July 12

Births

1927: Conte Candoli (Jazz Trumpeter)

1934: Van Cliburn (Piano Player)

1943: Christine McVie (Keyboards & Vocals for Fleetwood Mac)

1949: Eric Carr (Paul Charles Caravell) (Drummer for KISS)

1952: Liz Mitchell (Singer for Boney M)

1952: Philip Taylor Kramer (Bass for Iron Butterfly)

1962: Dan Murphy (Guitar for Soul Asylum)

1964: Tim Gane (Guitar & Keyboards for Stereolab)

1965: Robin Wilson (Singer for The Gin Blossoms)

Events

1954: A nineteen-year-old Elvis Presley officially quits his job as a truck driver for Crown Electric in Memphis after signing a one-year contract with Sun Records (and a similar management contract with his bassist, Scotty Moore).

1959: Legendary DJ Alan Freed attempts to capture the magic of Dick Clark's American Bandstand on ABC by staging his own weekly rock and roll show on the same network, The Big Beat (named after a Fats Domino song). Frankie Lymon, the Everly Brothers and Connie Francis guest star on this first show, but the series is canceled after 13 weeks.

1962: The Rolling Stones make their live debut at the Marquee Club in London (a group name founder Brian Jones picked at random from a Muddy Waters album he spotted while on the phone with the promoter). The band at this point features Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Jones, with Dick Taylor, later of the Pretty Things, on bass and Mick Avory, later of the Kinks, on drums. They were paid $40.

1962: Ray Charles was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with the Don Gibson penned country ballad 'I Can't Stop Loving You', his only UK No.1.

1964: George Harrison crashes his E-Type Jaguar on New Kings Road in London while en route to a Beatles concert in Brighton, suffering minor injuries. Fans pick up shards of broken glass from the crime scene as souvenirs.

1968: The Monkees' Micky Dolenz marries Samantha Juste, a model known as the "disc girl" on the BBC's longtime series Top Of The Pops. Dolenz, who met her on the show, wrote the British smash "Randy Scouse Git" in part about her. The couple would divorce in 1975.

1969: The Temptations Show, a Motown special featuring the group, airs in syndication. The group performs, among other hits, "Get Ready," "Cloud Nine," and "Runaway Child, Running Wild."

1979: Gerry Meier and Steve Dahl, DJs at Chicago's WLUP radio stage a "disco demolition" night at Comiskey Park, with a public bonfire of disco vinyl records taking place between games of a White Sox / Detroit Tigers doubleheader. Unfortunately, fans begin tossing the records around like frisbees during the first game, and by the time of the bonfire, mini-riots (and other fires) had broken out around the stadium, forcing the Sox to forfeit the second game. (Dahl had been fired from a rival station, WDAI, after it switched to an all-disco format.)

1979: Minnie Riperton died from cancer at age 51.

1983: Former Traffic member Chris Wood died of liver failure after a lengthy illness. Also played with Jimi Hendrix in 1968, appearing on the Electric Ladyland album and worked with both John Martyn and the Small Faces.  He was 39 Years old.

1986: Boy George and singer Marilyn were arrested in London, England for possession of drugs.

1992: Axl Rose (Guns N' Roses) was arrested at New York's JFK airport on a warrant from St. Louis, MO. Rose was wanted on charges stemming from a 1991 Guns N' Roses concert.

1996: Smashing Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlin was charged with drug possession after the death of the bands keyboard player Jonathan Melvoin in his New York Hotel room.

1997 - Anthony Keidis (Singer for Red Hot Chili Peppers) suffered a broken wrist in a motorcycle accident in Los Angeles, CA.

1999: DMX was arrested in Trinidad in mid-concert for using obscene language.

1999: Fred Durst (Singer for Limp Bizkit) was arrested in St. Paul, MN, for allegedly kicking a local security guard in the head during the band's performance.

2000: Cat Stevens (now Yusuf Islam) publicly denies any financial involvement with the terrorist group Hamas after Israel denies him entry into the country, alleging he gave money to the organization.

2000: London's Trafalgar Square unveils a sculpture of John Lennon, created by Swedish artist Carl Fredrik Reutersward, which also features a handgun twisted into an unusable shape.

2001: New Orleans' Moisant Airport, named for an early 20th-century flying daredevil, is renamed Armstrong International in honor of native jazz trumpeter Louis Armstrong.

2003: Saxophonist, composer and arranger Benny Carter died aged 95. He worked with Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Charles and composed many TV theme's including Ironside and M-Squad.

2008: Rolling Stone Ron Wood left his wife of 23 years and moved in with an 18-year-old Russian cocktail waitress. The 61 year-old dad-of-four had met the teenager while out drinking and had taken her away to his luxury pad in Ireland.

