March 23

Births

1949: Ric Ocasek (Lead Vocals & Guitar for The Cars)

1953: Chaka Khan (R&B Singer)

1967: John Stohm (Guitar for The Lemonheads & Blake Babies)

1968: Damon Albarn (Vocals for Blur)

Events

1743:  Handel's Messiah was performed for the first time in London.

1891:  1st jazz concert was held at Carnegie Hall.

1955: Elvis Presley, along with bandmates Scotty Moore and Bill Black, audition for Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts show in New York with a surprisingly tepid version of "Milkcow Blues Boogie." They are subsequently rejected.

1956: At a Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers concert in Hartford, CT, eleven audience members are arrested for allegedly inciting a riot.

1960: Songwriter and future superstar Carole King gives birth to her first child, a daughter named Louise, with husband and writing partner Gerry Goffin.

1961: Elvis Presley recorded "Can't Help Falling In Love".

1964: John Lennon's first book, "In His Own Write" was published.

1969: In response to the Doors' infamous recent concert there (at which lead singer Jim Morrison allegedly exposed himself), a "Rally For Decency" is held in Miami featuring Jackie Gleason, The Lettermen, Kate Smith, and Anita Bryant and promising that the crowd of 30,000 will contain no "longhairs and weird dressers."

1970: Phil Spector takes the tapes for the aborted Beatles project "Get Back" into Abbey Road Studios to begin reshaping them into the album that would eventually be called Let It Be. Meanwhile, in the next room over, Paul McCartney works on his first solo album.

1973: John Lennon was ordered to leave the US within 60 days by the immigration authorities; he began a long fight to win his 'Green Card' which he was given on 27th July 1976.

1973: Yoko Ono was granted permission to live in the U.S. permanently.

1977: Elvis Presley begins what will be his last tour with a concert at Arizona State University.  This was the first date of 49 date US tour over three months and Presley’s last ever tour. (His last ever show was on 26th June 1977 at the Indianapolis Indiana Market Square Arena).

1983: The Smiths played at The Rock Garden, London, England, the group's first ever London show.

1985: John Fogerty engineers an amazing comeback when his LP Centerfield becomes a Number 1 hit 15 years after the breakup of Creedence Clearwater Revival.

1985: Billy Joel marries supermodel Christie Brinkley on a boat in New York Harbor, near the Statue of Liberty. They divorced in 1993.

1987:  The Soul Train Music Awards debuted. It was the first televised awards ceremony to pay exclusive homage to black producers, songwriters and recording artists in the music industry.

1988:  Mick Jagger made his first solo appearance on stage in Japan.

1992: Janet Jackson signed with Virgin Records for $16,000,000.

1999:  In Gibraltar, a set of postage stamps was released commemorating what would have been the 30th wedding anniversary of Yoko Ono and John Lennon.