November 9

Births

1936: Mary Travers (Singer / Songwriter in Peter, Paul and Mary)

1941: Tom Fogerty (Rhythm Guitar in Creedence Clearwater Revival)

1948: Joe Bouchard (Bass for Blue Oyster Cult)

1964: Pepa (Sandra Denton) (Rapper in Salt ‘N’ Pepa)

1970: Scarface, (Brad Terrance Jordan) (Rapper)

1970: Susan Tedeschi (Blues Artist)

1973: Nick Lachey (Singer in 98 Degrees & Solo)

1978: Sisqo (Mark Andrews) (R&B Singer in Dru Hill & Solo)

Events

1956: Buddy Holly begins his first solo tour, opening for country singers George Jones and Hank Locklin.

1958: Elvis Presley's massive hit "Hound Dog" b/w "Don't Be Cruel" becomes only the third record in history to sell more than three million copies, following two seasonal favorites: Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" and Gene Autry's "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer."

1959: Sam Cooke is guaranteed $100,000 by RCA if he chooses to leave his current home, Keen Records.

1960: Demetra Plakas (Drums for L7)

1963: The Beatles' new single, "I Want To Hold Your Hand," becomes the first-ever UK single to receive advance orders of one million copies.

1963: "Louie, Louie" was released by the Kingsmen.

1967: In a battle of egos, the Byrds' Roger McGuinn boots David Crosby from the group, leaving Crosby to form CSNY instead.

1967: The first issue of the rock periodical Rolling Stone hits the shelves in San Francisco, CA, with a cover featuring John Lennon, in a still from his upcoming movie How I Won The War, and a free roach clip with every issue.

1968: Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant marries his first wife. Maureen, in London, then holds the wedding reception at the local club the Roundhouse, where the group plays its first London gig.

1971: Carly Simon attends James Taylor's concert at Carnegie Hall and the two fall madly in love.

1990: The IRS seizes Willie Nelson's bank accounts and real estate holdings to pay off $16 million in back taxes.

1993: The Dave Matthews Band released their first album, ‘Remember Two Things’ on the Bama Rags label.

1996: For the first time, Bob Dylan licenses one of his songs for commercial use, in this case, "The Times They Are A-Changin'" to the Bank of Montreal.

1997: Paul Weller (The Jam & The Style Council) was arrested and spent the night in a French jail after smashing up his hotel room. His record company paid $8,000 to cover the damage; Weller was released the following day.

1998: Michael Jackson successfully settles his lawsuit with London's Daily Mirror newspaper, which had claimed his face was disfigured by endless cosmetic surgery. Jackson claimed the photos had been doctored.

1998: Rick James bangs his head back and forth during a performance in Denver, CO, causing a blood vessel in his neck to rupture and bringing on a minor stroke.

1999: The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) announces the century's big winners, sales-wise: The Beatles have sold the most albums (106 million), with Garth Brooks and Barbra Streisand the most successful male and female solo artists. Elvis Presley leads the pack on gold and platinum certifications with 77 (singles) and 80 (albums), while Elton John's "Candle In The Wind '97" (rewritten as a tribute to the recently-deceased Princess Diana) is the best-selling single of the century. The best-selling album, surprisingly, is the Eagles' Greatest Hits 1971-1975, which has just overtaken Michael Jackson's Thriller.

2000: Gretchen Wilson and her boyfriend, Mike Penner, have a daughter, Grace.

November 8

Births

1945: Don Murray (Drummer for Turtles)

1947: Minnie Riperton (R&B Singer)

1949: Bonnie Raitt (Singer / Songwriter)

1954: Rickie Lee Jones (Singer / Songwriter)

1957: Porl Thompson (Guitar for The Cure)

1961: Leif Garrett (Singer)

1970: Rat (Guitar for Ned’s Atomic Dustbin)

1977: Bucky Covington (Country Artist)

1985: Jack Osbourne (Ozzy’s Son)

Events

1961: Liverpool record store owner Brian Epstein calls Liverpool's Cavern Club to see when the Beatles would next be performing, with the intent to see if their live show matched their reputation.

1962: A bullet is fired at Motown's tour bus while traveling through Savannah, GA, but fortunately none of the (all African-American) stars are hurt.

1963: Having heard Priscilla Presley was with her fiance Elvis, and reportedly attempting to beat her to the altar, actress and Viva Las Vegas co-star Ann-Margret is quoted in the L.A. press as being "in love" with Elvis and deeply thinking of marriage with him. Priscilla, on the Colonel's advice, is sent back to Memphis to avoid controversy (but not before Priscilla throws a vase across the room, screaming that the expatriate Ann should "keep her ass in Sweden where she belongs").

1965: The Dave Clark Five perform for Queen Elizabeth II at London's annual Royal Variety Performance.

1968: Diana Ross leaves the Supremes to begin her solo career, and is replaced by Jean Terrell.

1968: John Lennon's divorce from first wife Cynthia is finalized, without Lennon present; the Beatle is at Queen Charlotte's Hospital in London with Yoko Ono, currently pregnant with the child she will miscarry later in the month.

1970: Jim Morrison of the Doors makes the spoken-word recordings which would later become the basis of the group's album An American Prayer.

1971: Paul McCartney throws a party at London's Empire Ballroom to officially launch his new group, Wings.

1971: Led Zeppelin released their fourth album. With no title printed on the album, and generally referred to as Four Symbols, The Fourth Album or Led Zeppelin IV, it has gone on to sell over 37 million copies worldwide. The 19th century rustic oil painting on the front of the album was purchased by Robert Plant from an antique shop in Reading, Berkshire, England. The 20th century urban tower block on the back of the full gatefold LP cover is Butterfield Court in Eves Hill, Dudley, England.

