September 19

Births

1928: Adam West (Batman)

1931: Brook Benton (R&B Singer)

1934: Brian Epstein (Beatles manager)

1935: Nick Massi (Bass Guitar & Vocals for The Four Seasons)

1940: Bill Medley (Singer in The Righteous Brothers & Solo)

1940: Paul Williams (Songwriter)

1942: Freda Payne (R&B Singer)

1943: Mama Cass Elliott (Ellen Naomi Cohen) (Singer in Mamas and the Papas)

1945: David Bromberg (Guitarist, Fiddle & Mandolin player worked with Bob Dylan)

1947: Lol Crème (Vocals & Guitar for 10cc)

1949: Twiggy (Lesley Hornby) (60's model & Singer)

1951: Daniel Lanois (Producer, Guitarist & Singer)

1952: Nile Rodgers (Guitar for Chic)

1958: Lita Ford (Guitar & Vocals for The Runaways & Solo)

1963: Jarvis Cocker (Singer for Pulp)

1964: Trisha Yearwood (Country Singer)

1969: Candy Dulfer (Jazz Saxophonist)

1977: Ryan Dusick (Drums for Maroon 5)

Events

1960: Former chicken plucker Chubby Checker went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'The Twist'.

1960: Hank Ballard and The Midnighters had the honour of being the first group to have three songs in the US Top 100 at the same time. ‘Finger Poppin’ Time,’ ‘Let’s Go Let’s Go Let’s Go’ and ‘The Twist’ all made the Top 30. Ballard refused to perform ‘The Twist’ on a highly rated US TV show, so Chubby Checker picked it up at the insistence of Dick Clark, and Checker’s version of the song was number 1 this week in 1960.

1968: Steppenwolf won its first gold record for "Born to be Wild."

1969: Creedence Clearwater Revival scored their only UK No.1 single with 'Bad Moon Rising' a US No.2 hit. Also on this day the group started a four-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with 'Green River.'

1970: The first UK Glastonbury Festival took place featuring Marc Bolan, Ian Anderson, Keith Christmas, Quintessence, Amazing Blondel and Sam Apple Pie.

1970: Diana Ross started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Ain't No Mountain High Enough'. The singers first solo No.1 since leaving The Supremes.

1973: Country rock singer, songwriter 26-year-old Gram Parsons, formerly of The Byrds and The Flying Burrito Brothers, died under mysterious conditions in Joshua Tree, California. His death was attributed to heart failure but later was officially announced as a drug overdose. His coffin was stolen by two of his associates, manager Phil Kaufman and Michael Martin, a former roadie for The Byrds, and was taken to Cap Rock in the California desert, where it was set alight, in accordance to Parson's wishes. The two were later arrested by police.

1974: Max Weinberg made his debut as the drummer for Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band.

1979: The No Nukes concert was held at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Performers included Stephen Stills, David Crosby, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, The Doobie Brothers, Poco, Tom Petty, Carly Simon, James Taylor and Bruce Springsteen.

1981: Simon and Garfunkel reunited for a concert in New York's Central Park. Over 400,000 fans attend the show. The performance was recorded for a record and video release.

1986: "Captain EO" with Michael Jackson premieres.

1987: "A Momentary Lapse of Reason" was released by Pink Floyd. It was the first release after Roger Waters departure.

1995: P.M. Dawn's DJ JC Eternal was arrested on charges of sexual assault and child abuse after an alleged affair with his 14 year-old cousin. He was released on $10,000 bail.

1998: Robbie Williams scored his first solo UK No.1 single with 'Millennium', taken from his from his second album, I've Been Expecting You.

1999: Christina Aguilera was at No.1 on the US album chart with her self-titled debut album.

2002: James Brown was being sued by his own daughters for more than $1M of song royalties they said they were owed. Deanna Brown Thomas and Dr Yamma Brown Lumar, a Texas physician, said Brown had withheld royalties on 25 co-written songs because of a family grudge. The lawsuit claimed that Brown had held a grudge against his daughters since 1998, when Ms Thomas had her father committed to a psychiatric hospital to be treated for addiction to painkillers.

