March 13

Births

1939: Neil Sedaka (Pop Singer)

1949: Donny York (Singer in Sha Na Na)

1959: Greg Norton (Bass for Husker Du)

1960: Adam Clayton (Bass for U2)

1972: Common (Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr.) (Rapper)

1973: David Draiman (Lead Singer for Disturbed)

1977: Ed Sloan (Lead Guitar & Vocals for Crossfade)

Events

1958: The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) launches its Gold Award Program to honor artists with outstanding sales. One million units sold of a single 45 rpm record earned Gold status; in 1976: the Platinum Award was introduced for singles which moved two million units. Today, the single awards are given at the half-million (gold) and million (platinum) level of sales or downloads, with the same award qualifications for album-length releases. The Diamond Award (album sales of over 10 million) was introduced in 1999.

1959: On Friday the 13th, the Kingston Trio are nearly killed when their plane makes an emergency landing on a turkey farm in South Bend, IN.

1965: Disgusted with the pop direction taken with their latest single, the Graham Gouldman-penned "For Your Love," Eric Clapton quits the Yardbirds, eventually forming Cream with Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker of the Graham Bond Organization.

1966: Pink Floyd appeared for the first time at The Marquee in Wardour Street, London, England. The Marquee became the most important venue for the emerging British scene and witnessed the rise of some of the most important artists in the 1960s and 1970s, such as Jimi Hendrix, Cream, Manfred Mann, The Who, Yes, Led Zeppelin, Jethro Tull, King Crimson and Genesis.

1975: George Jones and Tammy Wynette divorce after six years.

1976:  The Jackson 5 moved from Motown to Epic Records. They also changed their name to the Jackson's.

1984:  MTV premiered its weekly "Top 20 Video Countdown" show.

1987:  Bryan Adams’ "Heat of the Night" became the first commercially released cassette single.

1987:  Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1750 Vine Street.

1993:  Canadian white rapper Snow, (Darrin O'Brien), started a 7-week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Informer'.

1999:  Cher started a four week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Believe', making Cher the oldest woman to top the Hot 100 at the age of 53.

2002:  Wall Of Voodoo guitarist Marc Moreland died in Paris, France of Kidney failure aged 44. Had the 1983 hit ‘Mexican Radio.’

2002 - In Middletown NJ, Sebastian Bach (Skid Row Singer) was arrested for threatening the life of a bartender and the patrons of Lincroft Inn. He was charged with disorderly conduct, possession of under 20 grams of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was released the next day after posting bail.

2003: The state of Texas observes Lee Ann Womack Day.

2004:  Luciano Pavarotti gave his final opera performance at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. He still had concerts planned up until October 12, 2005.

2006:  The Sex Pistols refused to attend their own induction into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in New York City. Blondie, Herb Alpert and Black Sabbath were all inducted but the Pistols posted a handwritten note on their website, calling the institution "urine in wine", adding "We're not your monkeys, we're not coming. You're not paying attention".

2008, Michael Jackson refinanced his Neverland ranch to save it from being auctioned off, after being told that if he failed to pay $25m he owed on the California property, it would be auctioned within a week. Jackson bought Neverland in 1987 intending to create a fantasy land for children naming it after an island in the story Peter Pan, where children never grow up.