March 16

Births

1942: Jerry Jeff Walker (Country Singer / Songwriter)

1948:  Michael Bruce (guitarist for Alice Cooper Band)

1949: Erik Estrada (Ponch)

1954:  Nancy Wilson (Guitar for Heart)

1959:  Flavor Flav  (William Jonathan Drayton, Jr ) (Rapper in Public Enemy)

1964:  Patty Griffin (Singer / Songwriter)

1972:  Andy Dunlop (Lead Guitar for Travis)

Events

1964:  The Beatles set a new record for advance sales in the U.S. with 2,100,000 copies of their latest single 'Can't Buy Me Love.'

1965:  The Beatles continue filming in Austria for their second movie, Help! They completed the "ski lift" segment of the film.

1968:  The posthumously released Otis Redding single 'Sittin' On The Dock Of The Bay', started a five week run at No.1 on the US chart, (a No.3 hit the UK). Otis was killed in a plane crash on 10th December 1967 three days after recording the song.

1970:  Motown singer Tammi Terrell died of a brain tumor at the age of 24.  She had collapsed onstage on October 14, 1967 into Marvin Gaye's arms during a concert in Hampton, Virginia.

1971:  Winners at this years Grammy Awards included, Simon and Garfunkel who won Record of the year, Song of the year and Album of the year for 'Bridge Over Troubled Water', The Carpenters won Best new act and Best vocal performance.

1972:  John Lennon lodged an appeal with the US immigration office in New York, after he was served with deportation orders arising from his 1968 cannabis possession conviction.

1974:  During a US tour, Elvis Presley played the first of four nights at the Midsouth Coliseum in Memphis Tennessee. This was the first time Elvis had played in Memphis since 1961.

1977:  After being with the label for just six days The Sex Pistols were fired from A&M due to pressure from other label artists and its Los Angeles head office.  25,000 copies of ‘God Save The Queen’ were pressed and the band made $127,500 from the deal.

1979:  Twisted Sister became the first band to sell out New York City's Palladium without ever releasing a record. The band did not sign a record deal until 3 years later.

1989:  MTV America launched a contest to give away Jon Bon Jovi's childhood home.

1991:  Seven members of Country singer Reba McEntire's band and her road manager were among 10 people who were killed when their private jet crashed in California just north of the Mexican border.  McEntire, who had given a private concert in San Diego for IBM employees the night before, was not on the plane.

1992:  During a Metallica gig at an Orlando Arena, fans dangled an usher by his ankles from the balcony as trouble broke out at the concert. The band was charged $38,000 for repairs and cleaning after the audience trashed the building.

1996:  The Ramones performed what they claimed would be their last ever date in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

1999 - The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) presented the first Diamond Awards. The awards are given in recognition of albums and singles that have sold 10 million copies or more.

2005:  Billy Joel checked into a rehabilitation center for alcohol abuse.  A statement from the 55-year-old singer's spokesperson put his latest problems down to "a recent bout of severe gastrointestinal distress."

2010:  Abba were inducted into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, along with Genesis and The Hollies.

March 15

Births

1912: Lightnin' Hopkins (Blues Artist)

1916: Harry James (Jazz Trumpeter & Bandleader)

1931: D.J. Fontana (Drummer for Elvis)

1940: Phil Lesh (Bass for The Grateful Dead)

1941: Mike Love (Singer / Songwriter in The Beach Boys)

1944: Sly Stone (Funk Keyboardist & Singer)

1946: Howard Scott (Guitar for War)

1947: Ry Cooder (Guitarist & Singer)

1955: Dee Snider (Singer for Twisted Sister)

1962: Terence Trent D'arby (Singer)

1963: Bret Michaels (Singer for Poison)

1964: Rockwell (Kennedy William Gordy) (R&B Singer)

1968: Mark McGrath (Singer for Sugar Ray)

1968: Jon Schaffer (Guitar for Iced Earth)

1968: John Tardy (Singer for Obituary)

1972: Mark Hoppus (Bass & Vocals for Blink 182)

1975: Will.i.am (Producer & Rapper in Black Eyed Peas)

1977: Joe Hahn (DJ for Linkin Park)

1981: Young Buck (David Darnell Brown) (Rapper)

Events

1929: Blues artist Pinetop Smith dies from a gunshot wound in a dance-hall fight in Chicago.

