June 5

Births

1922: Gordon "Specs" Powell (Swing Drummer)

1932: Pete Jolly (Jazz Pianist)

1941: Floyd Butler (The Friends Of Distinction)

1945: Don Reid (Lead Vocals for The Statler Brothers)

1946: Freddie Stone (Guitar & Vocals for Sly and the Family Stone)

1947: Laurie Anderson (Singer)

1947: Tom Evans (Bass & Vocals for Badfinger)

1950: Ronnie Dyson (Singer)

1954: Nicko McBrain (Drums for Iron Maiden)

1956: Richard Butler (Vocals for Psychedelic Furs)

1956: Kenny G (Jazz Musician)

1959: Michael Winans (Gospel Singer)

1961: Teri Nunn, Calif (Singer for Berlin)

1969: Brian McKnight (R&B Singer)

1971: Mark Wahlberg (Marky Mark) (Rapper?)

1979: Pete Wentz (Bassist for Fall Out Boy)

Events

1955: Gladys Presley, Elvis' mother, awakens suddenly in Memphis, convinced that her boy is in danger; at that moment, Elvis' first pink Cadillac catches on fire while en route from Fulton, AR. Elvis is unharmed.

1956: Elvis Presley appears on the last broadcast of Milton Berle's Texaco Star Theater, performing his brand-new song, "Hound Dog," and also "I Want You, I Need You, I Love You." Elvis' hip-swinging dancing to "Hound Dog" shocks the nation, leading the press to describe it as "like the mating dance of an aborigine" and that the singer clearly had "no future in the music business."

1959: A young kid named Robert Zimmerman, a greaser of sorts known for his long hair and black leather jackets, graduates from Hibbing High School in Hibbing, MN. Within a few years, he would become a New York folksinger and change his name to Bob Dylan.

1964: David Jones and his band, The King Bees, releases his first single, "Liza Jane." Within five years, he will become famous as David Bowie, having changed his last name to avoid confusion with the Monkees' Davy Jones.

1964: The Rolling Stones played their first-ever live date in the US when they appeared at the Swing Auditorium, San Bernardino, California.

1968: The favorite for the Democratic party nomination for President, Sen. Robert Kennedy, is assassinated after a rousing speech in Los Angeles, inspiring David Crosby to write "Long Time Gone" and the Rolling Stones to add the line "Who killed the Kennedys?" to their new song-in-progress, "Sympathy For The Devil."

1971: Grand Funk Railroad beats the Beatles' 1965 Shea Stadium record gross for a concert, after manager Terry Knight has the idea to raise ticket prices at Shea just enough to make that possible.

1974: CBS-TV premieres the summer replacement variety show The Bobbie Gentry Happiness Hour.

1974: Sly Stone marries his first wife, Kathy Silva, onstage before his show at Madison Square Garden. Bishop Stewart, the singer's uncle, officiates before the crowd of 19,000; Silva files for divorce five months later.

1975: Syd Barrett, ex-Pink Floyd member and founder who was forced from the band after becoming an acid casualty, quietly appears in the Abbey Road studios during recording of the band's album Wish You Were Here, which was largely written about him. No one notices Barrett, and he soon leaves as quietly as he entered. This was the last time any member of Pink Floyd saw Barrett.

1977: Alice Cooper's boa constrictor, a co-star of his live act suffered a fatal bite from a rat it was being fed for breakfast. Cooper held auditions for a replacement and a snake named 'Angel' got the gig.

1979: Muddy Waters, 64, marries his third wife, 25-year-old Marva Jean Brooks, in Chicago with Eric Clapton as best man.

1986: The cable-TV music special Fats Domino and Friends, featuring friends Ray Charles and Jerry Lee Lewis, airs on HBO.

1987: The Prince's Trust Rock Gala is held for the fifth time at Wembley Arena in London. The annual charity event features the music of George Harrison, who performs "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" with Eric Clapton; and Ringo Starr's version of "With A Little Help From My Friends," featuring Jeff Lynne. Other performers include Elton John, Phil Collins, Dave Edmunds, and Ben E. King.

1987: Sly Stone surrenders to authorities in Fort Meyers, FL for violating his probation (for cocaine possession).

1988: Patti Boyd, ex-wife of George Harrison, files for divorce from Eric Clapton, who once wrote the song "Layla" about her.

1990: Drummer Jim Hodder (Steely Dan) drowned in his swimming pool at age 42.

1990: Richard Sohl, keyboard player with the Patti Smith group died of a heart attack. Also played live with Iggy Pop.

1993: Conway Twitty became ill while performing in Branson, Missouri, and was in pain while he was on the tour bus. He died in Springfield, Missouri, at Cox South Hospital from an abdominal aortic aneurysm.

1993: Mariah Carey married the President of Sony Music, Tommy Mottola in Manhattan, guest's included Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, Barbra Streisand and Ozzy Osbourne. (The couple separated in 1997).

1995: Kelley Deal (Breeders) pled guilty to drug possession charges. She was sentenced to treatment in a rehabilitation center.

1996: An arrest warrant was issued for former Milli Vanilli member Rob Pilatus after he disappeared from a drug treatment center in Los Angeles. He turned up 6 days later at another center.

1997: Noel Gallagher married Meg Matthews at the Little Church Of The West in Las Vegas, (where Elvis married Priscilla). The Oasis guitarist divorced Matthews in 2001.

1997: Ex Small Faces, The Faces and leader of Slim Chance, Ronnie Lane died aged 51 after a 20-year battle with multiple sclerosis.

1999: Jazz singer and songwriter Mel Torme died aged 73.

2001: Alicia Key's debut album "Songs in A Minor" was released.

2002: Dee Dee Ramone (Douglas Glenn Colvin), bass guitarist with The Ramones died at his Hollywood, California apartment of a heroin overdose aged 49. He was the group's primary songwriter, penning songs such as 'Rockaway Beach', '53rd & 3rd', and 'Poison Heart'.

2003: A Grandfather who set up his own pirate radio station in Wakefield, Yorkshire was under investigation by local broadcasting authorities. The man known as Ricky Rock had erected a 32ft transmitter in his garden and had been playing hits by The Beach Boys, Beatles and Elvis Presley. Ricky said he set the station up because 'talent-less boy bands and dance music' featured on local stations did not cater to the tastes of his generation.

2003: R. Kelly was banned from travelling to LA for a video shoot. He wasn't allowed to leave Chicago after being charged with 21 child porn offences last June over a video, which claimed to show him having sex with an underage girl.