August 17

Births

1939: Luther Allison (Blues Guitarist)

1943: Robert De Niro

1953: Kevin Rowland (Singer for Dexy's Midnight Runners)

1954: Eric Johnson (Guitarist)

1955: Colin Moulding (Bass for XTC)

1958: Belinda Carlisle (Singer for The Go-Go's)

1962: Gilby Clarke (Guitar for Guns ‘N’ Roses)

1964: Colin James (Blues and Swing Guitarist & Singer)

1964: Maria Mckee (Singer for Lone Justice & Solo)

1965: Steve Gorman (Drums for The Black Crowes & Stereophonics)

1966: Jill Cunniff (Singer & Bassist for Luscious Jackson)

1969: Donnie Wahlberg (Singer for New Kids On The Block)

1969: Posdnuos (Kelvin Mercer) (Rapper in De La Soul)

Events

1964: The Kinks released the single "You Really Got Me".

1964: Glasgow council in Scotland announced that all boys and men with Beatle styled haircuts would have to wear bathing caps after a committee was told that hair from ‘Beatle-cuts’ was clogging the pools filters.

1972: Gladys Knight appears as a contestant on ABC-TV's The Dating Game.

1973: Paul Williams (The Temptations) was found dead in an alley on the ground next to his car, having just left the new house of his then-girlfriend after an argument. A gun was found near his body. His death was ruled a suicide by the coroner. He owed $80,000 in taxes and his celebrity boutique business had failed.

1977: One day after Elvis Presley's untimely demise, thousands of fans crowd Memphis and Graceland to mourn. FTD florists report the largest number of flower orders in their history sent as tributes to the King's family. US President Jimmy Carter issues a statement saying, in part, "Elvis Presley's death deprives our country of a part of itself. He was unique and irreplaceable... he was a symbol to people the world over of the vitality, rebelliousness and good humor of his country."

1979: Rolling Stone guitarist Keith Richards' wife, Anita Pallenberg, is accused of running a witches coven, complete with "pot smoking sex orgies," by the New York Post.

1984: At the outset of his latest world tour, a fatigued Elton John announces his upcoming retirement, which, like so many before and after, wouldn't take.

1986: Rick Allen (Def Leppard) played his first concert with his band since losing his left arm in a car accident.

1986: 42 people were beaten or stabbed at a Run D.M.C. concert in Long Beach, CA.

1991: Nirvana shot the video for ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ at GMT Studios in Culver City, California, costing less than $50,000 to make, the shoot features real Nirvana fans as the audience.

1993: While in therapy, the thirteen-year-old son of a Beverly Hills dentist, Jordan Chandler, alleges that singer Michael Jackson molested him while he visited Jackson's Neverland Ranch. The resultant civil suit costs Jackson over $20 million, but no criminal charges are filed, with Jackson's lawyers claiming the family in question had previously attempted to extort the singer.

1995: Microsoft buys the rights to the Rolling Stones' 1981 smash "Start Me Up" to use as the theme for their Windows 95 rollout.

1995: Security guards carried Courtney Love offstage after she began fighting with Hole fans because they weren't cheering loud enough during the last night of the Lollapalooza tour in Mountain View, CA.

1995: Depeche Mode singer Dave Gahan was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre after an apparent suicide attempt. Police had found him at his Los Angeles home with a two-inch laceration on his wrist.

1998: Carlos Santana is awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

1999: Derek Longmuir of the Bay City Rollers is arraigned on charges of possession of illegal drugs and child pornography. He is sentenced to 300 hours of community service.

2004: Singer / songwriter Dan Fogelberg reveals that he is battling advanced prostate cancer.

2004: Chevy officially ends its association with Bob Seger, whose 1986 hit "Like A Rock" had been used in Silverado ads since 1989. Two years later, General Motors would begin using John Mellencamp's "Our Country" as the Silverado theme.

2007: High School Musical 2 premiered on the US Disney Channel and Family Channel. Watched by a total of 17.2 million viewers in the United States, making it the highest rated basic cable broadcast in U.S. history.

2008: Jackson Browne was suing US Republican presidential candidate John McCain for using one of his songs without permission. Browne claimed the use of his song Running on Empty in an advert was an infringement of copyright and would lead people to conclude he endorses McCain. Browne was seeking more than $75,000 in damages.

2009: An arrest warrant was issued for singer Bobby Brown after he failed to appear at a court hearing involving child maintenance payments. Judge Christina Harms ordered Mr Brown, to be arrested next time he was in the state of Massachusetts. The singer had allegedly fallen $45,000 behind in payments for two teenage children he had with former girlfriend Kim Ward.