October 31

Births

1952: Bernard Edwards (Bass for Chic)

1961: Larry Mullen (Drummer for U2)

1963: Johnny Marr (Guitarist for The Smiths & Modest Mouse)

1963: Mikkey Dee (Drummer for Motorhead)

1964: Colm O'Ciosoig (Drummer for My Bloody Valentine)

1966: Ad-Rock (Adam Horovitz) (Rapper in The Beastie Boys)

1981: Frank Anthony Iero (Rhythm Guitarist for My Chemical Romance)

2000: Willow Smith (Singer?)

Events

1952: When his original guitarist has a stroke just before a New Year's Eve gig, popular St. Louis boogie-woogie pianist Johnnie Johnson hires for his group The Sir John's Trio a 26-year old hairdresser named Chuck Berry.

1963: The Beatles return from a tour of Sweden to find 50,000 screaming fans waiting for them at London's Heathrow Airport, the surest proof yet that Beatlemania is a national phenomenon. Waiting at the airport is American TV host Ed Sullivan, who notices the furor. "Who are those guys?" he asks a bystander, who tells him they are "England's foremost singing group." Having never heard them, Sullivan nevertheless immediately contacts manager Brian Epstein to book the band for three appearances on his CBS show early in 1964.

1964: Ray Charles is arrested at Boston's Logan Airport for possession of heroin, his third drug since 1958. The singer is ordered to rehab in order to avoid jail time.

1967: The Rolling Stones' Brian Jones is released on $1500 bail from Wormwood Scrubs prison in London after being charged with marijuana possession. Seven fans are arrested for demonstrating outside the prison gates.

1967: The Stooges make their live debut at a Detroit, MI, Halloween party.

1968: Paul McCartney's new girlfriend, Linda Eastman, moves into his London home.

1970: Michelle Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas marries actor Dennis Hopper, a marriage that is annulled seven days later.

1974: Members of Led Zeppelin launch their new artist-owned label, Swan Song, at the Chislehurst Caves in England, with the Pretty Things, Bill Wyman, and Groucho Marx -- not to mention several dozen naked models -- attending.

1976: Elvis Presley makes his last recording, singing Jim Reeves' "He'll Have To Go" over a pre-recorded backing track in the Jungle Room of his Graceland home.

1988: Singer Debbie Gibson held a seance at her Halloween party to contact the spirits of Liberace and Sid Vicious.

1989: The very first MTV unplugged show was recorded in New York, featuring UK band Squeeze, the program was aired on 26th Nov 1989.

1990: During a gig in Seattle, Washington, Billy Idol dumped 600 dead fish in Faith No More's dressing room. They responded by walking on stage, naked during Idol's set.

1993: Tupac Shakur was arrested for allegedly shooting two off-duty Atlanta policemen.

1995: James Brown is charged with assault at his home in Aiken, SC, after allegedly striking his wife Adrienne with a mirror.

1996: Slash announced he was no longer in Guns N' Roses. The guitarist said that Axl Rose and he had only been civil to each other on two occasions since 1994.

2005: The Isley Brothers' Ron Isley is sentenced to 26 years in federal prison on tax evasion charges.

2005: The white suit John Lennon wore on the cover of the Beatles' Abbey Road sells at a Las Vegas Amnesty International charity auction for $118,000.

October 30

Births

1939: Grace Slick (Singer for Jefferson Airplane & Starship)

1941: Otis Williams (Baritone in The Temptations)

1947: Timothy B. Schmidt (Bass for Poco & The Eagles)

1965: Gavin Rossdale (Lead Singer & Rhythm Guitar for Bush)

1969: Snow (Darrin O'Brien) (Rapper)

Events

1967: Rolling Stones leader Brian Jones, already deep in drug addiction, pleads guilty in a London court to possession of cannabis and not guilty to possession of cocaine and methedrine. He spends the night in Wormwood Scrubs prison and is released on bail the next day after being sentenced to nine months, a sentence which will eventually be suspended.

1970: A Miami court sentences Doors leader Jim Morrison to six months in prison and a fine of $500 for allegedly exposing himself during a concert there in March of the previous year. The case is still on appeal when Morrison dies the following July.

1970: Davy Jones guest-stars as himself in tonight's "The Teen Idol" episode of ABC-TV's Make Room For Granddaddy.

