March 28

Births

1948: John Evans (Keyboardist for Jethro Tull)

1948: Milan Williams (Keyboardist for The Commodores)

1955: Reba McEntire (Country Singer)

1965: Steve Turner (Guitar for Mudhoney)

1966:Cheryl James (Salt from Salt-n-Pepa)

1969: James Atkin (Vocals for EMF)

1969: Rodney Atkins (Country Artist)

1976: Dave Keuning (Guitarist for The Killer)

1986: Lady Gaga (Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta) (Singer)

Events

1958: Blues musician and composer W.C. Handy died of bronchial pneumonia at Sydenham Hospital in New York City.

1958: Alan Freed's Big Beat Show tour kicks off the first of its 43 shows at the Brooklyn Paramount Theater with Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry, Danny and the Juniors, Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, The Chantels, The Diamonds, Screaming Jay Hawkins, and more.

1964: Madame Tussaud's famous Wax Museum in London unveils its four new statues of the Beatles -- the first of any rock star to be created and displayed there. The figures will eventually become even more famous when the Beatles decide to use them on the cover of their 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

1967: Van Morrison’s song "Brown Eyed Girl" is recorded.

1969: Joe Cocker played his first American concert.

1973: Pink Floyd's LP Dark Side Of The Moon hits #1.

1974: Delta-Blues artist Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup died of a heart attack in the Nassawadox hospital in Northampton County, Virginia.

1974: Rock group The Raspberries break up.

1975: Barbra Streisand attends tonight's Elvis Presley show in Vegas and meets the King backstage to discuss offering him the lead role in her latest film project: a remake of the classic A Star Is Born. Despite the fact that Streisand's boyfriend, stylist Jon Peters, is slated to produce and direct, Presley is said to be ecstatic about the project.

1976: Genesis began their first North American tour since Peter Gabriel left the band, appearing in Buffalo, New York, with Phil Collins taking over as lead singer.

1982: After driving erratically due to a toxic shock from drug abuse, David Crosby is arrested in San Diego for driving under the influence and possession of Quaaludes, cocaine, drug paraphernalia, and an unlicensed .45 pistol. When cops ask why Crosby is carrying the gun, he says two words: "John Lennon."

1984: Mick Fleetwood, whose band, Fleetwood Mac, had the biggest-selling album of all time just seven years earlier, files for bankruptcy.

1985: At 10:15 am EST, 6,000 North American radio stations begin playing the all-star benefit single, "We Are The World," written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie and performed by a cast of 45 of music's biggest stars, including Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, Diana Ross, Billy Joel, Tina Turner, Dionne Warwick, Willie Nelson, and Daryl Hall. Proceeds from the sale of the single and related items -- some $38 million -- go to benefit victims of the recent Ethiopian famine.

1987: After hearing that Arizona Governor Evan Mecham would not honor the new national holiday Martin Luther King Day, the racially integrated Doobie Brothers move their upcoming show from Phoenix to Las Vegas.

1991: Eric Clapton quietly lays his son Conor, 4, to rest in England. The child, who had fallen from an apartment window a few days earlier, would later be the subject of Clapton's song "Tears In Heaven."

1992: over a $100,000 worth of damage was caused at The Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre, California, when Ozzy Osbourne invited the first two rows of the audience on stage. Several others took up the offer and the band was forced to exit the stage.

1995: Country singer Lyle Lovett and actress Julia Roberts announced they were separating after 21 months of marriage.

1996: Twenty years to the day after first appearing with them on stage as their new lead singer, Genesis front man Phil Collins announces he is leaving the group.

1999: Freaky Tah (Lost Boyz) was killed by a ski-masked gunman who came up behind him and fired a single gunshot into his head. Freaky Tah was 27 years old.

2001: The artist formerly known as both Puffy and Puff Daddy said in an interview on MTV he now wanted to be known as P. Diddy. In August 2005, he changed his stage name to simply "Diddy."

2005: On Rev. Jesse Jackson's internet radio show, Michael Jackson claims that his recent child-molestation charges are a racist conspiracy.

2005: After playing a warm-up date the night before at the Los Angeles Sports Arena, U2 kicked off their Vertigo tour at the iPay One Center in San Diego, California. The 131 date world tour would see the band playing in North America, Europe, South America and Japan. By the time it finished, the Vertigo Tour had sold 4,619,021 tickets, grossing $389 million; the second-highest figure ever for a world tour.

2006: Tina Brown the sister-in-law of Whitney Houston sold pictures taken in her bathroom to the National Enquirer claiming Whitney Houston had been taking crack cocaine. The pictures showed drug paraphernalia including a crack-smoking pipe, rolling papers, cocaine-caked spoons and cigarette ends strewn across the surface tops of the bathroom.

2011: Rapper Rick Ross was arrested after police responded to a complaint about the smell of marijuana at a Hilton Hotel.

Upon checking, police confiscated 1 gram of what investigators believed to be marijuana.  He was issued a misdemeanor summons and released after the arrest.

March 27

Births

1924: Sarah Vaughan (Jazz Singer)

1950: Tony Banks (Keyboard & Guitar for Genesis)

1953: Wally Stocker (Lead Guitar for The Babys)

1959: Andrew Farriss (Keyboards for INXS)

1962: Derrick McKenzie (Drums for Jamiroquai)

1965: Johnny April (Bass for Staind)

1970: Mariah Carey (R&B Singer)

1975: Fergie (Stacy Ferguson) (Singer in Black Eyed Peas & Solo)

1988: Jessie J (Jessica Ellen Cornish)  (Singer / Songwriter)

Events

1955: Frustrated over Ike Turner's inability to find a label to record the follow up to his hit, Jackie Brenston's "Rocket 88," Sam Phillips decides to form his own independent label in Memphis, known as Sun Records. Within a matter of days, Sun will release its first single, Johnny London's "Drivin' Slow" b/w "Flat Tire".

1958: CBS Records announces its sound lab's latest invention, stereophonic sound, which when played on a compatible phonograph will send sound through two channels instead of one.

1960: Representative Emanuel Celler (D-NY) introduces two bills designed to halt the practice of "payola" -- that is, DJs receiving cash or gifts to promote certain records. Celler, echoing the sentiments of his era, declares that "the cacophonous music called Rock and Roll" could not possibly have risen up the charts without the practice of payola.

1966: Roy Orbison takes a curve too tightly while out motorcycling in Hawkstone Park in Birmingham, England, fracturing his foot and resulting in him playing his next few English dates in crutches on a stool.

1967: Fats Domino plays his first UK gig at London's Saville Theatre, on a ticket that includes the Bee Gees and Gerry & the Pacemakers.

1972: Elvis Presley recorded what would be his last major hit, 'Burning Love,' a No.2 hit on the US chart.

1973: Rolling Stone reports that Carlos Santana has become a devotee of Sri Chimnoy, and has therefore changed his name to "Devadip," which means "the lamp of the light of the Supreme."

1973: A routine speeding ticket in New Jersey becomes a headache for Grateful Dead leader Jerry Garcia when police search his car and find a significant quantity of LSD. He is released on two thousand dollars bail.

1976: Paul McCartney and Wings were forced to postpone forthcoming US tour for three weeks after guitarist Jimmy McCulloch fell in his hotel bathroom and broke a finger.

1979: Eric Clapton finally gets his "Layla" when he marries Pattie Boyd, ex-wife of best friend George Harrison. Harrison attends the wedding in Tucson, AZ, as do fellow Beatles Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney. Eric and Pattie would divorce in 1988.

1982: Ronnie Lane, former bassist for the (Small) Faces, is taken to the hospital for treatment of his multiple sclerosis. Lane would succumb to the wasting muscle disorder in 1997.

1984: Run-DMC release their debut self-titled album on Profile records.

1986: Van Halen kicked off their 1986, 112 date North American tour at the Hirsch Memorial Coliseum in Shreveport, Los Angeles. This was the band's first tour with Sammy Hagar on lead vocals.

