March 15

Birthdays

1912: Lightnin' Hopkins (Blues Artist)

1916: Harry James (Jazz Trumpeter & Bandleader)

1931: D.J. Fontana (Drummer for Elvis)

1940: Phil Lesh (The Grateful Dead)

1941: Mike Love (The Beach Boys)

1944: Sly Stone

1944: David Costell (Gary Lewis and the Playboys)

1946: Howard Scott (War)

1947: Ry Cooder

1947: Frank Lugo (? and the Mysterians)

1955: Dee Snider (Twisted Sister)

1962: Terence Trent D'arby

1963: Bret Michaels (Poison)

1964: Rockwell

1968: Mark McGrath (Sugar Ray)

1972: Mark Hoppus (Blink 182)

1975: Will.i.am (Black Eyed Peas)

1977: Joe Bourdon (DJ for Linkin Park)

Events

1929: Pinetop Smith dies from a gunshot wound in a dance-hall fight in Chicago.

1945 : Billboard magazine began listing a top albums chart. The first #1 was "The Nat King Cole Trio.

1954: The Chords recorded "Sh-Boom".

1955: Fats Domino recorded "Ain't It (That) A Shame".

1955: Elvis Presley signed a management contract with Colonel Tom Parker.

1958: Elvis Presley performs his last concert before leaving for the Army, a show at Memphis' Russwood Park. Aside from two benefit shows in 1961, this would be the last Presley concert until 1969.

1965: Elvis Presley begins filming his 19th movie, Harum Scarum, in Los Angeles.

1966: Tonight's winners at the Grammy Awards in New York City: Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass for "A Taste Of Honey" (Record Of The Year), Frank Sinatra's September Of My Years (Album Of The Year), and "The Shadow Of Your Smile" (Song Of The Year).

1968:  "LIFE" magazine called Jimi Hendrix "the most spectacular guitarist in the world."

1969: John Lennon and Yoko Ono, attempting to marry in Paris, are caught "standing in the dock at Southampton / Trying to get to Holland or France," as later documented in the Beatles song "The Ballad Of John And Yoko." Passport problems keep them from boarding.

1971: CBS-TV announces it will cancel The Ed Sullivan Show, then the longest-running TV show in history, after 23 years.

1972: After Los Angeles station KHJ’s DJ Robert W. Morgan broadcasts Donny Osmond's version of "Puppy Love" for 25 1/2 hours straight, worried callers summon the local police, who break into the studio, convinced that hippies or anarchists have taken it over. Turns out it was just a publicity stunt.

1975: Mick Jagger settles his paternity suit with singer Marsha Hunt out of court.

1975 :  The group T. Rex disbanded.

1976: KISS Destroyer is released.

1978: The Alan Freed biopic American Hot Wax, widely considered one of the best rock and roll movies of all time, premieres in New York City, featuring appearances and performances by Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry, and Screamin' Jay Hawkins.

1982: Bob Dylan is inducted, somewhat belatedly, into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame.

1986: The Bangles were at No.2 on the UK singles chart with 'Manic Monday', a song written by Prince under the pseudonym Christopher, it also made No.2 in the US, held of No.1 by Prince with 'Kiss'.

1989: The Rolling Stones sign a contract for $70 million -- the largest ever amount to that time -- for their upcoming 50 date US tour.

1998: Madonna scored her sixth UK No.1 album with 'Ray Of Light', no other female artist had achieved more than three UK No.1 albums.

1999: The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inducts Curtis Mayfield, Del Shannon, Dusty Springfield, Paul McCartney, The Staple Singers, Billy Joel, and Bruce Springsteen at their annual ceremony in New York City. Marking their reunion after ten years, Springsteen performs at the ceremony with the E Street Band.

2004: The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inducts Bob Seger, George Harrison, The Dells, ZZ Top, Jackson Browne, Prince, and Traffic at their annual ceremony in New York City.

