October 17

Births

1941: Jim Seals (Singer in Seals and Crofts)

1942: Gary Puckett (Guitar & Vocals in Gary Puckett & The Union Gap)

1958: Alan Jackson (Country Singer)

1967: Allen West (Guitarist for Obituary & Cause of Death)

1968: Ziggy Marley (Singer in Ziggy Marley & The Melody Makers)

1969: Wyclef Jean (Rapper in The Fugees & Solo)

1977: Chris Kirkpatrick (Singer in *NSYNC)

1972: Eminem (Marshall Mathers) (Rapper)

Events

1945: Ava Gardner marries her second husband, bandleader Artie Shaw.

1957: Elvis' third film, Jailhouse Rock, has its world premiere at the Loews State Theatre in Memphis, TN -- the same moviehouse where Elvis had his first job as an usher just five years earlier.

1960: Dion and the Belmonts' breakup becomes official when it is reported in Billboard magazine. Lead singer Dion DiMucci claims the group's not bluesy enough; the band claims Dion just wants a taste of solo fame.

1962: The Beatles make their very first television appearance anywhere when part of their afternoon show at the Cavern in Liverpool is broadcast live on Granada television's People And Places. The band performs two songs: "Some Other Guy" and "Love Me Do."

1967: Phil Spector, Tommy Boyce, and Bobby Hart all guest star on tonight's "Jeannie, The Hip Hippie" episode of NBC-TV's I Dream of Jeannie.

1969: Paul Kantner of Jefferson Airplane was busted for marijuana possession in Honolulu and was fined $350.

1975: Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees marries his second wife, Yvonne Spencely.

1977: "Street Survivors" was released by Lynyrd Skynyrd. Three days later vocalist Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, Cassie Gaines (Steve's sister) and road manager Dean Kilpatrick were killed when their plane crashed in Gillsburg, MS. The other four members of the band were seriously injured but survived the crash.

1981: One man is killed and another injured in an attempted burglary of Rolling Stones ticket offices in Maryland.

1995: Sting's former accountant Keith Moore was sentenced to six years in jail after being found guilty of embezzling $9.4 Million from the singer's 108 bank accounts.

1996: Drummer for Lush Chris Acland committed suicide by hanging himself in his parents' house in Burneside, Cumbria.

1999: Having been diagnosed with a severe case of pneumonia, Johnny Cash is admitted to Baptist Hospital in Nashville.

2000: At a charity auction organized by Mick Fleetwood in London, singer George Michael pays one and a half million pounds for the upright piano on which John Lennon wrote the 1971 hit "Imagine."

2001: Jay-Z was sentenced to three years probation after he pled guilty to misdemeanor assault charges for stabbing a record producer during a fight in a nightclub on December 1, 1999.

2005: Fats Domino returns to his Ninth Ward home for the first time since Hurricane Katrina to find it utterly destroyed, with his piano and several of his gold records among the ruined items.

2006: Tim McGraw receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His honor is located at 6901 Hollywood Boulevard, in front of the Virgin Records store.

2007: The section of West Grand Blvd. in Detroit, MI, that once housed the Motown studios is officially renamed "Berry Gordy Jr. Boulevard."

2007: California claims singer and resident Dionne Warwick owes $2.67 million in unpaid taxes.

2008: Madonna and Guy Ritchie announced that their seven-year marriage was over because they had drifted apart.

October 15

Births

1946: Richard Carpenter (Piano in The Carpenters)

1948: Chris DeBurgh (Pop Singer)

1953: Tito Jackson (Lead Guitar & Vocals in The Jacksons)

1975: Ginuwine (Elgin Lumpkin) (R&B Singer)

Events

1960: While in Hamburg, The Beatles back Wally Eymond, the guitarist for Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, on his version of George Gershwin's "Summertime." As Beatles drummer Pete Best is absent from the session, the band plays with Rory Storm's drummer, Ringo Starr. This is the first known recording of the group together, though the master is lost to history; two years later, the group would hire Ringo permanently.

