April 30

Chicago blues lost its founding father today in 1983 when Muddy Waters died at 68 in his sleep at his Westmont, Illinois home, ending the career of the Mississippi Delta guitarist whose electrified blues influenced the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, and every rock band that followed…

 

Country music mourned a devastating loss on this day in 2022 when Naomi Judd took her own life at 76 at her Tennessee home, ending the life of the Judds' matriarch whose struggles with mental illness finally overwhelmed her just one day before her Hall of Fame induction with daughter Wynonna…

 

Southern rock's darkest moment occurred today in 1970 when Allman Brothers road manager Twiggs Lyndon was arrested for murdering a club owner who withheld the band's pay, the stabbing eventually ruled justifiable homicide after Lyndon's successful insanity defense freed him…

 

Rock criticism lost its most passionate voice today in 1982 when Lester Bangs died at 33 from a heart attack caused by accidental drug overdose, ending the career of the Creem writer whose gonzo journalism and championing of punk made him music writing's most influential and self-destructive figure…

 

Soul lost its most dignified voice on this day in 2015 when Ben E. King died at 76, ending the career of the former Drifters lead singer whose "Stand by Me" became one of popular music's most enduring anthems of loyalty and friendship across five decades…

 

Pop's most powerful diva married today in 2008 when Mariah Carey wed actor Nick Cannon in the Bahamas, beginning the turbulent eight-year marriage that produced twins before their 2016 divorce added another chapter to Carey's complicated romantic history…

 

Folk music suffered a tragic loss on this day in 1966 when writer-singer Richard Fariña died at 29 in a motorcycle accident just after celebrating his wife Mimi's 21st birthday, ending the career of the novelist-musician whose partnership with Joan Baez's sister had just begun flourishing.