July 11

Births

1931: Thurston Harris (R&B Singer)

1931: Tab Hunter (Pop Singer)

1944: Bobby G. Rice (Country Singer / Songwriter)

1947: Jeff Hanna (Guitar & Vocals for Nitty Gritty Dirt Band)

1950: Bonnie Pointer (The Pointer Sisters)

1953: Peter Brown (Disco Artist)

1957: Pete Murphy (Vocals for Bauhaus)

1957: Michael Rose (Singer for Black Uhuru)

1959: Richie Sambora (Guitar for Bon Jovi)

1959: Susanne Vega (Singer / Songwriter)

1975: Lil' Kim (Rapper)

Events

1946: Dean Martin begins his recording career mere weeks before teaming up with nightclub comic Jerry Lewis.

1959: Joan Baez made her first recording. It was a duet with Bob Gibson which was recorded live at the Newport Folk Festival.

1969: The Rolling Stones released the single "Honky Tonk Women".

1970: The soundtrack album 'Woodstock' started a four-week run at No.1 on the US album chart.

1976: Andy Gibb marries girlfriend Kim Reeder in Australia.

1976: Frank Sinatra marries for the fourth time, this time to Barbara Marx, former wife of the Marx Brothers' Zeppo Marx.

1981: Longtime songwriting team Burt Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager are divorced.

1982: Phil Collen, former guitarist with the glam rock band Girl, replaced Pete Willis in Def Leppard who was fired due to excessive alcohol consumption on the job.

1992: Jerry Garcia introduces a series of neckties he's designed, bearing his name. President Bill Clinton immediately buys the set of eight.

1994: Michael Jackson's spokesperson publicly denies rampant rumors that the singer has married Lisa Marie Presley.

1995: Mike Mills (Bass for R.E.M.) underwent emergency intestinal surgery in Germany. Seven shows of R.E.M.'s European tour had to be cancelled.

1996: Jonathan Melvoin keyboard player with the Smashing Pumpkins died from a drug overdose in New York City aged 34. Smashing Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlin who was with Melvoin tried but failed to revive him after Chamberlin was allegedly advised by 911 operators to put Melvoin's head in the shower. Several songs were inspired by his death, including Sarah McLachlan's hit single 'Angel.' He was the brother of Susannah and Wendy Melvoin of Prince and the Revolution. Melvoin had also been a member of The Dickies.

2000: Lars Ulrich (Drummer for Metallica) was the first witness to testify at a U.S. Senate hearing over copyright law issues concerning free sharing of music files on Web sites such as Napster and MP3.com.

2002: The funeral of longtime Who bassist John Entwistle is held in St. Edward's Church in Stow-on-the-Wold, Gloucestershire, England, and attended by over 200 mourners.

2004: In an attempt to recapture Elvis' record of most UK Number Ones, his first single, 1954's "That's All Right," is rereleased on its 50th anniversary.

2009: The Black Eyes Peas ‘I Gotta Feeling’ started a 14-week run at No.1 on the US singles chart ending the 12-week run of the band’s previous single ‘Boom Boom Pow’. It made the band only the fourth to replace themselves at No.1 in chart history, following The Beatles, Boyz II Men, and OutKast.

July 10

Births

1933: "Jumpin'" Gene Simmons (Rockabilly Singer)

1937: Sandy Stewart (Pop Singer)

1943: Jerry Miller (Singer & Guitarist for Moby Grape)

1947: Arlo Guthrie (Folk Singer)

1949: Dave Smalley (Bass for Young Rascals & Raspberries)

1949: Ronnie James Dio (Singer for Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath & Solo)

1949: Greg Kihn (Guitarist & Singer)

1953: Rik "The Rocket" Emmett (Vocals & Guitar for Triumph)

1954: Neil Tennant (Vocals for Pet Shop Boys)

1959: Sandy West (Drummer for The Runaways)

1965: Peter DiStefano (Guitar for Porno For Pyros)

1970: Gary LeVox (Singer for Rascal Flatts)

1980: Jessica Simpson (Singer)

Events

1941: Jazz pianist Ferdinand "Jelly Roll" Morton dies in LA at 56 from an asthma affliction.

1950: The Victor Talking Machine Company, later to become RCA Victor and the world's first great record label, trademarks its slogan "His Master's Voice," which referred to the iconic image of the Victor dog, Nipper, cocking an ear to the gramophone as if his master were actually in the room.

1950: The nation's favorite popular music countdown, "Your Hit Parade," gets its own home on NBC TV to match its longtime radio counterpart.

1954: WINS AM in New York hires legendary DJ Alan Freed away from his home at Cleveland's WJW, where, among other things, he helped popularize the term "rock and roll." Freed would move across town to WABC two years later, where he would eventually be fired for his participation in the "payola scandal."