2004: Canadian singer Celine Dion extended her Las Vegas show for another year. Dion was reportedly being paid $100m for the original three-year run of five 90-minute concerts a week.

September 18

Births

1933: Jimmie Rodgers (Pop Singer)

1939: Frankie Avalon (Pop Singer)

1949: Kerry Livgren (Guitar for Kansas)

1952: Dee Dee Ramone (Douglas Colvin) (Bass for The Ramones)

1960: Kim Wilde (Singer)

1961: James Gandolfini (Tony Soprano)

1962: Joanne Catherall (Vocals for The Human League)

1967: Ricky Bell (Singer for New Edition & Bell, Biv DeVoe)

1974: Xzibit (Alvin Nathaniel Joiner ) (Rapper)

Events

1955: CBS-TV's popular variety show Toast Of The Town is renamed what many people had been calling it all along, The Ed Sullivan Show.

1956: Rock shows are banned at the US Naval Station in Newport, RI after a fight breaks out during a Fats Domino concert.

1957: The Big Record, CBS-TV's answer to American Bandstand, premieres with host Patti Page and guests Billy Ward & the Dominoes and Tony Bennett.

1960: Teen idol Frankie Avalon turns 21, making him an adult and therefore eligible to claim the over $600,000 he earned while underage.

1967: The Beatles journey to the Raymond Revue bar in London to film the notorious "striptease" scene in Magical Mystery Tour. Accompanying stripper Jan Carson is the Bonzo Dog (Doo-Dah) Band, playing a song called "Death Cab For Cutie."

1969: Tiny Tim announced on "The Tonight Show" to Johnny Carson his engagement to Miss Vicki Budinger. Carson asked the two to be married on the show. They made TV history with the wedding on December 17, 1969.

1970: Jimi Hendrix asphyxiated in his own vomit, mainly red wine which had filled his airways and he died at age 27.

1971: Pink Floyd becomes the first rock at to perform at Montreux, Switzerland's Classical Music Festival.

1971: The ill-fated Bobby Sherman sitcom Getting Together premieres on ABC-TV.

1977: All 4 Kiss members release solo albums.

1980: The tenth anniversary of Jimi Hendrix' untimely death is marked by a multimedia event, featuring Experience members Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell, held at the Paradise Club in Amsterdam.

1981: Gary Numan took off on a round the world trip in a single engine Cessna plane. The attempt ended after he was forced to land in India, where local police arrested him.

1983: For an MTV publicity stunt to promote KISS' new album, Lick It Up, the band appear in public for the first time without makeup.

1984: David Bowie won Video of the year for 'China Girl' at the first MTV Video awards.

1993: Garth Brooks went to No.1 on the US album chart with 'In Pieces'. The album spent 25 weeks on the chart and sold over 6m copies.

1998: Reba McEntire receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

1999: The governor of Tennessee, Donald K. Sundquist, declares today Carl Perkins Day in honor of its native son.

2004: Britney Spears married dancer Kevin Federline during a private ceremony in Los Angeles. Federline had two daughters from his previous relationship with actress Shar Jackson.

2006: Willie Nelson's tour bus is stopped near Lafayette, LA, and Nelson, along with four members of his band, are arrested for possession of marijuana and psychedelic mushrooms.

2006: Echo And The Bunnymen singer Ian McCulloch was convicted of committing a breach of the peace by shouting, swearing and threatening Gary Duncan and his girlfriend Juliet Sebley backstage at Glasgow Barrowlands in Scotland. A court was told that McCulloch had lost his temper when he discovered the two fans in a toilet cubicle inside his private dressing room.

2008: The Village People are honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk Of fame at 6529 Hollywood Blvd.

2009: Leonard Cohen collapsed on stage during a concert in Valencia in Spain and was taken to hospital. He was later discharged after doctors told him he had food poisoning. Cohen was in the middle of singing his song Bird On The Wire when he fainted, prompting the band to stop playing and rush to help him.

