On the July 7 edition of Music History Today, Live Earth happens, the King of Pop gets a public goodbye, and terror takes away a calypso artist. Also, lots of big birthdays today including Ringo Starr and Gustav Mahler.

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ALL MUSIC HISTORY TODAY PODCAST NETWORK LINKS - ⁠https://allmylinks.com/musichistorytoday⁠ On this date:

In 1943, Broadway singer Hannah Williams divorced boxer Jack Dempsey.

In 1950, Johnny Cash joined the United States Air Force. While he was enlisted, he became one of the soldiers who intercepted and deciphered a Soviet military message that said that Joseph Stalin had passed away.

In 1956, 12 people were injured during a riot at a Fats Domino concert in San Jose, California.

In 1956, Johnny Cash performed at the Grand Ole Opry for the first time.

In 1957, the Coasters started their week of shows at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York.

In 1965, Otis Redding recorded the song Respect.

In 1968, the Yardbirds played together for the last time, then broke up.

In 1972, the Jackson 5 started their tour. Their opening act was a group who got their big break with this opening slot: the Commodores.

In 1975, David Gilmour of Pink Floyd married model Ginger Hasenbein.

In 1980, Led Zeppelin played their last concert with John Bonham on drums.

In 1984, Frankie Valli of Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons married wife Randy Clohessy.

In 1986, Boy George entered rehab for treatment for heroin addiction.

In 1992, Spinal Tap finished their reunion tour.

In 1995, The Neville Brothers were among the performers at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland.

In 1997, Michael Jackson's album Thriller was certified to have sold 25 million copies in America.

In 2001, Sharon Coor of the Coors married husband Gavin Bonnar.

In 2005, terrorists struck 4 different targets in London, including the London tube system. Included among the 52 people who died was calypso artist Arthur Edlin Frederick, who was killed in one of the tube bombings.

In 2007, the Live Earth charity concerts, which were 12 concerts on 7 continents to call attention to climate change, took place.

In 2009, Michael Jackson's public funeral was held and televised in Los Angeles.

In 2018, the Cure held their 40th anniversary concert.

In 2022, a bidder paid $1.7 million for the only copy of a special recording of a Bob Dylan record. Dylan had done a new recording of his song Blowin' In The Wind, which was pressed on a new format called Ionic Original, which uses aluminum instead of vinyl but you can still play it like a vinyl record.

In classical music:

In 1956, the opera Ballad of Baby Doe premiered.

In 1988, Hungary held a state funeral for composer Bela Bartok, whose body had been brought back to Budapest from New York City. Bartok had passed away in New York in 1945.

In 1990, opera singers Placido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti, & Jose Carreras recorded their first Three Tenors concert. The recording became the biggest selling classical album of all time.