June 29

Births

1901: Nelson Eddy (Pop Singer)

1910: Frank Loesser (Broadway Songwriter)

1922: Ralph Burns (Bandleader)

1929: Johnny Ace (John Marshall Alexander) (R&B Singer)

1943: Little Eva (Eva Narcissus Boyd) (Pop Singer)

1948: Ian Paice (Drummer for Deep Purple & Whitesnake)

1948: Bill Kirchen (Guitar for Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen)

1953: Colin Hay (Singer for Men At Work)

1953: Don Dokken (Singer for Dokken)

1978: Nicole Scherzinger (Lead Singer in Eden’s Crush & Pussycat Dolls)

1979: Tim McCord (Bass for Evanescence)

Events

1957: The government of Iran officially bans rock and roll after declaring rock dancing "as harmful to health." The ban would stay in place until the 1990s.

1957: Buddy Holly released "Peggy Sue".

1959: Dick Clark announces his first series of four "Caravan of Stars" concerts over the course of the next year, with his first being headlined by the Skyliners of "Since I Don't Have You" fame.

1963: Beatles' 1st song "From Me to You" hits UK charts.

1967: Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones is sentenced to three months in jail and lead singer Mick Jagger to a full year after a raid of Richards' home in February turned up cannabis residue. After a public outpouring of sympathy, including a famous essay in the London Times defending the pair ("Who Breaks A Butterfly Upon A Wheel?" July 1, 1967), Richards' charges are dropped and Jagger's reduced to probation.

1967: While on tour with the Hollies, Graham Nash writes a song called "Marrakesh Express," which will later find a home (and a hit) with his new band, Crosby Stills and Nash.

1969: The Jimi Hendrix Experience play their last gig together at the Denver Pop Festival.

1969: R&B Singer Shorty Long and a friend drowned when their boat capsized on the Detroit River in Michigan.  He was 29 Years old.

1970: NBC-TV presents the Liza Minnelli special Liza, also starring songwriters Anthony Newley, Jimmy Webb, and Randy Newman.

1973: Deep Purple "Mark II," the most famous incarnation of the band, comes to an end after tonight's show in Osaka, Japan, with lead singer Ian Gillan and bassist Roger Glover abruptly quitting the group.

1974: Neil Peart replaces John Rutsey as the drummer for Rush.

1974: Singer songwriter Gordon Lightfoot scored his only US No.1 single with 'Sundown'.

1975: Elton John appears onstage with the Doobie Brothers in Oakland, CA, for an impromptu duet on the Doobies hit "Listen To The Music."

1975: Singer/Songwriter Tim Buckley died from a morphine & heroin overdose at age 28.

1976: The Memphis City Council votes to change Elvis' home street, Highway 51 South, to "Elvis Presley Boulevard."

1978: While driving with his girlfriend in the Bahamas, Peter Frampton crashes and severely injures himself, breaking his arm, cracking several ribs, causing a concussion, and cutting short his rise to superstardom as he mends in a local hospital for months.

1979: Lowell George (Singer for Little Feat) collapsed in his Arlington, Virginia hotel room and died. An autopsy showed that he died of an accidental drug overdose.

1985: New York's Cooper-Hewitt museum fetches a record $3,006,385 for John Lennon's "Roller," a 1965 Rolls Royce Phantom V painted groovy psychedelic colors by Apple associates The Fool.

1985: In order to create a new single as part of the massive Live Aid series of concerts, Mick Jagger and David Bowie rush into a recording studio and produce their hit cover of Martha and the Vandellas' "Dancing In The Street" in under 12 hours. As with the concerts, all proceeds go to feed victims of the Ethiopian hunger crisis.

1988: Brenda Richie, wife of former Commodore and current solo star Lionel, is arrested for assault after allegedly striking her husband after finding him in bed with another woman. She is later released on $5,000 bail.

1994: Barbra Streisand sets a new record after grossing $16 million for a series of Madison Square Garden comeback shows.