2004: Former Crazy Town guitarist Rust Epique died of heart failure from an apparent heart attack at his home in Las Vegas. Epique was 35.

2004:  A federal judge denied Axl Rose's request for a restraining order to block the release of a Guns ‘N’ Roses greatest hits collection. Rose sued because he said he had not approved the album.

2005: former Stone Roses singer Ian Brown was arrested after a fight during a concert in San Francisco after a fan jumped on stage and attacked the singer, who then became involved in a fracas with a security guard. Brown was arrested at his hotel after the show at the Great American Music Hall but released without charge.

2006: Remnants of Fats Domino's three pianos are discovered and saved by the Louisiana State Museum after attempting to salvage his Ninth Ward home after Hurricane Katrina.

2010: Sony Music announced the biggest recording deal in history with the estate of Michael Jackson worth more than $200 m. The deal involved 10 album projects over seven years including one of previously unreleased material. Sony had sold about 31 million copies of Jackson's albums worldwide since his death on 25 June, 2009.

March 14

Birthdays

1804: Johann I Strauss ( Composer )

1912: Les Brown (Bandleader)

1931: Phil Phillips (Sang “Sea Of Love”)

1933: Quincy Jones

1934: Shirley Scott (Jazz Musician)

1942: Jerry Jeff Walker (Country Singer)

1943: Jim Pons (The Turtles)

1945: Walter Parazaider (Chicago)

1945: Michael Martin Murphy (Country Singer)

1946: Jim Pons  (The Turtles)

1950: Rick Dees (Radio DJ and performed “Disco Duck”)

1952: David Byrne (Talking Heads)

1983:  Taylor Hanson (Hanson)

1988:  Colby O'Donis (Singer)

Events

1955: Popular country star Jimmy Dean interviews Elvis Presley on Dean's Washington, DC television show Town and Country Time. A nervous Elvis answers every question with "yep" and "nope."

1955: CBS talent scout Arthur Godfrey turned down the chance to sign Elvis Presley, instead at the same audition he signed singer Pat Boone.

1956: The Alan Freed film Rock Around The Clock, starring The Platters and, naturally, Bill Haley and His Comets, premieres in New York City.

1965: Petula Clark made her American TV debut on CBS' "Ed Sullivan Show."

1958: The RIAA awards its first-ever gold record for sales of a million copies, the honor going to Perry Como's "Catch A Falling Star."

1960: Sam Cooke begins an unprecedented tour of the West Indies with a concert in Jamaica's Montego Bay.

1965: Petula Clark makes her American TV debut singing "Downtown" and "I Know A Place" on CBS-TV's Ed Sullivan Show.

1968: The BBC-TV program Top Of The Pops broadcasts the Beatles' new promotional video for "Lady Madonna," which, oddly enough, is made up entirely of clips from the band's recording of "Hey Bulldog."

1970: Mary Ann Ganser (The Shangri-Las) dies.  The cause of her death has been variously reported as encephalitis a seizure disorder, and barbiturates.

1971:  Rolling Stones left England for France to escape taxes

1972: At tonight's Grammy Awards, Carole King's massively popular Tapestry LP is awarded Album of The Year.

1972: Soul singer, Linda Jones, died aged 26 in New York after collapsing into a diabetic coma following a performance at Harlem's Apollo Theatre in new York. Had the 1967 US No.21 single 'Hypnotized'.

1974: Stevie Wonder announces his intention to move to Ghana, Africa. He wouldn't actually move there for 21 years.

1980: On the occasion of his forty-seventh birthday, Quincy Jones is awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1500 Vine.

1981: Bleeding ulcers force Eric Clapton to cancel the remainder of his 60-date US tour and check himself into a hospital in St. Paul, MN.  He was back in hospital five weeks later after being involved in a car crash.

1982: Metallica made their live debut when they appeared at Radio City in Anaheim, California.

1983: Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora and Alec John Such formed Bon Jovi.

