy Rich dies of a brain tumor. Age 69. Rich performed and recorded with Tommy Dorsey from 1939-46.
  • 1967 The Beatles finish recording the album “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” The album tops Billboard’s pop album chart for 15 weeks, longer than any Beatles album.
  • 1962 No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: “Johnny Angel,” Shelley Fabares. Fabares performs the song on “The Donna Reed Show,” in which she plays Mary Stone.
  • 1960 No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: “Theme from `A Summer Place,’ ” Percy Faith. The song is the most successful instrumental single of the rock era, staying at No. 1 for nine weeks. Billboard also ranks the song the top single of 1960.
  • 1941 Leon Russell is born in Lawton, Okla. He first records as Russell Bridges and later as Hank Wilson. His biggest solo hit is “Tight Rope,” which reaches No. 11 on Billboard’s Hot 100 in 1972. He also records the top 10 hit “The Letter” with Joe Cocker in 1970.
  • 1939 Marvin Gaye (Marvin Pentz Gay Jr.) is born in Washington, D.C., the son of an apostolic minister. He has three No. 1 hits, the biggest of which is “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” which held the top spot for seven weeks in 1968-69. He is posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.