Births
1905: Chick Webb (Jazz
Drummer)
1937: Roberta
Flack (Singer / Songwriter)
1937: Don Wilson (Rhythm Guitar for The Ventures)
1949: Nigel Olsson (Drummer with the Elton John
band)
1962: Cliff Burton (Original Bassist for
Metallica)
1978: Don Omar (Reggaeton Artist)
Events
1942: 'Chattanooga Choo
Choo' by Glen Miller and his Orchestra becomes the first recording to be
awarded a Gold record. It was actually just a master copy of the disc sprayed
with gold lacquer by RCA as a publicity stunt. The actual award recognized
today as a Gold Record would not be initiated for another sixteen years when
the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) borrowed the idea and
trademarked the Gold Record. The first Gold single was awarded to Perry Como in
1958 for "Catch A Falling Star" and the first Gold album was given to
Gordon McRae for the soundtrack to Oklahoma.
1964: The
American press reports that millions of teenage boys are suddenly sporting
Beatle-style hairdos (or attempting to) after last night's historic appearance
on CBS' Ed Sullivan Show. Meanwhile, the Beatles give yet another press
conference, this time from the lobby of New York's Plaza Hotel, where the group
is staying.
1965: Chad
and Jeremy guest star on CBS's The Dick Van Dyke Show.
1966: Bob Marley married Rita Anderson a singer
in the group The Soulettes. The couple had three children together.
1971: Carole King's Album "Tapestry" was
released.
1973:
Liverpool's Cavern Club -- where the Beatles were born -- is given three months
to close down by British Rail, who need the site to complete their new
underground railway.
1974:
Producer Phil Spector is seriously burned in a mysterious car crash while en
route from Los Angeles to Phoenix, AZ, leading to extensive plastic surgery
that furthers his reclusiveness.
1975: Dave Alexander, the original bassist for
The Stooges died from pneumonia aged 28. He was fired from the band in August
1970 after showing up at a gig too drunk to play.
1976: Elvis
Presley is made an honorary Captain in the Memphis Police Department.
1977: The Clash started recording their debut
album at CBS studios in London, England.
1978: Van Halen’s debut Album is released and is
a total of 35:13 minutes long. It has sold over 10 Million copies in the US
alone.
1993: ABC's
prime-time Oprah Winfrey special features the first interview with Michael
Jackson in 15 years. In it, Jackson makes his famous claim that he suffers from
Vitiligo, a skin condition that accounts for his loss of pigmentation. The
singer also claims he's only had two minor plastic surgery operations.
1997: Brian Connolly, singer with the 1970's Glam
rock group Sweet, died of kidney and liver failure aged 47. Connolly replaced
Ian Gillan (later of Deep Purple and Black Sabbath) in Wainwright's Gentlemen
who became Sweetshop and then shortened to Sweet.
2004: Diana Ross was sentenced to two days in
jail after pleading 'no contest' to a drink driving charge. She was allowed to
enter her plea over the telephone from New York; her lawyer said the singer
would serve her term at a prison near her Los Angeles home. Ross was arrested
in December 2002 after tests indicated she was twice over the drink- drive
limit.
2006: Producer and Rapper James Dewitt Yancey,
(A.K.A. J Dilla or Jay Dee), died of a rare blood disease, at his home in Los
Angeles, California. Yancey had toured Europe in 2005 performing from a
wheelchair.