September 17

Births

1923: Hank Williams Sr. (Country Legend)

1926: Bill Black (Bass for Elvis Presley)

1950: Mike Hossack (Drummer for The Doobie Brothers)

1950: Fee Waybill (Vocals for The Tubes)

1951: Elvira (Cassandra Peterson)

1953: Steve Williams (Drummer for Budgie)

1961: Ty Tabor (Lead Guitar & Vocals for King’s X)

1968: John Penney (Vocals for Neds Atomic Dustbin)

1968: Lord Jamer (Rapper in Brand Nubian)

1969: Keith Flint (Vocals for The Prodigy)

1979: Flo Rida (Tramar Lacel Dillard) (Rapper)

1985: Jonathan Jacob Walker (Bassist for Panic! at the Disco)

Events

1931: RCA Victor unveils its new invention, the 33 1/3 rpm long-playing or "LP" record, at the Savoy Plaza Hotel in New York. However, the company badly overprices the record players themselves, leading the new format to lie dormant for years until Columbia revives it in 1948.

1952: Frank Sinatra records his final session for Columbia; he will be dropped from the label due to poor sales, but rebound the next year after signing to Capitol and singing more "mature" fare.

1955: The Perry Como Show moves to NBC-TV, expanding from three 15-minute programs per week to one hour-long variety show on Saturday night.

1955: After DJs keep complaining that Les Paul's "Magic Melody" single ends abruptly, Capitol Records releases the shortest single of all time, Les Paul's "Magic Melody Part 2," which is merely the final two notes of the old "shave and a haircut" tag. Released only as a promo, it lasts exactly one second.

1964: The Beatles break with established practice and agree to add an extra date to their current US tour after the group is offered a then-record $150,000 by the owner of the Kansas City (Missouri) Athletics to perform a gig in KC's Municipal Stadium. The Beatles cannily add their medley of "Kansas City/Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!" to the setlist, the only time they would play this song in America. Afterward, their hotel manager sells their unwashed bedsheets to two businessmen from Chicago, who promptly cut them up and sell the pieces for $10 a pop.

1967: Appearing on CBS-TV's Ed Sullivan Show, the Doors are asked to change the line "Girl, we couldn't get much higher" in their hit "Light My Fire." Lead singer Jim Morrison agrees, then sings the offending words anyway, leading to a lifetime ban from the show.

1967: In an ill-advised move, Keith Moon of the Who rigs his bass drum to explode at the end of "My Generation" during the group's appearance on CBS-TV's Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. A stagehand, unfortunately, packs far too much explosive into the drum, and the resulting explosion damage's Keith's leg, and causes permanent hearing damage to guitarist Pete Townshend.

1969: Tiny Tim announces his forthcoming marriage to "Miss Vicki" Budinger, which would break records for TV viewership when the ceremony is broadcast on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show. The two are separated three years later, and divorce in 1977.

1975: Mayor Stephen Juba of Winnipeg, Canada, declares today "Guess Who Day" in honor of its native sons.

1976: The Sex Pistols played a gig for the inmates at Chelmsford Prison, Essex in England.

1977: Reba McEntire makes her first appearance on the Grand Ole Opry, singing the Patsy Cline classic "Sweet Dreams" and Roger Miller's "Invitation To The Blues," 30 years to the day after her father won his first rodeo honor.

1983: Singer Vanessa Williams, as Miss New York, became the first black woman to be crowned Miss America.

1989: Natalie Cole married Andre Fisher. Cole filed for a divorce less than three years later.

1991: Rob Tyner (Lead singer for MC5) Died of a heart attach at age 46.

1991: Over 4 million copies of Guns N' Roses album, 'Use Your Illusion I' and 'Use Your Illusion II' were simultaneously released for retail sale, making it the largest ship-out in pop history in the US.

1992: Singer Tiffany gave birth to her son Elijah Bulmaro.

1996: A bomb was found at a South London sorting office addressed to Icelandic singer Bjork. Police in Miami had alerted the post office after finding the body of Ricardo Lopez who had made a video of himself making the bomb and then killing himself.

1997: Fleetwood Mac begin their first tour in 20 years at the Meadows Music Theatre in Hartford, CT.

1998: A 19-year-old man was taken off a plane in Denver after harassing members of Hootie & the Blowfish who were travelling in the first class section of the plane.