1987: U2 performed from the roof of a store in downtown LA to make the video for 'Where The Streets Have No Name', attracting thousands of spectators and bringing traffic to a standstill. The police eventually stop the shoot.

1991: New Kids On The Block's Donnie Wahlberg was arrested after setting fire to carpets (using a bottle of vodka) at The Seelbach Hotel, Louisville. Wahlberg plea bargains the charge down to criminal mischief and was ordered to perform fire safety and anti-drug abuse promos.

1995: Tupac Shakur's "Me Against the World" made him the first rap artist to debut at No. 1 on the charts while in jail for sexual assault.

2000: Singer, songwriter, poet and actor, Ian Dury died after a long battle with cancer aged 57.

2001: Christina Aguilera signed an U.S. sponsorship deal with Cola-Cola, only a month after Britney Spears signed a deal to promote Pespi.

2002: Lyle Lovett was trampled by a bull while trying to help his uncle who had just been thrown by the animal. Lovett's lower right leg was broken in several places.

2003: The Rolling Stones postpone a planned series of concerts in Hong Kong after the deadly SARS flu epidemic breaks out there; ironically, the Stones would later perform a benefit there to show the city was safe to visit.

2006: Victor Willis, the "policeman" in the Village People, is arrested in San Francisco for failing to appear at his trial for cocaine and gun possession. After agreeing to enter rehab, his sentence is reduced to three years probation.

2007: Jefferson Airplane/Starship vocalist Grace Slick sues former bandmate Paul Kantner for touring with different musicians under the name "Paul Kantner's Starship."

2007:  The wife of Velvet Revolver singer Scott Weiland was arrested on suspicion of burning over $10,000 of his belongings outside their home after police in southern California found a bin of smouldering clothes. Earlier that day, the couple left two rooms vandalized after an argument at a luxury hotel.

2007: Eminem and his ex-wife Kim reached a court agreement to stop insulting each other in public. The pair, who divorced for the second time last year, pledged to stop trading insults for the sake of their 11-year-old daughter Hailie. The deal came after the rap star took legal action to stop Kim Mathers making "derogatory, disparaging, inflammatory and otherwise negative comments".

2008, Grammy-nominated rapper Remy Ma was convicted of assault after a woman was shot in New York. The jury heard how Ms Smith had shot her friend outside a nightclub in July 2007 because she thought the woman had stolen $3,000 from her. The rapper was to remain in jail without bail until she was sentenced.

2008: an inquest in Leeds, England heard the husband of UK singer Corinne Bailey Rae died from a suspected overdose. The body of saxophonist Jason Rae, 31, was found in a flat in the Hyde Park area of Leeds. A 32-year-old man arrested on suspicion of supplying controlled drugs was bailed pending further inquiries.

2008: X Factor winner Leona Lewis became the first British woman to top the US pop chart for more than 20 years with her single ‘Bleeding Love.’ Kim Wilde was the last UK female to top the Billboard Hot 100 chart, with her 1987 cover version of the Supremes hit ‘You Keep Me Hangin' On’. Petula Clark was the first, with her 1965 track ‘Downtown’.

March 26

Births

1944: Diana Ross (R&B Singer)

1948: Steven Tyler (Singer for Aerosmith)

1949: Fran Sheehan (Bass for Boston)

1950: Teddy Pendergrass (R&B Singer)

1955: Martin Price (Keyboards for 808 State)

1957: Paul Morley (Art Of Noise)

1968: James Jonas Iha (Guitar for Smashing Pumpkins)

1968: Kenny Chesney (Country Singer / Songwriter)

1981: Jay Sean (R&B Singer & Rapper)

Events

1827: Composer Ludwig van Beethoven died at age 56.

1963: Funny Girl, a musical about Ziegfeld Follies star Fanny Brice, opens on Broadway, starring Barbra Streisand. It features the hits "Don't Rain On My Parade" and the song that would become her trademark, "People."

