Births
1942: Roger
McGuinn (Lead Vocals & Guitar for The Byrds & Solo)
1946: Cheech Marin (Comedian)
1955: Mark "The Animal" Mendoza
(Bassist for Twisted Sister)
1966: Gerald Levert (R&B Singer)
1969: Mark Greenway (Singer for Napalm Death)
1970: Steve
Brown (Lead Guitarist for Trixter)
1974: Deborah Cox (R&B Singer)
Events
1897: A US
patent is granted to inventor Guglielmo Marconi for the radio.
1939: Frank Sinatra made his recording debut with
the Harry James band with the songs "Melancholy Mood" and "From
the Bottom of My Heart." He was 24
years old.
1958: While
on tour in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, Buddy Holly waterskis across Lake
Rhinelander and nearly drowns when he loses control and falls into the water.
1964: The Animals went to No.1 on the UK singles
chart with 'The House Of The Rising Sun.' Recorded in one take, this was the
first UK No.1 to have a playing time of more than four minutes.
1968:
Steppenwolf released the single "Born To Be Wild".
1968: Black Sabbath played their first gig at a small
backstreet Blues club in Birmingham, England.
1973: After
increasing animosity between the pair, Phil Everly of the Everly Brothers walks
off the stage during the first of three announced final performances at Knott's
Berry Farm in California. The next night, brother Don, carrying the show on his
own, tells the audience, "The Everly Brothers died ten years ago."
(The duo would reunite in 1983.)
1974: George McCrae started a two week run at
No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Rock Your Baby', his only US No.1. Regarded
by some as the first Disco No.1, it was a New York City club hit first and was
written by K.C. of K.C. and The Sunshine Band.
1984:
Philippe Wynne (Lead singer for The Spinners) died of a heart attack at 43
years old.
1985: The
historic 18-hour Live Aid concerts are held in Philadelphia and London to
combat the mass starvation in Ethiopia. Performers include The Beach Boys, The
Four Tops, Paul McCartney, David Bowie, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Elton John, Joan
Baez, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Neil Young, Eric Clapton, Tina Turner, and Bob
Dylan, whose offhand remarks before his set become the impetus for the Farm Aid
concerts. The first act to perform was
Status Quo who played at 12:01 am.
1985: Duran Duran became the first artists to
have a No.1 on the US singles chart with a James Bond theme when 'A View To A
Kill' went to the top of the charts.
1985: Elton John re-signed with MCA Records in
America, his five-album deal being worth $8 million, the biggest advance in
history at the time.
1990: Curtis Mayfield was badly injured after a
strong gust of wind blew a lighting rig on him during an outside concert in
Brooklyn, New York.
1991: Bryan Adams went to No.1 on the UK singles
chart with '(Everything I Do) I Do It For You' which featured on the soundtrack
for the film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. It stayed at No.1 for a
record-breaking 16 weeks, (breaking a record held since 1955), also a No.1 in
the US (for 7 weeks) and a hit in 16 other countries. It won a Grammy Award for
Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture in 1992.
1996: A
Guinness World Record for largest jam session ever is broken when over 2,000
guitarists play a version of Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel" for
75 straight minutes.
1997: The
drunk-driving trial of John Denver ends in a hung jury, with half of the jurors
finding him not guilty due to a thyroid condition that may have altered the
results of his sobriety test.
1997: Red Hot Chili Peppers singer Anthony Kiedis
underwent five hours of hospital surgery after being involved in a motorbike
accident in Los Angeles.
1998: It was announced that Marilyn Manson would
cancel appearances at seven European rock festivals due to Ginger Fish's bout
with mononucleosis.
1992: Jett
Williams, illegitimate daughter of country legend Hank Williams, Sr., is
granted partial royalties on his songs by a New York appeals court, adding to a
ruling reached on July 5 that she should receive half of his estate.
2000: James
Brown is formally charged with assaulting Russell Eubanks, an employee of South
Carolina Electric and Gas, with a steak knife after Eubanks visited Brown's Beach
Island estate to check on reports that he was without electricity.
2004: Arthur ‘Killer’ Kane, bass
player with The New York Dolls, died aged 55 after checking himself in to a Los
Angeles emergency room, complaining of fatigue. He was quickly diagnosed with leukemia,
and died within two hours.