1995: Ringo Starr's first-ever TV commercial, for Pizza Hut, debuts in the US, as does a similar spot by the newly-reformed Monkees.

1996: It was reported that US record company bosses were considering random drug tests for pop stars similar to those carried out on athletes to try and reduce the drug death toll in the industry.

1998: George Harrison shocks the world with an announcement that he is currently undergoing chemotherapy for throat cancer, assuring his fans that he's fine and that "I'm not going to die on you folks just yet." Harrison would succumb to the disease three years later.

1999: Former teen heartthrob Leif Garrett is arrested in Los Angeles for possession of cocaine.

1999: Michael Jackson suffered severe bruising after falling over 50 feet when a bridge collapsed during a concert at Munich's Olympic stadium. Jacko was singing 'Earth Song' at the time of the accident.

2000: The casket holding Lynyrd Skynyrd lead singer Ronnie Van Zandt is stolen from its mausoleum in Jacksonville, FL, but left after vandals were unable to open it; member Steve Gaines' ashes are spilled from his urn, which is also stolen.

2000: Eight men were trampled to death during Pearl Jam's performance at The Roskilde festival, near Copenhagen. Police said the victims had all slipped or fallen in the mud in front of the stage.

2000: Eminem’s mother went to court claiming defamation of character in a $10 million civil suit, after taking exception to the line “My mother smokes more dope than I do” from her son’s single ‘My Name Is’.

2002: Singer Rosemary Clooney died of lung cancer at age 74.

2007: George McCorkle (Guitarist for Marshall Tucker Band) died from cancer at 49 years old.

2007: Lily Allen was questioned by police over an alleged assault on a photographer outside a nightclub in London. She was freed on police bail after she was quizzed about an alleged assault on a male photographer in his 40s near the Wardour club in London's Soho in March. 

June 28

Births

1902: Richard Rodgers (Composer)

1924: George Morgan (Country Singer)

1936: Cathy Carr (Pop Singer)

1945: Dave Knights (Bass for Procol Harum)

1958: Oran "Juice" Jones (R&B Singer)

1963: Charles Clouser (Keyboardist & Drummer for Nine Inch Nails)

1965: Saul Davis (Guitar & Violin for James)

1971: Ray Slijngaard (Vocals for 2 Unlimited)

1977: Mark Stoermer (Bass Guitarist for The Killers)

1986: Kellie Pickler (Country Singer)

Events

1957: Jerry Lee Lewis makes his US television debut, performing "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On on NBC's Steve Allen Show and making himself a superstar overnight.

1959: Bobby Darin was at No.1 on the singles chart with 'Dream Lover'. It was the singers first No.1 and the song featured Neil Sedaka on piano.

1962: The Drifters recorded "Up On The Roof".

1965: Dick Clark's latest rock n' roll variety show, Where The Action Is, premieres on ABC-TV, featuring performances by Jan & Dean, Dee Dee Sharp and Linda Scott, and also introducing a new house band called Paul Revere and the Raiders. Meanwhile, over on CBS, influential DJ Murray The K's variety special It's What's Happening, Baby! features performances by The Supremes, The Ronettes, The Drifters, The Miracles, The Temptations, Little Anthony and the Imperials, Martha and the Vandellas, The Righteous Brothers, Tom Jones, The Dave Clark Five, Patti Labelle and the Bluebelles, and Gary Lewis and the Playboys.

1968: At NBC Studios in Hollywood, Elvis Presley tapes the "gospel medley" portion of what would later be known as his "'68 Comeback Special," as well as a controversial "bordello" scene that was never broadcast: NBC censors had no objections, but the sponsor, Singer Sewing Machines, didn't want to upset viewers.

1968: Aretha Franklin is featured on the cover of Time magazine, under a banner headed "The Sound Of Soul."

1969: Neil Diamond released the single "Sweet Caroline".

1973: Helen Reddy begins her own NBC-TV "summer replacement" series called, naturally enough, The Helen Reddy Show.

