Births
1942: Roger McGuinn (Lead Vocals & Guitar for The Byrds)
1955: Mark "The Animal" Mendoza (Bassist for Twisted Sister)
1966: Gerald Lever (R&B Singer)
1969: Mark Greenway (Singer for Napalm Death)
1970: Steven J Brown (Lead Guitarist for Trixter)
1974: Deborah Cox (R&B Singer)
Events
1897: A US patent is granted to inventor Guglielmo Marconi for the radio.
1939: Frank Sinatra made his recording debut with the Harry James band with the songs "Melancholy Mood" and "From the Bottom of My Heart."
1958: While on tour in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, Buddy Holly waterskis across Lake Rhinelander and nearly drowns when he loses control and falls into the water.
1959: The movie Hound Dog Man, starring Fabian and Dodie Stevens, goes into production.
1964: The Beatles released the single "A Hard Day's Night".
1964: The Animals went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'The House Of The Rising Sun.' Recorded in one take, this was the first UK No.1 to have a playing time of more than four minutes.
1968: Steppenwolf released the single "Born To Be Wild".
1968: Black Sabbath played their first gig at a small backstreet Blues club in Birmingham, England.
1973: After increasing animosity between the pair, Phil Everly of the Everly Brothers walks off the stage during the first of three announced final performances at Knott's Berry Farm in California. The next night, brother Don, carrying the show on his own, tells the audience, "The Everly Brothers died ten years ago." (The duo would reunite in 1983.)
1974: George McCrae started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Rock Your Baby', his only US No.1, also No.1 in the UK. Regarded by some as the first Disco No.1. It was a New York City club hit first.
1984: Philippe Wynne (Lead singer for The Spinners) died of a heart attack at 43 years old.
1985: The historic 18-hour Live Aid concerts are held in Philadelphia and London to combat the mass starvation in Ethiopia. Performers include The Beach Boys, The Four Tops, Paul McCartney, David Bowie, The Who, Led Seppelin, Elton John, Joan Baez, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Neil Young, Eric Clapton, Tina Turner, and Bob Dylan, whose offhand remarks before his set become the impetus for the Farm Aid concerts.
1985: Duran Duran became the first artists to have a No.1 on the US singles chart with a James Bond theme when 'A View To A Kill', went to the top of the charts.
1985: Elton John re-signed with MCA Records in America, his five-album deal being worth $8 million, the biggest advance in history at the time.
1990: Curtis Mayfield was badly injured after a strong gust of wind blew a lighting rig on him during an outside concert in Brooklyn, New York.
1991: Bryan Adams went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Everything I Do I Do It For You' which featured on the soundtrack for the film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. It stayed at No.1 for a record-breaking 16 weeks, (breaking a record held since 1955), also a No.1 in the US (for 7 weeks) and a hit in 16 other countries. Won a Grammy Award for Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture in 1992.
1996: A Guinness World Record for largest jam session ever is broken when over 2,000 guitarists play a version of Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel" for 75 straight minutes.
1997: The drunk-driving trial of John Denver ends in a hung jury, with half of the jurors finding him not guilty due to a thyroid condition that may have altered the results of his sobriety test.
1998: It was announced that Marilyn Manson would cancel appearances at seven European rock festivals due to Ginger Fish's bout with mononucleosis.
1992: Jett Williams, illegitimate daughter of country legend Hank Williams, Sr., is granted partial royalties on his songs by a New York appeals court, adding to a ruling reached on July 5 that she should receive half of his estate.
2000: James Brown is formally charged with assaulting Russell Eubanks, an employee of South Carolina Electric and Gas, with a steak knife after Eubanks visited Brown's Beech Island estate to check on reports that he was without electricity.
2004: Arthur ‘Killer’ Kane, bass player with The New York Dolls, died aged 55 after checking himself in to a Los Angeles emergency room, complaining of fatigue. He was quickly diagnosed with leukemia, and died within two hours.
