September 21

Births

1934: Leonard Cohen (Singer / Songwriter)

1947: Don Felder (Lead Guitar for The Eagles)

1954: Philthy Animal (Phil Taylor) (Drummer for Motorhead)

1967: Faith Hill (Country Singer)

1967: Tyler Stewart (Drums for Barenaked Ladies)

1968: Trugoy (David Jude) (Rapper in De La Soul)

1972: David Silveria (Drums for Korn)

1972: Liam Gallagher (Vocals for Oasis & Beady Eye)

Events

1957: Elvis Presley's longtime guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black leave the King's band, dissatisfied over being denied pay raises by manager Colonel Tom Parker. Drummer D.J. Fontana stays on.

1962: A year and a half before the Beatles break in America, the Springfields' "Silver Threads and Golden Needles" becomes the first British song to reach the top 20 in the US. Later, member Dusty Springfield would have several more solo hits of her own.

1965: Having signed with Beatles manager Brian Epstein, the Moody Blues play their first major gig, as part of the manager's "Evening of Popular Music" at Royal Albert Hall in London. Other acts include Manfred Mann, the Kinks, Gerry and the Pacemakers, and Georgie Fame & the Blue Flames.

1968: Janis Joplin announces her upcoming departure from her band Big Brother and the Holding Company, which observant listeners had decried as too amateurish for her talents.

1968: Deep Purple made No.4 on the US singles chart with their debut single 'Hush'.

1972: ABC-TV debuted "In Concert." Alice Cooper appeared in the first episode.

1974: Barry White went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Can't Get Enough Of Your Love Baby', the singers first and only US solo chart topper.

1980: Bob Marley, who had refused treatment for a spreading melanoma due to his religious beliefs, collapses while jogging in New York's Central Park and is hospitalized. Two nights later her performs the next date on his North American tour, the Stanley Theater in Pittsburgh, but it sadly proves to be his last.

1980: Elton John leaves longtime label MCA and signs with David Geffen's new label for a six-year contract.

1986: The National Inquirer Magazine featured a picture of Michael Jackson in an oxygen chamber with a story claiming that Jackson had a bizarre plan to live until he was 150 years old.

1987: Jazz bassist Jaco Pastorius died from injuries sustained in a fight. Pastorius was trying to enter the Midnight Bottle Club in Wilton Manors, Florida, (where he'd been banned), and became involved in a fight with a bouncer, Pastorius fell into a coma and was put on life support on September 11th. He was 36 years old.

1989: The Bangles issued a press statement confirming that the group were splitting. They reformed in 2000.

1990: The Internal Revenue Service places liens totalling $16.7 million on Willie Nelson's property to guarantee that he pays $6.5 million in back taxes.

1991: Status Quo set a world record when they play four separate British arenas in one 11-hour period.

1992: 'Yes Please' by The Happy Mondays, became the last release on Manchester label Factory records.

1999: While being searched at London's Heathrow Airport, Diana Ross allegedly assaults the security guard in question and is detained for five hours.

2001: All major television networks in the US simultaneously air the all-star benefit concert America: A Tribute To Heroes, the proceeds (in excess of $128 million) of which will go to victims of the infamous 9/11 attacks and their families. Performing guests include Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, Paul Simon, Billy Joel, Tom Petty, and Willie Nelson.

2004: Cat Stevens, known as Yusuf Islam since the late Seventies, is stopped from entering the US after his name is erroneously found on a terrorism watch list.

2007: Snoop Dogg was sentenced to three years probation and 160 hours of community service after pleading guilty to carrying a collapsible baton. The rapper was arrested in September 2006 after the baton was found in his bag at John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California. In April 2007 he was given five years probation and 800 hours community service after pleading no contest to gun and drug charges in a Californian court.