This Day in Music May 17

1942 - Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal, US multi-instrumentalist, composer of film soundtracks. In the early 60s he formed The Rising Sons with Ry Cooder, one of the first interracial bands of the period. Mahal has worked with Howlin' Wolf, Buddy Guy, Lightnin' Hopkins, Garth Hudson and Levon Helm of The Band, and Muddy Waters.

1948 - Bill Bruford
Bill Bruford, English drummer. He was the original drummer for the progressive rock group Yes, from 1968–1972, and then joined King Crimson. He worked as the touring drummer for Genesis in 1976 and U.K. in 1978.

1963 - Page Samuel McConnell
Page Samuel McConnell, pianist, organist, keyboardist, from American rock band Phish who are known for musical improvisation, extended jams, and blending of genres.

1965 - Trent Reznor
Trent Reznor, American singer-songwriter, record producer and member of Nine Inch Nails, (2005 US No.1 album 'White Teeth'). He and his wife, Mariqueen Maandig, are members of the post-industrial group How to Destroy Angels. Reznor with Atticus Ross scored the David Fincher films The Social Network (2010), The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011), and Gone Girl (2014), winning the Academy Award for Best Original Score for The Social Network and the Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

1966 - Bob Dylan
During a UK tour, Bob Dylan appeared at The Free Trade Hall in Manchester. This was the concert where a member of the audience shouted out ‘Judas’ at Dylan unhappy with the singers move from acoustic to rock. Dylan replied with ‘You’re a liar’, the entire concert was eventually officially released in The Bootleg Series by Sony Music in 1999.

1969 - Album Sales
It was reported that for the first time ever album sales had overtaken single sales in the UK. 49,184,000 albums were produced during 1968 compared with 49,161,000 singles.

1990 - Nirvana
Nirvana played the last date of a North American tour at the Zoo in Boise, Idaho. This was Chad Channing's final gig with the band, drummer Dave Grohl replaced him in Sept of this year after his band Scream had split-up.

2006 - Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney and his wife Heather Mills admitted that they had given up the fight to save their marriage, saying that after four years together, they were going their separate ways.