1964: Cole Porter died of kidney failure at the age of 73 in Santa Monica, California.

1965: Mike Love of the Beach Boys marries his second wife, Suzanne Celeste Belcher, in Las Vegas.

1965: Jimi Hendrix signs his first recording contract -- for one dollar plus one percent of his royalties.

1968: The former New Yardbirds, now known as Led Zeppelin, perform their first gig under that name at England's Surrey University.

1969: Famed blues singer Howlin' Wolf suffers his first non-fatal heart attack.

1971: Rick Nelson (formerly Ricky) is invited to perform at the Seventh Annual Rock 'n' Roll Revival Show, an oldies concert held at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Debuting some of his newer, country-rock material with his Stone Canyon Band, Nelson is booed by the audience; the experience so unnerves the former teen idol that he goes home and pens a song about the experience, puckishly entitled "Garden Party." Ironically, in 1972 it will become his first US Top Ten hit since 1963's "For You."

1973: The Rolling Stones' Keith Richards is found guilty in Nice, France, of possessing and intending to distribute both marijuana and heroin. He receives a one-year suspended sentence, is fined 5,000 francs, and is forbidden from entering the country for two years.

1976: Ike and Tina Turner split their musical act.

1980: For the first time ever, London's legendary Abbey Road Studios auctions off thousands of dollars of equipment, including some used on Beatles recordings.

1991: Creedence Clearwater Revival leader John Fogerty is the proud father of son Shane Cody, his fourth child.

1995: Paul and Linda McCartney make a memorable appearance on tonight's "Lisa The Vegetarian" episode of FOX's The Simpsons, doing their voiceovers only on condition that the Lisa character stay a vegetarian forever after.

1997: Patricia Ann Richardson filed suit against Snoop Doggy Dogg, his former manager Sharita Knight, and Death Row Records for allegedly tricking her into transporting packages of marijuana to a venue where Snoop Doggy Dogg was performing.

2003: Dave Clark Five lead singer Mike Smith suffers a tragic fall from a ladder at his home in Spain, leaving him without any movement in three limbs. He would remain a near-quadriplegic until his death in 2008 from pneumonia, a complication of the original injury.

October 14

Births

1927: Roger Moore (Bond, James Bond)

1946: Justin Hayward (Guitar & Vocals for The Moody Blues)

1958: Thomas Dolby (Singer & Keyboardist)

1961: Mike Tramp (Singer for White Lion)

1974: Natalie Maines (Singer / Songwriter for Dixie Chicks)

1978: Usher (Usher Terry Raymond IV) (R&B Singer)

Events

1955: A young singer and guitarist named Buddy Holly opens for Bill Haley and his Comets in Holly's hometown of Lubbock, TX, impressing Nashville talent scout Eddie Crandell so much he sets him up with studio time for his first demo.

1964: Charlie Watts, drummer for the Rolling Stones, marries his first and only wife, Shirley Ann Shepherd, in Bradford, England. They're still married.

1966: Former R&B cover band Pink Floyd debut an entire set of psychedelic originals at tonight's gig at All Saints Hall in London.

1966: Grace Slick makes her first stage appearance with the band Jefferson Airplane at their Fillmore West gig in San Francisco.

1969: Police in New Jersey issued a warrant for the arrest of Frank Sinatra in relation to his connections with the Mafia.

1971: John Lennon and Yoko Ono appear on ABC-TV's The Dick Cavett Show to promote John's new album Imagine, Yoko's new book, and their upcoming art exhibition.

1971: Music publishing firm, Arco Industries filed a $500,000 dollar lawsuit against Creedance Clearwater Revival's John Fogerty, claiming that Fogerty's song Travelin' Band "containd substantial material copied from Little Richard's Good Golly, Miss Molly". The suit was eventually dropped.

1972: Joe Cocker and six members of his touring band are arrested after a concert in Adelaide, Australia, when police allegedly discover marijuana and heroin in their hotel rooms. The group are not charged but instead given four hours to leave the country.

1977: At the personal request of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Linda Ronstadt sings the US national anthem at the beginning of their third World Series game against the New York Yankees.

