October 26

Births

1911: Mahalia Jackson (Gospel Singer)

1946: Keith Hopwood (Guitar for Herman's Hermits)

1951: Bootsy Collins (Bass for P-Funk)

1953: Keith Strickland (Guitar & Drums for The B-52's)

1962: Busy Bee Starski (Rapper)

1963: Natalie Merchant (Vocals for 10,000 Maniacs & Solo)

1967: Keith Urban (Country Artist)

1981: Girl Talk (Gregg Michael Gillis) (Mash Up Artist)

Events

1935: The NBC Radio show Lux Radio Theatre presents its newest find -- a 12-year-old girl singer named Judy Garland.

1958: Berlin, Germany's first rock and roll concert ever is staged, a performance by Bill Haley and his Comets that ends in chaos when the East Berliners in the crowd of 7,000 begin to fight with the West Berliners. Twenty policeman are injured; one loses his sight permanently.

1961: Bob Dylan signs with Columbia Records, his first recording contract.

1962: The Rolling Stones, consisting of Keith Richard, Mick Jagger, Brian Jones, pianist Ian Stewart and drummer Tony Chapman, record their first demo tape at Curly Clayton Studios in Highbury, London. They recorded three songs, Jimmy Reed's 'Close Together', Bo Diddlley's 'You Cant Judge A Book By The Cover' and Muddy Waters' 'Soon Forgotten.'

1962: The first Motown "revue" tour begins in Washington DC, featuring Mary Wells, Marvin Gaye, Martha and the Vandellas, the Contours, Stevie Wonder, and the Marvelettes.

1965: The Beatles receive Members of the British Empire (MBE) medals from Queen Elizabeth II in a ceremony staged at Buckingham Palace. It is the first such honor ever given to a rock band, causing many former recipients, many distinguished military personnel, to return their medals in disgust. According to John, the group is so nervous beforehand that it gets high on marijuana in a palace bathroom; during the ceremony, when Her Majesty asks the group how long it's been together, Ringo replies "forty years." Later, a press conference is held at the Saville Theatre.

1970: Mrs. Alta Mae Anderson, mother of Meredith Hunter, the Rolling Stones concertgoer murdered by Hell's Angels at their Altamont show, sues the band for hiring the infamous biker club as security.

1970: A wake was held at the Lion's Share in San Anselmo, California to celebrate the life of Janis Joplin. The singer who died of an accidental drugs overdose had left $2,500 in her will to throw a wake party in the event of her demise. The party was attended by her sister Laura and Joplin's close friends; Brownies laced with hashish were unknowingly passed around amongst the guests.

1978: The Police played their first U.S. show in Boston at the Rat Club.

1980: Paul Kantner of Jefferson Starship suffers what is thought to be a stroke while recording the band's latest album but is later revealed to be a brain embolism. He recovers after two weeks' hospitalization.

1984: 19-year-old John D. McCollum killed himself with a .22 caliber handgun after spending the day listening to Ozzy Osbourne records. One year later, McCollum's parents took court action against Ozzy and CBS Records, alleging that the song "Suicide Solution" from the album Blizzard of Ozz contributed to their son's death. The case was eventually thrown out of court.

1991: Ozzy Osbourne broke his foot after an accident on stage at a gig in Chicago, causing him to cancel the remaining dates of a US tour.

1992: Julie Fogerty, wife of husband John Fogerty of CCR, gives birth to the couple's first son (and Fogerty's fourth total), Tyler Jackson.

1992: Pearl Jam sets a new record for first week sales when the LP "Vs." sold 950,000 copies.

1998: US Federal courts refuse to issue an injunction against makers of mp3 players, one which the RIAA has been pushing for in light of rampant piracy.

1998: Fats Domino is awarded the National Medal of Arts from US President Bill Clinton.

2000: Garth Brooks announces his plans to retire during a party to celebrate his certification for sales of 100 million albums at Nashville's Gaylord Entertainment Center. Brooks says he'll record one more album before he quits.

2002: Jessica Simpson married former 98° member Nick Lachey. The couple were featured on MTV ‘Newlyweds’ TV show. The couple separated after three years of marriage.

2006: Duran Duran guitarist Andy Taylor quit the band during the US leg of their world tour. A statement on behalf of the group described the relationship with Andy Taylor as unworkable and one that could not be resolved.

2007: Rapper T.I. was released on $3m bail in Atlanta after he was charged with unlawfully possessing firearms, unregistered machine guns and silencers. US Magistrate Judge Alan Baverman said the singer would remain under house arrest in Henry County, Georgia, being monitored 24 hours a day by a private firm paid for by himself. The rapper was also electronically tagged.

2007: 1,730 guitarists played the immortal Bob Dylan classic, 'Knocking On Heaven's Door' in a bid to break a record in the state of Meghalaya, North East India. The guitarists hoped their achievement would earn them a place in the Guinness Book of World Records. The current Guinness World Record was held by a guitar-ensemble from Kansas City in the US when 1,683 guitarists, played Deep Purple's 'Smoke On The Water'.

2011: Aerosmith were forced to delay a concert in South America after Steven Tyler fell in his hotel bathroom. The singer suffered cuts to his face and lost two of his teeth ahead of a concert in Asuncion, Paraguay.

2011: A coroner's inquest on the death of Amy Winehouse reached a verdict of misadventure. The report explained that Winehouse's blood alcohol content was 416 mg per decilitre at the time of her death, more than five times the legal drink-drive limit. According to the coroner ‘The unintended consequences of such potentially fatal levels was her sudden death’.