1973: Following its highly successful "Fifties revival" oldies show the year before, Madison Square Garden holds a British Invasion-themed version, featuring Gerry and the Pacemakers, Herman's Hermits, The Searchers, and Wayne Fontana.

1975: American singer songwriter Tim Buckley completed the last show of a tour in Dallas, Texas, playing to a sold-out crowd of 1,800 people. This was Buckley’s last ever show, he died the following day of a heroin and morphine overdose aged 28.

1975: David Bowie released the single "Fame".

1977: Elton John achieved a life long ambition when he became the Chairman of Watford Football Club.

1980: Roy Orbison begins an amazing Eighties comeback by making the country music charts with "That Lovin' You Feeling Again," a duet with Emmylou Harris.

1986: Wham! played their farewell concert in front of 80,000 fans at Wembley Stadium, London.

1990: At today's concert in Liverpool, Paul McCartney plays John Lennon-written Beatles songs for the first time: "Strawberry Fields Forever," "Help!" and Lennon's solo "Give Peace A Chance."

1993: Wilson Pickett pleads guilty to drunk driving in New Jersey after hitting an elderly pedestrian in April of the previous year. He is sentenced to a year in jail and five years' probation, as well as a $5,000 fine and 200 hours of community service.

1997: George Harrison secretly undergoes surgery to have a cancerous lump removed from his throat. Though it turns out to be benign, the ex-Beatle will eventually succumb to the disease in 2001.

1997: The classic Pink Floyd album ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ spent its 1056th week on the US album chart. It was rumoured at the time that if the album was played while watching The Wizard of Oz movie, and started exactly when the MGM lion roared the third time during the movie’s intro, very interesting connections could be made between the two.

1997: Bob Seger crashed in his BMW on the Trans-Canada Highway in Nipigon, Ontario. The singer later appeared in court charged with dangerous driving.

1999: The home of DMX (Earl Simmons) was searched as part of an investigation into the shooting of Ray Copeland. Copeland is the uncle and manager of DMX. Copeland was wounded in the foot the previous day.

June 27

Births

1925: Doc Pomus (Songwriter)

1927: Captain Kangaroo (Bob Keeshan)

1942: Frank Mills (Piano Player)

1942: Bruce Johnston (Guitar & Vocals for The Beach Boys)

1958: Lisa Germano (Singer/Songwriter)

1959: Lorrie Morgan (Country Singer)

1961: Margo Timmins (Vocals for The Cowboy Junkies)

1970: Laurence Colbert (Drums for Ride)

1976: Leigh Nash (Singer for Sixpence None The Richer)

Events

1949: Gene Autry recorded "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer".

1959: West Side Story closes on Broadway after a record 732 performances.

1959: Paul Anka, Frankie Avalon, and Edd "Kookie" Byrnes are the musical guests on ABC-TV's variety show Coke Time With Eddie Fisher.

1963: Brenda Lee signs a million-dollar contract with Decca Records.

1964: Jan and Dean released "The Little Old Lady From Pasadena".

1967: Mick Jagger was found guilty of illegal possession of two drugs found in his jacket at a party given by Keith Richards. He was remanded overnight at Lewes jail, England (prison number 7856). Jagger requested books on Tibet and modern art and two packs of Benson & Hedges cigarettes.

1968: As part of the filming of what would become known as his "'68 Comeback" TV special, Elvis Presley and his band tape an informal jam session on center stage at NBC's Studio 4, a performance many consider his best of all time. However, manager "Colonel" Tom Parker, unhappy with the direction of the show, withholds all tickets to the performance, forcing staffers to run into a nearby Bob's Big Boy restaurant (4211 W. Riverside Dr., Burbank) and plead with patrons to come see a real honest-to-goodness Elvis concert. (The King himself is extremely nervous at performing live for the first time in seven years, and is told by Binder that once he goes out there, he can just get up and leave if he can't take it. A close look at the performance shows that, once on stage, he pretends to do just that.) Two shows, an afternoon and an evening, are performed. This legendary performance would later serve as the inspiration for MTV's Unplugged series.

