Births
1907: Kate
Smith (Singer)
1930: Little
Walter (Blues Harmonica Player)
1939: Judy
Collins (Folk Singer)
1945: Rita
Coolidge (Singer)
1954: Ray
Parker, Jr. (Singer in Raydio and Solo)
1966: Johnny Colt (Bass for The Black Crowes)
1967: Tim McGraw (Country Singer)
1968: D'arcy Wretsky-Brown (Bass for Smashing
Pumpkins)
1970: Bernard Butler (Guitar & vocals for
Suede)
Events
1931: Kate
Smith makes her radio show debut with the twice-weekly Kate Smith Sings
show on NBC.
1942: The US
government seizes the nation's jukebox factories and puts them to work making
war materials.
1955: A St.
Louis guitarist named Chuck Berry is signed to Chess Records in Chicago after
bluesman Muddy Waters recommends him to the label.
1957: The
Kingston Trio form in Palo Alto, CA.
1963: Lesley
Gore performs her first big hit, "It's My Party," on ABC-TV's American
Bandstand.
1965: Spike
Jones (Lindley Armstrong) died of
emphysema.
1966: The
Beatles perform what is to be their last British concert when they appear at
the Empire Pool in Wembley, England, to perform at the "1965-66 Annual
Poll-Winners' All-Star Concert" given by the New Musical Express.
The fifteen-minute set consists of "I Feel Fine," "Nowhere
Man," "Day Tripper," "If I Needed Someone," and
"I'm Down." Due to legal wrangling over license, this performance is,
sadly, not filmed for posterity.
1967: Carl
Wilson of the Beach Boys is arrested by the FBI for draft-dodging and refusing
to take an oath of allegiance to the United States. Wilson, a conscientious
objector to the Vietnam War, is eventually exonerated by his draft board and
rejoins the band, touring in Ireland.
1967: Elvis
Presley's entourage flies to Vegas to meet the singer and fiance Priscilla
Beaulieu, and the couple are married at 9:30 am in the Aladdin Hotel suite of
hotel owner (and Parker friend) Milton Prell. Elvis' best men are Joe Esposito
and Marty Lacker. The officiating judge is David Zenoff, a Nevada Supreme Court
Justice. After the ceremony the group decamps to the lobby, where a press
conference is held. Mafioso Red West, furious at being excluded from the
ceremony, refuses to attend the breakfast reception.
1969: Bob
Dylan guest stars on ABC-TV's The Johnny Cash Show, featuring the two
icons collaborating on three Dylan songs: "I Threw It All Away,"
"Living The Blues," and "Girl From The North Country.".
1969: Jimi Hendrix was arrested at Toronto
International Airport for possesion of narcotics and was released on $10,000
bail.
1970: Elton John and lyricist Bernie Taupin
combined for the first time on Elton’s first American album "Elton
John".
1972: Paul Simon released his self-titled solo
debut album.
1973:
Washington, DC mayor Walter Washington officially declares today Marvin Gaye
day in the singer's hometown.
1973: Bachman-Turner Overdrive released its first
LP (self-titled) with former Guess Who guitarist Randy Bachman.
1974: The
Carpenters are invited to the Nixon White House in order to perform for the
President and his visitor, West German Chancellor Willy Brandt.
1975: The
Rolling Stones announce their upcoming tour by being driven down Fifth Avenue
in Manhattan, performing "Brown Sugar" on the back of a flatbed
truck.
1979: Elton
John performs in Israel, the first Western pop act to do so.
1980: the South African government banned Pink
Floyd's single 'Another Brick In The Wall' after black children adopted the
song as their anthem in protest against inferior education.
1983: The Style Council played their first-ever
live gig at the Empire Theatre Liverpool.
1984: Fleetwood Mac drummer and founder member
Mick Fleetwood filed for bankruptcy.
1989: A
suspicious man is arrested in a Los Angeles jewelry store after anonymous calls
to the police; the man in question turns out to be Michael Jackson in a
ludicrous disguise.
1997: The house where Kurt Cobain committed
suicide went up for sale. The asking price for the five-bedroom house built in
1902 was $3 million. The carriage house where the Nirvana guitarist died had
been demolished.
1998: Snoop Doggy Dog and MC Delmar Arnaud were
each found with less than an ounce of marijuana and were arrested and booked on
one count of misdemeanor marijuana possession each.
1999: The Lyz
Art Forum in Siegen, Germany, presents an exhibition of 70 paintings by Paul
McCartney, including "Bowie Spewing," which is indeed a young
portrait of the singer.
2000: Former Village
Voice scribe Jimmy McDonough sues Neil Young for $1.8 million in civil
court for allegedly backing down from his agreement to authorize a biography
McDonough spent years writing.
2003: While
being treated for kidney failure, Barry White suffers a stroke, paralyzing the
right side of his body. The singer never fully recovers, and dies a few months
later.
2005: Coldplay became the first British band to
have a new entry in the US Top 10 singles chart since The Beatles. Coldplay's
latest single ‘Speed Of Sound’ entered the chart at number eight, only the
second time a UK band has achieved the feat. The Beatles managed it with 'Hey
Jude' in 1968.
2005: Matchbox 20 singer Rob Thomas went to No.1
on the US album chart with his first solo album 'Something To Be.' This marked
the first time a male artist from a rock group had debuted at number one with
his first solo album since the Billboard Top 200 was introduced 50 years ago.