1945 : Billboard magazine began listing a top albums chart. The first #1 was "The Nat King Cole Trio.

1955: Elvis Presley signed a management contract with Colonel Tom Parker.

1958: Elvis Presley performs his last concert before leaving for the Army, a show at Memphis' Russwood Park. Aside from two benefit shows in 1961, this would be the last Presley concert until 1969.

1966: Tonight's winners at the Grammy Awards in New York City: Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass for "A Taste Of Honey" (Record Of The Year), Frank Sinatra's September Of My Years (Album Of The Year), and "The Shadow Of Your Smile" (Song Of The Year).

1968:  "LIFE" magazine called Jimi Hendrix "the most spectacular guitarist in the world."

1969: John Lennon and Yoko Ono, attempting to marry in Paris, are caught "standing in the dock at Southampton / Trying to get to Holland or France," as later documented in the Beatles song "The Ballad Of John And Yoko." Passport problems keep them from boarding.

1971: CBS-TV announces it will cancel The Ed Sullivan Show, then the longest-running TV show in history, after 23 years.

1972: After Los Angeles station KHJ’s DJ Robert W. Morgan broadcasts Donny Osmond's version of "Puppy Love" for 25 1/2 hours straight, worried callers summon the local police, who break into the studio, convinced that hippies or anarchists have taken it over. Turns out it was just a publicity stunt.

1975: Mick Jagger settles his paternity suit with singer Marsha Hunt out of court.

1975 :  The group T. Rex disbanded.

1975: The Doobie Brothers went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Black Water', the group's first of two US No.1's.

1976: KISS Destroyer is released.

1978: The Alan Freed biopic American Hot Wax, widely considered one of the best rock and roll movies of all time, premieres in New York City, featuring appearances and performances by Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry, and Screamin' Jay Hawkins.

1982: Bob Dylan is inducted, somewhat belatedly, into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame.

1986: The Bangles were at No.2 on the UK singles chart with 'Manic Monday', a song written by Prince under the pseudonym Christopher, it also made No.2 in the US, held of No.1 by Prince with 'Kiss'.

1989: The Rolling Stones sign a contract for $70 million -- the largest ever amount to that time -- for their upcoming 50 date US tour.

1999: The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inducts Curtis Mayfield, Del Shannon, Dusty Springfield, Paul McCartney, The Staple Singers, Billy Joel, and Bruce Springsteen at their annual ceremony in New York City. Marking their reunion after ten years, Springsteen performs at the ceremony with the E Street Band.

2003: Brad Paisley marries "According To Jim" star Kimberly Williams in Malibu, California.

2004: The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inducts Bob Seger, George Harrison, The Dells, ZZ Top, Jackson Browne, Prince, and Traffic at their annual ceremony in New York City.

2004: Former Crazy Town guitarist Rust Epique died of heart failure from an apparent heart attack at his home in Las Vegas. Epique was 35.

2004:  A federal judge denied Axl Rose's request for a restraining order to block the release of a Guns ‘N’ Roses greatest hits collection. Rose sued because he said he had not approved the album.

2005: former Stone Roses singer Ian Brown was arrested after a fight during a concert in San Francisco after a fan jumped on stage and attacked the singer, who then became involved in a fracas with a security guard. Brown was arrested at his hotel after the show at the Great American Music Hall but released without charge.

2006: Remnants of Fats Domino's three pianos are discovered and saved by the Louisiana State Museum after attempting to salvage his Ninth Ward home after Hurricane Katrina.

2010: Sony Music announced the biggest recording deal in history with the estate of Michael Jackson worth more than $200 m. The deal involved 10 album projects over seven years including one of previously unreleased material. Sony had sold about 31 million copies of Jackson's albums worldwide since his death on 25 June, 2009.

2011: Casey Royer, the former drummer for Social Distortion, was charged today with one count of child endangerment and one count of being under the influence of heroin after OD'ing on the drug in front of his 12-year-old son while the two watched TV at home.

2011 Nate Dogg, the California rapper whose real name is Nathaniel D. Hale, died at the age of 41 of complications from multiple strokes.

