- 1883 Leo Delibes' opera "Lakmé" premieres with the Opéra-Comique at the Salle Favart in Paris, France
Lady, Be Good!
1926 George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin's 1st collaborative musical "Lady, Be Good!", featuring siblings Fred Astaire and Adelle Astaire as a brother and sister dance team, opens at Empire Theatre, London's West End; runs for 326 performances
Jeux d'Enfants
1932 Léonide Massine & Joan Miro's adaptation for dance of Georges Bizet's "Jeux d'Enfants" premieres with the Ballet Russe de Monte-Carlo, at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo
Édith Piaf Under Suspicion
1936 French singer Édith Piaf questioned after nightclub owner and her patron Louis Leplée murdered in Paris
Silk Stockings
1956 Cole Porter's final Broadway musical "Silk Stockings", loosely based on the Melchior Lengyel's "Ninotchka", closes at the Imperial Theatre, NYC, after 478 performances
Motown Founded
1960 American record company Motown, founded by Berry Gordy Jr, is incorporated as Motown Record Corporation in Detroit. Michigan
Bye Bye Birdie
1960 Lee Adams and Charles Strouse's musical "Bye Bye Birdie," starring Dick Van Dyke, Chita Rivera, and Dick Gautier, opens at the Martin Beck Theater in NYC and runs for 607 performances
Music History
1963 Quiet Beatle George Harrison is impressed by unsigned British blues band "Rolling Stones"
- 1970 Revival of Sandy Wilson's musical "The Boy Friend," starring Judy Carne and Sandy Duncan, opens at Ambassador Theater, NYC; runs for 111 performances
- 1972 Howard Dietz and Arthur Schwartz's musical review "That's Entertainment" opens at Edison Theater, NYC; runs for 4 performances
Let's Dance
1983 EMI America Records releases David Bowie's 15th studio album, "Let's Dance"; co-produced by Bowie and Nile Rodgers, it becomes his biggest commercial success with sales of nearly 11 million units, topping the charts in 9 countries, and introduces guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan to a larger audience
- 1984 Farewell concert of Dutch pop-ska band Doe Maar at Maasport in Den Bosch, Netherlands
- 1985 Revival of Bob Merrill, Joseph Stein and Robert W. Russell's musical "Take Me Along" opens and closes at the Martin Beck Theatre in NYC, after 1 performance
- 1988 Michael Rupert and Jerry Colker's musical "Mail" opens at Music Box Theater, NYC; runs for 37 performances
Guys & Dolls
1992 Revival of Frank Loesser's musical "Guys and Dolls" starring Nathan Lane opens at Martin Beck Theater, NYC, runs for 1,143 performances, and wins 4 Tony Awards
Metallica Sues Napster
2000 Metallica files a lawsuit against the peer-to-peer sharing platform Napster, accelerating a movement against file-sharing programs
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
2012 27th Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees: The Beastie Boys, Donovan, Guns N' Roses, Laura Nyro, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, The (Small) Faces, The Blue Caps, The Comets, The Crickets, The Famous Flames, The Midnighters, The Miracles, Freddie King, Don Kirshner, Tom Dowd, Glyn Johns, and Cosimo Matassa
DAMN.
2017 Kendrick Lamar releases his fourth studio album "DAMN." (2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music)
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
2018 33rd Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees: Nina Simone; Sister Rosetta Tharpe; Bon Jovi; The Cars; Dire Straits; and Moody Blues
Beyoncé Headlines Coachella
2018 Beyoncé is the first Black woman to headline the Coachella Music Festival; her performance on this day is the most-watched performance ever on YouTube
