June 4

Births

1937: Freddy Fender (Baldemar Huerta) (Rock & Country Singer)

1944: Michelle Phillips (Singer in The Mamas and the Papas)

1945: Gordon Waller (Peter and Gordon)

1959: Paul Taylor (Guitar & Keyboards for Winger)

1961: El Debarge (Singer / Songwriter)

1964: Chris Kavanagh (Drums for Sigue Sigue Sputnik & Big Audio Dynamite II)

1968: Al B. Sure (R&B Singer)

1972: Nikka Costa (Singer)

1974: Stefan Lessard (Bass for The Dave Matthews Band)

1975: Russell Brand (Comedian)

1990: Zachary Farro (Drummer for Paramore)

Events

1942: The label started the year before by songwriter Johnny Mercer, Liberty Records, is now renamed Capitol, becoming the US's first major West Coast label. New label head Glenn Wallichs comes up with the idea of sending free copies of Capitol 78s to radio stations, thus becoming the first record promoter.

1956: Gene Vincent makes his stage debut, performing in his hometown of Norfolk, VA.

1962: The Beatles sign their first record contract with EMI, though it's merely to produce a series of demos. The band will have to pass its upcoming audition to get signed to make actual records.

1964: The Beatles begin their first world tour, playing the K.B. Hallen Gardens in Copenhagen, Denmark. Session drummer Jimmy Nicol, wearing Ringo's suit, sits in for the ailing drummer for this and the next five dates.

1966: Janis Joplin arrives in San Francisco, having been invited there by Big Brother and the Holding Company in order to become their new lead singer.

1967: At the Emmy Awards in New York, The Monkees wins the statuette for Outstanding Comedy Series.

1968: Brian Jones goes on trial in London for his arrest in May on marijuana possession charges.

1969: Pianist Nicky Hopkins leaves the Jeff Beck Group.

1971: ABC-TV's Bobby Sherman TV Special airs, featuring guest stars 5th Dimension.

1972: Pink Floyd begin to record their next album, tentatively titled Eclipse, at Abbey Road Studios in London. It would eventually be released as Dark Side of the Moon.

1976: The Sex Pistols appeared at The Lesser Free Trade Hall, Manchester, England. The now legendary night is regarded as a catalyst to the punk rock movement. In the audience was, Morrissey, Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook (soon to form Joy Division) and Mark E Smith (The Fall).

1979: US President Jimmy Carter hosts Chuck Berry, who plays a concert for The First Family at the White House.

1983: The Police started a four week run at No.1 with 'Every Breath You Take' the group's fifth and final No.1 single. Taken from the bands album Synchronicity, Sting won Song of the Year and The Police won Best Pop Performance for the song at the 1984 Grammy Awards.

1984: Bruce Springsteen released the album, ‘Born In The USA’, which went on to top the US chart for seven weeks and featured seven Top 10 singles.

1986: After a year-long court battle, the producers of the Beatle tribute Beatlemania! are forced to pay Apple $10 million in royalties.

1990: American punk rock singer Stiv Bators of the Dead Boys and The Lords of the New Church died after being hit by a taxi in Paris, France. Bators had been out drinking when he was hit by a taxi while crossing the road. He was taken to hospital but left before seeing a doctor. He died in his sleep as the result of a concussion.

1992: Priscilla Presley announces that the winner of the USPS Elvis stamp battle is the earlier "Thin Elvis" stamp, which got more votes than the '70s "Fat Elvis" stamp by a factor of three to one.

1993: Kurt Cobain was arrested after a dispute at his house in Seattle; the disagreement allegedly concerned the Nirvana's guitarist's collection of firearms.

1994: Guitarist Derek Leckenby (Herman's Hermits) died of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma at age 51.

1996: Crowded House announced they had split up. Brothers Neil and Tim Finn from the group were both awarded OBE's in 1993 for their service to their native New Zealand.

1997: Ronnie Lane (Bass for The Faces) died of pneumonia at age 51.

1997: Jeff Buckley’s body was discovered floating in the Mississippi River. A passenger on a tourist boat spotted the body near the southern tip of Mud Island. The singer / songwriter had disappeared when swimming on May 29th.

1998: Ray Charles reunites with his legendary touring band in Chicago to perform in celebration of his 50th year in show business.

2000: A teenage Sisqo fan was shot in the leg at a concert by the R&B star in Phoenix, Arizona when violence erupted after fans began objecting to parking fees of $30 at the venue.

2000: Eminem started an eight-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with his debut release 'The Marshall Mathers LP'.

2002: Wyclef Jean was one of ten people arrested for disorderly conduct in a New York rally protesting cuts to education. Jean was arrested and led away in handcuffs following an attempt to perform, which was forbidden by the event’s permit. P. Diddy, Alicia Keys, Jay-Z, LL Cool J, Erykah Badu, Foxy Brown and the Wu-Tang Clan were also at the rally to show their support and protest a proposed $1.2 billion cut to New York’s public education system.

2004: American Idol winner Fantasia was at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'I Believe.' The first time in US chart history a debut single topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart.