March 22

Birthdays

1936: Roger Whittaker (Singer)

1936: Glen Campbell (Country Singer)

1943: Keith Relf (Yardbirds)

1943: George Benson (Jazz Artist)

1944: Jeremy Clyde (Chad and Jeremy)

1947: Patrick Olive (Hot Chocolate)

1948: Andrew Lloyd Webber (Composer)

1948: Randy Hobbs (The McCoys)

1955: James House (Country Singer)

1957: Stephanie Mills (Singer)

1963: Susanne Sulley (Singer The Human League)

1968: Mickey Dale (Keyboards for Embrace)

1977: Johnny Otto (Drummer in Limp Bizkit)

1979: Aaron Wright North (Guitarist for Nine Inch Nails)

1980: Shannon Bex (Singer in Danity Kane)

1981: Shawn Mims (Rapper)

Events

1956: While driving to New York for appearances on 'The Perry Como Show' and 'The Ed Sullivan Show', the car that Carl Perkins was traveling in was involved in an accident putting Perkins in hospital for several months. The singer received four broken ribs and a broken shoulder, his brother Jay was killed in the accident.

1958: Hank Williams Jr. makes his stage debut, at the age of eight, singing on stage in Swainsboro, GA.

1962: 19-year-old Barbra Streisand becomes an instant celebrity when she stars in the Broadway play I Can Get It For You Wholesale.

1963:  Beatles release 1st album, "Please Please Me" in the U.K.

1965:  Bob Dylan's first electric album "Bring it All Back Home" was released.

1967: Elvis Presley begins filming his 25th movie, Clambake, in Los Angeles.

1967: The Who make their US stage debut, performing at the Paramount Theater in New York City.

1971: The Allman Brothers are arrested at a truck stop in Jackson, AL, and charged with possession of marijuana and heroin.

1975: Barry Manilow makes his first US television appearance, performing "Mandy" and "It's A Miracle" on ABC-TV's American Bandstand.

1975: Frankie Valli went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'My Eyes Adored You', his first solo No.1.

1975: Led Zeppelin started a six week run at No.1 on the US album chart with 'Physical Graffiti', the group's fourth US No.1 album.

1976: While campaigning for US President, Jimmy Carter tells NARM (The National Association of Record Merchandisers) that he listened to Dylan, the Grateful Dead, and Led Zeppelin while Governor of Georgia.

1977: ABC-TV airs the John Denver special Thank God I'm A Country Boy.

1978: The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash, a Beatles parody special that grew out of sketches on ex-Monty Python member Eric Idle's show Rutland Weekend Television, gets its first US airing on ABC-TV.

1978: The Police signed to A&M Records.

1979: Chaka Khan gives birth to her second child, Damien Milton Patrick Holland.

1980: Pink Floyd's 'Another Brick In The Wall', started a four week run at No.1 on the US singles chart. Also No.1 in the UK.

1991: Dave Guard (The Kingston Trio) dies of cancer at the age of 56.

1992: Polygram Records officially announced that Tears For Fears had split up, Roland Orzabal continued using the name Tears For Fears.

1994: Dan Hartman, singer of the 80’s hit “I Can Dream About You” and member of The Edgar Winter Group and wrote their hit “Free Ride”, dies of a brain tumor resulting from AIDS at the age of 43.

1994: Ted Nugent, always a straight arrow, makes a PSA warning kids of the dangers of abusing inhalants.

1996: Don Murray, drummer for The Turtles, dies after an ulcer surgery.

1997: Paul McCartney's original birth certificate is sold to a private Beatles collector for $84,146.

1997: Marilyn Manson stopped a show in Honolulu, Hawaii, short after falling onstage and severing an artery in his hand.

1997: Puff Daddy featuring Mase started a six week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Can't Nobody Hold Me Down', his first US No.1

2000: An audience member falls 90 feet off of an electrical tower at a KISS concert in at California's Oakland Arena.

2004: Ozzy Osbourne was voted the nation's favourite ambassador to welcome aliens to planet Earth. The 55 year old singer topped a Yahoo poll as the face people wanted to represent them to alien life.

2005: Rod Price of Foghat died after falling down a stairway at his home after suffering a heart attack.

2006: Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler's upcoming throat surgery forces the band to cancel their latest tour.

March 21

Birthdays

1685: Johann Sebastian Bach (Composer)

1902: Son House (Blues Artist)

1930: Otis Spann (Blues Pianost)

1940: Solomon Burke (R&B Singer)

1945: Rosemary Stone (Sly and the Family Stone)

1946: Ray Dorset (Mungo Jerry)

1949: Eddie Money (Singer)

1950: Roger Hodgson (Supertramp)

1951: Russell Thompkins Jr. (The Stylistics)

1953: Robert Johnson (KC and the Sunshine Band)

1967: Keith Palmer (vocals for The Prodigy)

1980: Deryck 'Bizzy D' Whibley (Guitar & vocals for Sum 41)

Events

1939: "God Bless America" was recorded by Kate Smith.

1952: At the Cleveland Arena, influential DJ Alan Freed holds what is today considered the first true "rock and roll concert," as his Moondog Coronation Ball features Billy Ward and the Dominoes, Tiny Grimes, and Paul Williams and the Hucklebuckers. With ten thousand attendees (and twice that many outside, waiting to get in), the local police shut the concert down prematurely for fire code violations, causing a near-riot.

1956: After performing in Norfolk, VA (with Gene Vincent opening), and en route to New York to appear on The Perry Como Show, Carl Perkins is badly injured in a Dover, DE car crash that also kills his manager and his brother Jay. The crash derails Perkins career, almost for good, as he is forced to spend months in the hospital nursing a fractured neck, broken collarbone, and a severe concussion, while Elvis Presley has an ever bigger hit with Carl's hit "Blue Suede Shoes."

1961: The Beatles, still featuring Pete Best on drums, play their first evening gig at Liverpool's Cavern Club, opening for an act called The Bluegenes (later the Swinging Blue Jeans of "Hippy Hippy Shake" fame).

1963: Barbra Streisand marries her first husband, actor Elliott Gould, whom she'd met while both were performing in the Broadway hit I Can Get It for You Wholesale.

1964: Dean Martin immortalizes his handprints in the cement of Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.

1967: John Lennon takes his first major LSD trip and freaks out while recording backing vocals on the track "Getting Better." Producer George Martin, not realizing the effects of the drug, takes Lennon to the roof of Abbey Road Studios to get some fresh air. Paul and George, upon learning where John was, rush up to get him down. The group works on a piano track for "Lovely Rita" instead.

1970:  Faces, with new lead singer Rod Stewart, released their first LP, "First Step."

1970:  "ABC" by the Jackson Five was release

1973: After screaming teenage David Cassidy fangirls cause a riot on the set of the BBC TV show Top Of The Pops, the program bans all future teen idols from performing.

1976: David Bowie and Iggy Pop are arrested in New York and charged with marijuana possession, charges which are later dropped.

1976: Singer Claudine Longet, formerly the wife of Andy Williams, shot her boyfriend, world skiing champion Spider Sabich Sabich had tried to throw her and her three children out of his house. Longet was arrested for manslaughter.

1984: John Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, dedicates a section of New York City's Central Park as a place of meditation called Strawberry Fields. Every December 9, thousands of fans converge on the spot to remember her last husband, who was murdered by a deranged fan on that day in 1980.

1987:  U2 released the album "The Joshua Tree".

1989:  Madonna's album "Like A Prayer" was released.

1991: Leo Fender, the inventor of The Telecaster and Stratocaster guitars died from Parkinson's disease. He started mass producing solid body electric guitars in the late 40s and when he sold his guitar company in 1965, sales were in excess of $40 million a year.

1992: Former nude model Vanessa Williams started a five week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Save The Best To Last”.

1994: Bruce Springsteen wins an Oscar for penning the song "Streets Of Philadelphia" for the Tom Hanks movie Philadelphia.

1996: Guitarist with The Stone Roses John Squire quit the band. He broke the news to the other three members over the phone.

1997: Snoop Doggy Dog was sentenced to three years probation and fined $1,000 for a firearms violation after a handgun was found in his car when he was stopped for a traffic violation.

2001: Eminem was ordered to pay $476,000 as part of his divorce agreement with his ex-wife Kim. Also as part of the agreement Eminem would keep the “US mansion” and they would share custody of their five-year-old daughter, Hailie Jade.