1969: The Denver Pop Festival opened at Mile High Stadium. Violence broke out in the 50,000+ crowd and police moved in with clubs and tear gas.

1970: The UK band Smile, having recently changed their name, performs for the first time as Queen, playing Truro City Hall in Cornwall, England.

1970: With their latest single, "The Love You Save," The Jackson 5 become the first rock-era group to score #1 hits with its first three songs. They'd soon make it four with "I'll Be There."

1971: Legendary rock promoter Bill Graham closes the Fillmore East, the New York version of his equally legendary San Francisco "rock ballroom." The Allman Brothers, The Beach Boys, Edgar Winter, and Country Joe McDonald are on the bill for the final show.

1976: After years of fighting deportation from a government that objected to his public radicalism, John Lennon finally gets his "green card" allowing him to stay in the United States.

1978: Kansas, the band, is named the first musical Ambassadors of Goodwill by UNICEF.

1980: John Bonham, drummer with Led Zeppelin collapsed on stage during a gig in Nuremberg, West Germany.

1987: Whitney Houston became the first women in US history to enter the album chart at No.1 with 'Whitney' she also became the first woman to top the singles chart with four consecutive releases when 'I Wanna Dance With Somebody' hit No.1.

1988: Cyndi Lauper got her high school diploma from Richmond High in New York.

1988 - MCA Records bought Motown Records for $61 million.

1989: Tom Jones is awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6608 Hollywood Blvd.

1989: The Who perform their rock opera Tommy in its entirety for the first time since 1972, performing it for charity at Radio City Music Hall.

1991: Carlos Santana is arrested in Houston after airport officials find marijuana in his luggage.

1992: Stefanie Ann Sargent (guitarist for 7 Year Bitch) dies of an overdose at 24.

1993: Don Henley was booed in Milwaukee when he dedicates the song "It's Not Easy Being Green" to President Clinton.

1993: Lyle Lovett and actress Julia Roberts were married. They were divorced in 1995.

1994: Aerosmith become first major band to let fans download a full new track free from the internet.

1996: During a free concert by The Fugees in Harlem a man started to fire shots from a gun injuring 22 people.

1998: Gordon Lightfoot, Anne Murray, and Bryan Adams become the first three honorees to be awarded a star on Canada's new Walk of Fame on Toronto's King Street.

2000: The Rolling Stones are found in copyright violation of Robert Johnson's "Love In Vain" and "Stop Breaking Down," both of which the Stones had covered and incorrectly labeled as in the public domain.

2000: Nelly's debut album "Country Grammar" was released.

2002: One day before the scheduled first show of The Who's 2002 US tour, bass player John Entwistle died at age 57 in his hotel room at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Entwistle had gone to bed that night with a stripper who woke at 10am to find Entwistle cold and unresponsive. The Las Vegas medical examiner determined that death was due to a heart attack induced by an undetermined amount of cocaine.

2003: Cat Stevens is given a cash settlement by members of the Flaming Lips after they acknowledge their song "Flight Test" is similar to Stevens' 1970 song "Father And Son."

2003: Rapper Mystikal pleaded guilty to charges that he forced his hairstylist to perform sex acts on him and two bodyguards. Mystikal, (real name Michael Tyler), had been charged with aggravated rape. He agreed to plead guilty and was sentenced to five years' probation.

2009: Black Eyed Peas went to No.1 on the US album charts with ‘The E.N.D.’ the group’s fifth studio album. The album's lead single, 'Boom Boom Pow' topped the Billboard Hot 100 for 12 consecutive weeks, the second single, 'I Gotta Feeling' replaced 'Boom' and spent 14 weeks at No.1. Giving the group 26 consecutive weeks at the top of the charts.

