Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe (April 10) Today's birthdays include Shelby "Sheb" Wooley, who was born in 1921 (age 82); The Spinners' Bobbie Smith in 1936 (age 67); Bobby Hatfield of the Righteous Brothers in 1940 (age 63); Bunny Wailer -- whose real name is Neville O'Reilly Livingstone -- of the Wailers in 1947 (age 56); guitarist Eddie Hazel of P-Funk in 1950 (age 53); Terre Roche of the Roches in 1953 (age 50); singer/songwriter/producer Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds in 1957 (age 46); Brian Setzer, formerly with the Stray Cats and now leading The Brian Setzer Orchestra, in 1959 (age 44); and pop singer Mandy Moore in 1984 (age 19). Advertisement Today's musical milestones: In 1956, Nat "King" Cole was attacked and beaten by a mob of racists while singing on stage at Municipal Hall in Birmingham, Ala. In 1958, Chuck Willis was killed in a car crash in Atlanta. He was 30. Advertisement In 1962, Stu Sutcliffe -- the original bassist with the Beatles and the originator of the shaggy "Beatle" haircut -- died at age 21 from a brain hemorrhage. In 1970, Paul McCartney announced the Beatles had broken up. McCartney, who released his first solo album, said he was leaving the group because of personal differences with John Lennon. In 1981, Pretenders guitarist James Honeyman-Scott married model Peggy Sue Fender in London. In 1982, the Paul McCartney-Stevie Wonder duet "Ebony and Ivory" entered the U.S. pop singles chart at No. 29. It would eventually hit No. 1 in both the United States and Britain. In 1985, Wham! performed for 5,000 Chinese fans in Canton, China. In 1991, a judge in Louisville, Ky., reduced the arson charge against New Kid on the Block Donnie Wahlberg in exchange for his recording of fire safety, drug abuse and drunk driving public service announcements. The charge stemmed from a March 27 hotel hallway fire that Wahlberg allegedly had set. In 1992, Axl Rose skipped town ahead of Cook Co., Ill., Sheriff's deputies, who were going to arrest him on charges stemming from a riot that'd broken out July 2, 1991, at a suburban St. Louis concert. Rose's abrupt departure forced the cancellation of the Guns N' Roses concert in Chicago. Shows in suburban Detroit scheduled for April 13 and 14 were also cancelled. Advertisement In 1993, more than 100 people were hurt and 100 others arrested when rioting erupted outside a Metallica concert in suburban Jakarta, Indonesia. In 1994, more than 10,000 people turned out for a memorial vigil in downtown Seattle for Nirvana's Kurt Cobain, who'd been found dead two days earlier from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. In 1995, Rod Stewart said a British newspaper reporter misunderstood him when the journalist quoted the rocker saying he'd retire after his upcoming concert tour. In 1996, Rob Pilatus -- formerly of Milli Vanilli -- was arrested on outstanding warrants after being pulled over by Los Angeles police for running a stop sign. In 1997, A&M Records confirmed that Soundgarden was breaking up after 12 years. In 1999, the Smashing Pumpkins kicked off "The Arising" tour in Detroit. The first four songs of the show were cybercast via the Internet. In 2000, Whitney Houston received a standing ovation following a 20-minute performance at a party celebrating the 25th anniversary of her record label, Arista -- even if she did trip once on stage, speak a few lyrics instead of singing them, and stop in the middle of a tune to ask for a drink of water. Advertisement Today's musical quiz: "Sheb" Wooley wrote the theme song to this country music-oriented TV variety show. What? Answer: "Hee Haw."
