June 17

Births

1882: Igor Stavinsky (Composer)

1943: Barry Manilow (born Barry Alan Pincus) (Singer & Piano Player)

1947: Greg Rolie (Keyboards for Santana & Journey)

1957: Philip Chevron (Guitar for The Pogues)

1958: Jello Biafra (Eric Reed Boucher) (Singer for The Dead Kennedys)

1962: Michael Monroe (Vocals for Hanoi Rocks)

1969: Kevin Thornton (Singer in Color Me Badd)

Events

1943: After planning to return to his hometown and resume his career as a barber, Perry Como is signed to RCA Records.

1954: Guitarist Danny Cedrone died following a freak accident; 10 days after he had recorded the lead guitar break on ‘Rock Around The Clock’ with Bill Haley and His Comets. Session player Cedrone was paid $21 for his work on the session, as at that time Haley chose not to hire a full-time guitarist for his group. He died of a broken neck after falling down a staircase.

1955: Eddie Fisher marries Debbie Reynolds in Hollywood. The couple would divorce in 1959 after Fisher was discovered to be carrying on an affair with Liz Taylor.

1965: The Moody Blues and the Kinks each made their US stage debut, with one opening for the other at New York's Academy of Music.

1966: Guitarist Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac joins John Mayall's Bluesbreakers.

1966: Paul McCartney buys the farm in Kintyre, Scotland, that would later inspire his 1977 megahit ballad "Mull Of Kintyre."

1966: The Beatles recorded "Here, There And Everywhere," "Got To Get You Into My Life".

1967: Barbra Streisand sings for 135,000 fans at her concert in New York's Central Park, later released as the CBS-TV special and soundtrack album A Happening In Central Park.

1972: Ron McKernan, the keyboardist known to Grateful Dead fans simply as Pigpen, plays what is to be his last gig with the group, performing at the Hollywood Bowl before drinking himself to death less than a year later.

1977: Steve Winwood released his first solo Album Steve Winwood.

1978: Grace Slick is deemed too drunk to go onstage with Jefferson Starship tonight at their concert in St. Goarhausen in West Germany, but does so anyway, singing horribly and verbally abusing the audience with Nazi taunts. The crowd riots, causing over a million dollars in damage and leading Slick to quit the band, not returning until 1983.

1978: Andy Gibb became the first solo artist in the history of the US charts to have his first three releases reach No.1, when ‘Shadow Dancing’ hit the top of the chart. Spending seven weeks at No.1 it became the best selling single in the US in 1978.

1980: Led Zeppelin begin what would be their last tour with a concert in Dortmund, Germany.

1985: The famously reclusive Bob Dylan opens up on the syndicated radio show Rockline, taking calls from fans.

1986: Singer Kate Smith died from diabetes in Raleigh, NC at age 86.

1987: Rod Stewart becomes the proud parent of his fourth child, daughter Ruby, from his girlfriend, model Kelly Emberg.

1987: Florida real estate agent Vittoria Holman sued Motley Crue and their concert promoter for hearing loss allegedly incurred at a concert in December 1985. Holman and her daughter had front row seats less than 10 feet from the speakers. The case was settled out of court with the band's insurance company paying Holman over $30,000.

1988: Bruce Springsteen separates from Juliette Phillips.

1988: Garth Brooks signs with Capitol Records.

1989: Ringo Starr announces the second annual line-up of his All-Starr Band, featuring Billy Preston, Joe Walsh, Dr. John, Nils Lofgren and Clarence Clemons of the E Street Band, and The Band's Levon Helm and Rick Danko.

1989: New Kids On The Block went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'I'll Be Loving You Forever', the group's first US No.1.

1999: A teenage girl was crushed to death during a gig by Hole at the Hultsfred Festival, Sweden.

2005: Pete Doherty was thrown of a yacht after being found smoking crack cocaine. The Babyshambles singer had been invited onto the yacht with his girlfriend Kate Moss by Davinia Taylor, they were asked to leave the party and were dropped off in Porto Cervo.

2006: Ron Wood of the Rolling Stones enters rehab to kick his drinking habit, but will recover in time to join the band on its latest world tour in a month.