July 15

Births

1944: Millie Jackson (R&B Singer)

1945: Peter Lewis (Guitar for Moby Grape)

1946: Linda Ronstadt (Rock Singer)

1948: Artimus Pyle (Drums for Lynyrd Skynyrd)

1952: Jeff Carlisi (Guitar for .38 Special)

1952: Johnny Thunders (John Genzale) (Guitar for The New York Dolls)

1953: Alicia Bridges (Disco Singer)

1953: David Pack (Guitar & Vocals for Ambrosia)

1956: Ian Curtis (Vocals for Joy Division)

1956: Joe Satriani (Guitarist)

1966: Jason Bonham (Drummer & Son of John Bonham)

1972: John Dolmayan (Drummer for System of a Down)

1977: Ray Toro (Lead Guitar for My Chemical Romance)

Events

1952: An eight-year-old singer named Gladys Knight appears on the popular TV show Ted Mack's Amateur Hour, show on the now-defunct Dumont Television Network, and wins the first prize of $2000 for her rendition of Nat King Cole's "Too Young." In five years, she would be an established recording artist.

1952: Popular singer Patti Page begins her summer replacement series on CBS, attempting to hold the audience in Perry Como's usual timeslot three times a week for 15 minutes.

1958: While visiting her sister Mimi's house (where her son John now lived), Julia Lennon walks down Menlove Avenue to catch the bus and is struck by a car driven by an off-duty constable still learning to drive. The officer is eventually cleared of all charges, leading Mimi to scream "Murderer!" at him; The 17-year-old John is so distraught at her funeral service that he lays his head on Mimi's lap the entire time. (Ironically, the constable in question would later become a postman with a route that included Paul McCartney's boyhood home.) Several Beatles and Lennon songs are dedicated to or inspired by Julia, including "Julia," "Mother," and "My Mummy's Dead."

1963: Elvis begins filming his 15th film, Viva Las Vegas, with Ann-Margret.

1968: The Beatles' new enterprise, Apple, enters its new corporate headquarters on 3 Savile Row, London, later the site of their famous "rooftop concert."

1972: Elton John started a five week run at No.1 on the US album chart with 'Honky Chateau', his first US chart topper.

1973: The Edgar Winter Group, Sly & The Family Stone, Canned Heat, Lindisfarne and The Kinks all appear at The Great Western Express festival at White City, west London. With his wife having recently walked out of their marriage, taking their young children with her, Ray Davies of The Kinks announces from the stage that he is sick of the whole thing and is retiring. He then walks into a local hospital and collapses from an overdose of tranquillizers. Davies would return to the stage a week later.

1978: Bob Dylan performs at the largest open-air concert in history for a solo artists, playing for over 200,000 fans at "The Picnic at Blackbushe," held at England's Blackbushe Airport in Hampshire.

1986: Columbia Records, Johnny Cash's home for 28 years, drops the singer from its roster of artists. Johnny signed with Polygram the next year.

1990: Troy Dixon (Trouble T Roy) from Heavy D & The Boyz was killed from an accidental fall; he and others were merrymaking after a concert and while dancing, Dixon lost his balance, fell from a balcony, hit his head, and died at a hospital.

1994: Phil Collins announced that he was seeking a divorce from his wife Jill.

1995: Sinead O'Connor dropped out of Lollapalooza because she was pregnant. She was replaced with Elastica.

1998: Aerosmith were forced to cancel a forthcoming US tour after Joey Kramer was involved in a freak accident. The drummer's car set on fire and was completely destroyed as he was filling up with petrol. He was admitted to hospital with second-degree burns.

1999: The Rolling Stones report income of $337 million in the last two years, a result of 147 concerts in front of nearly six million fans.

2000: Bob Seger's 62-foot boat Lightning wins its division in the 78th annual sailboat race from Port Huron to Mackinac Island, MI.

2005: Victor Edward Willis, the original policeman in the Village People, was arrested after police found a gun and drugs in his convertible in Daly City, south of San Francisco. Willis also had an outstanding $15,000 felony warrant for possession of narcotics.

2007: Over 10,000 people applied for a job with P Diddy after the rapper posted an advert on Youtube looking to find a new personal assistant. He warned applicants that the job would be far from easy and would involve everything from getting him ready for the red carpet to aiding in billion dollar deals to helping him jump out of planes in movies.

2010: In Massachusettes, Aerosmith Guitarist Joe Perry was rear-ended by a car while riding his motorcyle. He was treated for minor injuries.

2010: Pink suffered minor injuries during a concert when she was dragged into barricades on the stage. 

July 14

Births

1912: Woody Guthrie (Folk Singer)

1933: Del Reeves (Country Singer)

1952: Chris Cross (Bass & Synth for Ultravox)

1966: Ellen Reid (Keyboards for Crash Test Dummies)

1966: Tayna Donelly (Guitar for Belly & Throwing Muses)

1971: Nick McCabe (Guitar for The Verve)

1975: Taboo (Rapper & Singer in The Black Eyed Peas)

Events

1964: The Rolling Stones score their first #1 hit in the UK with their cover of Bobby Womack's "It's All Over Now."

1967: The Who begin their first large-scale American tour, playing the first of 55 dates with... Herman's Hermits.

1973: Glam-rocker Gary Glitter makes his live stage debut in Mecksham, England.

1980: In France, Roxy Music's Bryan Ferry contracts a kidney infection and is flown to London after collapsing in his hotel room.

1980: Former Beatles and Rolling Stones manager Allen Klein begins a two-month jail term for income tax evasion.

1980: Malcolm Owen singer with The Ruts died from a heroin overdose at the age of 26.

