ON THIS DAY IN MUSIC

October 5th

1965 - Johnny Cash

Johnny Cash was arrested crossing the Mexican border into El Paso, Texas after customs officials found 100's of pills in his guitar case. He received a suspended jail sentence and a $1,000 fine. The irony here being he was photographed leaving the court with his then wife Vivian (Liberto) who the Southern press and many fans took to be black (she was Italian/America) and a huge backlash against Cash ensued

Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

The National States Rights Party, an Alabama white supremacist group, (read KKK) republished the photo in its newspaper, The Thunderbolt, with an article that dripped with racist rhetoric. The money generated by Cash’s hit records, it claimed, went “to scum like Johnny Cash to keep them supplied with dope and negro women.” 
Dumb as soup!

classic Jim Marshall photo

1966 - Jimi Hendrix

Having moved to and living in London, England, Jimi Hendrix, Mitch Mitchell and Noel Redding played together for the first time - The Jimi Hendrix Experience were formed.

1967 - The Doors

The Doors played the final night of a five night run at Steve Paul's The Scene in New York City.

1973 - Elton John

Elton John released his seventh studio album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. Under the working titles of Vodka and Tonics and Silent Movies, Talking Pictures, Bernie Taupin wrote the lyrics to the album in two and a half weeks, with John composing most of the music in three days while staying at the Pink Flamingo Hotel in Kingston, Jamaica. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road has now sold over 30 million copies worldwide and is his best-selling studio album.

1974 - Mike Oldfield

Mike Oldfield's 'Tubular Bells' went to No.1 for the first time on the UK album chart 15 months after being released. It went on to sell over 10 million copies worldwide.

1975 - Stevie Wonder

Stevie Wonder appeared at the Wonder Dream Concert in Kingston, Jamaica, a Jamaican Institute for the Blind benefit concert. Along with Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer, the three original Wailers, performing together for the last time.

1980 - Joy Division

UK music weekly The NME had Joy Division's 'She's Lost Control' as single of the week. The song is about a girl who singer Ian Curtis worked with at a disability center. One day she didn't come to the center and Ian later learned that she died from a epileptic seizure.

1984 - Queen

Queen played the first of nine concerts at the Sun City Super Bowl, Sun City, Republic of Bophuthatswana (integrated into South Africa's North West Province in 1994). The 1984 'The Works' tours saw the reintroduction of older material to Queen's live set, including songs from the first three albums.

1985 - Midge Ure

Midge Ure was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'If I Was.' The former Ultravox and Slik singers only solo No.1. The song features Mark King of Level 42 on bass guitar.

1987 - Johnny Marr

Former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr began rehearsals with The Pretenders in preparation for the band supporting U2 on their North America tour. They managed 11-12 gigs together

1996 - Deep Blue Something

'Breakfast At Tiffany's' by American group Deep Blue Something was at No.1 on the UK singles chart. The song is a reference to the classic 1960 Audrey Hepburn film of the same name.


1999 - Roger Daltrey

Roger Daltrey announced that The Who were reforming, making their first performance in Las Vegas on Oct 29th. The show was also to be broadcast live on the Internet.

2000 - The Beatles

Beatles fans across the world rushed out to buy copies of the Fab Four's autobiography. Stores in Japan and Britain opened at midnight to satisfy demand for the book, the first written by the band members. Publishers said the 350,000-word volume, at a cost of £35, had already attracted more than 1.5m orders worldwide.

2006 - Michael Jackson

Jeffrey Borer, who admitted secretly videotaping Michael Jackson on a private jet, was sentenced to six months of home detention and fined $10,000. Borer, who was the owner of private jet firm XtraJet, had instructed an employee to buy and install two video recorders on the plane.

2006 - Bob Marley

Reggae legend Bob Marley was honoured with a heritage plaque at his former north London home at 34 Ridgmount Gardens in Camden. The event was part of Black History Month, a season of events promoting the contribution of African-Caribbean communities in London.

2008 - Pink

Pink started a three week run at No.1 on the UK singels chart with 'So What', the singers third UK No.1 hit.

2011 - David Cassidy

David Cassidy filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit against Sony, claiming he had not been paid royalties for sales of Partridge Family merchandise which bear his image, including lunchboxes, magazines and board games. Cassidy told CNN "It's just a matter of being fair and doing the right thing. Just be fair, be real, be genuine, don't be greedy."

2015 - Stevie Wonder

Stevie Wonder's divorce from fashion designer Kai Millard was finalised after several years in court. The pair were married in 2001, but split in 2009 and Stevie filed for divorce in 2012.