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Today in Music History: Debut of Queen's classic lineup

Queen: Brian May, Freddie Mercury, John Deacon and Roger Taylor.
Queen: Brian May, Freddie Mercury, John Deacon and Roger Taylor.Publicity photo

July 02, 2015

History Highlight:

Today in 1971, Queen appeared at the University of Surrey in England. This was the group's first gig with the lineup of Freddie Mercury (lead vocals, piano), Brian May (guitar, vocals), John Deacon (bass guitar) and Roger Taylor (drums, vocals).

Also, Today In:

1956 - Elvis Presley recorded "Hound Dog" at RCA Studios in New York. Take 31 being the version they released. This was the first time backup singers The Jordanaires worked with Presley.

1962 - Jimi Hendrix was honorably discharged from the 101st Airborne Paratroopers after breaking his ankle during his 26th and final parachute jump.

1966 - Frank Sinatra went to No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Strangers In The Night."

1975 - David Bowie received his fourth Gold record for Young Americans, which contained two of his biggest hits, the No. 1 "Fame" and the title song.

1979 - Sony introduced the Walkman, the first portable audio cassette player. Over the next 30 years, Sony sold more than 385 million Walkmans in cassette, CD, mini-disc and digital-file versions. Sony led the market until the arrival of Apple's iPod and other new digital devices.

1988 - Michael Jackson became the first artist to have five No. 1 singles from one album when "Dirty Diana" went to the top of the U.S. charts. The other four chart-toppers from the LP Bad were the title track, plus "I Just Can't Stop Loving You," "The Way You Make Me Feel" and "Man in the Mirror."

1991 - Axl Rose caused a riot to break out during a Guns N' Roses gig after leaping into the crowd to remove a camera from a fan at the Riverport Amphitheatre (now the Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre) in Maryland Heights, Mo. More than 50 people were injured and 15 fans were arrested.

2008 - The gravestone of former Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis was stolen. The missing memorial stone was later replaced by a new stone with the same inscription — "Ian Curtis 18 - 5 - 80 / Love Will Tear Us Apart" — but in a different typeface.