1998: Country Singer Terri Clark had her shoulder dislocated when she was pulled from a moving car at the New Mexico State Fair. A male fan had pulled her from the open car.

1998: Wu-Tang Clan rapper Ol' Dirty Bastard (Russell Jones) was arrested on a charge of making terrorist threats in Los Angeles. He had been ejected from the House of Blues nightclub and had threatened to return and kill them all.

2000: Paula Yates was found dead in bed from a suspected drug overdose. Yates had presented the UK music TV show 'The Tube' during the 80's, married Bob Geldof and was the girlfriend of INXS singer Michael Hutchence.

2003: David Lee Roth injured himself while doing a very fast, complicated 15th-century samurai move onstage. Roth needed 21 stitches when a staff he was using hit him in the face. A few days later the remainder of his tour was canceled.

2007: Barry Manilow cancels his upcoming appearance on ABC-TV's The View after learning he would not be allowed to ignore conservative co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck.

September 16

Births

1925: B.B. King (Riley B. King) (Blues Guitarist & Singer / Songwriter)

1942: Bernie Calvert (Bass for The Hollies)

1943: Joe Butler (Lead Vocals for The Lovin' Spoonful)

1944: Betty Kelly (Singer in Martha and the Vandellas)

1948: Kenney Jones (Drummer for The Small Faces & The Who)

1948: Ron Blair (Bass for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers)

1953: Earl Klugh (Jazz Pianist / Guitarist)

1954: Colin Newman (Guitar & Vocals for Wire)

1961: Bilinda Butcher (Guitar & Vocals for My Bloody Valentine)

1963: Richard Marx (Singer / Songwriter)

1964: David Michael Sabo (Guitar for Skid Row)

1968: Marc Anthony (Singer)

1969: Justine Frischmann (Guitar & Vocals for Elastica)

1977: Musiq Soulchild (Taalib Johnson) (R&B Singer)

1992: Nick Jonas (Singer / Songwriter)

Events

1959: Dick Clark's first "Caravan of Stars" tour opens in New York, featuring The Coasters, The Drifters, Lloyd Price, LaVern Baker, Duane Eddy, Paul Anka and Annette Funicello.

1963: Currently the #1 song in England, the Beatles' "She Loves You" is released by the tiny Swan label in America, but the stateside public has no idea who the group is, and the single fails to chart. Four months later, after "I Want To Hold Your Hand" and the attendant Beatlemania, a re-released "She Loves You" single will reach #1 in the US as well.

1964: ABC-TV premieres the musical variety show Shindig!, featuring the Everly Brothers, the Righteous Brothers, and Bobby Sherman.

1965: NBC-TV premieres The Dean Martin Show, featuring the theme song (and recent hit) "Everybody Loves Somebody," and, later, a chorus of beautiful showgirls named The Golddiggers. The famously laid-back and largely improvised show, which made stars of Dom DeLuise, Charles Nelson Reilly, Tom Bosley, and Nipsey Russell, would run for a full decade.

1966: Tom Drilberg, MP of Barking, England, asks the House of Lords to censure a magistrate who'd recently spoken out against the Rolling Stones as "complete morons (who) wear their hair down to their shoulders, wear filthy clothes and act like clowns."

1966: Pete Quaife, bassist for the Kinks, leaves the band after injuries from a recent car crash threaten his ability to play. He will eventually return and stay with the band through 1969.

1970: Jimi Hendrix takes the stage at a Eric Burdon and War concert at London club Ronnie Scott's, marking the last time the guitarist will ever play in public.

1972: Former Herd and Humble Pie guitarist Peter Frampton plays his first solo gig, opening for the J. Geils Band in New York.

1977: Marc Bolan (Singer & Guitar for T. Rex) was a passenger in a purple Mini 1275GT driven by Gloria Jones as they headed home from Mortons drinking club and restaurant in Berkeley Square, London. Jones lost control of the car and it struck a sycamore tree after failing to negotiate a small humpback bridge near Gipsy Lane on Queens Ride, Barnes, southwest London.  Bolan died instantly at 29 years old.

1979: The first rap single was released, The Sugarhill Gang's 'Rapper's Delight'.