1977: Bing Crosby collapsed and died of a massive heart attack after a round of 18 holes of golf near Madrid where he and his Spanish golfing partner had just defeated their opponents. It is widely written that his last words were "That was a great game of golf, fellas.

1990: Multi-Emmy and Grammy award-winning American composer, pianist and conductor, Leonard Bernstein died of pneumonia.

1996: Madonna gave birth to her first child Lourdes Maria Cicone Leon.

1997: Max Steiner's acclaimed score to 1942's legendary film Casablanca is finally released, including selected dialogue and the vocal hit "As Time Goes By."

2003: Former Temptation (and Dramatic, and Lakeside member) Barrington Henderson sues the band and the Motown label for wrongful termination and millions of dollars in alleged unpaid royalties.

2004: Eric Clapton was suspended from driving in France after being caught speeding at 134mph in his Porsche 911 Turbo near Merceuil. He was given $1,000 fine and his license was confiscated. After paying his fine Clapton posed for photographs with French police and then left the scene in his Porsche - with his secretary behind the wheel.

2007: Rapper T.I. was arrested and charged with weapons offences just hours before he was due to perform and collect two awards at the BET Hip-Hop gala in Atlanta. The 27-year-old was arrested in a car park on suspicion of collecting machine guns and silencers bought for him by his bodyguard. His award for CD of the Year was accepted by rapper Common, who jointly won the prize with T.I.

October 13

Births

1941: Paul Simon (Vocals & Guitar in Simon & Garfunkel & Solo)

1947: Sammy Hagar (Singer for Montrose, Van Halen & Solo)

1948: John Ford Coley (Singer, Piano & Guitar in England Dan and John Ford Coley)

1959: Marie Osmond (Pop Singer in The Osmonds)

1960: Joey Belladonna (Lead Singer for Anthrax)

1971: Sacha Baron Cohen (Comedian)

1980: Ashanti Douglas (R&B Singer)

Events

1962: At London's Prince of Wales Theatre, The Everly Brothers' Don Everly collapses from exhaustion during rehearsal for the duo's upcoming tour of the UK. Brother Phil continues the tour alone.

1963: Beatlemania begins as the Beatles appear on the popular BBC television show Sunday Night At The Palladium, performing "She Loves You," "From Me To You," "I'll Get You," and "Twist And Shout." 15 million people in the UK alone watch the live performance on television, while thousands of fans pack nearby Argyll Street to catch a glimpse of the group.

1965: The Who recorded 'My Generation', at Pye studios, London. When released as a single it reached No.2 on the UK chart, held off the No.1 position by The Seekers 'The Carnival Is Over'. Roger Daltrey would later say that he stuttered the lyrics to try to fit them to the music. The BBC initially refused to play the song because it did not want to offend people who stutter.

1968: Florence Ballard, of The Supremes', gives birth to premature twin daughters, Michelle and Nicole.

1970: The ashes of Janis Joplin are scattered into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Stinson Beach in California.

1975: Neil Young undergoes throat surgery in Los Angeles to remove a growth from his vocal cords.

1990: In a move that stuns his longtime fans, Bob Dylan is invited to perform at the West Point US Military Academy. Oddly, he performs his anti-war attack "Masters Of War"; even more strangely, several cadets turn his protest song "Blowin' In The Wind" into a singalong.

1998: Eric Clapton opens his Crossroads detox center in Antigua, charging $9,000 US for a month of rehab.

2000: The Eagles' Don Henley is sued by a fan who claims the singer bashed her on the head with maracas after she tried to take his picture at an Arkansas concert.

2001: Country legend Merle Haggard, who has a history of heart disease, cancels the remainder of his tour after complaining of tightness in his chest.

2002: UK rock band Muse took legal action against Celine Dion after she announced her forthcoming Las Vegas show would be called 'Muse'. Singer Matt Bellamy from the band said 'We don't want anyone to think we're Celine Dion's backing band.'

2004: The US Internal Revenue Service charges Ronald Isley of the Isley Brothers with five counts of tax evasion for failing to report income from 1997-2002. Exactly one year later to the day, he goes on trial in Los Angeles for the charges and is sentenced to three years in prison.

2008: In a video message on his website, Ringo Starr announced that he no longer has time to sign autographs and asked fans not to send him any mail at all. "No more fan mail and no objects to be signed. Nothing."

October 12

Births

1935: Sam Moore (R&B Singer in Sam and Dave)

1935: Luciano Pavarotti (Italian Opera Singer)

1942: Melvin Franklin (Bass Singer in The Temptations)

1955: Pat Dinizio (Guitar & Vocalist for Smithereens)

1958: Jeff Keith (Vocalist for Tesla)

1969: Martie Erwin (Multi-instrumentalist in Dixie Chicks)

Events

1944: What would come to be known as the "Columbus Day Riot" takes place in New York City, when 35,000 hysterical teenage girls crowd the Paramount Theatre for a chance to see the return of crooner Frank Sinatra. The crowd of teen "bobbysoxer" girls halt traffic in Times Square, refuse to leave between shows to the extent of fainting from hunger, and ruin several seats in the theater when several urinate there rather than take a chance on going to the bathroom.

1955: Chrysler introduces the world's first in-car sound systems -- vinyl record players, complete with an assortment of classical records, mounted under the dashboard.

1956: Massively influential DJ Alan Freed's second film, Don't Knock The Rock, starring Little Richard, Bill Haley, and the Treniers, opens in New York.

1957: After a harrowing plane flight on the way to tonight's gig in Sydney, Australia, during which one of the engines catches fire, Little Richard rejects rock and roll for the first time on stage. He tells tonight's crowd, "If you want to live for the Lord, you can't take rock 'n' roll, too. God doesn't like it." After his saxophone player, Clifford Burks, doubts his conviction to the conversion, Richard proves it by tossing his four diamond rings into the nearest river.

1962: The Beatles meet Little Richard for the first time when they open for him at the Tower Ballroom in New Brighton, England. Though Richard apparently finds John and George "rude," he is quite taken with Paul, reportedly to the point of attempting to seduce him. On the same day, the band's first single, "Love Me Do," enters the British charts.

1966: The Moody Blues, still in their first incarnation as a white R&B band, split up.

1966: Sammy Davis Jr. appears as a guest star on today's "The Clock King's Crazy Crimes" episode of ABC-TV's Batman series.

1966: The Jimi Hendrix Experience play their first headlining gig, opening at Paris' Olympia Theatre.

1968: John Sebastian left the band Lovin' Spoonful to start his solo career.

1969: Tom Zarski, a student at Eastern Michigan University, calls WKNR in Detroit, MI, and informs DJ Russ Gibb on air of the rumor that Paul McCartney died in a car crash, perhaps as long ago as 1966. Zarski tells Gibb that by playing a section of the band's "Revolution 9" backwards, a clue emerges: the phrase "Turn me on, dead man." Gibb proceeds to do just that. Listeners are stunned.

1971: Pop singer Gene Vincent died from a stomach ulcer at age 36.

1972: The movie Lady Sings The Blues, a musical biopic of singer Billie Holiday that launches the movie career of star Diana Ross, opens in New York.

1975: Singer Rod Stewart ends his longtime association with The Faces by playing one final gig with them at Nassau Coliseum in New York.

1978: Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark made their live debut at Eric's, Liverpool, England.

1978: While living at the Chelsea Hotel in New York City, Sex Pistol Sid Vicious called the police to say that someone had stabbed his girlfriend Nancy Spungen. He was arrested and charged with murder and placed in the detox unit of a New York prison. He died of a heroin overdose before his murder trial began.

1979: Jethro Tull lead singer Ian Anderson has his right eye torn open by a thorn, situated on a rose an adoring fan threw on stage at the band's Madison Square Garden concert.

1980: Eight audience members are stabbed by a fellow concertgoer at a Blood Sweat and Tears show in Los Angeles.

1985: Ricky Wilson (Guitarist for the B-52's) died of complications from aids.

1994: Pink Floyd played the first of a 15-night run at Earls Court, London, England. Less than a minute after the band had started playing 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond', a scaffolding stand holding 1200 fans, collapsed, throwing hundreds of people 20 feet to the ground. It took over an hour to free everyone from the twisted wreckage, ninety-six people were injured, with 36 needing hospital treatment. Six were detained overnight with back, neck and rib injuries. Pink Floyd sent a free T-shirt and a note of apology to all the fans who had been seated in the stand that collapsed. The show was immediately cancelled and re-scheduled.

1996: British dance duo The Chemical Brothers scored their first UK No.1 single with 'Setting Sun.' The song was written by Noel Gallagher and sung by Noel Gallagher of Oasis.

1997: John Denver was killed at the age of 53 when his Experimental Rutan Long-EZ crashed into the Pacific Ocean near Pacific Grove, California.

1999: Adrian Young drummer with No Doubt proposed to his girlfriend during a gig in San Francisco. Young came on to the stage before the bands encore and got down on bended knee with a ring, his girlfriend Nina accepted.

2002: The new Elvis Presley compilation 30 No. 1 Hits debuts at #1 on the US album charts, the first Presley album ever to do so.

2005: A 1974 Rolls Royce that belonged to late Queen singer Freddie Mercury is auctioned off on eBay.

2005: Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee suffered minor burns at a concert in Casper, Wyoming during a pyrotechnics explosion. Lee was treated at a local hospital for the injuries to his arm and face, which occurred while he was suspended from a wire 30 feet above the stage.

2006: Sara Evans files for divorce from Craig Schelske in Franklin, Tennessee, citing infidelity, verbal abuse and heavy use of pornography. She immediately withdraws from ABC-TV's "Dancing With The Stars" series.

October 11

Births

1919: Art Blakey (Jazz Drummer)

1932: Dottie West (Dorothy Marsh) (Country Singer)

1946: Daryl Hall (Singer, Guitar & Keyboards for Hall and Oates)

1962: Andy McCoy (Antti Hulkko) (Lead Guitar for Hanoi Rocks)

1971: MC Lyte (Lana Michele Moorer) (Rapper)

Events

1960: Aretha Franklin delivers her first stage performance tonight, at New York's famed Village Vanguard.

1963: French singer Edith Piaf died of liver cancer at age 47 at Plascassier, on the French Riviera.

1965: Gerry Marsden of Gerry and the Pacemakers marries his first wife, Pauline Behan -- the former secretary of his fan club!

1967: CBS presents Barbra Streisand's third television special, The Belle Of 14th Street, also starring Jason Robards.

1969: Muddy Waters is severely injured in a car crash just outside Chicago that leaves three other passengers dead. Waters will remain absent from music for about a year, and will rarely stand up on stage again.

1970: Elvis Presley is made an honorary "special" deputy sheriff of Bel Air, CA.

1975: The very first musical guest on the new NBC-TV series Saturday Night (later Saturday Night Live) is Janis Ian, who performs her hit "At Seventeen."

1986: Janet Jackson started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'When I Think Of You', her first US No.1.

1990: Drummer Dave Grohl played his first gig with Nirvana when they appeared at the North Shore Surf Club in Olympia.

1991: Apple Computers settles their first trademark lawsuit against the Beatles' Apple Corps for a paltry $29 million, an issue that the Beatles' handlers would open back up when the Internet made music sales possible on computers.

1995: Tupac Shakur was released from Clinton Correctional Prison on $1.4 Million bail which was posted by Suge Knight. In return 2Pac signed a three album deal with Knight's Death Row Records.

1999: Deborah Rowe, Michael Jackson's first wife and the former nurse at his plastic surgeon's office, files for divorce from the singer.

1999: Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee was released on $5000 bail after facing charges relating to a riot at a gig in North Carolina in 1997. Lee allegedly incited the crowd to attack a guard and had also poured a drink over his head.

2005: Rod Stewart received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame to honor a career spanning more than 40 years.

