September 11

Births

1943: Mickey Hart (Drums for Grateful Dead & Solo)

1948: John Martyn (Singer / Songwriter)

1953: Tommy Shaw (Vocals & Guitar for Styx & Damn Yankees)

1964: Victor Wooten (Bass for Bela Fleck & The Flecktones)

1965: Moby (Richard Hall) (DJ & Producer)

1967: Harry Connick Jr. (Jazz Singer / Songwriter)

1969: Gidget Gein (Bass for Marilyn Manson)

1970: Ted Leo (Singer / Songwriter & Guitarist)

1971: Richard Ashcroft  (Lead Vocals & Guitar for The Verve & Solo)

1975: Elephant Man (Reggae Artist)

1975: Mark Klepaski (Bass for Breaking Benjamin)

1977: Ludacris (Chris Bridges) (Rapper)

1977: Jonny Buckland (Lead Guitar for Coldplay)

1978: Ben Lee (Pop Singer & Guitarist)

1981: Charles Kelley (Vocals & Drums for Lady Antebellum)

Events

1956: The London premiere of the Bill Haley film Rock Around the Clock leads to a riot at the Trocadero Cinema, leading to national outrage and a ban on the film in major UK cities.

1960: Nancy Sinatra marries her first husband, teen idol Tommy Sands. The marriage would last five years.

1962: At today's second attempt at cutting the Beatles' first single, "Love Me Do" b/w "P.S. I Love You," producer George Martin decides, for the first and only time, to use session drummer Andy White instead of Ringo Starr. Ringo can be heard playing on the album version of the song, but White is on the single, with Ringo on maracas and tambourine.

1964: The 16-year-old winner of a Mick Jagger impersonation contest at Greenwich, England's Town Hall reveals himself to be... Mick's younger brother, Chris.

1968: Larry Graham, bassist for Sly and the Family Stone, is arrested for possession of marijuana in London, leading to the group being kicked out of their hotel and off their planned BBC TV appearance.

1971: The Jackson 5's eponymous TV cartoon show debuts, naturally enough, on ABC. Unlike the Beatles' cartoon show, this one utilizes the brothers' actual voices.

1977: Elton John lyricist Bernie Taupin makes a rare acting appearance, guest starring as the leader of a fictional rock band called Circus on the "Meet Dracula" episode of ABC-TV's The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries.

1979: The Who play their first concert without longtime drummer Keith Moon, who'd overdosed the previous year. Ex-Faces drummer Kenny Jones sits in during the gig at the Capitol Theatre in Passaic, NJ, and will eventually become Moon's full-time replacement.

1987: Peter Tosh was shot in the head and killed by 3 men trying to rob him at his home.

1987: Prince's Paisley Park Studios officially opened.

1989: Hank Williams Jr.'s "All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight" debuts as "All my rowdy friends are here on Monday night" to promote ABC-TV's Monday Night Football.

1997: John Lee Hooker received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

2001: Walking to work in New York (as an comic book illustrator) Gerard Way witnessed the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center. The day's events inspired him to start a band, which became My Chemical Romance with Way becoming their lead singer.

2002: James Brown's daughters Deanna and Yamma sue their dad for alleged songwriting royalties due for songs they helped co-write, including the 1976 hit "Get Up Offa That Thing," which they would have assisted him with when they were three and six, respectively.

2003: Cher, Bruce Springsteen, Fleetwood Mac and Steely Dan all decide not to take the stage on the second anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

2003, Tommy Chong, one-half of the comedy team of Cheech and Chong, was sentenced to nine months in federal prison and fined $20,000 for selling drug paraphernalia over the Internet. The 65 year-old Chong pled guilty to the charges last May. He remained free until April, 2004, when he went to jail.

September 10

Births

1898: Waldo Semon (Invented vinyl that made LP’s & 45’s)

1945: Jose Feliciano (Puerto Rican Singer & Guitarist)

1946: Danny Hutton (Vocals in Three Dog Night)

1950: Joe Perry (Lead Guitar for Aerosmith)

1956: Johnny Hickman (Lead Guitar for Cracker)

1957: Siobhan Fahey (Vocals for Bananarama & Shakespear Sister)

1960: David Lowery (Vocals & Guitar for Camper Van Beethoven & Cracker)

1966: Robin Goodridge (Drums for Bush)

1968: Big Daddy Kane (Antonio Hardy) (Rapper)

1980: Mikey Way (Bass for My Chemical Romance)

1984: Cameron Matthew Followill (Lead Guitarist for Kings of Leon)

Events

1962: The BBC bans Bobby "Boris" Pickett's Halloween novelty single "Monster Mash," finding it in poor taste. However, in 1973 the radio giant lifts the ban, sending a re-release of the holiday favorite to #3.

1964: Rod Stewart makes his first recording, a cover of Sonny Boy Williamson's "Good Morning, Little School Girl" done with Rod's group the Hoochie Coochie Men. It fails to chart.

1964: The Kinks third single 'You Really Got Me', was at No.1 on the UK singles chart. Future Led Zeppelin founder and guitarist Jimmy Page played tambourine on the track.

1965: Beatles manager Brian Epstein begins negotiating for a cartoon series on ABC-TV bearing the name and likenesses of the group.