1988: Former Clash drummer Topper Headon was released from jail after serving 10 months of a 15-month sentence on a narcotics charge.

1988: Singer Fish (Derek William Dick) leaves rock group Marillion.

1991: Willie Nelson and makeup artist Ann-Marie D'Angelo got married. It's his fourth marriage.

1993: Grace Slick's (Jefferson Airplane / Starship) home was destroyed by fire.

1998: The members of Mott The Hoople played together for the first time in 24 years at the Virgin Megastore on London's Oxford Street.

2006: Bob Dylan's new album Modern Times goes to #1 in Billboard's album chart, making the 65-year-old the oldest musician to ever hold that honor.

September 16

Births

1925: B.B. King (Riley B. King) (Blues Guitarist & Singer / Songwriter)

1942: Bernie Calvert (Bass for The Hollies)

1943: Joe Butler (Lead Vocals for The Lovin' Spoonful)

1944: Betty Kelly (Singer in Martha and the Vandellas)

1948: Kenney Jones (Drummer for The Small Faces & The Who)

1948: Ron Blair (Bass for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers)

1953: Earl Klugh (Jazz Pianist / Guitarist)

1954: Colin Newman (Guitar & Vocals for Wire)

1961: Bilinda Butcher (Guitar & Vocals for My Bloody Valentine)

1963: Richard Marx (Singer / Songwriter)

1964: David Michael Sabo (Guitar for Skid Row)

1968: Marc Anthony (Singer)

1969: Justine Frischmann (Guitar & Vocals for Elastica)

1977: Musiq Soulchild (Taalib Johnson) (R&B Singer)

1992: Nick Jonas (Singer / Songwriter)

Events

1959: Dick Clark's first "Caravan of Stars" tour opens in New York, featuring The Coasters, The Drifters, Lloyd Price, LaVern Baker, Duane Eddy, Paul Anka and Annette Funicello.

1963: Currently the #1 song in England, the Beatles' "She Loves You" is released by the tiny Swan label in America, but the stateside public has no idea who the group is, and the single fails to chart. Four months later, after "I Want To Hold Your Hand" and the attendant Beatlemania, a re-released "She Loves You" single will reach #1 in the US as well.

1964: ABC-TV premieres the musical variety show Shindig!, featuring the Everly Brothers, the Righteous Brothers, and Bobby Sherman.

1965: NBC-TV premieres The Dean Martin Show, featuring the theme song (and recent hit) "Everybody Loves Somebody," and, later, a chorus of beautiful showgirls named The Golddiggers. The famously laid-back and largely improvised show, which made stars of Dom DeLuise, Charles Nelson Reilly, Tom Bosley, and Nipsey Russell, would run for a full decade.

1966: Tom Drilberg, MP of Barking, England, asks the House of Lords to censure a magistrate who'd recently spoken out against the Rolling Stones as "complete morons (who) wear their hair down to their shoulders, wear filthy clothes and act like clowns."

1966: Pete Quaife, bassist for the Kinks, leaves the band after injuries from a recent car crash threaten his ability to play. He will eventually return and stay with the band through 1969.

1970: Jimi Hendrix takes the stage at a Eric Burdon and War concert at London club Ronnie Scott's, marking the last time the guitarist will ever play in public.

1972: Former Herd and Humble Pie guitarist Peter Frampton plays his first solo gig, opening for the J. Geils Band in New York.

1977: Marc Bolan (Singer & Guitar for T. Rex) was a passenger in a purple Mini 1275GT driven by Gloria Jones as they headed home from Mortons drinking club and restaurant in Berkeley Square, London. Jones lost control of the car and it struck a sycamore tree after failing to negotiate a small humpback bridge near Gipsy Lane on Queens Ride, Barnes, southwest London.  Bolan died instantly at 29 years old.

1979: The first rap single was released, The Sugarhill Gang's 'Rapper's Delight'.

1988: Former Clash drummer Topper Headon was released from jail after serving 10 months of a 15-month sentence on a narcotics charge.

1988: Singer Fish (Derek William Dick) leaves rock group Marillion.

1991: Willie Nelson and makeup artist Ann-Marie D'Angelo got married. It's his fourth marriage.

