This Day in Music

In 1956, Elvis Presley recorded one of his signature hits, “Hound Dog,” at New York’s RCA Studios. Written by Leiber and Stoller, the song was first released in 1953 by blues star Big Mama Thornton. Two years later, Las Vegas lounge act Freddie Bell and the Bell Boys recorded their own rendition, performing it in front of a young Elvis when he made his first trip to Sin City. The rising star was immediately taken with the song and began adding it to his set list – including two notorious performances on live TV. Released less than two weeks later, the track became his best-selling single, spending 11 weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 – a record-breaking streak at the time. The song also topped the country and R&B charts.

In 1971, Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor, and John Deacon played their first show together as Queen. The gig, at England’s Surrey College, would launch their legendary 20-year career.

In 1969, after nearly three years together, Mitch Mitchell, Noel Redding, and Jimi Hendrix went their separate ways, effectively ending the reign of the Jimi Hendrix Experience. The split came just days after the band performed their final show together at the Denver Pop Festival. Hendrix would go on to establish the Band of Gypsys before his untimely death in September 1970.

In 1988, with the success of “Dirty Diana,” Michael Jackson set a new US chart record – becoming the first artist to have five No.1 singles from one album. His seventh studio LP, Bad, also produced such hits as “The Way You Make Me Feel,” “Man in the Mirror,” “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You,” and the title track.

In 2001, Liverpool’s Speke Airport was renamed John Lennon Airport, after the late Beatles co-founder and famous Liverpudlian.

BORN ON JULY 2

1936: Tom Springfield (The Springfields)
1937: Dee Palmer (Jethro Tull)
1939: Paul Williams (The Temptations)
1949: Roy “The Professor” Bittan (E Street Band)
1952: Gene Taylor
1991: Burna Boy