September 11

Births

1943: Mickey Hart (Drums for Grateful Dead & Solo)

1948: John Martyn (Singer / Songwriter)

1953: Tommy Shaw (Vocals & Guitar for Styx & Damn Yankees)

1964: Victor Wooten (Bass for Bela Fleck & The Flecktones)

1965: Moby (Richard Hall) (DJ & Producer)

1967: Harry Connick Jr. (Jazz Singer / Songwriter)

1969: Gidget Gein (Bass for Marilyn Manson)

1970: Ted Leo (Singer / Songwriter & Guitarist)

1971: Richard Ashcroft  (Lead Vocals & Guitar for The Verve & Solo)

1975: Elephant Man (Reggae Artist)

1975: Mark Klepaski (Bass for Breaking Benjamin)

1977: Ludacris (Chris Bridges) (Rapper)

1977: Jonny Buckland (Lead Guitar for Coldplay)

1978: Ben Lee (Pop Singer & Guitarist)

1981: Charles Kelley (Vocals & Drums for Lady Antebellum)

Events

1956: The London premiere of the Bill Haley film Rock Around the Clock leads to a riot at the Trocadero Cinema, leading to national outrage and a ban on the film in major UK cities.

1960: Nancy Sinatra marries her first husband, teen idol Tommy Sands. The marriage would last five years.

1962: At today's second attempt at cutting the Beatles' first single, "Love Me Do" b/w "P.S. I Love You," producer George Martin decides, for the first and only time, to use session drummer Andy White instead of Ringo Starr. Ringo can be heard playing on the album version of the song, but White is on the single, with Ringo on maracas and tambourine.

1964: The 16-year-old winner of a Mick Jagger impersonation contest at Greenwich, England's Town Hall reveals himself to be... Mick's younger brother, Chris.

1968: Larry Graham, bassist for Sly and the Family Stone, is arrested for possession of marijuana in London, leading to the group being kicked out of their hotel and off their planned BBC TV appearance.

1971: The Jackson 5's eponymous TV cartoon show debuts, naturally enough, on ABC. Unlike the Beatles' cartoon show, this one utilizes the brothers' actual voices.

1977: Elton John lyricist Bernie Taupin makes a rare acting appearance, guest starring as the leader of a fictional rock band called Circus on the "Meet Dracula" episode of ABC-TV's The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries.

1979: The Who play their first concert without longtime drummer Keith Moon, who'd overdosed the previous year. Ex-Faces drummer Kenny Jones sits in during the gig at the Capitol Theatre in Passaic, NJ, and will eventually become Moon's full-time replacement.

1987: Peter Tosh was shot in the head and killed by 3 men trying to rob him at his home.

1987: Prince's Paisley Park Studios officially opened.

1989: Hank Williams Jr.'s "All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight" debuts as "All my rowdy friends are here on Monday night" to promote ABC-TV's Monday Night Football.

1997: John Lee Hooker received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

2001: Walking to work in New York (as an comic book illustrator) Gerard Way witnessed the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center. The day's events inspired him to start a band, which became My Chemical Romance with Way becoming their lead singer.

2002: James Brown's daughters Deanna and Yamma sue their dad for alleged songwriting royalties due for songs they helped co-write, including the 1976 hit "Get Up Offa That Thing," which they would have assisted him with when they were three and six, respectively.

2003: Cher, Bruce Springsteen, Fleetwood Mac and Steely Dan all decide not to take the stage on the second anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

2003: Tommy Chong, one-half of the comedy team of Cheech and Chong, was sentenced to nine months in federal prison and fined $20,000 for selling drug paraphernalia over the Internet. The 65 year-old Chong pled guilty to the charges last May. He remained free until April, 2004, when he went to jail.