2003: Roxy Music's Bryan Ferry divorces his first wife, model Lucy Helmore, after 21 years, on grounds of adultery.

2008: Five years of legal wrangling comes to a close after the Beach Boys' Mike Love and Brian Wilson sued former member Al Jardine in an attempt to stop him from using the name while touring with his own band. Jardine's lawyer, while not disclosing the terms of the agreement, said his client "feels very happy and feels that this is a friendly settlement that allows them to focus on the talent and future of this American iconic band," words that have Beach Boys fans hopeful for the possibility of a full-scale group reunion.

March 20

Birthdays

1918: Marian McPartland (Jazz Pianist)

1937: Jerry Reed (Country Singer)

1949: Jimmie Vaughan (Fabulous Thunderbirds)

1950: Carl Palmer (Emerson, Lake and Palmer)

1951: Jimmie Vaughan (The Fabulous Thunderbirds)

1953: Poison Ivy (Kristy Wallace) (guitar for The Cramps)

1956: Fonso Martin (Steel Pulse)

1961: Slim Jim Phantom (drums for The Stray Cats)

1972: Alex Kapranos (Vocals for Franz Ferdinand)

1976: Chester Bennington (Vocals for Linkin Park)

1982:  Nick Wheeler (Guitarist for All-Amercian Rejects)

Events

1959: Dick Clark protege and teen idol Bobby Rydell makes his first television appearance, naturally enough, on ABC-TV's American Bandstand.

1960: Elvis Presley started his first recordings since being discharged from the US Army. A 12 hour session in a Nashville recording studio produced his next No.1 single, ‘Stuck On You’. Scotty Moore and Bill Black, who had quit Presley's touring band in 1957, were in the studio with him for the last time.

1961: Elvis Presley begins filming his ninth movie, Blue Hawaii, on location.

1964: The Beatles make their first appearance on the British television show Ready Steady Go!, miming along, as was the custom, to "Can't Buy Me Love," "It Won't Be Long," and "You Can't Do That." They were also presented with a special award from US magazine Billboard, in recognition of The Beatles having the top three singles on the chart simultaneously.

1965: After a celebratory formal street parade, Motown's first UK package tour begins at Finsbury Park Astoria, in London, featuring The Supremes, The Temptations, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, and Martha & the Vandellas.

1968: In Los Angeles, Eric Clapton and three members of Buffalo Springfield -- Neil Young, Jim Messina, and Richie Furay -- are arrested for suspicion of marijuana use. The band members are eventually found guilty and fined, while Clapton beats the charges.

1969: After days of looking for a suitable and legal place, John Lennon finally gets to marry Yoko Ono at the Rock of Gibraltar in Spain, a piece of land still owned by the English and described by Lennon as being necessarily "quiet, friendly, and British." Later, in the Beatles song "The Ballad Of John And Yoko," he describes the site as "Gibraltar, near Spain," unintentionally setting off an international furor, as England and Spain were currently at odds over ownership of the area.

1970: David and Angela Bowie were married at Beckenham Registry Office, London. They were divorced in 1980.

1971: Janis Joplin started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with the Kris Kristofferson's 'Me And Bobby McGee'. Joplin died the year before on 4th October aged 27.

1971:  At their own expense The Rolling Stones placed full page advertisements in all the UK's music papers disclaiming any connection with the release of the Decca album 'Stone Age' saying 'in our opinion the content is below the standard we try to keep.'

1976: Alice Cooper marries his first and only wife, Sheryl Goddard, a 19-year-old dancer on his Welcome To My Nightmare tour.

1977: T. Rex plays what is to be their last concert before the untimely death of leader Marc Bolan in a car accident, a gig at Portsmouth, England club The Locarno.

1980: Joseph Riviera, 28, a truck driver from New York, breaks into the offices of record label Asylum, takes the office manager hostage, and demands to see label artists Jackson Browne and/or The Eagles so that they can help finance his trucking business. After he realizes the artists in question aren't actually in the building, he surrenders to police.

1982: Joan Jett And The Blackhearts started a seven week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'I Love Rock 'n' Roll'.

1984: Slim Jim Phantom (Stray Cats) married Britt Ekland.

1988: Gil Evans (Jazz musician) Dies.

1989: After 37 years on the air, Dick Clark announces he will discontinue hosting his creation, ABC-TV's highly influential American Bandstand. The show continues with another host, but folds for good soon after.