1959: One of the most popular Fifties "rock and roll movies," Alan Freed's Go, Johnny, Go! opens nationwide, featuring Chuck Berry, Jackie Wilson, Eddie Cochran, Sandy Stewart, the Cadillacs, Harvey Fuqua of the Moonglows, Jimmy Clanton, and -- in his one and only film appearance -- Ritchie Valens.

1964: The Beatles A Hard Day's Night film has its Liverpool premiere, with over 200,000 locals (!) turning up to celebrate their hometown boys making good.

1965: The Rolling Stones started a four week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with '(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction', the group's first US No.1. Some US stations cut out the last verse believing it referred to women's 'time of the month'.

1966: A young Cat Stevens begins his recording career by cutting the minor UK hit "I Love My Dog."

1967: Singer Kenny Rogers leaves the folk group The New Christy Minstrels and, the next day, forms the First Edition.

1967: Bobbie Gentry recorded "Ode to Billie Joe."

1968: Eric Clapton announces the breakup of the supergroup Cream, currently finishing up its last tour.

1968: Early prog-rockers The Nice (Featuring Keith Emerson) are banned from London's Royal Albert Hall after burning an American flag on stage.

1969: The Rolling Stones founding member, Brian Jones, is laid to rest at Hatherley Road Parish Church in his hometown of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England, after drowning (or, some say, being drowned) in a swimming pool a few days earlier. Brian is buried 12 feet in the ground so as to discourage trophy-seeking fans. His epitaph: "Please don't judge me too harshly."  Bill Wyman, Keith Richards and Charlie Watts from The Stones attended the funeral, not Mick Jagger.

1974: Mac Davis debuts his own summer variety music show on NBC TV.

1975: Gregg Allman and Cher's famously rocky marriage almost ends in divorce after only ten days.

1975: Gladys Knight and the Pips debut their own summer variety music show on NBC TV.

1976: Vernon Presley, at the behest of his son Elvis, fires longtime "Memphis Mafia" members Sonny West, his cousin Red West, and Dave Hebler -- not coincidentally the three most adamant about getting him off his addiction to prescription drugs. Red would eventually write a book called Elvis: What Happened? which would alert the public to the King's drug problem for the first time.

1977: Cher gives birth to Elijah Blue Allman, her first and only child with Gregg Allman of the Allman Brothers.

1978: Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman falls from the stage at a gig St. Paul, MN and is knocked unconscious.

1979: Chuck Berry is sentenced to jail for the second time, this time a tax-evasion charge that nets him four months (for allegedly bilking Uncle Sam out of $200,000 back in 1973).

1979: Orchestra leader Arthur Fiedler dies at 84 after havind a heart seizure. He was in his 50th year as conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra.

1981: Jerry Lee Lewis enters a Memphis hospital for the first of two emergency operations to counteract a bleeding ulcer.

1986: Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead slips into a diabetic coma. He recovers a five days later.

1987: Producer and record company executive John Hammond died. He brought Stevie Ray Vaughan, Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, Leonard Cohen and Bruce Springsteen to Columbia Records. Hammond also worked as a producer with Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday, Benny Goodman and Count Basie.

1989: The Monkees get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. At the ceremony, all four Monkees reunite for the first time.

1989: David F Pearsall age 18 from Manchester, New Jersey was charged with theft after stealing a guitar at a concert in Riverfront Park belonging to Richie Sambora of Bon Jovi.

1993: Bob Seger marries his third and current wife, Juanita Dorricott.

1994: Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian weds Debbie Leavitt.

1997: Chrissie Hynde (Singer for The Pretenders) and Lucho Brieva were married.

1998:  Singer Sheena Easton filed for divorce from her husband of 11 months, Timothy Delarm.

2000: A much-ballyhooed Supremes "reunion" tour, "Return To Love," which features only Diana Ross from the original group, is canceled after initial ticket sales don't match expectations.

2002: Eddie Van Halen and Valerie Bertinelli announced that they had secretly separated 10 months before. They divorced in 2007.  

2008: The drum skin used on the cover of The Beatles' Sgt Pepper album sold for $1 M at Christie's Memorabilia auction in London. Other items sold included John Lennon's lyrics for ‘Give Peace a Chance’ which sold for $832,257 and a pair of tinted prescription sunglasses belonging to Lennon, which he wore for the cover of the single ‘Mind Games’, sold for $79,000. A rare 1/4 inch reel to-reel master tape recording of the Jimi Hendrix Experience performing at the Woburn Music Festival in 1968 went for $95,000, a Marshall amplifier used by Hendrix in concert fetched $50,000 and a pair of his stripy flared trousers made $49,000. 

