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.