1984: Annie Lennox married Hare Krishna devotee Radha Raman. They started divorce proceedings the following year.

1984: Rainbow played their last ever gig as a band when they performed in Japan.

1985: Dead Or Alive were kicked off the UK music television show 'The Tube', after admitting they were incapable of playing 'live.' The group scored the 1985 UK No.1 single 'You Spin Me Round, Like A Record'.

1990: Flea and Chad Smith from The Red Hot Chili Peppers were arrested for sexually harassing a woman on Daytona Beach, Florida. They were each fined $1,000.

1991: Doc Pomus dies of ling cancer

1992: A phony bomb threat disrupts a Jay and the Americans concert in Long Island, New York.

1992 - Farm Aid was attended by about 40,000 people in Irving, TX.

1995: with the release of 'Me Against the World' Tupac Shakur became the first male solo artist to have a No.1 album on the Billboard chart while in prison.

1998 – Ray Charles made his first solo performance in 53 years on the television shopping network QVC.

2004: DJ Casper went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Cha Cha Slide.' DJ Casper developed the Cha Cha Slide in 1996 for Bally Total Fitness and it became a hit with gym members.

2005: In New York City, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducts Percy Sledge, The O'Jays, U2, Buddy Guy, and the Pretenders.

2008: In London, Ex-Foundations member Peter MacBeth is sentenced to six years. 

March 13

Birthdays

1910: Sammy Kaye (Swing Bandleader)

1914: Bobby Haggart (Dixieland Jazz Artist)

1923: Red Garland (Jazz Pianist)

1930: Jan Howard (Country Singer)

1933: Mike Stoller (Composer)

1934: Dick Katz (Jazz Pianist)

1939: Neil Sedaka (Pop Singer)

1949: Donny York (Sha Na Na)

1959: Greg Norton (Husker Du)

1960: Adam Clayton (U2)

1973: David Draiman (Disturbed)

Events

1958: The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) launches its Gold Award Program to honor artists with outstanding sales. One million units sold of a single 45 rpm record earned Gold status; in 1976: the Platinum Award was introduced for singles which moved two million units. Today, the single awards are given at the half-million (gold) and million (platinum) level of sales or downloads, with the same award qualifications for album-length releases. The Diamond Award (album sales of over 10 million) was introduced in 1999.

1959: On Friday the 13th, the Kingston Trio are nearly killed when their plane makes an emergency landing on a turkey farm in South Bend, IN.

1964: According to Billboard, over 60 percent of all US singles currently sold are Beatles records.

1965: Tom Jones made his first major TV appearance on BBC TVs 'Billy Cotton Band Show.'

1965: Disgusted with the pop direction taken with their latest single, the Graham Gouldman-penned "For Your Love," Eric Clapton quits the Yardbirds, eventually forming Cream with Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker of the Graham Bond Organization.

1968: Elvis Presley begins filming his 28th movie, Live A Little, Love A Little (wisely changed from its original title, Kiss My Firm But Pliant Lips, which was the book this film was based on). Racier and grittier than most Elvis fare, it features only four songs. One year later to the day, his 29th film, the equally gritty Western Charro! is released, featuring one song only, over the opening credits.

1975: George Jones and Tammy Wynette divorce after six years.

1975:  Rush released "Fly By Night".

1976:  The Jackson 5 moved from Motown to Epic Records. They also changed their name to the Jackson's.

1976:  The Four Seasons' "December, 1963 (Oh, What A Night)" hits #1

1984:  MTV premiered its weekly "Top 20 Video Countdown" show.

1987:  Bryan Adams’ "Heat of the Night" became the first commercially released cassette single.

1987:  Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1750 Vine Street.

1993:  Canadian rapper Snow, (Darrin O'Brien), started a 7-week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Informer'.

1999:  Cher started a four week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Believe', making Cher the oldest woman to top the Hot 100 at the age of 53.