July 9

Births

1925: Alan Dale (Pop Singer)

1927: Ed Ames (Pop Singer)

1927: Jim McReynolds (Bluegrass musician in Jim & Jesse)

1929: Lee Hazlewood (Country Singer)

1942: Richard Roundtree (Shaft… Can Ya Dig It?)

1946: Bon Scott (Original Singer for AC/DC)

1947: John “Mitch” Mitchell (Drummer for The Jimi Hendrix Experience)

1950: Gwen Guthrie (R&B Singer)

1952: John Tesh (Pianist & Composer)

1954: Debbie Sledge (Singer in Sister Sledge)

1959: Jim Kerr (Singer for Simple Minds)

1957: Marc Almond (Singer for Soft Cell)

1964: Courtney Michelle Love (Courtney Michelle Harrison) (Vocals & Guitar in Hole)

1965: Frankie Bello (Bass for Anthrax)

1975: Jack White (John Gillis) (Guitar & Vocals for The White Stripes)

1975: Isaac Brock (Singer & Guitarist for Modest Mouse)

1976: Dan Estrin (Guitarist for Hoobastank)

Events

1955: Bill Haley and the Comets' "Rock Around The Clock," a minor hit the previous year, lands in the top spot after inclusion in the juvenile delinquent drama The Blackboard Jungle, officially kicking off the rock and roll era. That same day, crooner Pat Boone releases his watered-down version of Fats Domino's #1 R&B hit, "Ain't It A Shame" (now called "Ain't That A Shame").

1956: Dick Clark debuts as the host of Philadelphia's TV dance show on WFIL, then called simply Bandstand, after former host Bob Horn is arrested for DUI. The show, which would go national on ABC the following year, precipitating a name change to American Bandstand, would run for 37 years.

1956: After the June 30th trouble at Asbury Park, Bill Haley and His Comets are denied permission to play at the Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City. A city ordinance was passed that read: "Rock and roll music encouraged juvenile delinquency and inspired young females in lewd bathing suits to perform obscene dances on the city's beaches."

1957: Elvis Presley's second film, Loving You, has its US premiere.

1958: Upset by Sam Phillips' concentration on Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash leaves Sun Records to sign with Columbia.

1962: Bob Dylan recorded ‘Blowin' In the Wind’ at Columbia Recording Studios in New York City during an afternoon session.

1968: Co-lead Temptations singer David Ruffin leaves the group due to cocaine abuse, missed shows, financial wrangling with Motown head Berry Gordy, and the group's refusal to change their name to "David Ruffin and the Temptations." Ruffin would soon begin appearing unwanted at Temps concerts and taking the stage to sing the hits he made famous, forcing the group to tighten security.

1972: Paul McCartney and Wings played their very first show in the small French town of Chateauvillon. The band included Denny Laine, Denny Seiwell, Henry McCullough and Paul's wife, Linda. It was McCartney's first time on the road since the Beatles quit touring in 1966. The band travelled on a double Decker London bus with a psychedelic interior.

1977: Elvis Costello quit his day job as a computer operator at Elizabeth Arden Cosmetics to become a full time musician.

1984: The album "Ice Cream Castle" was released by The Time.

1988: Cheap Trick went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'The Flame', the group's only US No.1.

1989: New Edition's production manager was charged with criminal homicide after allegedly shooting the support acts security man after they ran over their stage time.

1990: The Rolling Stones cancel upcoming performances for the first time in over 26 years after guitarist Keith Richards discovers his inflamed finger has become septic during a show in Glasgow, Scotland.

1995: The Grateful Dead give their last concert with leader Jerry Garcia at Chicago's Soldier Field. Jerry would die of a heart attack a month later while in drug rehab.

1998: Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots had a bench warrant issued for him when he missed his second court date stemming from drug possession charges.

1998: Session guitarist Robert "Waddy" Wachtel and his wife were arrested for investigation of possessing child pornography, allegedly found on his personal computer.

1999: Elton John checks into London's Wellington hospital to have a pacemaker installed due to an irregular heartbeat.

1999: Mary Chapin Carpenter canceled a concert at Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts in Springfield, MO, at the last minute. She had to fly home to tend to a very sick Golden Retriever.

1999: Mick Jagger's common-law marriage to actress/supermodel Jerry Hall, conducted in Haiti back in 1990, is annulled.

2001: The Backstreet Boys temporarily stopped their "Black & Blue World Tour 2001." The tour had to be put on hold because A.J. McLean entered a treatment center for depression and alcohol abuse. The tour resumed on August 24th.

2007: Happy Mondays' frontman Shaun Ryder was in trouble after he smoked several cigarettes on stage during a concert at The Ritz in Manchester. Smoking had been banned in all enclosed public places in England on 1 July of this year, and anyone flouting the law faced a $100 fine. Performers were only exempt from the smoking ban if the "artistic integrity" of their act required it.