Births
1878: George
M. Cohan (Composer & Singer)
1940:
Fontella Bass (R&B Singer)
1948: Paul
Barrere (Guitar for Little Feat)
1949: Johnnie
Wilder (Lead Vocals for Heatwave)
1951: Mike
Corby (Guitar & Keyboards for The Babys)
1957: Laura Branigan (Pop Singer)
1958: Aaron
Tippin (Country Singer)
1959: Stephen Pearcy (Singer for RATT)
1960: Vince Clarke (Keyboards for Depeche Mode,
Erasure & Yazoo)
1969: Kevin Hearn (Keyboards & Guitar for
Barenaked Ladies)
1975: Javier Weyler (Drummer for Stereophonics)
Events
1956:
Returning to Memphis after his disastrous Steve Allen Show appearance,
Elvis Presley meets Gene Vincent at Pennsylvania Station in New York and
congratulates him on his success with the Elvis soundalike hit
"Be-Bop-A-Lula."
1965: Marking
the end of an era, TV singing cowboy Roy Rogers bids farewell to his trusty
horse, Trigger, who passed away at the ripe old age of 33. The animal is
stuffed and put in Rogers' museum.
1967: Brian
Epstein's NEMS Enterprises, who are handling the Monkees' first UK tour, hold a
party for the group at London's Speakeasy Club, featuring Beatles John, Paul
and George along with their girlfriends/wives. Also in attendance: Dusty
Springfield, The Who, Procol Harum, Manfred Mann, Lulu, and Eric Clapton.
1968: Joni
Mitchell hosts a get-together for her musician friends at her home in Los
Angeles' Laurel Canyon; there, guests David Crosby of the Byrds, Stephen Stills
of Buffalo Springfield, and Graham Nash of the Hollies start up an informal jam
session which leads directly to the formation of Crosby, Stills, and Nash.
1969: Guitarist Brian Jones (Rolling Stones)
drowned while under the influence of drugs and alcohol after taking a midnight
swim in his pool, aged 27. His body was found at the bottom of the pool by his
Swedish girlfriend Anna Wohlin. The coroner's report stated "Death by
misadventure", and noted his liver and heart were heavily enlarged by drug
and alcohol abuse. He was one of the founding members of The Rolling Stones and
in the early 60’s used the name "Elmo Lewis”.
1971: Jim
Morrison (Singer for The Doors) was found dead in a Paris apartment bathtub.
Pursuant to French law, no autopsy was performed because the medical examiner
claimed to have found no evidence of foul play. Some think he had died of a heroin overdose,
having insufflated what he believed to be cocaine. The official cause of dead
was listed as a heart attack. He was 27 years old.
1972: Blues
Singer & Guitarist Mississippi Fred McDowell died of cancer at age 68.
1973: At the
end of his Hammersmith Odeon concert with the Spiders From Mars, David Bowie
announces the first of his many "retirements" from the stage.
1975: Three
Dog Night suffers a fatal blow when singer and defacto leader Chuck Negron is
arrested in his Louisville, KY hotel room for cocaine possession. The charges
would later be dropped, but the resulting tension between the band members
would help destroy the group.
1986: Teddy
Pendergrass suffers another debilitating car crash when his handicap-accessible
van hits a telephone pole in Philadelphia.
1986: U2 crew member Greg Carroll was killed in a
motorcycle accident in Dublin while running an errand for Bono. The song 'One
Tree Hill' on the bands Joshua Tree album is dedicated to Carroll.
1995: Scott Weiland (Singer for Stone Temple
Pilots) pled innocent to drug charges.
2002: Elton
John becomes the first performer to be granted an honorary Doctorate from
England's Royal Academy of Music.
2002: The wife of Ozzy Osbourne, Sharon Osbourne
underwent an emergency operation after being diagnosed with cancer.
2003: Libertines singer Pete Doherty was arrested
after breaking into band member Carl Barat’s flat and stealing a laptop
computer and a guitar.
2004: David Crosby was fined $5,000 by a US court
after admitting attempted criminal possession of a weapon. It followed his
arrest in New York in March when a gun, knife and marijuana were found in his
luggage.
2007: Pete Doherty escaped jail time after a
judge decided to defer sentencing him for drugs offences on condition he went
into rehab. Doherty pleaded guilty to possessing crack cocaine and heroin at
West London Magistrates' Court. He was warned by Judge Davinder Lachhar that he
would go into custody if he failed to take up a place he was offered on a detox
programme.
2009: A
half-century after his untimely demise, Los Angeles officially declares today
Ritchie Valens Day.