1969: As part of their latest exhibition, celebrating the anonymity of "Bagism," John Lennon and Yoko Ono sit onstage for five hours in a white bag at London's Institute of Contemporary Arts.

1974: After poor album sales and infighting caused by drug addiction, The New York Dolls break up for the first time.

1977: Bing Crosby invites David Bowie to appear on what would be his last annual Christmas TV special, suggesting they sing a duet. Bowie agrees.

1979: Having waited five years in vein for two #1 American singles in a row, ABBA finally begin their first US tour.

1979: Pattie Smith announced that she was performing her last show in front of 85,000 people in Florence, Italy. She returned to performing a decade later.

1988: Guns N' Roses started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Sweet Child O' Mine', the group's first US No.1.

1990: Will Smith made his debut in "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air."

1991: Nirvana’s single ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ was released in the US.

1992: Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash married actress and model Renee Suran.

1992: Howard Stern appeared as Fartman on the MTV Video Music Awards.

1998: Gary Glitter appeared in court on child pornography charges. 

September 9

Births

1941: Otis Redding (R&B Singer)

1952: Dave Stewart (Guitarist, Songwriter & producer for Eurythmics)

1953: John McFee (Guitar for The Doobie Brothers)

1965: MC Shan (Rapper)

1966: Adam Sandler (Comedian)

1970: Dray (Andre Weston) (Rapper in Das EFX)

1975: Michael Bublé (Pop Singer)

1977: Soulja Slim (James Tapp) (Rapper)

Events

1954: Rising young star Elvis Presley performs at the opening of Memphis' Lamar-Airways shopping mall, and, afterward, meets audience member Johnny Cash for the first time.

1955: Seeburg introduces their latest jukebox, which not only holds a record 100 singles, but is also capable of playing the same number of EPs.

1956: Elvis Presley makes the first of three contracted appearances on Ed Sullivan's CBS show. (Sullivan had previously announced he would never have such an act on, but ratings prevailed and Sullivan offered Elvis a record $50,000 for the three shows.) Charles Laughton hosts, filling in for an ailing Sullivan. Elvis performs "Don't Be Cruel," "Love Me Tender," "Ready Teddy," and "Hound Dog," but is shot from the waist up only, due to a scandalous swivel-hipped performance on NBC-TV's Milton Berle Show a few months earlier. A record 54 million viewers -- nearly 83 percent of the nation's sets! -- are tuned in to the event; the next day, pre-orders for "Love Me Tender" begin rolling in, forcing the release of the single to be bumped up by weeks.

1969: Jimi Hendrix made his U.S. television debut on "The Dick Cavett Show."

1971: John Lennon's LP "Imagine" was released in US.

1975: Paul McCartney and Wings begin their historic 13-month world tour, US dates of which will be captured on record as the double LP Wings Over America. The group plays to over two million fans total during the course of the tour.

1977: David Bowie appeared on Marc Bolan’s ITV show, Marc, singing ‘Heroes’ as well as a duet with Bolan, ‘Standing Next To You’, which is prematurely terminated when Bolan fell from the stage, much to Bowie’s amusement. After the show the pair recorded demos together which were never finished because Bolan is killed in a car crash a week later.

1981: Sting and Phil Collins both played their first solo sets at Amnesty's International's "The Secret Policeman's Other Ball."

1991: Tracy Byrd marries Michelle Hilton in Lake Tahoe, Nevada.

1992: Nirvana's Chris Novoselic knocked himself unconscious during the MTV music and video awards after being hit on the head with his guitar after throwing it 'up in the air'.

1995: Coolio featuring L.V. scored his first US No.1 single with 'Gangsta's Paradise'. The song sampled the chorus of the 1976 Stevie Wonder song 'Pastime Paradise' and featured in the 1995 movie Dangerous Minds (starring Michelle Pfeiffer). Coolio was awarded a Grammy Award for the song.

1996: Bluegrass pioneer Bill Monroe died from a stoke 4 days before his 85^th birthday.

1996: Tom Petty's wife, Jane, filed for divorce after 22 years.

1998: An episode of "Judge Judy" aired in which Sex Pistol Johnny Rotten appeared as the defendant in a case involving a drummer who sued Rotten for allegedly head-butting him during a contract dispute.

2003: Simon and Garfunkel announce plans for a reunion tour, the first in 20 years and the first onstage reunion of any kind in a decade.

2004: US guitar maker Ernie Ball died after a long illness. In the late 50’s Ball opened the first music store in the USA in Tarzana, California to sell guitars exclusively. He developed the guitar strings called ‘Slinkys’ specifically designed for rock and roll electric guitar.

2005: Despite numerous fan protests, the City of Liverpool, England declares its intention to go ahead and demolish Ringo Starr's birthplace on Madryn Street, which the famous drummer lived in until the age of five.

2007: Country Singer Joe Nichols marries Heather Singleton at Whitfield Chapel in Savannah, Georgia.

2008: Former Raspberries lead and solo star Eric Carmen is arrested in his hometown of Cleveland on DUI charges. He will be sentenced to six months in jail, but only serve 30 days.

2008: A man was charged with assault after an attack on Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher during the band's set at the V Festival in Canada. Gallagher was admitted to hospital after a man ran on stage and pushed him over while he played guitar. Toronto police said Daniel Sullivan, 47, had been charged over the incident. A band statement said the guitarist "fell heavily on to his monitor speakers".