June 26

Births

1909: Colonel Tom Parker (Elvis Manager)

1940: Billy Davis Jr. (Singer for 5th Dimension)

1942: Larry Taylor (Bass for Canned Heat)

1943: Jean Knight (R&B Singer)

1955: Mick Jones (Guitar & Vocals for The Clash)

1955: Ivan Julian (Guitarist for Richard Hell And The Voidoids)

1956: Chris Isaak (Singer & Guitar)

1957: Patty Smyth (Singer for Scandal & Solo)

1961: Terri Nunn (Vocals for Berlin)

1963: Harriet Wheeler (Vocals for The Sundays)

1969: Colin Greenwood (Bass for Radiohead)

1969: Mark Decloedt (Drummer for EMF)

1973: Gretchen Wilson (Country Singer)

1979: Nathan Followill (Drums for Kings Of Leon)

Events

1954: Sam Phillips, head of Sun Records, calls a young singer named Elvis Presley, who had recorded a few songs there earlier in the year, and asks him to record two songs, "Without You" and "Rag Mop." He sings the first, attempting to match a demo made by an unknown person hanging around the studio, but it proves too much for him, and, according to Dave Marsh's book Elvis, beats the walls of the studio, repeatedly shouting "I hate him! I hate him!" The singer whom Elvis could not match is lost to history. Phillips mollifies the young Elvis by asking him to sing something else, and Presley impresses him anyway, to the point that he makes plans to set the singer up with musicians for a future date.

1955: Decca Records, home to Bill Haley and His Comets, announces that the group has sold three million records in the past year, due mostly to "Rock Around The Clock" and "Shake, Rattle And Roll."

1956: Jazz trumpeter Clifford Brown is killed in a car crash at age 25.

1961: The Marcels make their US television debut, performing "Blue Moon" on ABC-TV's American Bandstand.

1963: After a Beatles performance at the Majestic Ballroom, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England, John Lennon and Paul McCartney write "She Loves You" in their hotel room, originally an answer song of sorts to the Bobby Rydell hit "Forget Him."

1964: The album "A Hard Day’s Night" was released by The Beatles.

1965: The Byrds went to No.1 on the US singles chart with their version of Bob Dylan's 'Mr Tambourine Man'. Only Roger McGuinn from the band played on the song, the drummer Hal Blaine played on the track also played on 'Bridge Over Troubled Water'.

1971: WNEW-FM in New York becomes the first radio station to play Don McLean's new single, "American Pie," which it features in its 8:36 entirety.

1973: Model and singer Marsha Hunt, inspiration for the Rolling Stones song "Brown Sugar," names Mick Jagger in a paternity suit, claiming the singer fathered her two-year-old daughter Karis. That same day, Stones guitarist Keith Richards is busted, along with girlfriend Anita Pallenberg, in his Chelsea home for possession of heroin, illegal pharmaceuticals, guns, and ammo.

1974: Cher divorced Sonny Bono after 10 years of marriage. Four days later, Cher married guitarist Gregg Allman, the couple split 10 days after that, got back together and split again. They did stay married for three years, producing Elijah Blue Allman.

1976: Peter Frampton released "Baby, I Love Your Way".

1977: Elvis Presley made his last ever live stage appearance when he appeared at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis. Presley would die less than two months later. The last two songs he performed were ‘Hurt’ and ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water.’ Before the show Elvis was presented with a plaque commemorating the 2 billionth record to come out of RCA’s pressing plant.

1979: Elton John Drummer Nigel Olsson runs a stop sign, crashes and kills a driver.

1982: Roxy Music leader Bryan Ferry marries his first wife, model Lucy Helmore. The same day, Marie Osmond marries her first husband, Brigham Young University basketball player Steve Craig.

1986: James Hetfield (Metallica) broke his wrist while trying to skateboard down a hill. One show was cancelled and the remainder of dates on the tour James was on vocals only and John Marshall (later with Metal Church) was on guitar.

1993: Ron Isley of the Isley Brothers marries his first wife, R&B singer Angela Winbush.

2000: Britney Spears hometown of Kentwood, Louisiana announced that a new museum, due to open early next year, would include a section including fan mail, platinum records and genuine items of the singers clothing.