1973: On their first visit to the UK, The Osmonds are mobbed by 10,000 fans at London's Heathrow Airport.

1974: Upon learning that her husband, funk-rocker Sly Stone, has abducted their 14-month-old son Sylvester Bubb Ali Stewart, wife Kathy Silvia files for divorce.

1978: KISS' ill-advised live-action kiddie movie KISS Meet The Phantom Of The Park premieres on NBC-TV. Their career would never fully recover.

1979: Bianca Jagger, Mick's first wife, is granted a divorce after eight years of marriage.

1982: Australian band Men At Work went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Who Can It Be Now'' the group's first US No.1.

1990: Guns N' Roses singer Axl Rose was released on $10,000 bail, after being arrested for allegedly hitting a neighbour over the head with a bottle. The incident happened after a complaint to the police about loud music coming from the singers house.

1991: Singer Clint Black (34) weds actress Lisa Hartman (29).

1995: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announces its upcoming induction of David Bowie, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Pink Floyd, The Shirelles, Jefferson Airplane, Little Willie John, and the Velvet Underground.

1997: All three of the Bee Gees walk off the set of Clive Anderson's BBC-TV talk show All Talk after Anderson disparages their disco era and refers to them as "tossers."

1998: All four original members of Black Sabbath reunited momentarily to play ‘Paranoid’ on US TV’s David Letterman Show.

1998: KISS, both with their signature makeup and without, appear on tonight's "...Thirteen Years Later" episode of Fox-TV's Millennium.

2002: Jam Master Jay from Run-DMC was murdered by an assassin's single bullet at his recording studio in Queens, New York.

2003: Paul McCartney becomes the proud parent of his first child with second wife Heather Mills, a daughter named Beatrice Milly.

2003: Lionel Richie divorces his second wife, Diane Alexander.

2004: An arrest warrant was issued for Motley Crue singer Vince Neil after he allegedly knocked a soundman unconscious during a concert. Neil was said to have punched Michael Talbert in the face at Gilley's nightclub in Dallas after he asked the soundman for more volume on his guitar but attacked Talbert as he adjusted it, leaving him unconscious for 45 seconds.

2007: After losing the top spot to Nirvana's Kurt Cobain the year before, Elvis Presley once again tops Forbes Magazine's list of highest-earning dead celebrities. John Lennon is second on the list; fellow ex-Beatle George Harrison is fourth.

October 29

Births

1944: Denny Laine (Guitar for The Moody Blues & Wings)

1946: Peter Green (Original Guitarist for Fleetwood Mac)

1955: Kevin DuBrow (Singer for Quiet Rio)

1955: Roger O'Donnell (Keyboards for The Cure)

Events

1971: Guitarist Duane Allman of The Allman Brothers Band was killed when he lost control of his motorcycle on a Macon, Georgia street while trying to swerve to avoid a tractor-trailer. He was three weeks shy of his 25th birthday.

1987: Rolling Stones guitarist and sometime painter Ron Wood gets his first public presentation, Decades, in London, featuring mostly portraits of Wood's famous friends over the past two decades.

1990: The inductees for the sixth annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame are announced, a list which includes Wilson Pickett, Ike and Tina Turner, The Byrds, The Impressions, LaVern Baker, Jimmy Reed, and John Lee Hooker.

1991: Memphis City Council named interstate 55 through Jackson, The B.B. King Freeway.

1991: Three members of Pink Floyd were injured in an auto race in Mexico.

1995: Paul Anka guest stars on tonight's "Treehouse of Horror VI" episode of Fox-TV's The Simpsons.

1996: Manchester band The Stone Roses split up. Singer Ian Brown said 'having spent the last ten years in the filthiest business in the universe, it's a pleasure to announce the end of The Stone Roses.'

1996: In Pasadena, California, a judge drops drug possession charges against Scott Weiland, the singer for the Stone Temple Pilots. The judge concluded that Weiland had made significant progress in rehab.

1998: Guns ‘N’ Roses Drummer Steven Adler surrendered to authorities to begin serving a sentence of 150 days for two counts of battery and violation of probation.  

2002: Palm Springs, CA, dedicates a portion of its airport as the Sonny Bono Memorial Concourse, in honor of the famous singer who also served as the town's mayor in the late Eighties.