1984: Phillippe Wynne lead singer with The Detroit Spinners died of a heart attack while performing at Ivey's nightclub in Oakland, California, aged 43. With The Detroit Spinners had the 1980 UK No.1 & US No.2 single 'Working My Way Back To You.'

1986: Motley Crue's Vince Neil begins 30 day sentence for vehicular homicide

1987: Steve Miller receives a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame.

1988: Michael Jackson gave himself a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for setting a new attendance record, when he played the first of seven nights at Wembley Stadium in London. The shows on his Bad World Tour were attended by a total of 504,000 fans beating the record previously held by Genesis, with four sold out nights.

1988: At the height of "Elvis is Alive" mania, Nashville radio station WYHY offers a million dollars to anyone who shows up at the studios with the King.

1989: "Judge Judy" Sheindlin, not yet a TV star and still a Family Court Judge in New York, orders singer Tom Jones to pay $200 weekly in child support to model Katherine Berkery.

1992: Aretha Franklin opens the 1992 Democratic National Convention in New York by singing the national anthem.

1992: Olivia Newton-John makes public her bout with breast cancer, which she will eventually beat.

2000: It was announced that the Go-Go's had gotten back together again for a tour, new album, a book and a movie.

2006: Primal Scream singer Bobby Gillespie had his nose broken when he was attacked in a hotel bar in Madrid in Spain. The singer had to postpone a Top Of The Pops recording due to the injuries.

2011: Country-pop band Rilo Kiley officially broke up.  Guitarist Blake Sennett said that he "felt like there was a lot of deception, disloyalty, greed," and the band had reached a point where it could no longer exist under such toxic circumstances.

July 13

Births

1942: Roger McGuinn (Lead Vocals & Guitar for The Byrds)

1955: Mark "The Animal" Mendoza (Bassist for Twisted Sister)

1966: Gerald Lever (R&B Singer)

1969: Mark Greenway (Singer for Napalm Death)

1970: Steven J Brown (Lead Guitarist for Trixter)

1974: Deborah Cox (R&B Singer)

Events

1897: A US patent is granted to inventor Guglielmo Marconi for the radio.

1939: Frank Sinatra made his recording debut with the Harry James band with the songs "Melancholy Mood" and "From the Bottom of My Heart."

1958: While on tour in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, Buddy Holly waterskis across Lake Rhinelander and nearly drowns when he loses control and falls into the water.

1959: The movie Hound Dog Man, starring Fabian and Dodie Stevens, goes into production.

1964: The Beatles released the single "A Hard Day's Night".

1964: The Animals went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'The House Of The Rising Sun.' Recorded in one take, this was the first UK No.1 to have a playing time of more than four minutes.

1968: Steppenwolf released the single "Born To Be Wild".

1968: Black Sabbath played their first gig at a small backstreet Blues club in Birmingham, England.

1973: After increasing animosity between the pair, Phil Everly of the Everly Brothers walks off the stage during the first of three announced final performances at Knott's Berry Farm in California. The next night, brother Don, carrying the show on his own, tells the audience, "The Everly Brothers died ten years ago." (The duo would reunite in 1983.)

1974: George McCrae started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Rock Your Baby', his only US No.1, also No.1 in the UK. Regarded by some as the first Disco No.1. It was a New York City club hit first.

1984: Philippe Wynne (Lead singer for The Spinners) died of a heart attack at 43 years old.

1985: The historic 18-hour Live Aid concerts are held in Philadelphia and London to combat the mass starvation in Ethiopia. Performers include The Beach Boys, The Four Tops, Paul McCartney, David Bowie, The Who, Led Seppelin, Elton John, Joan Baez, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Neil Young, Eric Clapton, Tina Turner, and Bob Dylan, whose offhand remarks before his set become the impetus for the Farm Aid concerts.

1985: Duran Duran became the first artists to have a No.1 on the US singles chart with a James Bond theme when 'A View To A Kill', went to the top of the charts.

1985: Elton John re-signed with MCA Records in America, his five-album deal being worth $8 million, the biggest advance in history at the time.

1990: Curtis Mayfield was badly injured after a strong gust of wind blew a lighting rig on him during an outside concert in Brooklyn, New York.

1991: Bryan Adams went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Everything I Do I Do It For You' which featured on the soundtrack for the film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. It stayed at No.1 for a record-breaking 16 weeks, (breaking a record held since 1955), also a No.1 in the US (for 7 weeks) and a hit in 16 other countries. Won a Grammy Award for Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture in 1992.

1996: A Guinness World Record for largest jam session ever is broken when over 2,000 guitarists play a version of Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel" for 75 straight minutes.

1997: The drunk-driving trial of John Denver ends in a hung jury, with half of the jurors finding him not guilty due to a thyroid condition that may have altered the results of his sobriety test.

1998: It was announced that Marilyn Manson would cancel appearances at seven European rock festivals due to Ginger Fish's bout with mononucleosis.

1992: Jett Williams, illegitimate daughter of country legend Hank Williams, Sr., is granted partial royalties on his songs by a New York appeals court, adding to a ruling reached on July 5 that she should receive half of his estate.

2000: James Brown is formally charged with assaulting Russell Eubanks, an employee of South Carolina Electric and Gas, with a steak knife after Eubanks visited Brown's Beech Island estate to check on reports that he was without electricity.

2004: Arthur ‘Killer’ Kane, bass player with The New York Dolls, died aged 55 after checking himself in to a Los Angeles emergency room, complaining of fatigue. He was quickly diagnosed with leukemia, and died within two hours.

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.