Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe (Nov. 2) Today's birthdays include Earl "Speedo" Carroll of the Cadillacs and the Coasters, who was born in 1937 (age 64); David "Jay" Black of Jay and the Americans in 1938 (age 63); Bruce Welch of the Shadows in 1941 (age 60); J.D. Souther in 1945 (age 56); Len "Chip" Hawkins of the Tremeloes in 1946 (age 55); and singer/songwriter k.d. lang in 1961 (age 40). Advertisement Today's musical milestones: In 1966, influential bluesman Mississippi John Hurt died at age 73. It was Hurt who wrote "Coffee Blues," the song that included the phrase "Lovin' Spoonful." In 1967, the Move was sued by British Prime Minister Harold Wilson over a postcard featuring a naked caricature of Wilson promoting the quintet's third single "Flowers in the Rain." Wilson ultimately won the lawsuit and, as a result, all royalties from the song went to charity. In 1968, Stevie Wonder's "For Once In My Life" was released. In 1969, the avant-garde film "Sympathy for the Devil" premiered in San Francisco. It showed, among other things, the Rolling Stones in the studio recording the title song. In 1974, George Harrison opened his first solo tour at the Forum in Los Angeles. He was the first ex-Beatle to tour the United States. Advertisement In 1975, Bob Dylan and Allen Ginsberg visited Jack Kerouac's grave in Lowell, Mass. The event was filmed and later appeared in the movie "Renaldo and Clara." In 1979, the film version of the Who's rock opera "Quadrophenia," starring Sting, opened in the United States. In 1983, Public Image Ltd. began its first full-scale tour of the United Kingdom. In 1991, singer/songwriter Mort Shuman died at age 52. He wrote songs for Elvis Presley and Janis Joplin, among others. In 1992, Irish pop singer Sinead O'Connor was denied a U.S. visa. Organizers of a planned election night rally in San Francisco said the denial was an act of censorship, but the State Department said the visa application had been filed too late. In 1993, officials at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas confirmed that Barbra Streisand would perform at their theater on New Year's weekend. It was Streisand's first concert appearance other than at fundraisers in 27 years. In 1994, rocker David Crosby was hospitalized in Los Angeles suffering from liver failure. In 1995, the Smashing Pumpkins' double CD "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness" debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard album chart. Advertisement Also in 1995, Courtney Love's battery trial in Orlando, Fla., was delayed after the judge ruled jurors had been tainted by a disc jockey's snide remark. And in 1995, film clips from the Beatles' upcoming TV documentary were released in Britain. In 1998, Variety reported that tickets for the spring '99 Rolling Stones tour would sell for as much as $300 each. In 1999, Bonnie Raitt presented the Stevie Ray Vaughan Award to Eric Clapton in Los Angeles at the 1st Annual Allegro Awards. Today's musical quiz: What do the initials "k.d." stand for in k.d. lang? Answer: Katherine Dawn.
