July 6

Births

1925: Bill Haley (William John Clifton Haley) (Singer & Guitarist)

1937: Gene Chandler (Eugene Dixon) (R&B Singer)

1949: Mike Shrieve (Drums for Santana)

1949: Phyllis Hyman (Jazz Singer)

1952: Graham Oliver (Guitar for Saxon)

1953: Nanci Griffith (Singer / Songwriter)

1963: Tim Bricheno (Guitar for The Sisters Of Mercy)

1967: Heather Nova (Singer / Songwriter)

1970: Inspectah Deck (Rapper in The Wu-Tang Clan)

1975: 50 Cent (Curtis Jackson) (Rapper)

1979: Nic Cester (Singer & Guitarist for Jet)

Events

1937: "Sing, Sing, Sing" was recorded by Benny Goodman and his band.

1965: Rock group "Jefferson Airplane" forms.

1967: Pink Floyd made their first appearance on BBC TV music show Top Of The Pops to promote their new single ‘See Emily Play’.  A badly damaged home video recording recovered by the British Film Institute of this show was given a public screening in London on 9th January 2010 at an event called "Missing Believed Wiped" devoted to recovered TV shows. It was the first time any footage was seen of the performance since its original broadcast.

1971: American jazz trumpeter, singer and bandleader, Louis Armstrong died of a heart attack at 69 years old.

1973: Queen released their debut single ‘Keep Yourself Alive’ in the UK.

1975: Rolling Stone Keith Richards was arrested by the highway patrol in Arkansas on charges of reckless driving and possessing an offensive weapon, a seven-inch hunting knife.

1976: The Damned made their debut performance at the 100 Club in London.

1992: David Gates from Gateshead, Northumberland was given one year's probation after being convicted of stealing guitars from the back of a van belonging to The Bay City Rollers.

1998: Roy Rogers dies of heart failure in Apple Valley, California. The King of the Cowboys was the only performer elected twice to the Country Music Hall of Fame--once as a solo artist, once as a member of The Sons Of The Pioneers.

1999: Keyboard player with Third World Michael Wallace was shot dead in Kingston Jamaica, aged 43.

2001: A pair of Sir Elton John's sandals were set to become the most expensive shoes in history when they went under the hammer for charity. Offers over $40,000 were invited for the Salvatore Ferragamo sandals to raise funds for Elton's Aid Trust .

2002: George Harrison's widow Olivia put the couple's home up for sale for $40m saying she couldn't bear to live with the memories of the attack by schizophrenic Michael Abram who broke into the house in 1999.

2003: Skip Battin, bassist and songwriter with The Byrds, died of complications from Alzheimer's disease. He also played with New Riders Of The Purple Sage and The Flying Burrito Brothers.

2005: Grammy award winning Rap star Lil' Kim who was convicted of perjury and conspiracy in March 2005, was sentenced to a year in jail for lying to a grand jury to protect friends. Kim told the court "I testified falsely to the grand jury and during the trial. At the time I thought it was the right thing to do. Now I know it was wrong." Lil' Kim (real name Kimberley Jones) was also fined $50,000. Charges were brought against her after a gunfight erupted outside a New York radio station in 2001 as a rival rap group was arriving.

2007: Avril Lavigne was facing legal action by members of 1970s rock band The Rubinoos, who claimed she had copied one of their songs. Songwriters Tommy Dunbar and James Gangwer alleged Lavigne's hit ‘Girlfriend’ was lifted from their 1979 song ‘I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend.’

2007: Britney Spears apologized for attacking a photographer's car with an umbrella earlier this year. Pictures of the 25-year-old lashing out appeared in several newspapers shortly after photos emerged of her shaving her head in a hair salon. In a message on her website, she said: "I apologize to the pap for a stunt that was done four months ago." She said she got "carried away" preparing for a film part but added that she did not get the role.

2008: Kix Brooks runs with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain.

2009: Lady Antebellum's Charles Kelley marries Nashville publicist Cassie McConnell in the Bahamas.