Births
1941: J.J.
Jackson (Soul Singer)
1947: Steve
Howe (Guitarist for Yes, Asia & GTR)
1951: Mel Schacher (Bass for Grand Funk Railroad)
1962: Izzy Stradlin (Guitar for Guns N' Roses)
1963: Julian Lennon (Son of John Lennon and
Singer)
1963: Donita Sparks (Guitar & vocals for L7)
1964: Biz Markie (Marcel Theo Hall) (Rapper)
1971: Darren Jessee (Drums for Ben Folds Five)
1972: The Pig (No. 2) (Paul Gray) (Bass for
Slipknot)
1984: Ezra Koenig (Singer & Guitarist for
Vampire Weekend)
Events
1956: The Johnny
Burnette Trio makes its TV debut, performing "Train Kept A-Rollin'"
on ABC's Ted Mack's Amateur Hour. They will appear two more times on the
show, but never win.
1963: John
Lennon and wife Cynthia are the proud parents of their first child, Julian, who
would go on to have several hits of his own in the '80s and '90s.
1964: The
Supremes recorded "Where Did Our Love Go" at Motown Studios in
Detroit. The song would become the first of their five US number one singles.
1967: In a
move that will have enormous implications for England and soul music, Stax
makes its first European stop on its promotional tour, with Otis Redding, Sam
and Dave, Booker T. and the MGs, Eddie Floyd, and Arthur Conley performing at
London's Hammersmith Odeon.
1968: Petula
Clark's first (and only) TV special, entitled simply Petula, airs on
NBC, featuring guest star Harry Belafonte performing a duet on an antiwar song
she'd written called "On The Path Of Glory." During taping, Clark had
reached out to touch Belafonte's arm in a spontaneous gesture, causing the
show's sponsor Chrysler to protest, fearing the interracial contact would upset
viewers in the American south. As a result, the show is infamous even before it
airs: Petula and the show's executive producer, her husband Claude Wolff,
respond to the pressure by having all other takes of the duet destroyed so that
the gesture would have to be aired. It was, historically, the first interracial
contact to be broadcast on American television.
1971: Chicago
becomes the first rock group to play Carnegie Hall, in a concert that will be
immortalized on their hefty four-disc fourth album.
1972: Written after the 'Bloody Sunday Massacre',
in Northern Ireland Paul McCartney and Wings released 'Give Ireland Back To The
Irish.' The song was banned by the BBC and the IBA. It peaked at No.16 in the
UK and No.21 in the US.
1977: The Damned played at the home of the New
York punk scene CBGBS, the first UK Punk group to play live dates in the USA.
1982: New Order's bass player Peter Hook was
knocked unconscious during a riot at a gig in Rotterdam.
1985: American songwriter J Fred Coots died aged
87. Co-wrote, 'Santa Claus Is Coming To Town' and the Pat Boone US No.1 hit
'Love Letters In The Sand.' He wrote over 700 songs.
1988: R.E.M. left IRS Records and signed with
Warner Brothers records.
1989: For the
first time in its 33-year history, ABC's legendary dance show American
Bandstand moves to the USA network, replacing longtime host Dick Clark with
newcomer David Hirsch. The show would be canceled for good six months later.
1989: Lol Tolhurst, keyboardist and founding
member of the Cure, left the band.
1994: Electrician Gary Smith who was working at
Kurt Cobain's house in Seattle discovered Cobain's body lying on the floor in
the greenhouse. Local radio station KXRX broke the news at 9.40am that the
Nirvana singer and guitarist was dead. A shotgun was found next to Cobain's
body. A suicide note was found that said, "I haven't felt the excitement
of listening to as well as creating music, along with really writing . . . for
too many years now". A high concentration of heroin and traces of Valium
were also found in Cobain’s body.
1994: The Recording Industry Association of
America announced that Pink Floyd's 1973 album Dark Side of the Moon had become
the fourth biggest-selling album in US history and had passed the 13 million
mark in sales. The album has sold more than 25 million copies worldwide.
1997: American singer, songwriter Laura Nyro died
from ovarian cancer.
1998: Rolling
Stones guitarist Ron Wood and 11 other passengers are stranded in a boat off
the coast of Brazil when its engine catches fire. A boat of nearby journalists,
fortunately, rescues the stranded boaters just minutes before the burning
engine causes the craft to explode.
1998: Tommy Lee (Motley Crue) was jailed for 6
months after breaking a probation order.
2002: Marilyn Manson denied claims that he was
responsible for the death of a woman after a party at his mansion in 2001.
Jennifer Syme, a former girlfriend of actor Keanu Reeves, died when her Jeep
Cherokee hit three parked cars. Her mother, Maria St John, was suing the singer
for wrongful death, claiming Manson was negligent in "instructing the
woman to operate a motor vehicle in her incapacitated condition
2008: Babyshambles frontman Pete Doherty was
jailed for 14 weeks for violating his probation and for using drugs. Doherty
had been given a suspended jail sentence for possession of drugs and driving
illegally in October 2007. The singers supervision order had required him to
make regular visits to court for progress reports, as well as take part in a
drug rehabilitation programme but he missed one appointment with his probation
team and had been late for another. The sentence forced Doherty to cancel his biggest
gig to date at the Royal Albert Hall scheduled for later this month
2010: Malcolm McLaren former manager of the Sex
Pistols, the New York Dolls and Bow Wow Wow died from cancer aged 64. As a solo
artist he scored the 1983 UK No.3 single 'Double Dutch'. He set up the fashion
store Let It Rock in the late 60's with Vivienne Westwood selling rubber and
fetish gear.
2011: Rapper Gucci Mane (real name: Radric Davis)
was arrested near Atlanta while visiting his probation officer. He was arrested
on a misdemeanor battery charge stemming from an incident in January, DeKalb
County Police confirm to The Hollywood Reporter. According to a police report,
he picked up a woman at a local mall, invited her out for breakfast and then
tried to offer her $150 to stop by a hotel with him. When she refused, he
pushed her out of his car while it was in motion. She was taken to the hospital
with "soreness and pain."