2003: A study by the Neilsen ratings people finds that a full third the sales of Beatles 1 were to new fans between the ages of 19 and 24, skewing the fan base even younger than it had been previously.

2005: The wax figures of the younger Beatles used in the cover of the band's Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album are auctioned off for $160,000 in London after being discovered languishing in the backroom of Madame Tussauds' famous wax museum.

October 28

Births

1936: Charlie Daniels (Country Singer & Fiddle player)

1957: Stephen Morris (Drums for Joy Division & New Order)

1958: William Reid (Guitar for The Jesus and Mary Chain)

1972: Brad Paisley (Country Artist)

Events

1939: Bill Monroe makes his first appearance on the Grand Ole Opry, performing "Foggy Mountain Top" and "Mule Skinner Blues" at Nashville's War Memorial Auditorium.

1948: In St. Louis, MO, Chuck Berry marries his first and only wife, Themetta "Toddy" Suggs.

1955: As part of the duo Buddy and Bob, Buddy Holly opens for Marty Robbins at a concert in Lubbock, TX.

1956: Elvis Presley makes his second appearance on CBS-TV's Ed Sullivan Show, and unlike the first appearance, Sullivan himself is hosting. Elvis sings "Don’t Be Cruel," "Love Me Tender," "Hound Dog," and "Love Me," and Ed presents Presley with a gold record for "Love Me Tender."

1958: Buddy Holly makes what would be his last major television appearance, lip-synching "It's So Easy" and "Heartbeat" on ABC's American Bandstand.

1968: Cynthia Lennon is granted a divorce from her husband John.

1972: Diana Ross becomes the proud parent of her second daughter, Tracee, her first from husband Robert Ellis Silberstein.

1982: The Jam announced they were splitting up at the end of their current UK tour.

1989: Janet Jackson started a four week run at No.1 on the US album chart with 'Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814'. Only one of three albums to produce seven Top-ten US singles, (the other two being Thriller by Michael Jackson and Bruce Springsteen's Born In The USA).

1997: R.E.M. drummer Bill Berry announced that he was leaving the group after 17 years, becoming a farmer.

1999: During a Kenny Rogers show in Dallas, TX, a fan is injured by a frisbee Kenny throws randomly into the audience. According to the fan's subsequent two-million-dollar lawsuit, the "accident" has left him impotent.

2003: David Bowie and his wife, the supermodel Iman, sign up as the new spokesmodels for Tommy Hilfiger.

October 27

Births

1949: Garry Tallent (Bass for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band)

1951: K.K. Downing (Guitar for Judas Priest)

1958: Simon Le Bon (Vocals for Duran Duran)

1967: Scott Weiland (Vocals for Stone Temple Pilots & Solo)

1984: Kelly Osbourne (Singer)

Events

1957: Police in Oakland, CA inform Elvis Presley that he is not allowed to swivel his hips onstage in tonight's performance at the Oakland Auditorium; Elvis responds by sarcastically wiggling only his little finger while singing. The cops film the show anyway, just in case.

1960: Tina Turner gives birth to Ronald Renelle Turner, her second child, while touring in Los Angeles. Husband Ike is not present at the birth.

1960: Singer Ben E King records his first solo songs "Spanish Harlem" and "Stand By Me".

1964: Singers Sonny and Cher wed, Cher wore bell-bottoms.

1969: Blues artist Muddy Waters is seriously injured in a car crash in Champagne, Illinois. Three people were killed in the accident.

1970: Black Sabbath played their first ever-live show in the US when they kicked of a 16-date tour at Glassboro State College In NJ.

1975: Bruce Springsteen, riding on hype for his latest album, Born To Run, finds himself the first rocker to make the covers of both Time and Newsweek in the same week.

1979: Elton John collapses during his show atollywood's Universal Amphitheatre and is hospitalized for "exhaustion."

1980: John Lennon's killer Mark David Chapman purchases the .38 revolver (a five-shot Charter Arms "Off Duty" special) with which he will eventually kill his idol.

1989: U2 bass player Adam Clayton was convicted of a drink driving offence by a Dublin court after being found driving twice over the legal limit. He was fined $1,000 and banned from driving for 1 year.

1990: Michael Waite from reggae group Musical Youth was jailed for four years for his part in a robbery.