1964: Tonight's guest on CBS-TV's "panel show" I've Got A Secret is former Beatles drummer Pete Best, whose "secret" occupation is guessed almost immediately. When host Gary Moore asks Best why he "left" the group (Best was fired), he replied: "I thought I'd like to start a group of my own."

1965: Mick Jagger, Brian Jones and Bill Wyman all received electric shocks from a faulty microphone on stage during a Rolling Stones show in Denmark. Bill Wyman was knocked unconscious for several minutes.

1965: It was announced that Jeff Beck would take Eric Clapton's place in the Yardbird

1968: Little Willie John Dies. The official cause of death was listed in his death certificate as a heart attack.

1969: Pat Boone guest-stars as himself on tonight's "Collard Greens An' Fatback" episode of CBS-TV's Beverly Hillbillies.

1969: John Lennon and Yoko Ono began their "bed-in" for peace in Amsterdam.

1970: Mere days after winning a Grammy for Best Recording for Children with their album Peter, Paul and Mommy, Peter Paul and Mary are scandalized when group leader Peter Yarrow is arrested in Washington, DC for "taking immoral liberties" with a 14-year-old girl. He would spend three months in prison and would later be given clemency by President Jimmy Carter.

1972: Mott The Hoople are about to call it quits when friend of the band David Bowie offers to produce their next album, even offering them two new songs he's written: "Suffragette City," which the band turns down, and "All The Young Dudes."

1975: The movie musical Tommy, directed by Ken Russell and based on the Who album of the same name, premieres in London, starring Who lead singer Roger Daltrey in the title role, as well as Ann-Margret and Jack Nicholson. Guest stars include Elton John and Tina Turner.

1976: Keith Richards and model girlfriend Anita Pallenberg become the proud parents of a son, Tara. Sadly, he would die ten weeks later from pneumonia.

1976: Riding near the scene of a multi-car pileup in Memphis, Elvis Presley jumps out of his limo, displays his honorary police captain's badge from the city, and attempts to help the victims before police and rescue teams arrive.

1977: Hall and Oates started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Rich Girl', the duo's first US No.1

1980: Pink Floyd's landmark 1973 LP Dark Side Of The Moon surpasses Carole King's Tapestry as the album with the longest consecutive stay on the Billboard 200 album chart. It would remain on the chart until 1988.

1983: Duran Duran went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Is There Something I Should Know'. Their first No.1 and there eighth single release. The group was on a US promotional trip on this day, where they were greeted by 5,000 screaming fans at an in-store appearance in New York City.

1985: After Stevie Wonder's Oscar speech the previous night, at which he dedicated his Best Song Award to Nelson Mandela, South Africa bans all Wonder records from its nation's radio stations.

1986: Guns N' Roses was signed to Geffen Records.

1988: Morrissey went to No.1 on the UK album chart with his debut solo LP 'Viva Hate.'

1990: Digital Undergound released their debut album “Sex Packets” on Tommy Boy records.

1994: Soundgarden entered the US album chart at No.1 with 'Superunknown'.

1995: Rapper producer, and record executive Eazy-E (Eric Lynn Wright) died of AIDS in Los Angeles aged 31.

2001: The toy figure of Eminem was facing a ban from UK shops. Woolworth's and Hamleys were refusing to stock the dolls. Psychologists warned parents who buy the dolls for children will be inadvertently giving their approval to bad language.

2002: Randy Castillo drummer with the Ozzy Osbourne band died of cancer aged 51.

2004: Jan Berry of Jan and Dean, died at the age of 62 after being in poor health sustained in a 1966 car crash.

2005: Australian drummer Paul Hester died aged 46, after he "attempted suicide" and died from strangulation after being found hanged in a park in Melbourne. He had been a member of Crowded House, Split Enz and Largest Living Things.

2008: The Los Angeles Times apologised for claiming rap mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs was involved in a 1994 shooting of hip-hop star Tupac Shakur. The LA Times, which published the original story on its website, initially said its claims were based on FBI records, witness accounts and other unnamed sources. The apology followed a claim that the newspaper was conned by a prisoner who doctored the documents used.