2002:  Wall Of Voodoo guitarist Marc Moreland died in Paris, France of Kidney failure aged 44. Had the 1983 hit ‘Mexican Radio.’

2002 - In Middletown NJ, Sebastian Bach (Skid Row Singer) was arrested for threatening the life of a bartender and the patrons of Lincroft Inn. He was charged with disorderly conduct, possession of under 20 grams of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was released the next day after posting bail.

2004:  Luciano Pavarotti gave his final opera performance at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. He still had concerts planned up until October 12, 2005.

2005:  50 Cent went to No.1 on the UK album chart with ‘The Massacre’, the US rappers first UK No.1. The album was also a US No.1 spending six weeks at the top of the chart.

2006:  The Sex Pistols refused to attend their own induction into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in New York City. Blondie, Herb Alpert and Black Sabbath were all inducted but the Pistols posted a handwritten note on their website, calling the institution "urine in wine", adding "We're not your monkeys, we're not coming. You're not paying attention".

2007:  Coffee house Starbucks announced the launch of its own music label, saying it would sign both established and new artists. The chain, which had 13,000 stores worldwide, had already released albums under its Hear Music brand, licensing songs from other companies. Starbucks bosses said the label would now become more independent and that music fitted with the firm's identity.

2008, Michael Jackson refinanced his Neverland ranch to save it from being auctioned off, after being told that if he failed to pay $25m he owed on the California property, it would be auctioned within a week. Jackson bought Neverland in 1987 intending to create a fantasy land for children naming it after an island in the story Peter Pan, where children never grow up.

March 12

Birthdays

1917: Leonard Chess (Founder of Chess records)

1922: Jack Kerouac

1938: Lew Dewitt (The Statler Brothers)

1940: Al Jarreau

1946: Liza Minnelli

1948: James Taylor

1949: Mike Gibbins (Badfinger)

1949: Bill Payne (Little Feat)

1956: Steve Harris (Iron Maidern)

1957: Marlon Jackson (The Jackson 5)

1977: Ben Kenny (Incubus)

1979: Pete Doherty (The Libertines)

Events

1953:  Popular WDIA disc jockey Rufus Thomas signs with an upstart Memphis label called Sun Records in order to release a song called "Bear Cat," an answer record to Big Mama Thornton's hit "Hound Dog."

1955:  Jazz gets a huge boost into the mainstream of American society -- again -- when Dave Brubeck and his group perform a triumphant concert at New York's Carnegie Hall.

1955:  American jazz saxophonist and composer Charlie Parker died of a heart attack in New York City while watching Tommy Dorsey's Orchestra on television. He was 34. The coroner who performed his autopsy mistakenly estimated Parker's 34-year-old body to be between 50 and 60 years of age. (After years of drug and alcohol abuse).

1957:  Buddy Holly & The Crickets recorded "Maybe Baby.

1958:  A Philadelphia court sentences Billie Holiday to one year probation for pleading guilty to heroin possession two years earlier.

1959: Fabian is named "Most Promising New Talent" in an American Bandstand viewers poll.

1963:  Beatles perform as a trio, John Lennon is ill with a cold

1965:  In the Bahamas, the Beatles wrap up filming on their second movie, Help!.

1966:  Love's 1st album released "Love"

1968:  The Rolling Stones started recording their single ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash’ with new producer Jimmy Miller at Olympic studios in London

1969:  Elvis begins filming his thirty-first and last fictional film, Change Of Habit, in which, as a ghetto doctor, he accidentally seduces a nun played by Mary Tyler Moore. Only four songs appear in the film, one of which is a Memphis session recording, "Rubberneckin'."

1969:  Infamous London police officer Det. Sgt. Norman Pilcher, well-known for singling out and busting rock stars, enters George Harrison's house in Esher, Surrey, England and arrests the Beatle and his wife Pattie for possession of marijuana (specifically, cannabis resin). That same morning, Paul McCartney marries girlfriend Linda Eastman at the register office in Marylebone, London and again at the Anglican church in St. John's Wood. No other Beatles attend.

