September 15

Births

1903: Roy Acuff (Country Artist)

1928: Cannonball Adderley (Jazz Alto Sax Player)

1942: Signe Anderson (Singer for Jefferson Airplane)

1942: Lee Dorman (Bass for Iron Butterfly & Captain Beyond)

1946: Ola Brunkert (Drums for ABBA)

1952: Kelly Keagy (Lead Vocalist & Drummer for Night Ranger)

1958: Dr. Know (Guitar for Bad Brains)

1960: Michel Dorge (Drums for Crash Test Dummies)

1964: Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein (Guitar for The Misfits)

1967: Jerry Dixon (Bassist for Warrant)

1976: Paul Thomson (Drums for Franz Ferdinand)

Events

1962: A distressed Chinese news media reports that kids in Maoming Cultural Park have been spotted dancing the Twist.

1964: During the Beatles' concert at Cleveland's Public Auditorium, a group of overzealous fans manages to rush the stage, forcing the venue's announcer to grab the mic from John Lennon in mid-song and force the band to leave the stage for 15 minutes until the crowd is under control.

1965: Frankie Avalon is the guest star on tonight's "A Foggy Day In Brooklyn Heights" episode of ABC-TV's Patty Duke Show.

1965: Ford becomes the first American car company to offer 8-track tape players in its new models; however, the lack of home players means that car buyers must visit the Ford dealership itself to get the actual tapes.

1968: CBS-TV airs the Barbra Streisand concert special A Happening In Central Park.

1968: The Doors are forced to go on as a trio for their concert at Amsterdam's Concertgebouw after lead singer Jim Morrison, trashed by days of binge drinking and hashish, collapses while dancing onstage to opening act Jefferson Airplane.

1968: NBC-TV airs a variety special simply called Soul, touted as being staffed and starring only African-Americans. Guests include Lou Rawls and Martha and the Vandellas.

1969: Ed Sullivan, perhaps a little late to the game, releases his first recording, a dance novelty called "The Sulli-Gulli." It flops.

1970: Spiro Agnew, Vice President of the US, claims that "The youth of America are being brainwashed into a drug culture of rock music, movies, books and tabloid newspapers."

1975: Bob Dylan released Slow Train Coming, an album of religious songs, including the Grammy Award winning single, ‘Gotta Serve Somebody’. The album alienated many of his long time fans.

1984: Frankie Goes To Hollywood's 'Relax' became the longest running chart hit since Engelbert Humperdink's 'Release Me', after spending 43 weeks on the UK singles chart.

1988: Mark Knopfler announced the official end of Dire Straits, (they reformed in 1991).

1990: Bruce Hornsby began filling in on keyboard for The Grateful Dead following the death of Brent Mydland.

1990: New Kids On The Block's business manager had his briefcase containing $100,000 stolen from a hotel in Hollywood.

1997: A 34 year old man was awarded more than $38,000 by a French court after he lost his hearing when he stood too close to loudspeakers at a U2 concert in 1993.

1997: Elton John's "Candle In The Wind 1997," rewritten and rerecorded with new lyrics paying tribute to the recently-deceased Princess Di, sells a record 600,000 copies in one day in Britain alone. It would go on to become the biggest-selling single of all time.

1998: Rapper Coolio was booked and released for possessing marijuana and carrying a concealed weapon.

2001: Metallica action figures went on sale.

2003: Johnny Cash is laid to rest in the family cemetery at Hendersonville, TN, next to the grave of his recently-deceased wife June Carter Cash. Emmylou Harris, Al Gore, and Sheryl Crow attend the private ceremony along with family members including daughter Rosanne Cash.

2003: Former "Nashville Star" contestant Miranda Lambert signs with Epic Records.

2003: Madonna's children's book "The English Roses" went on sale.

2004: Ramones guitarist Johnny Ramone (John Cummings) died in Los Angeles after a five-year battle with prostate cancer. Founding member of The Ramones, major influence on many punk and 90’s bands.

2007: Garth Brooks' "More Than A Memory" becomes the first song to debut at #1 on Billboard's country singles chart.

2008: Keyboardist Rick Wright (Pink Floyd) died of cancer.