Music Almanac: May 21*
- 1904 - Fats Waller (d. 1943)
- 1941 - Ronald Isley (Isley Brothers) (71)
- 1941 - Martin Carthy (71)
- 1943 - Hilton Valentine (Animals) (69)
- 1943 - John Dalton (Kinks) (69)
- 1943 - Vincent Crane (Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Atomic Rooster) (d. 1989)
- 1944 - Marcie Blane (68)
- 1947 - Bill Champlin (Sons of Champlin, Chicago) (65)
- 1948 - Leo Sayer (64)
- 1950 - Roger Hodgson (Supertramp) (62)
- 1955 - Stan Lynch (Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers) (57)
- 1958 - Mike Barson (Madness) (54)
- 1963 - Kevin Shields (My Bloody Valentine) (49)
- 1963 - Tim Lever (Dead or Alive) (49)
- 1972 - Notorious B.I.G. (born Christopher Wallace) (d. 1997)
Deaths:
- 1931 - Charlie Poole - Heart attack (39)
- 1973 - Vaughn Monroe - Complications from stomach surgery (61)
- 2001 - Tommy Eyre (producer) - Cancer (51)
- 2006 - Billy Walker - Car accident (77)
- 1956 - Brenda Lee signed with Decca Records.
- 1968 - Brian Jones of the Rollings Stones appeared in a London court on charges of marijuana possession.
- 1971 - Free announced their split.
- 1979 - Elton John opened the first tour by a western pop star in the Soviet Union in Leningrad.
- 1980 - The Electric Lady studios in New York were robbed with gold records for five Jimi Hendrix albums going missing.
- 1980 - Joe Strummer of the Clash was arrested in Hamburg, Germany after hitting a fan with his guitar during a show.
- 1981 - Bob Marley was buried with state honors in St. Ann's, Jamaica.
- 1992 - Bette Midler appeared on Johnny Carson's last edition of The Tonight Show.
- 1998 - A U.S. Senate hearing is held into "impostor groups" who perform under names for which they don't have a claim. Testifying are Sam Moore, Mary Wilson and others.
- 2001 - Bono and his wife became the parents of a new baby boy.
- 2003 - James Brown was pardoned by the state of South Carolina for past crimes in the state.
- 2008 - Lou Pearlman, the man who created New Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for cheating thousands out of their life savings.
- 2009 - Natalie Cole had life saving kidney surgery.
- 2010 - U2's Bono had spinal surgery, delaying the 360 degree tour.
Recorded:
- 1970 - Ohio - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
Released:
- 1971 - Ram - Paul McCartney
- 1985 - Dream of a Lifetime - Marvin Gaye
Number Ones - U.S. Singles:
- No U.S. Singles reached number 1 on May 21.
Number Ones - U.S. Albums:
- 1960 - Theme From a Summer Place - Billy Vaughn & His Orchestra (mono albums) (2 weeks (2 previous weeks at number 1))
- 1960 - Percussive Percussion - Enoch Light/Terry Snyder & the All-Stars (stereo albums) (1 week (1 previous week at number 1))
- 1966 - If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears - Mamas & the Papas (1 week)
- 1977 - Rumours - Fleetwood Mac (8 weeks (2 previous weeks at number 1))
- 1994 - Not a Moment Too Soon - Tim McGraw (2 weeks)
- 2005 - With Teeth - Nine Inch Nails (1 week)
Number Ones - U.K. Singles:
- 1964 - Juliet - Four Pennies (1 week)
- 1977 - I Don't Want to Talk About It/The First Cut is the Deepest - Rod Stewart (4 weeks)
- 1998 - With a Little Help From My Friends/She's Leaving Home - Wet Wet Wet, Billy Bragg and Cara Tivey (4 weeks)
- 2000 - Day & Night - Billie Piper (1 week)
Number Ones - U.K. Albums:
- 1983 - Thriller - Michael Jackson (5 weeks (2 previous weeks at number 1))
- 1988 - Lovesexy - Prince (1 week)
- 2000 - Whitney: The Greatest Hits - Whitney Houston (2 weeks)