1969:  At tonight's Grammy Awards ceremonies, the big winners are Simon and Garfunkel, who win Record of the Year for "Mrs. Robinson," and Glen Campbell, who wins Album of the Year for By The Time I Get To Phoenix.

1971:  Paul McCartney's lawsuit dissolving the Beatles is upheld when a London court grants his request to appoint a non-biased receiver to handle the group's business affairs in the wake of the band's management dispute.

1971:  Rolling Stone Mick Jagger marries Bianca P’rez Morena de Macias

1974:  During his infamous "Lost Weekend," John Lennon attends the Smothers Brothers comedy show at the Troubadour in Los Angeles with singer/songwriter Harry Nilsson. A drunk Nilsson begins to heckle the brothers, thinking he's helping the show, and a drunken John helps him do it. Both are thrown out.

1981:  Bow Wow Wow were forced to cancel the first dates of a UK tour after Greater London Council stated that singer Annabella Lwin aged 15 would be guilty of truancy.

1983:  U2 scored their first UK No.1 album with 'War', which went on to spend a total of 147 weeks on the chart. The album featured the singles 'New Years Day' and 'Two Hearts Beat As One'.

1991:  The R.E.M. album "Out of Time" was released.

1994:  Swedish group Ace Of Base started a six week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'The Sign'.

1996:  Nancy Sinatra gives her famous white go-go boots, the ones that were made for walkin', to the Beverly Hills Hard Rock Cafe.

1996:  The album "Unplugged" was released by KISS.

1998:  Judge Dread (Ska Artist) died due to heart attack as he walked off stage.

1998:  Korn served a cease-and-desist demand to a Michigan assistant principal, the high school and the school district who suspended a student for wearing a T-shirt that had the band's name on it.

2001:  Judy Garland's 'Over The Rainbow' was voted the Song Of The Century in a poll published in America. Musicians, critics and fans compiled the list by the RIA.

2003:  On the eve of the Rolling Stones' first tour of China, the Chinese government provides the group with a list of provocative songs the group is prohibited from playing, including "Brown Sugar," “Beast Of Burden”, "Honky Tonk Women," and "Let's Spend The Night Together."

2007: The Ronettes are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in New York City.

2007: Disappointed with his share of the profits from a cell phone commercial that was authorized to use the group's famous 1968 hit "The Weight," The Band's Levon Helm sues Cingular, the commercial's creator.

2008: An all-Beatles-song episode of FOX-TV's American Idol, seven years in the making, draws an estimated 31 million viewers

2009: Hundreds of fans queued at the O2 arena in London as Michael Jackson tickets went on sale to the public. The 50-year-old pop veteran had confirmed he would be playing a 50-date residency at the venue, beginning on 8 July 2009. Some 360,000 pre-sale tickets had already sold. Organisers said the This Is It tour had become the fastest-selling in history, with 33 seats sold each minute.

2010: Over 130 people were arrested and eight people were hospitalised as fans tried to gatecrash a Metallica show in Colombia. 1,500 police and four tanks were brought in to manage the crowds as property was vandalized and destroyed, as thousands of ticketless fans rioted during Metallica’s first Colombian concert in eleven years.

March 11

Birthdays

1903            Lawrence Welk

1944            Ric Rothwell (drummer with The Mindbenders)

1947            Mark Stein (Vanilla Fudge)

1948            George Kooymans (Golden Earring)

1950            Bobby McFerrin

1955            Nina Hagen

1961            Bruce Watson (Big Country)

1961            Mike Percy (Dead Or Alive)

1964            Vinnie Paul (Pantera)

1968            Lisa Loeb

1969            Rami Jaffee (The Wallflowers)

1979            Joel & Benji Madden (Good Charlotte)

1981            LeToya Nicole Luckett ( Destiny's Child)

1964:  Elvis Presley’s 14th movie, "Kissin' Cousins," was released.