2006: Madonna adopted a one-year-old boy in Malawi, Africa, the boy's father, Yohane Banda, told reporters "I know he will be very happy in America." The boy’s mother had died a week after he was born.

2009: Barbra Streisand went to No.1 on the US album charts with ‘Love Is the Answer’. Streisand's ninth No.1 album, making her the only artist to have a number one album in America in five different decades.

2009: 54-year-old Jo Wood, wife of The Rolling Stones' Ronnie Wood, was granted a divorce after 24 years of marriage on the grounds of adultery. The couple split in 2008 after the guitarist, 64, began a relationship with a 20-year-old woman.

October 10

Births

1914: Ivory Joe Hunter (R&B Singer)

1917: Thelonious Monk (Jazz Pianist)

1945: Alan Cartwright (Bass for Procol Harum)

1946: John Prine (Country / Folk Singer-Songwriter)

1948: Greg Lake (Vocals & Bass for King Crimson & Emerson, Lake & Palmer)

1955: David Lee Roth (Vocals for Van Halen & Solo)

1955: Midge Ure (Guitarist & Singer / Songwriter)

1958: Tanya Tucker (Country Singer)

1960: Eric Martin (Vocals for Mr Big)

1964: Neneh Cherry (R&B / Hip-Hop Singer)

1979: Mya (Marie Harrison) (R&B Singer)

Events

1902: Kalamazoo, MI, mandolin maker Orville Gibson founds the Gibson Mandolin-Guitar Mfg. Co, Ltd. In 1936 it would create the first commercially successful electric guitar.

1959, Barry Gordy's first release on the newly established Motown Records, "Bad Girls" by The Miracles, entered the Billboard Pop chart.

1965: The Supremes made their first appearance on the "Ed Sullivan Show."

1970: Neil Diamond went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Cracklin' Rosie', his first No.1 as an artist. Diamond wrote the 1966 No.1 hit 'I'm A Believer' for The Monkees.

1970: The US' Federal Communications Commission (FCC) head, Nicholas Johnson, responds to recent comments made by Vice President Spiro Agnew that attacked radio stations for playing songs that contained "drug culture propaganda... (in) too many of the lyrics the message of the drug culture is purveyed," saying, "If we really want to do something about drugs, let's do something about life... The song writers are trying to help us understand our plight and deal with it. It's about the only leadership we're getting. They're not really urging you to adopt a heroin distribution program, Mr. Vice President."

1978: At tonight's Aerosmith show in Philadelphia, PA, an audience member tosses a "cherry bomb" firecracker onto the stage, injuring singer Steven Tyler and guitarist Joe Perry. Thereafter, the band performs behind a chain-link fence.

1979: Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley declares today "Fleetwood Mac Day" and unveils a star for the band on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6608 Hollywood Blvd.

1979: The film The Rose, a thinly-veiled biopic of Janis Joplin starring Bette Midler, premieres in Hollywood.

1987: Wanda Nicholls made an official complaint that David Bowie raped her and bit her on the legs and back. Bowie dismissed the alleged incident, claiming Nicholls was 'publicity seeking.'

1992: Slash (Guitar for Guns N' Roses) and Renee Suran were married.

1999: Las Vegas' Grand Hotel holds an auction of several hundred thousand dollars' worth of Elvis memorabilia, including the King's wristwatch, cigar box, and his 1956 Lincoln Continental.

2000: Britney Spears made her UK live debut when she played the first of three sold out nights at London's Wembley Arena.

2001: Dennis DeYoung sues Styx, his former band, for touring and singing his songs without him. He'd left the band in 1999 due to chronic fatigue syndrome.

2002: Twelve protesters dressed as monkeys picketed outside the north Wales holiday home of former Stone Roses singer Ian Brown. The demonstrators argued Brown, was selling the five-bedroom house, in the small village of Llithfaen on the Llyn Peninsula for an inflated price - $300,000- which local people could not afford. The monkey costumes worn by the anonymous protesters, referred to the name of Brown's recent solo album 'Unfinished Monkey Business.'