1990: Gloria Estefan’s tour bus was rammed by a tractor-trailer on the way to a concert. Emilio Estefan and their son Nayib were injured; Gloria suffered a serious back injury, which required an operation two days later.

1991: Eric Clapton's son Conor, all of four years old, dies after falling from the 53rd story window of his mother's apartment in New York. (The guitarist was staying at a hotel not far away, having taken Conor to the circus the night before.) A shaken Clapton later writes the hit song "Tears In Heaven" as a way to help him through the grief.

2004: The University of Washington presents Quincy Jones with an honorary doctorate in Music.

March 19

Birthdays

1930: Ornette Coleman (Jazz Musician)

1930: Bill Henderson (Jazz Musician)

1937: Clarence "Frogman" Henry

1942: Robin Luke (Rockabilly Artist)

1946: Ruth Pointer (The Pointer Sisters)

1946: Paul Atkinson (The Zombies)

1953: Ricky Wilson (guitarist for The B-52's)

1953: Billy Sheehan (bass guitarist for Mr. Big)

1955: Derek Longmuir (The Bay City Rollers)

1959: Terry Hall (vocals for The Specials)

1983: Carrie Underwood (Country Singer)

Events

1958: "Our Song" was released by Tom and Jerry. Later they used their real names, which were Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel.

1962:  Bob Dylan released his self-titled debut album.

1964: British PM Harold Wilson, who would later be satirized in the band's song "Taxman," presents the Beatles with the award for being "Show Business Personalities of 1963" at the Variety Club of Great Britain Annual Show Business Awards.

1965: Britain's Tailor and Cutter magazine runs an article by tie makers asking the Rolling Stones to start wearing ties with their suits, a fashion which had recently gone out of style among the youth. Mick Jagger responds, diplomatically, that ties would only give screaming female fans something else to grab onto in a crowd.

1966: Lesley Gore guest stars as herself on the final "By Line -- Jeffrey Stone" episode of ABC-TV's The Donna Reed Show.

1970: David Bowie marries model Mary Angela Barnett, his first wife and the eventual subject of the Rolling Stones' 1974 hit, "Angie," in Kent, England.

1974: Jefferson Airplane reform with the core of their original members, rechristening themselves Jefferson Starship.

1976: Paul Kossoff of Free dies from drug-related heart problems.

1978: Billy Joel plays his first live gig in the UK, performing at London's Drury Lane Theatre.

1980: Elvis Presley's autopsy is entered into proceedings held by the Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners against Dr. George Nichopoulos, better known to his clients -- including Elvis -- as "Dr. Nick." The doctor will eventually be found guilty of overprescribing the drugs that led to The King's death and will have his license revoked, even though he repeatedly took measures to cure Presley of his addiction.

1982: Ozzy Osbourne's rhythm guitarist and former Quiet Riot member Randy Rhoads was killed when the plane he was riding in crashed.

1985:  "Spin Magazine" began publishing.

1988: Michael Jackson begins construction on his 2,800-acre ranch and private amusement park in Santa Barbara, CA, which he will name "Neverland" after a fantasy location in his favorite book, Peter Pan, a place where children never grow up.

1993 - Drummer Jeff Ward (Nine Inch Nails) was found dead in his home in Chicago. It was believed he had committed suicide.

1999:  George Jones left the hospital after being severely injured in a car accident on March 6, 1999.

2001: Former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell's London home was broken into. The intruder left obscene notes on the walls, stole the singer's computer and stereo and had thrown milk and Ribena fruit drink on the walls. They also stole a necklace that used to belong to actress Liz Taylor.

2004: After she has an allergic reaction to antibiotics, Aretha Franklin is admitted to Detroit's Sinai-Grace Hospital.

2005: 50 Cent became the first solo artist to have three singles in the US Top 5. ‘Candy Shop’ was at No.1 with ‘How We Do’ by The Game, (a member of his G-Unit group) at No.4 and ‘Disco Inferno’ at No.5.

2007: Luther Ingram dies of heart failure.

