June 21

Births

1932: O.C. Smith (R&B Singer)

1944: Ray Davies (Guitarist & Lead Singer of The Kinks)

1947: Joey Molland (Guitar for Badfinger)

1950: Joey Kramer (Drummer for Aerosmith)

1951: Nils Lofgren (Guitarist for Bruce Springsteen)

1952: Marcella Detroit (Singer for Shakespears Sister)

1957: Mark Brzezicki (Drums for Big Country)

1959: Kathy Mattea (Country Singer)

1961: Kip Winger (Singer for Winger)

1969: Pat Sansone (multi-instrumentalist for Wilco)

1970: Pete Rock (Peter Phillips) (DJ and Rapper)

1976: Michael Einziger (Guitar for Incubus)

1981: Brandon Flowers (Vocals & Keyboards for The Killers)

1985: Kris Allen (American Idol Winner 2009)

Events

1962: As part of manager Brian Epstein's plan to get the band wider exposure by having them open for established acts, the Beatles open for Bruce Chanel of "Hey! Baby!" fame at the Tower Ballroom, in New Brighton, England. Backstage, Channel's harmonica player, who will go on to fame as Delbert McClinton, offers John Lennon some tips on playing harmonica, which Lennon will later put to use on the band's first single, "Love Me Do."

1966: The Rolling Stones sue fourteen New York City hotels who have refused to admit the band during their North American tour, disingenuously accusing them of "discrimination on account of national origin."

1966: Jimmy Page made his live debut with The Yardbirds at the Marquee Club, London.

1966: Tom Jones needed 14 stitches in his forehead after his Jaguar was involved in a car crash in Marble Arch, London.

1967: San Francisco's Golden Gate Park celebrates the Summer Solstice with a free concert with entertainment by The Grateful Dead, Big Brother and the Holding Company, and Quicksilver Messenger Service.

1968: Influenced by the recent assassination of Robert Kennedy, Steve Binder, director of Elvis Presley's upcoming NBC-TV special, asks musical director Bones Howe to write a "socially conscious" song for Elvis' big closing number, which had been slated to be the standard "I'll Be Home For Christmas." Howe writes the replacement song, "If I Can Dream," that afternoon; after hearing it a half-dozen times, Elvis agrees to end with it.

1970: Who guitarist Pete Townshend, while waiting for his flight at the airport in Memphis, likens the band's latest album, Tommy, to the atomic bomb, causing officials who misheard the remark to search the facilities for a real bomb.

1973: The band Bread, already having decided to break up, play their last live gig ever in Salt Lake City after one of its tour trucks flips over and destroys most of its gear.

1975: Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore leaves the band to form Rainbow.

1975: James Taylor's "How Sweet It Is" was released.

1976: Reba McEntire marries Charlie Battles at the First Baptist Church in Stringtown, Oklahoma. They honeymoon in Texas, where they promote her latest single to radio stations.

1979: Angus MacLise, Velvet Underground's first drummer died of tuberculosis aged 34. He quit the band in 1965.

1980: French police arrested all members of The Stranglers after a concert at Nice University for allegedly starting a riot.

1981: After a number of lawsuits, deaths, and accidents, Steely Dan break up, not to fully reform onstage until 2000.

1988: The Rascals reunite onstage for the first time in eighteen years.

1990: Little Richard is awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6840 Hollywood Blvd.

1994: George Michael lost his lawsuit against Sony Records. Michael claimed that his 15-year contract with Sony was unfair because the company could refuse to release albums it thought wouldn't be commercially successful. Michael vowed he would never record for Sony again. He re-signed with the company in 2003.

1999: Pantera rode a float in the Dallas Stars Stanley Cup victory parade in downtown Dallas. Pantera is responsible for the Stars' theme song.

2000: 39 year-old Karen McNeil who claimed she was the wife of Axl Rose and that she communicated with him telepathically was jailed for one year for stalking the singer.

2001: John Lee Hooker, American blues singer and guitarist, died in his sleep aged 83. He appeared and sang in the 1980 movie The Blues Brothers.

2003: Johnny Cash makes a surprise appearance live on stage in Hiltons, VA, near the birthplace of his recently-deceased wife June Carter Cash, saying "I don't hardly know what to say tonight about being up here without her... the pain is so severe, there's no way of describing it."

2007: After dating her for a full eighteen years, Tony Bennett marries teacher Susan Crow.