7 MAY
In Music History
2025 Gretchen Wilson of "Redneck Woman" fame makes a comeback with a win on The Masked Singer, where she sings as a crustacean called Pearl. Wilson beats out Andy Grammer and Brian Kelley of Florida Georgia Line for the victory.
2022 Mickey Gilley dies at 86. He had 39 Top 10 Country hits and owned a bar in Dallas called Gilley's that was known as "the world's biggest honky-tonk."
2017 Spider-Man actor Tom Holland takes the art of lip synching to a new level with his performance of "Umbrella" on the show Lip Sync Battle, where he dresses like Rihanna and confidently pulls off her choreography, complete with rain machine. It's the most memorable moment from the show, which lasts five seasons.
2016 After completing a tour with Guns N' Roses, Axl Rose takes over as lead singer for AC/DC, filling in for Brian Johnson at a show in Lisbon after Johnson is told that continuing the tour could result in permanent hearing loss. Rose fills in on the remaining dates as a guest vocalist.
2012 Jake Owen marries the 22-year-old model Lacey Buchanan. The pair met when she appeared in Owen's video for "Eight Second Ride."
2011 Lady Gaga's HBO concert special airs. The show is made up of two February concerts from Madison Square Garden on her Monster Ball tour. Those who remember Madonna's Truth or Dare notice a lot of similarities.
2011 '60s pop singer John Walker (of The Walker Brothers) dies of liver disease at age 67.
2008 The Jammys Lifetime Achievement Award is awarded to Phish. The ceremony takes place in The Theater at Madison Square Garden.
2008 A number of British tabloids, including The Sun and The Daily Mail, blame the "emo suicide cult" for the death of 13-year-old Hannah Bond. My Chemical Romance take the brunt of their ire for allegedly glamorizing death on albums like The Black Parade, which was a #2 hit in both the US and UK. MCR, who insist they never encourage self-harm, respond by leading their fans in chants of "F--k the Daily Mail!"
2007 Sammy Hagar sells an 80% stake in his Cabo Wabo tequila company to Gruppo Campari for $80 million.More
2007 The first and only Hottest Chicks In Metal Tour kicks off in Louisville. All the bands on the tour are fronted by women: Lacuna Coil (Cristina Scabbia), Within Temptation (Sharon den Adel), In This Moment (Maria Brink), The Gathering (Anneke van Giersbergen) and Stolen Babies (Dominique Lenore Persi).
2005 This s--t is bananas: Gwen Stefani hits #1 in America with "Hollaback Girl." The song has a cheerleader theme, and Stefani (looking impressive in the outfit at 35) plays one in the video. She wasn't a cheerleader in high school - she played piccolo in the marching band.
2005 Giacomo, owned by A&M Records founder Jerry Moss, wins the Kentucky Derby at 50-to-1 odds.
2005 System Of A Down perform their raging Iraq War protest song "B.Y.O.B." on Saturday Night Live with the network using a 5-second delay to mute their vocals every time they say "f--k."
2002 Carole King guests on the WB Network's TV show Gilmore Girls (for which she also sings the opening song).
"Hotel California" Checks In At #1
1977Running 6:08 and loaded with metaphor and guitars, "Hotel California" tops the Hot 100.
Read more7 MAY
Featured Events
2016 Following his unexpected death, Prince takes the top two spots on the Billboard albums chart with The Very Best of Prince at #1 and Purple Rain at #2. With his music unavailable on most streaming services and download distributors, physical albums are in many cases the best way to get his music.
1998 Steve Perry officially leaves Journey, honoring an agreement made with Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain that they would reform the band without him if he was not able to tour. He is replaced with the similar-sounding Steve Augeri.
1992 John Frusciante quits the Red Hot Chili Peppers in the middle of their Japanese tour.More
1978 Goaded by an item in the magazine saying they are "more interested in finding a softball team they can beat," the Eagles take on Rolling Stone in a game the rock band wins 15-8 (Don Henley is the winning pitcher). In the crowd cheering on the Eagles are Joni Mitchell and Chevy Chase.
1968 On a plane ride returning home from his last gig with the band Bluesology, keyboard player Reginald Dwight looks for a stage name he can use for his burgeoning solo career. In the cabin, he comes across the band's horn player Elton Dean and lead singer Long John Baldry, and asks them if he can appropriate their names to concoct a new one for himself. They agree, and Elton John is born.
1966 "Monday Monday" by The Mamas & the Papas goes to #1 on the Hot 100, becoming the first song with a day of the week in the title to top the chart.
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