February 17

Births

1941: Gene Pitney (Singer)

1957: Loreena McKennitt (Singer)

1963: Larry The Cable Guy (Daniel Lawrence Whitney)

1967: Chanté Moore (R&B Singer)

1970: Tim Mahoney (Lead Guitar for 311)

1971: Denise Richards

1972: Billie Joe Armstrong (Singer & Guitar for Green Day)

1972: Taylor Hawkins (Drummer for Foo Fighters)

1974: Bryan White (Country Artist)

1981: Paris Hilton (ummm…. Singer?)

Events

1960: Elvis Presley won his first Gold record for the album 'Elvis'.

1965: Governor Frank G. Clement declares Patti Page's smash "Tennessee Waltz" the official anthem of that state.

1968: Big Brother and the Holding Company, featuring singer Janis Joplin, are signed by Columbia after a performance at the Anderson Theatre in New York City.

1970: Joni Mitchell announced she was retiring from live performances during a concert at London's Royal Albert Hall. Joni was on stage again by the end of the year.

1971: Johnny Cash is the guest of honor on NBC-TV's This Is Your Life; a few channels over, on Cash's ABC variety show, a young James Taylor makes his TV debut singing "Fire And Rain" and "Carolina On My Mind."

1973: The band Free, which would mutate into Bad Company, disband after playing their final show at the Hollywood Sportatorium in Florida.

1975: AC/DC released their debut album 'High Voltage'.

1976: Harvard names Bette Midler it's Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year. Midler declares that the honor "characterizes what the American male wants in a woman... brains, talent and gorgeous t***."

1976: The Eagles release “Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975” which is tied with Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” for the best selling LP in the US of all times at 29 Million copies.

1988: A 12-year old fan of Motley Crue set his legs on fire while trying to imitate a stunt in the band's "Live Wire" video. The boy suffered burns over ten percent of his body.

1988: Destiny’s Child release their debut album.

1989: Whitesnake singer David Coverdale married actress Tawny Kitaen (known for her provocative appearances in Whitesnake's music videos 'Here I Go Again, 'Is This Love' and 'Still of the Night'). The couple divorced in 1991.

2000: Rapper Trick Daddy was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct at a North Miami Beach nightclub.

2001: Brad Paisley is inducted into the Grand Ole Opry. He wears the yellow jacket that Buck Owens wore the night he recorded his "Live At Carnegie Hall" album. Paisley sings "Two People Fell In Love," from his upcoming album.

2008: During a Temptations/Four Tops concert in Nashville's famed Ryman Auditorium, Little Richard, sitting in the audience, gets a standing ovation from all 2,400 concertgoers.