March 18

Birthdays

1936:  Robert Lee Smith (The Tams)

1938:  Charlie Pride (Country Singer)

1941:  Wilson Pickett  (Soul Singer)

1947:  Barry J Wilson (drums for Procol Harum)

1950:  John Hartman (The Doobie Brothers)

1959:  Irene Cara (Singer)

1961:  Grant Hart (Husker Du)

1963:   Vanessa Williams (Singer)

1964:   Courtney Pine (Jazz Musician)

1966:   Jerry Cantrell (Alice In Chains)

1970:   Queen Latifah (Singer & Rapper)

1974:   Stuart Zender (Bass for Jamiroquai)

1979:   Adam Levine (guitar & vocals for Maroon 5)

Events

1939:  Frank Sinatra made his first recording, a song called ‘Our Love’, with the Frank Mane band.

1958: Jerry Lee Lewis becomes the first musician to appear on American Bandstand actually singing and not lip-synching his performance. Singing "Great Balls Of Fire," "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On," and "Breathless" live, he also becomes the first guest to perform three songs on the program.

1959:  EMI Records in the UK announced that it had now stopped all production of 78 rpm discs.

1965: The Rolling Stones were each fined $8.50 for urinating in a public place. The incident took place at a petrol station after a gig in Romford, Essex, England.

1965, John Lennon gave his friend and ex-Quarry Man Pete Shotton $35,000 to open Hayling Supermarkets. Lennon, George Harrison and Shotton became joint directors of Hayling Supermarkets Ltd.

1967:  The UK music magazine New Musical Express announced that former Spence Davis Group member Steve Winwood was planning to form a new group with Jim Capaldi, Chris Wood and Dave Mason. The ensemble would choose the name Traffic.

1967:  Pink Floyd signed to EMI Records in the UK.

1967:  The Beatles scored their 13th US No.1 single with 'Penny Lane.'

1972:  Neil Young started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Heart Of Gold'. His only Top 20 hit as a solo artist reached No.10 on the UK chart.

1973: At Earl's Court in London, Pink Floyd perform their just-released album Dark Side Of The Moon in its entirety for the first time.

1974:  Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band played the first of eight shows over four nights at Gertie’s in Dallas, Texas.

1975: Ken Russell's bizarre and controversial film of the Who's rock opera Tommy premieres in New York.

1976:  The Film 'The Man Who Fell To Earth' featuring David Bowie premiered in London.

1977:  The Clash released their debut single 'White Riot.' It peaked at No.38 on the UK charts.

1978:  The Bee Gees had the Top 3 on the US singles charts, 'Night Fever' at No.1, '(Love is) Thicker Than Water', by brother Andy at No.2, co-written by Barry Gibb and 'Emotion' by Samantha Song written and produced by The Bee Gees at No.3.

1982:  Driving home from a basketball game in Philadelphia, soul singer Teddy Pendergrass crashed his Rolls Royce severely injuring his spinal cord.

1991:  After attending an in-store promo appearance U2 were fined $850 after being found guilty of selling condoms illegally at the Virgin Megastore, Dublin.

1992:  Donna Summer received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

1994:  Four guns and 25 boxes of ammo were confiscated from Kurt Cobain after his wife, Courtney Love, called police fearing he was going to commit suicide. He did commit suicide about 3 weeks later.

1994: Darryl Jones replaces longtime bassist Bill Wyman in the Rolling Stones.

1996:  The Sex Pistols announced their comeback at the 100 Club in London, 20 years after they had split.

1997:  Joni Mitchell announced that she had reunited with a daughter she had given up for adoption many years earlier.

2001:  John Phillips of Mamas and The Papas died of heart failure aged 65. .

2002:  The Ramones were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Eddie Vedder, lead singer of Pearl Jam and close friend of the Ramones. The ceremony took place at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City.

2002:  In Concord, CA, about 1,500 teenagers swarmed a music store to get autographs from the R&B band B2K. The Sun Valley Mall was temporarily shut down due to the unexpectedly large crowd.

2002: In New York, Isaac Hayes, Brenda Lee, and Gene Pitney (among others) are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

2004:  Courtney Love exposed her breasts during an appearance on David Letterman's TV talk show. The singer who had her back to the audience flashed at the presenter while singing the song Danny Boy. After the show, she went on to perform a surprise gig at the Plaid night-club in Manhattan where she was alleged to have injured a man by throwing a microphone stand into the crowd. Ms. Love was charged with assault and reckless endangerment.