Music Almanac: May 2*
- 1933 - Bunk Gardner (Mothers of Invention) (79)
- 1936 - Engelbert Humperdinck (76)
- 1945 - Goldy McJohn (Steppenwolf) (67)
- 1945 - R.C. Bannon (67)
- 1946 - Bob Henrit (Kinks, Argent) (66)
- 1946 - Lesley Gore (66)
- 1948 - Larry Gatlin (64)
- 1950 - Lou Gramm (Foreigner) (62)
- 1951 - Jo Callis (Human League) (61)
- 1954 - Prescott Niles (Knack) (58)
- 1961 - Dr. Robert (Blowmonkeys) (51)
Deaths:
- 1972 - Les Harvey (Stone the Crows) - Electrocuted when he touched an ungrounded mike with wet hands (27)
- 1974 - Roy Lee Centers (Ralph Stanley's Clinch Mountain Boys) - Shot and killed in fight (29)
- 2004 - Curtis Gordon (73)
On This Day:
- 1956 - Sonny Burgess signed with Sam Phillips and Sun Records.
- 1960 - Ben E. King left the Drifters to sign with Atco Records.
- 1965 - The Rolling Stones made their second appearance on Ed Sullivan.
- 1967 - Capitol Records announced that the Beach Boys have abandoned their sessions for the album Smile.
- 1969 - The Who gave a preview of Tommy to the press at Ronnie Scott's in London.
- 1972 - Bruce Springsteen auditioned for Columbia's A&R man John Hammond both in his office and at the Gaslight Club in New York at night.
- 1979 - The Who performed their first concert since the death of Keith Moon. Kenny Jones replaced Moon on drums.
- 1979 - The Who's movie Quadrophenia debuted in London.
- 1980 - Joy Division played their last show with lead singer Ian Curtis in Birmingham, England.
- 1982 - Adam and the Ants split up.
- 1989 - Police were called when a man walked into a Los Angeles jewelry store wearing a wig and false mustache and teeth. It turned out to be Michael Jackson.
- 1991 - R.E.M.'s video for Losing My Religion was banned in Ireland for its religious imagery.
- 1992 - Bonnie Raitt received an honorary doctorate of music from Berklee College of Music.
- 1998 - Loretta Lynn announced she was going to return to college to get her degree.
- 2000 - L.A. Reid replaced Clive Davis as the head of Arista Records.
- 2005 - Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker reunited as Cream for the first of four nights at Royal Albert Hall in London.
- 2006 - Keith Richards was released from the hospital in New Zealand after suffering a mild concussion falling from a tree.
- 2009 - Bob Dylan managed to mingle with a bunch of tourists in Liverpool to go on at tour of John Lennon's childhood home.
Recorded:
- 1969 - Something - Beatles
- 1977 - Wonderful Tonight - Eric Clapton
Number Ones - U.S. Singles:
- 1981 - Morning Train (Nine-to-Five) - Sheena Easton (2 weeks)
- 1987 - (I Just) Died in Your Arms Tonight - Cutting Crew (2 weeks)
Number Ones - U.S. Albums:- 1964 - The Beatles' Second Album - Beatles (5 weeks)
- 2009 - Hannah Montana: The Movie - Soundtrack (1 week)
Number Ones - U.K. Singles:
- 1963 - From Me To You - Beatles (7 weeks)
- 1970 - Spirit in the Sky - Norman Greenbaum (2 weeks)
- 2010 - Good Times - Roll Deep (3 weeks)
Number Ones - U.K. Albums:
- 1964 - The Rolling Stones - Rolling Stones (12 weeks)
- 1992 - Wish - Cure (1 week)
- 2004 - D12 World - D12 (1 week)
- 2010 - The Defamation of Strickland Banks - Plan B (1 week, 1 previous week at number 1)
