July 24

Births

1957: Pam Tillis (Country Singer)

1957: Robbie Grey (Vocals for Modern English)

1957: Larry Gott (Guitar for James)

1958: Mick Karn (Bass for Japan)

1963: Paul Geary (Drummer for Extreme)

1969: Jennifer Lopez (Singer)

1973: Lady Mecca (Digable Planets)

Events

1956: Ten years to the day after their act began, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis break up their wildly popular musical and comedy act after a farewell show at New York's Copacabana nightclub.

1964: At the Rolling Stones' gig in Blackpool, England's Empress Ballroom, an angry audience member spits on guitarist Brian Jones, sparking a riot which injures two policemen and 30 fans, as well as destroying chandeliers, seats and a Steinway grand piano. Their remaining performances at the venue are cancelled and the group is banned from performing in the city, a ban which was not lifted until 2008.

1967: The Beatles and manager Brian Epstein, among other celebrities, take out a full-page ad in The Times newspaper in Britain calling for the legalization of marijuana. On the same day, Asia's edition of Life Magazine features the Beatles on the cover, sporting a new look featuring long hair and facial hair, a major stylistic statement at the time, and carrying the headline "The New, Far-Out Beatles."

1972: Bobby Ramirez, drummer with Edgar Winter's White Trash, is beaten to death in a Chicago barroom brawl after several patrons complain about the length of his hair.

1982: Survivor started a six week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Eye Of The Tiger', taken from the film 'Rocky III'. Also No.1 in the UK. Survivor won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance for the song.

1984: Aretha Franklin's father, the well-known gospel singer The Reverend Clarence LaVaughn Franklin, dies after a five-year coma brought on by a burglar's bullet.

1985: A stretch of Detroit's Washington Boulevard is renamed "Aretha Franklin's Freeway Of Love," in honor of her recent comeback hit.

1987: The movie La Bamba, a somewhat fictionalized biography of Latin rock star Richie Valens, opens in the US. It's generally well-received, especially the soundtrack by Los Lobos. Lou Diamond Phillips stars as Valens, who died in the infamous plane crash that killed Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper; Marshall Crenshaw appears as Buddy Holly and Brian Setzer as Eddie Cochran.

1990: Pantera released "Cowboys From Hell." It was their first major label release.

1990: A wrongful death trial involving Judas Priest opened in Reno, NV. Parents had charged in a lawsuit that the band's "Stained Class" album contained subliminal messages that drove two teen-agers to attempt suicide. The judge cleared the group.

1997: Police gave Oasis singer Liam Gallagher a formal caution after he admitted criminal damage following an incident with a cyclist in Camden, north London. Gallagher had grabbed the rider from the window of his chauffeur driven car and broken the man’s Ray-Bans sunglasses.

1998: Country legend Tanya Tucker files suit against her label, Capitol Nashville, for $300,000, claiming the label has not promoted her properly.

1999: Phil Collins married for the third time. The 48-year-old drummer wed marketing consultant Orianne Cevey in Lausanne, Switzerland. Guests at the wedding included Elton John, Eric Clapton and Mark Knopfler.

2003: Ozzy Osbournes long-standing tour manager, Bobby Thompson, was found dead in his Detroit hotel room. Thompson had been battling throat cancer.

2007: Blues legend Etta James enters Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles for complications stemming from recent abdominal surgery.

2008: Rapper 50 Cent was suing Taco Bell claiming the US fast food chain used his name and image without permission in an advertising campaign. New York court papers say the advert features the star being encouraged to change his name to 79 Cent, 89 Cent or 99 Cent. The rapper is accusing the chain of ‘diluting the value of his good name’. The advertisement is part of Taco Bell's ‘Why Pay More?’ campaign, which promotes items for under a dollar.