1992: Bo Diddley sues the estate of his former manager, the now-deceased Martin Otelsberg, for $75,000 in misappropriated funds.

1995: Gloria Estefan becomes the only pop artist to receive a call from the Pope to perform.

2005: The distributor of rapper 50 Cent's new film said it would remove posters advertising the film after complaints they glorify gun violence. Posters for 'Get Rich or Die Tryin' showed 50 Cent holding a gun in his left hand and a microphone the other. Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael Antonovich wrote to Paramount Pictures urging them to take down the posters. The company said it had taken down one poster near a Los Angeles nursery school, and planned to remove more.

2009: Eric Clapton pulled out of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame concert in New York City after he underwent an operation to remove gallstones. His place at the Madison Square Garden gig was taken by Jeff Beck.

October 26

Births

1911: Mahalia Jackson (Gospel Singer)

1951: Bootsy Collins (Bass for P-Funk)

1953: Keith Strickland (Guitar & Drums for The B-52's)

1963: Natalie Merchant (Vocals for 10,000 Maniacs & Solo)

1967: Keith Urban (Country Artist)

1981: Girl Talk (Gregg Michael Gillis) (Mash Up Artist)

Events

1935: The NBC Radio show Lux Radio Theatre presents its newest find -- a 12-year-old girl singer named Judy Garland.

1961: Bob Dylan signs with Columbia Records, his first recording contract.

1962: The Rolling Stones, consisting of Keith Richard, Mick Jagger, Brian Jones, pianist Ian Stewart and drummer Tony Chapman, record their first demo tape at Curly Clayton Studios in Highbury, London. They recorded three songs, Jimmy Reed's 'Close Together', Bo Diddlley's 'You Cant Judge A Book By The Cover' and Muddy Waters' 'Soon Forgotten.'

1962: The first Motown "revue" tour begins in Washington DC, featuring Mary Wells, Marvin Gaye, Martha and the Vandellas, the Contours, Stevie Wonder, and the Marvelettes.

1965: The Beatles receive Members of the British Empire (MBE) medals from Queen Elizabeth II in a ceremony staged at Buckingham Palace. It is the first such honor ever given to a rock band, causing many former recipients, many distinguished military personnel, to return their medals in disgust. According to John, the group is so nervous beforehand that it gets high on marijuana in a palace bathroom; during the ceremony, when Her Majesty asks the group how long it's been together, Ringo replies "forty years." Later, a press conference is held at the Saville Theatre.

1970: Mrs. Alta Mae Anderson, mother of Meredith Hunter, the Rolling Stones concertgoer murdered by Hell's Angels at their Altamont show, sues the band for hiring the infamous biker club as security.

1978: The Police played their first U.S. show in Boston at the Rat Club.

1980: Paul Kantner of Jefferson Starship suffers what is thought to be a stroke while recording the band's latest album but is later revealed to be a brain embolism. He recovers after two weeks' hospitalization.

1984: 19-year-old John D. McCollum killed himself with a .22 caliber handgun after spending the day listening to Ozzy Osbourne records. One year later, McCollum's parents took court action against Ozzy and CBS Records, alleging that the song "Suicide Solution" from the album Blizzard of Ozz contributed to their son's death. The case was eventually thrown out of court.

1991: Ozzy Osbourne broke his foot after an accident on stage at a gig in Chicago, causing him to cancel the remaining dates of a US tour.

1992: Julie Fogerty, wife of husband John Fogerty of CCR, gives birth to the couple's first son (and Fogerty's fourth total), Tyler Jackson.

1998: US Federal courts refuse to issue an injunction against makers of mp3 players, one which the RIAA has been pushing for in light of rampant piracy.

1998: Fats Domino is awarded the National Medal of Arts from US President Bill Clinton.

2000: Garth Brooks announces his plans to retire during a party to celebrate his certification for sales of 100 million albums at Nashville's Gaylord Entertainment Center. Brooks says he'll record one more album before he quits.

2002: Jessica Simpson, married former 98° member Nick Lachey. The couple were featured on MTV ‘Newlyweds’ TV show. The couple separated after three years of marriage.

2006: Duran Duran guitarist Andy Taylor quit the band during the US leg of their world tour. A statement on behalf of the group described the relationship with Andy Taylor as unworkable and one that could not be resolved.