1967:  Music publisher, Dick James, announced that 446 different versions of the Paul McCartney song 'Yesterday' had been recorded so far.

1967 - Pink Floyd releases their 1st song (Arnold Layne)

1968:  The Otis Redding single 'Dock Of The Bay', went gold in the US three months after the singer was killed in a plane crash.

1969:  Motown bought the Jackson 5 out of their contract with Steeltown.

1970:  Winners at this years Grammy awards included Joe South for song of the year with 'Games People Play', Crosby Stills and Nash won best new artist, The Fifth Dimension won Record of the year with 'Aquarius / Let The Sun Shine In.'

1972:  Neil Young went to No.1 on the US & UK album chart with 'Harvest.' The album featured the hit single 'Heart Of Gold.'

1972:  Harry Nilsson was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with his version of The Peter Ham and Tom Evans song 'Without You'. First recorded by Badfinger in 1970, the song was also a No.1 for Mariah Carey in 1994.

1977: The Clash appeared at The Roxy Club, London, supported by The Slits, the first all-female punk group who were making their live debut.

1989:  Debbie Gibson started a five-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with 'Electric Youth.'

1991:  Janet Jackson signs $40M 3-album deal with Virgin records


1993:  Oasis recorded their first demos at The Real People's studio in Liverpool. The set included 'Rock 'n' Roll Star', 'Columbia' and 'Fade Away.'

1995: Van Halen kicked off their 131-date ‘Balance World Tour’, at the Pensacola Civic Center, Pensacola Civic Center, Florida. (Dubbed the "Ambulance" Tour by Eddie Van Halen due to his hip surgery, and his brother, drummer Alex Van Halen wearing a neck brace for most of the tour).

1996:  Pulp singer Jarvis Cocker walked free from Kensington police station after police failed to charge him with any criminal offence following his 'stage invasion', during Michael Jackson's performance at the Brit Awards on 19th February 1996.

1997:  Paul McCartney knighted Sir Paul by Queen

1998:  Stacey Guess of the Squirrel Nut Zippers dies of a drug overdose.

2000:  Destiny's Child went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Say My Name'.

2000:  KISS began their "Farewell Tour."

2001:  Dave Matthews Band started a two-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with 'Everyday.'

2005:  The front door of Ozzy Osbourne's childhood home in Birmingham went up for sale because the current owner was fed up with fans defacing it. Ali Mubarrat, who now owned the house in Lodge Road, Aston, said over the years it had become a pilgrimage destination. He was now auctioning the door on eBay and giving the money to charity.

2006:  The Disney Channel Original Movie, ‘High School Musical’ was at No.1 on the US album chart. The album went on to break all records for a soundtrack selling over 7 million copies worldwide. A No.1 album In Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Argentina and Mexico.

2008:  Madonna was inducted into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at a star-studded ceremony in New York City. She received her honor at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel from singer Justin Timberlake. The 49-year-old thanked her detractors in an acceptance speech, including those who "said I couldn't sing, that I was a one hit wonder". Rock star John Mellencamp, Leonard Cohen, The Ventures and The Dave Clark Five were also among the inductees.

2009:  Heavy metal group Iron Maiden's tour manager criticised people who were arrested for trying to gatecrash a concert in Bogota. Colombian police arrested more than 100 people after stones were thrown hours before the group were due to perform. In a statement posted on the band's website, Rod Smallwood said: "We abhor the inane behaviour of a small minority of people outside." Riot police fired tear gas canisters at those who tried to enter the concert without tickets.

2010:  Pete Doherty (The Libertines) was banned from driving for 12 months after admitting allowing his manager to use his Daimler car without insurance. Doherty's manager Andrew Boyd, admitted dangerous driving and failing to stop at the scene of an accident and was jailed for 12 months. The court was told how the victim Chris Corder suffered "catastrophic" brain injuries and was left in a coma after the crash, the court heard.