Today in Music: a look back at pop music

(May 29)

Today's birthdays include Bob Hope in 1903 (100 years old); guitarist Roy Crewsdon of Freddie and the Dreamers, who was born in 1941 (age 62); Procol Harum's Gary Brooker in 1949 (age 53); Mel Gaynor of Simple Minds in 1960 (age 42); Melissa Etheridge in 1961 (age 42); and Melanie Brown, a.k.a. "Scary Spice" of the Spice Girls, in 1975 (age 28).

On this day in music history:

In 1942, Bing Crosby recorded "White Christmas" in Los Angeles.

Actress and singer Fanny Brice died on this day in 1951.

In 1961, Ben E. King's "Stand By Me" topped the R&B singles chart.

In 1974, Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells" was released.

In 1981, Bruce Springsteen launched his first British tour in five years.

In 1991, Steve Winwood was uninjured when his tour bus was sideswiped by an oncoming truck near Findley, Ohio.

In 1995, a security guard shot and wounded an intruder at Madonna's Hollywood Hills estate. The man was later convicted of stalking and threatening the pop star/actress and sentenced to prison.

In 1996, Michael Jackson announced plans for his first world tour in three years, to begin Sept. 7 in Prague, Czech Republic.

In 1989, Quicksilver Messenger Service founder John Cipollina died of complications stemming from respiratory problems. He was 45.

In 1999, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band sold out all 15 of their shows at the Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, N.J., in only 13 hours -- breaking the old record of 11 sold-out shows at the arena in 1992. That record also belonged to Springsteen.

Also in 1999, hikers found a skeleton in a minivan at the bottom of a canyon near Malibu, Calif. It turned out to be the remains of Iron Butterfly bassist Philip "Taylor" Kramer, who'd been missing since Feb. 1995.

In 2000, in a guest column in Newsweek magazine, Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich wrote that he and his fellow bandmates don't care what people think of the group for suing free music distributor Napster because "we think it's the right thing to do, period."

Today's musical quiz:

How did "Scary Spice" Melanie Brown meet her now-former husband? Answer: Jimmy Gulzar was a dancer on the Spice Girls' tour.