2007: Rapper T.I. was released on $3m bail in Atlanta after he was charged with unlawfully possessing firearms, unregistered machine guns and silencers. US Magistrate Judge Alan Baverman said the singer would remain under house arrest in Henry County, Georgia, being monitored 24 hours a day by a private firm paid for by himself. The rapper was also electronically tagged.

October 25

Births

1825: Johann Strauss II (Composer)

1944: Jon Anderson (Lead Vocals & Keybpards for Yes)

1948: Glenn Tipton (Guitar for Judas Priest)

1951: Richard Lloyd (Guitar & Vocals for Television)

1955: Matthias Jabs (Guitar for The Scorpions)

1961: Chad Smith (Drummer for The Red Hot Chili Peppers)

1968: Speech (Todd Thomas) (Rapper for Arrested Development)

1984: Katy Perry (Singer / Songwriter)

1985: Ciara (Ciara Princess Harris) (R&B Singer)

Events

1960: A 17-year-old art student named Keith Richards runs into his old schoolmate, an economics student named Mick Jagger, at a train station in London. Richards notices the R&B albums under Jagger's arm, and before long the two form their first group -- Little Boy Blue and the Blue Boys.

1962: The Beatles give their first-ever radio interview, on Radio Clatterbridge, a closed-circuit radio station serving Cleaver and Clatterbridge Hospitals in Wirral, near Liverpool. Paul is quoted as saying "John is, in fact, the leader of the group."

1964: The Rolling Stones make their US television debut when they appear on CBS's Ed Sullivan Show. After screaming fans practically tear the studio seats apart, Sullivan declares to reporters: "I promise you they'll never be back on our show. It took me 17 years to build this up, I'm not going to have it destroyed in a matter of weeks. We won't book any more rock 'n' roll groups. Frankly, I didn't see the group until the day before the broadcast. I was shocked when I saw them." The group returns to the program five times.

1968: The New Yardbirds, soon to be known as Led Zeppelin, make their live concert debut at England's Surrey University, described on the poster as the "first big dance of the term."

1968: The double album 'Electric Ladyland' by the Jimi Hendrix Experience was released. It was also made available as two albums with changed artwork after complaints about the naked women who were pictured on the sleeve. The female models were each paid $9 for the photo shoot and another $9 if they posed completely naked.

1970: Speaking at a US radio conference, President Nixon asked programmers to ban all songs containing drug references.

1974: Al Green was taking a shower at his Memphis home when his ex-girlfriend Mary Woodson burst in and poured boiling hot grit over him. She then shot herself dead. Green suffered second degree burns.

1980: New Order played their debut gig at The Squat in Manchester, England.

1986: Bon Jovi went to No.1 on the US album chart with 'Slippery When Wet'. Featuring two US No.1 singles, 'You Give Love A Bad Name' and 'Livin' On A Prayer'. The album went on to sell over 8 million copies world wide.

1986: Dire Straits guitarist, singer Mark Knopfler broke his collarbone after crashing in a celebrity car race before the Australian Grand Prix.

1991: Bill Graham, concert promoter, was killed in a helicopter crash.

1995: Cliff Richard is knighted by Queen Elizabeth II, the very first native rock star to receive the honor.

1997: Johnny Cash reaches over to pick up a dropped guitar pick at today's concert in Flint, MI and falls over on stage; apologizing, he reveals to the audience that he is in the early stages of Parkinson's Disease. The crowd, thinking Cash is joking, laughs at the comment.

2002: An arsonist destroys Aretha Franklin's mansion in the suburbs of Detroit, MI. The criminal is never caught; fortunately, no one is living there at the time.

2004: UK DJ and producer John Peel died of a heart attack at age 65.  He was BBC’s longest-serving radio DJ and the first DJ to introduce The Ramones, Roxy Music, The Smiths, The Fall, Rod Stewart, Blur, the Sex Pistols, T. Rex and others to the masses.

2006: Forbes.com's sixth annual Top-Earning Dead Celebrities list reports that Elvis Presley's estate comes in second (beaten out by Nirvana's Kurt Cobain). Also in the top twenty: John Lennon, Johnny Cash, George Harrison, Ray Charles, and Bob Marley.

2007: Three workers building the set for an Akon outdoor show at Emory University in Atlanta were taken to hospital after a canopy fell on top of them. The concert was later cancelled.