1993: Grace Slick's (Jefferson Airplane / Starship) home was destroyed by fire.

1998: The members of Mott The Hoople played together for the first time in 24 years at the Virgin Megastore on London's Oxford Street.

2006: Bob Dylan's new album Modern Times goes to #1 in Billboard's album chart, making the 65-year-old the oldest musician to ever hold that honor.

September 15

Births

1903: Roy Acuff (Country Artist)

1928: Cannonball Adderley (Jazz Alto Sax Player)

1942: Signe Anderson (Singer for Jefferson Airplane)

1942: Lee Dorman (Bass for Iron Butterfly & Captain Beyond)

1946: Ola Brunkert (Drums for ABBA)

1952: Kelly Keagy (Lead Vocalist & Drummer for Night Ranger)

1960: Michel Dorge (Drums for Crash Test Dummies)

1967: Jerry Dixon (Bassist for Warrant)

1969: DJ Kay Gee (DJ for Naughty by Nature)

1976: Paul Thomson (Drums for Franz Ferdinand)

Events

1962: A distressed Chinese news media reports that kids in Maoming Cultural Park have been spotted dancing the Twist.

1964: During the Beatles' concert at Cleveland's Public Auditorium, a group of overzealous fans manages to rush the stage, forcing the venue's announcer to grab the mic from John Lennon in mid-song and force the band to leave the stage for 15 minutes until the crowd is under control.

1965: Frankie Avalon is the guest star on tonight's "A Foggy Day In Brooklyn Heights" episode of ABC-TV's Patty Duke Show.

1965: Ford becomes the first American car company to offer 8-track tape players in its new models; however, the lack of home players means that car buyers must visit the Ford dealership itself to get the actual tapes.

1968: CBS-TV airs the Barbra Streisand concert special A Happening In Central Park.

1968: The Doors are forced to go on as a trio for their concert at Amsterdam's Concertgebouw after lead singer Jim Morrison, trashed by days of binge drinking and hashish, collapses while dancing onstage to opening act Jefferson Airplane.

1968: NBC-TV airs a variety special simply called Soul, touted as being staffed and starring only African-Americans. Guests include Lou Rawls and Martha and the Vandellas.

1969: Ed Sullivan, perhaps a little late to the game, releases his first recording, a dance novelty called "The Sulli-Gulli." It flops.

1970: Spiro Agnew, Vice President of the US, claims that "The youth of America are being brainwashed into a drug culture of rock music, movies, books and tabloid newspapers."

1975: Bob Dylan released Slow Train Coming, an album of religious songs, including the Grammy Award winning single, ‘Gotta Serve Somebody’. The album alienated many of his long time fans.

1984: Frankie Goes To Hollywood's 'Relax' became the longest running chart hit since Engelbert Humperdink's 'Release Me', after spending 43 weeks on the UK singles chart.

1988: Mark Knopfler announced the official end of Dire Straits, (they reformed in 1991).

1990: Bruce Hornsby began filling in on keyboard for The Grateful Dead following the death of Brent Mydland.

1997: A 34 year old man was awarded more than $38,000 by a French court after he lost his hearing when he stood too close to loudspeakers at a U2 concert in 1993.

1998: Rapper Coolio was booked and released for possessing marijuana and carrying a concealed weapon.

2001: Metallica action figures went on sale.

2003: Johnny Cash is laid to rest in the family cemetery at Hendersonville, TN, next to the grave of his recently-deceased wife June Carter Cash. Emmylou Harris, Al Gore, and Sheryl Crow attend the private ceremony along with family members including daughter Rosanne Cash.

2003: Former "Nashville Star" contestant Miranda Lambert signs with Epic Records.

2003: Madonna's children's book "The English Roses" went on sale.

2004: Ramones guitarist Johnny Ramone (John Cummings) died in Los Angeles after a five-year battle with prostate cancer. Founding member of The Ramones, major influence on many punk and 90’s bands.

2007: Garth Brooks' "More Than A Memory" becomes the first song to debut at #1 on Billboard's country singles chart.

2008: Keyboardist Rick Wright (Pink Floyd) died of cancer.