Births
1945: Don Murray (Drummer for Turtles)
1947: Minnie Riperton (R&B Singer)
1949: Bonnie Raitt (Singer / Songwriter)
1954: Rickie Lee Jones (Singer / Songwriter)
1957: Porl Thompson (Guitar for The Cure)
1961: Leif Garrett (Singer)
1970: Rat (Guitar for Ned’s Atomic Dustbin)
1977: Bucky Covington (Country Artist)
1985: Jack Osbourne (Ozzy’s Son)
Events
1961: Liverpool record store owner Brian Epstein calls Liverpool's Cavern Club to see when the Beatles would next be performing, with the intent to see if their live show matched their reputation.
1962: A bullet is fired at Motown's tour bus while traveling through Savannah, GA, but fortunately none of the (all African-American) stars are hurt.
1963: Having heard Priscilla Presley was with her fiance Elvis, and reportedly attempting to beat her to the altar, actress and Viva Las Vegas co-star Ann-Margret is quoted in the L.A. press as being "in love" with Elvis and deeply thinking of marriage with him. Priscilla, on the Colonel's advice, is sent back to Memphis to avoid controversy (but not before Priscilla throws a vase across the room, screaming that the expatriate Ann should "keep her ass in Sweden where she belongs").
1965: The Dave Clark Five perform for Queen Elizabeth II at London's annual Royal Variety Performance.
1968: Diana Ross leaves the Supremes to begin her solo career, and is replaced by Jean Terrell.
1968: John Lennon's divorce from first wife Cynthia is finalized, without Lennon present; the Beatle is at Queen Charlotte's Hospital in London with Yoko Ono, currently pregnant with the child she will miscarry later in the month.
1970: Jim Morrison of the Doors makes the spoken-word recordings which would later become the basis of the group's album An American Prayer.
1971: Paul McCartney throws a party at London's Empire Ballroom to officially launch his new group, Wings.
1971: Led Zeppelin released their fourth album. With no title printed on the album, and generally referred to as Four Symbols, The Fourth Album or Led Zeppelin IV, it has gone on to sell over 37 million copies worldwide. The 19th century rustic oil painting on the front of the album was purchased by Robert Plant from an antique shop in Reading, Berkshire, England. The 20th century urban tower block on the back of the full gatefold LP cover is Butterfield Court in Eves Hill, Dudley, England.
1974: After returning to her Howard Johnson's hotel room in Jericho, CT, following a show at the nearby Westbury Music Fair, singer Connie Francis is attacked at knifepoint and raped. Francis successfully sues the chain for $3 million for neglecting to repair a broken lock and torn screen on her room before the attack. Her rapist is never brought to justice, and Francis finds herself so shattered by the incident she quits touring for seven years and eventually divorces her husband, Joseph Garzilli.
1975: David Bowie makes his US television debut on CBS' Cher variety show, performing his latest hit, "Fame."
1975: John Lennon names close friend Elton John the godfather of his new son, Sean.
1977: Glam queen Suzi Quatro makes her first appearance as Leather Tuscadero, the little sister of Fonzie's girlfriend Pinky, on ABC-TV's Happy Days.
1987: The Beach Boys' Carl Wilson marries his second wife, Gina Martin, daughter of legendary crooner Dean.
1988: Jerry Lee Lewis declares bankruptcy.
1994: Sonny Bono, half of Sonny and Cher and former mayor of Palm Springs, CA, is elected to the US House of Representatives.
1994: A memorial service is held for legendary guitarist Fred "Sonic" Smith, late of the MC5 and The Sonics, at Mariner's Church in Detroit, MI.
1995: A financially strapped Michael Jackson merges his company, ATV Music Publishing -- the one with all the Beatles hits -- with Sony Music Publishing in a deal worth some $110 million. Jackson keeps half-ownership of the new company, but as debts mount, that share is whittled down over time.
2002: David Gilmour, longtime guitarist for Pink Floyd, is made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Queen Elizabeth II.
2009: Former Smiths frontman Morrissey stopped a concert halfway through his second song after being hit by a beer bottle. The 50-year-old singer who was hit in the eye by a plastic bottle of beer, said goodnight to the 8,000 strong crowd in Liverpool, England before walking off.
