July 31

Births

1918: Hank Jones (Jazz Painist)

1923: Ahmet Ertegun (Founder of Atlantic Records)

1931: Kenny Burrell (Jazz Guitarist)

1943: Lobo (Roland Kent LaVoie) (Pop Singer)

1945: Gary Lewis (Vocals & Drums for Gary Lewis and the Playboys)

1946: Bob Welch (Guitar for Fleetwood Mac)

1947: Karl Green (Bass Guitar for Herman's Hermits)

1953: Hugh McDowell (Cello for Electric Light Orchestra)

1957: Daniel Ash (Guitar for Bauhaus)

1958: Bill Berry (Drums for R.E.M)

1963: Fatboy Slim (Norman Cook) (Producer & Bass for The Housemartins)

1971: John 5 (John Lowery) (Guitar for Marilyn Manson)

1978: Will Champion (Drums for Coldplay)

Events

1845: France's army gives legitimacy to Belgian Adolphe Sax's latest invention, the saxophone, by including it in their marching band.

1951: Ray Charles marries his first wife, Eileen Williams, a beautician from Chicago, in Fulton County, GA. The marriage lasts only one year.

1959: England's first big rock-era sensation, Cliff Richard, scores his first #1 in that country with "Living Doll," which would eventually go on to sell half a million records.

1964: Country singer Jim Reeves was killed in a plane crash when the single engine aircraft flying from Arkansas to Nashville crashed in thick fog. 41 year- old Reeves was the first country singer to cross- over into the pop market.

1967: The drug conviction appeals of the Rolling Stones' Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, stemming from an earlier marijuana bust in February, are heard in London, with Richards' conviction overturned and Jagger's sentence reduced to probation.

1969: After two hours of opening acts (during which time he grapples with a severe case of stage fright), Elvis Presley debuts his new Vegas show at the International Hotel, his first stage appearance anywhere since 1961. The show goes on at 10:15 pm with a fiery rendition of "Blue Suede Shoes" and is an instant sensation, with the audience, filled with members of the press corps, A-list celebrities, and former Presley associates like Sam Phillips, rapturous in its appraisal. Later that evening manager Colonel Tom Parker renegotiates Elvis' contract on a pink tablecloth in the hotel coffee shop, a contract which will guarantee the singer one million dollars per year through 1974 (minus expenses). Presley's contract holds him to only two months a year, which will allow him to get back out on the road, as well.

1971: After being denied entrance to a Who concert in New York City's Forest Hills Stadium, an ex-convict stabs and kills the security guard.

1976: Blue Oyster Cult release the single "Don't Fear The Reaper".

1977: The Starland Vocal Band of "Afternoon Delight" infamy debut their own summer replacement variety series on CBS.

1979: Donny Osmond's wife, Debra Glenn, gives birth to their first child, Donny Jr.

1980: Mamas and the Papas founder and vocalist "Papa" John Phillips is arrested for possession of cocaine and running a phony prescription scam with a local pharmacy and eventually sentenced to eight years in prison (though this sentence would later be reduced to 30 days in jail and community service).

1980: During An Eagles concert at Long Beach, California, tempers boiled over between Glen Frey and Don Henley, who spent the entire show describing to each other the beating each planned to administer backstage. "Only three more songs until I kick your ass, pal," Frey told Henley. The group’s next album was mixed by Frey and Henley on opposite coasts after the two decided they couldn't bear to be in the same state, let alone the same studio.

1992: Michael Jackson made an unscheduled appearance on his hotel balcony in London after a man had threatened to jump from an apartment building across the street. 28 year-old Eric Herminie told police he would leap to his death if he didn't see Jackson, who was in Britain for a series of concerts. Jackson spent a couple of minutes waving to Herminie, who then climbed back into the building.

1994: Aaliyah and R. Kelly secretly married at the Sheraton Gateway Suites, Rosemont, IL. Aaliyah never admitted being married, though Vibe published a copy of the marriage certificate. Unfortunately, she was only 15 at the time, so thus the marriage was later annulled.

1995: Selena's "Dreaming of You" debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard chart. It was her first English album. Selena became the first Latin artist to debut at No. 1.

1995: Jamaica issues a commemorative series of postage stamps honoring local native and reggae legend Bob Marley.

1999: Christina Aguilera scored her first US No.1 single with 'Genie In A Bottle', also No.1 in the UK. The song spent 5 weeks at No.1 on the US chart and won Aguilera the Best New Artist Grammy for the year.

1999: Wu-Tang Clan member Ol Dirty Bastard, (real name Russell Jones) was arrested for crack and marijuana possession in New York after being stopped by police during a routine traffic offence.

2004: The city of Lubbock, TX, declares today "Mac Davis Day" after its hometown singer-songwriter. Mayor Marc McDougal also dedicates a section of Avenue O as "Mac Davis Lane."

2004:  R&B Singer Mark Morrison was arrested after a fracas at Leicester's After Dark night-club in which his platinum and diamond medallion was stolen. Morrison said he was the victim and complained of wrongful arrest, unlawful imprisonment and police assault. A $40,000 reward for the return of the pendant was offered by the singer's record label.