Today in Music: a look back at pop music

(July 23)

Today's musical birthdays include Cleveland Duncan, lead vocalist on the Penguins' 1955 hit "Earth Angel," who was born in 1935 (age 67); Madeline Bell in 1942 (age 60); Rascals drummer Dino Danelli in 1945 (age 57); Andy MacKay of Roxy Music in 1946 (age 56); David Essex in 1947 (age 55); guitarist Blair Thornton of Bachman-Turner Overdrive in 1950 (age 52); Depeche Mode's Martin Gere in 1961 (age 41); and Tim Kellett of Simply Red in 1964 (age 38).

Today in music history:

In 1938, bandleader Artie Shaw first recorded the still popular "Begin the Beguine."

In 1955, Chuck Berry's "Maybelline" was released on the Chess label.

In 1966, British Prime Minister Harold Wilson reopened Liverpool's Cavern Club.

In 1969, it was James Brown Day in Los Angeles -- as proclaimed by the mayor.

In 1977, Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham and the band's manager, Peter Grant, were charged with assault following a backstage fracas at the Oakland Coliseum in California.

In 1980, Grateful Dead keyboardist Keith Godchaux died from injuries suffered in a car accident two days earlier. He was 32.

In 1987, the surviving Beatles sued EMI-Capitol Records for $40 million, accusing the label of cheating on CD royalties. The lawsuit also asked for the master recordings back.

In 1990, an expert told a Reno, Nevada, courtroom that two teenage boys did not commit suicide because of alleged subliminal messages on a Judas Priest album. The teens' parents would lose their lawsuit against the band.

In 1991, U.S. Post Office officials said they were considering issuing an Elvis Presley stamp, maybe in 1993.

Also in 1991, lawyers representing two Kansas teenage boys said music by the rap group Geto Boys inspired the teens to shoot and kill a man. The president of the group's label, Rap-A-Lot Records, called the claim "nonsense."

In 1993, The Artist Formerly Known As Prince launched a European concert tour -- supposed the last with his band, the New Power Generation.

In 1998, Aerosmith announced the postponement of the first 13 dates of its upcoming tour to give drummer Joey Kramer more time to recover from the burns he'd suffered in a freak gas station fire one week earlier.

Also in 1998, SoundScan reported the Beastie Boys' fifth album "Hello Nasty" had become the biggest first-week seller of the year. The CD topped both the Billboard Top 200 and the Top Rap Album charts.

And in 1998, rapper Queen Latifah joined the all-female Lilith Fair Tour for five shows.

And in 1998, "The Big Rewind Tour" -- starring a reunited Culture Club, Human League and Howard Jones -- opened in Atlanta.

In 1999, Phil Collins, 48, married Orianne Cevey, 27, in a private ceremony in Switzerland. It was his third marriage.

Topping the charts on this date:

Rock Around the Clock - Bill Haley and His Comets (1955), Surf City - Jan and Dean (1963), It's Too Late/I Feel the Earth Move - Carole King (1971), Bad Girls - Donna Summer (1979).

Today's musical quiz:

David Essex played what religious figure on the London stage in the 1970s? Answer: Essex portrayed Jesus in the London production of "Godspell."

---------