June 15

Births

1937: Waylon Jennings (Country Singer)

1941: Harry Nilsson (Singer / Songwriter)

1946: Noddy Holder (Guitar & Vocals for Slade)

1949: Russell Hitchcock (Vocals for Air Supply)

1951: Steve Walsh (Singer & Keyboards for Kansas)

1956: David Hinds (Rhythm Guitar & Lead Vocals for Steel Pulse)

1957: Brad Gillis (Guitarist & Vocalist for Night Ranger)

1963: Scott Rockenfield (Drummer for Queensryche)

1969: Ice Cube (O'Shea Jackson) (Rapper)

1976: Gary Lightbody (Rhythm Guitar & Lead Vocals for Snow Patrol)

1976: Dryden Vera Mitchell (Singer & Rhythm Guitar for Alien Ant Farm)

1981: Billy Martin (Lead Guitarist & Keyboards for Good Charlotte)

Events

1956: John Lennon and Paul McCartney meet for 1st time as Lennon's rock group Quarrymen perform at a church dinner.

1963: Kyu Sakamoto started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Sukiyaki’, the first-ever Japanese song to do so.

1966: Capitol releases the Beatles' newest US album, a compilation of sorts entitled Yesterday and Today, featuring a bizarre cover by arty photographer Robert Whitaker where the group, dressed in butcher smocks, is surrounded by decapitated baby dolls and raw meat. The ensuing outrage forces the label to rush-release a new version with the group sitting in and around a large steamer trunk. Despite popular rumor, the photo has never been proven as a statement by the group on Vietnam or Capitol's practice of "butchering" their UK albums for US releases; Whitaker alone remains responsible for the idea, which at least one Beatle later described as "gross" and "stupid." Capitol merely stuck the new "trunk cover" over the original, and therefore, steamed "Butcher Covers" of the album are among the most popular collectibles in existence.

1967: Guitarist Peter Green quit the John Mayall Band. Green went on to form Fleetwood Mac. 

1968: Wes Montgomery, jazz guitarist, dies of a heart attack at 48.

1969: "Hee Haw" makes its prime time debut on CBS-TV, replacing the controversial "Smothers Brothers" show. The cast includes: Buck Owens, Roy Clark, Minnie Pearl and Grandpa Jones, among others. The first guests: Charley Pride and Loretta Lynn.

1970: Jimi Hendrix opens his new Electric Ladyland Studios in New York.

1976: The Sex Pistols recorded their first demos in Clapham's Majestic studios followed by a gig that night at The 100 club, London.

1977: The Sex Pistols held a party on a boat as it sailed down The River Thames in London. The Pistols performed 'Anarchy In The UK' outside The Houses Of Parliament resulting in members from the party being arrested when the boat docked later that day.

1982: Pete Farndon bass player with The Pretenders was fired from the group, he went on to form a group with Topper Headon from The Clash. Farndon was found dead in his bath on 14th April 1983.

1985: Dire Straits started a nine-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with 'Brothers In Arms'.

1986: U2 and Sting headlined a concert in New Jersey celebrating 25 years of Amnesty International.

1988: During Bruce Springsteen's stay in Rome during a world tour a photographer took a shot of Bruce in his underpants sharing an intimate moment with his backing singer Patti Scialfa. The picture confirmed the rumors that Bruce and Patti were having an affair.

1989: Nirvana's debut album 'Bleach' was released in the US. The title for the album came from a poster 'Bleach Your Works' urging drug users to bleach their needles.

1991: Minnie Pearl performs in Joliet, Illinois, in what turns out to be her final show. She suffers a stroke two days later.

1994: Kristen Pfaff (Bass Guitarist for Hole) was found dead in her apartment by Paul Erickson, a friend with whom she had planned to leave for Minneapolis that day. On the floor there was a bag containing syringes and drug paraphernalia. Pfaff's death was attributed to "acute opiate intoxication," and ruled accidental.

1996: US jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald died in Beverly Hills, California, aged 79. Already blinded by the effects of diabetes, Fitzgerald had both her legs amputated in 1993.

2000: Rapper Flesh-N-Bone of Bone Thugs-N-Harmony was convicted of assault with a firearm and for being an ex-convict in criminal possession of a firearm after threatening a friend with an AK-47.

2002: A rare autographed copy of The Beatles’ album Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band sold at auction for $57,800, more than five times the estimated price. 

2010: Kellie Pickler gets engaged to "More Than A Memory" songwriter Kyle Jacobs on a beach in Florida.

2011: Two men from Manchester were held on suspicion of conspiracy to rob and murder after being arrested close to the Devon home of the singer Joss Stone. The men, aged 33 and 30, were arrested after residents reported a suspicious looking vehicle in the Cullompton area. A UK police source said they were found with swords, and a body bag, as well as detailed maps and aerial photos of Stone's property.