May 14: This day, that year in music history

American singer and actor Frank Sinatra, arguably one of the most renowned and influential musical artist of the 20th Century, died in Los Angeles aged 82 after suffering a heart attack.

Old Blues Eyes, as he was fondly called, scored his first hit in 1940 during in the great Swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey. He won 11 Grammy Awards and also an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the 1953 film ‘From Here to Eternity’.

Best known for his signature 1969 hit and global karaoke favourite, ‘My Way, Sinatra went on to score over 25 Top 40 singles including the 1966 No 1 ‘Strangers In The Night’.

Queen musical rocks London’s West End

2002

1.1410759-3410003576 — Peter Eldridge, one of the stars of ‘We Will Rock You’. Image Credit: Supplied

‘We Will Rock You’, a musical based on the songs of British rock band Queen, opened in London, England at the Dominion Theatre.

The musical was written by British comedian and author Ben Elton in collaboration with Queen members, guitarist Brian May and bassist Roger Taylor.

The musical tells the story of a group of Bohemians who aspire to create a world of freedom in thought, fashion, and live music in a distant future where everyone dresses, thinks and does the same. We Will Rock you become the longest-running musical at the Dominion Theatre which is located just off London’s famous Oxford Street shopper’s paradise. It is also the 11th longest-running musicals in West End history.

It finally closed on May 31, 2014 with a final show that featured Brian May and Roger Taylor.

However, a number of similar international productions cropped up across the globe are many of them are active.

Legendary blues guitarist BB King dies in his sleep

2015

1.1534254-3075075818 — In this file photo taken Aug. 22, 2012, BB King performs at the 32nd annual BB King Homecoming, a concert on the grounds of an old cotton gin where he worked as a teenager in Indianola. Image Credit: AP

BB King, one of the most influential electric blues musicians of all time, died in his sleep at the off 89 from a series of small strokes caused by type 2 diabetes.

Born Riley B King, he scored a staggering 74 entries on Billboard’s R & B Charts and was one of the few blues artists to have a Top 10 pop hit with 1970s ‘The Thrill is Gone.’

King patented a unique string bending technique on his trademark Gibson ES-355 which would inspired a generation of blues guitarists.

Gibson Guitar Corporation even created the BB King Lucille model, a guitar with stereo options, a varitone selector and fine tuners that would help guitars play like ‘The King of the Blues.’

King toured relentlessly throughout his musical career, appearing at more than 200 concerts per year at an average, right up until his 70s.

During his career, BB King received 18 Grammy Awards, the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Kennedy Center Honors.

Following his death, he was buried at the BB King Museum which is located in his hometown of Indianola, Mississippi.

Elvis’s guitar top seller at Christies

1993

1.1687714-3872988543 — Elvis Presley Image Credit: AP

An acoustic guitar used by Elvis Presley during the recordings of his 1954 hits, ‘That’s All Right Mama’ and ‘Blue Moon of Kentucky’, sold for £130,285 at an auction at Christies in London

In addition four ‘Super Hero’, costumes that were worn by the group Kiss to create rock fantasies, sold for £20,000.