Chapter 01 — Today in music
On a day like today July 5
1954
'That's All Right': the night Elvis invented the future at Sun Studio
On July 5, 1954, during a break at Sun Studio, a 19-year-old truck driver named Elvis Presley started fooling around with Arthur Crudup's 'That's All Right'. Sam Phillips hit record and captured the exact moment country and blues fused into something new. If rock and roll has a big bang, it sounded that night in Memphis.
Elvis Presley
1950
Huey Lewis is born, the friendly rock that defined eighties radio
On July 5, 1950, Huey Lewis was born in New York — leader of The News and owner of eighties radio's most recognizable sound: 'The Power of Love', 'Hip to Be Square' and the 'Back to the Future' soundtrack. Without grandiose artistic pretensions, he did something extremely hard: impeccable pop-rock, with barroom craft and decade-proof choruses.
Huey Lewis
Huey Lewis and the News
1969
Butterflies for Brian Jones: the Stones return to the stage in Hyde Park
On July 5, 1969, two days after Brian Jones's death, the Rolling Stones played a free concert in Hyde Park before a crowd estimated between 250,000 and 500,000. Mick Jagger opened by reading verses from Shelley's 'Adonais' in memory of their founder, and hundreds of white butterflies were released over the park. The show, planned as the unveiling of new guitarist Mick Taylor, became a mass funeral and the band's return after two years away from the stage. They played out of tune, and it didn't matter: it was a rite of passage.
The Rolling Stones
Mick Taylor
1969
RZA is born: the producer who turned basement noise into a school
On July 5, 1969, Robert Diggs was born in Brooklyn. As RZA he assembled Wu-Tang Clan from nine Staten Island rappers under an unheard-of deal: the group signed together, but every member stayed free to negotiate alone. He produced "Enter the Wu-Tang" with a cheap sampler, scratched soul records and kung-fu movie dialogue, and that grimy sound became the manual for an entire generation of producers.
RZA
Wu-Tang Clan
1913
Smiley Lewis is born: the man whose hits were always taken by someone else
On July 5, 1913, Overton Lemons was born in Louisiana. As Smiley Lewis he cut some of the finest rhythm and blues of the 1950s in New Orleans and sold almost none of it. "I Hear You Knocking" went to number one sung by Gale Storm; "One Night" became huge when Elvis recorded it with the lyric cleaned up. Lewis kept playing bars around the city until his death in 1966, having collected almost nothing from any of it.
Smiley Lewis
1936
Tommy LiPuma is born: the producer who made instrumentalists sing
On July 5, 1936, Tommy LiPuma was born in Cleveland, a barber's son and frustrated saxophonist who ended up producing more than thirty gold records. His speciality was talking jazz musicians into opening their mouths: he got George Benson to sing on "Breezin'" and the album sold millions, unheard of for the genre. He did the same with Diana Krall and Al Jarreau. He won five Grammys and died in 2017 without ever leaving the studio.
Tommy LiPuma
George Benson
1943
Robbie Robertson is born, the chronicler who taught rock its roots
On July 5, 1943, Robbie Robertson was born in Toronto — guitarist and chief songwriter of The Band. From his pen came 'The Weight', 'Up on Cripple Creek' and 'The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down', songs that fused folk, gospel and rhythm and blues to invent what we now call Americana. He backed Bob Dylan through his electric turn and bid his band farewell with 'The Last Waltz', rock's most famous goodbye concert. He then scored films for Scorsese across four decades, until his death in 2023.
Robbie Robertson
The Band
1970
Mac Dre is born: the rapper who invented the vocabulary of hyphy
On July 5, 1970, Andre Hicks — Mac Dre — was born in Oakland, the figure who defined the slang and the humour of Bay Area rap. He recorded an entire album down a prison phone line while serving five years for a conviction he always disputed, and on release he built his own label. His songs named hyphy, the unhinged, danceable style the region exported in the 2000s. He was murdered in 2004, aged 34, on a Kansas City highway.
Mac Dre
1973
Róisín Murphy is born: the Irishwoman who treats the dancefloor as a catwalk
On July 5, 1973, Róisín Murphy was born in Arklow, Ireland. She started in Moloko after meeting her producer at a party and delivering a chat-up line that ended up as the title of their first album. With "Sing It Back" she turned an oddball song into a club standard, and solo she built a career where costume, staging and voice carry equal weight. She still releases dance records that critics treat as auteur work.
Róisín Murphy
Moloko
1975
Spitfires over Knebworth: Pink Floyd premieres 'Wish You Were Here' live
On July 5, 1975, Pink Floyd headlined the first Knebworth festival, closing their tour with a spectacle that included Spitfire planes buzzing the park, pyrotechnics and a model plane crashing into the stage. The band unveiled the 'Wish You Were Here' material live months before the record reached the shops, with Roy Harper guesting on 'Have a Cigar'. The bill also featured the Steve Miller Band and Captain Beefheart. That day Knebworth was born as the cathedral of British mega-concerts.
Pink Floyd
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