March 14

Births

1804: Johann I Strauss ( Composer )

1912: Les Brown (Bandleader)

1922: Les Baxter (Composer)

1933: Quincy Jones (Producer & Trumpet Player)

1943: Jim Pons (Bass for The Turtles & Mothers Of Invention)

1945: Walter Parazaider (Sax for Chicago)

1945: Michael Martin Murphy (Country Singer / Songwriter)

1950: Rick Dees (Radio DJ and performed “Disco Duck”)

1952: David Byrne (Singer for Talking Heads & Solo)

1961: Gary Dell'Abate (Producer of Howard Stern Show)

1969: Michael Bland (Drummer for New Power Generation & Soul Asylum)

1970: Kristian Bush (Vocals & Guitar for Billy Pilgrim & Sugarland)

1983:  Taylor Hanson (Vocals & Keyboards for Hanson)

1989:  Colby O'Donis (R&B Singer)

Events

1955: Popular country star Jimmy Dean interviews Elvis Presley on Dean's Washington, DC television show Town and Country Time. A nervous Elvis answers every question with "yep" and "nope."

1955: CBS talent scout Arthur Godfrey turned down the chance to sign Elvis Presley, instead at the same audition he signed singer Pat Boone.

1956: The Alan Freed film Rock Around The Clock, starring The Platters and, naturally, Bill Haley and His Comets, premieres in New York City.

1958: The RIAA awards its first-ever gold record for sales of a million copies, the honor going to Perry Como's "Catch A Falling Star."

1960: Sam Cooke begins an unprecedented tour of the West Indies with a concert in Jamaica's Montego Bay.

1965: Petula Clark makes her American TV debut singing "Downtown" and "I Know A Place" on CBS-TV's Ed Sullivan Show.

1968: The BBC-TV program Top Of The Pops broadcasts the Beatles' new promotional video for "Lady Madonna," which, oddly enough, is made up entirely of clips from the band's recording of "Hey Bulldog."

1970: Mary Ann Ganser (The Shangri-Las) dies.  The cause of her death has been variously reported as encephalitis a seizure disorder, and barbiturates.

1972: At tonight's Grammy Awards, Carole King's massively popular Tapestry LP is awarded Album of The Year.

1974: Stevie Wonder announces his intention to move to Ghana, Africa. He wouldn't actually move there for 21 years.

1980: On the occasion of his forty-seventh birthday, Quincy Jones is awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1500 Vine.

1981: Bleeding ulcers force Eric Clapton to cancel the remainder of his 60-date US tour and check himself into a hospital in St. Paul, MN.  He was back in hospital five weeks later after being involved in a car crash.

1982: Metallica made their live debut when they appeared at Radio City in Anaheim, California.

1983: Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora and Alec John Such formed Bon Jovi.

1984: Annie Lennox married Hare Krishna devotee Radha Raman. They started divorce proceedings the following year.

1984: Rainbow played their last ever gig as a band when they performed in Japan.

1985: Dead Or Alive were kicked off the UK music television show 'The Tube', after admitting they were incapable of playing 'live.'

1990: Flea and Chad Smith from The Red Hot Chili Peppers were arrested for sexually harassing a woman on Daytona Beach, Florida. They were each fined $1,000.

1992: A phony bomb threat disrupts a Jay and the Americans concert in Long Island, New York.

1992 – Willie Nelson’s Farm Aid V was attended by about 40,000 people in Irving, TX with performances by Neil Young, John Mellencamp, Joe Walsh, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Lorrie Morgan, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Ricky Van Shelton, The Kentucky HeadHunters, Hal Ketchum and Paul Simon.

1995: with the release of 'Me Against the World' Tupac Shakur became the first male solo artist to have a No.1 album on the Billboard chart while in prison.

1998 – Ray Charles made his first solo performance in 53 years on the television shopping network QVC.

2004: DJ Casper went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Cha Cha Slide.' DJ Casper developed the Cha Cha Slide in 1996 for Bally Total Fitness and it became a hit with gym members.

2005: In New York City, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducts Percy Sledge, The O'Jays, U2, Buddy Guy, and the Pretenders.