1974: After returning to her Howard Johnson's hotel room in Jericho, CT, following a show at the nearby Westbury Music Fair, singer Connie Francis is attacked at knifepoint and raped. Francis successfully sues the chain for $3 million for neglecting to repair a broken lock and torn screen on her room before the attack. Her rapist is never brought to justice, and Francis finds herself so shattered by the incident she quits touring for seven years and eventually divorces her husband, Joseph Garzilli.

1975: David Bowie makes his US television debut on CBS' Cher variety show, performing his latest hit, "Fame."

1975: John Lennon names close friend Elton John the godfather of his new son, Sean.

1977: Glam queen Suzi Quatro makes her first appearance as Leather Tuscadero, the little sister of Fonzie's girlfriend Pinky, on ABC-TV's Happy Days.

1987: The Beach Boys' Carl Wilson marries his second wife, Gina Martin, daughter of legendary crooner Dean.

1988: Jerry Lee Lewis declares bankruptcy.

1994: Sonny Bono, half of Sonny and Cher and former mayor of Palm Springs, CA, is elected to the US House of Representatives.

1994: A memorial service is held for legendary guitarist Fred "Sonic" Smith, late of the MC5 and The Sonics, at Mariner's Church in Detroit, MI.

1995: A financially strapped Michael Jackson merges his company, ATV Music Publishing -- the one with all the Beatles hits -- with Sony Music Publishing in a deal worth some $110 million. Jackson keeps half-ownership of the new company, but as debts mount, that share is whittled down over time.

2002: David Gilmour, longtime guitarist for Pink Floyd, is made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Queen Elizabeth II.

2009: Former Smiths frontman Morrissey stopped a concert halfway through his second song after being hit by a beer bottle. The 50-year-old singer who was hit in the eye by a plastic bottle of beer, said goodnight to the 8,000 strong crowd in Liverpool, England before walking off.

November 7

Births

1942: Johnny Rivers (Singer / Songwriter)

1943: Joni Mitchell (Singer / Songwriter)

1960: Tommy Thayer (Lead guitarist, took over Ace Frehley's character in Kiss)

1971: Robin Finck (Guitarist for Nine Inch Nails & Guns N' Roses)

Events

1951: Frank Sinatra marries his second wife, actress Ava Gardner. The marriage, her third, lasts six years and is credited for moving Sinatra into his "mature" phase as a singer, with Nelson Riddle stating: "It was Ava who did that, who taught him how to sing a torch song. That's how he learned. She was the greatest love of his life and he lost her."

1956: Elvis Presley becomes the first artist to chart an Extended Play or EP 45 rpm record when the four-song Love Me EP enters the Billboard charts.

1959: Smokey Robinson marries Claudette Rogers, still a member of the group and the eventual inspiration for his song "My Girl," made famous by the Temptations. The two would divorce in 1985.

1961: Ray Charles is arrested for possession of drugs in Indianapolis, IN, after local authorities discover marijuana and heroin in his hotel room.

1963: The Beatles make their only visit to Ireland as a group, performing two shows in Dublin at the Adelphi Cinema.

1967: Elton John, still going by his given name of Reg Dwight, and songwriting partner Bernie Taupin sign their first major publishing deal, with their parents there to witness the signing, as both are still minors.

1974: Ted Nugent won a National Squirrel-shooting contest after picking off a squirrel at 150 yards. The heavy metal guitarist also shot dead 27 other mammals during the three day event.

1986: Willie Nelson guest stars as a corrupt cop on tonight's "El Viejo" episode of NBC-TV's Miami Vice.

1986: Tracey Pew, bassist with The Birthday Party died during an epileptic fit aged 28.

1987: Tiffany became the youngest act to score a US No.1 since Michael Jackson ('Ben', in 1972) with 'I Think we're Alone Now'.

1991: Frank Zappa was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He died on December 4^th, 1993.

1995: The Captain (Daryl Dragon) and (Toni) Tenille renew their vows in Virginia City, NV on the occasion of their 20th anniversary.

2000: Garth Brooks filed for a divorce from his wife Sandy.

2002: 12 Guns N' Roses fans were arrested during a riot after a gig in Vancouver was cancelled. Promoters pulled the gig after Axl Rose's flight from Los Angeles was delayed.

2002: Whitney Houston's husband, New Edition singer Bobby Brown was arrested and charged with possession of marijuana, speeding, driving without a licence and having no proof of insurance after he was stopped by police in Atlanta City.

2003: In a desperate effort to reassure visitors that the SARS outbreak is no threat, Hong Kong officials invite the Rolling Stones, among others, to play a massive concert in the city. The total cost for appearance fees tops $100 million.

November 6

Births

1948: Glenn Frey (Guitar & Vocals in The Eagles)

1961: Craig Goldy (Guitarist in Dio)

1963: Paul Brindley (Guitar in The Sundays)

1964: Corey Glover (Guitar in Living Colour)

1966: Paul Gilbert (Guitarist for Racer X & Mr. Big)

Events

1954: Elvis Presley signs a year-long contract with the Shreveport concert radio show Louisiana Hayride and, on the same day, records his one and only commercial, a radio spot for the city's "Southern Maid Doughnuts" outlet in which he sang the company jingle: "You can get them piping hot after 4 pm, you can get them piping hot. Southern Maid Donuts hit the spot, you can get them piping hot after 4 pm."

1964: On tonight's episode of ITV's musical variety show Ready Steady Go!, the Beach Boys make their first British TV appearance, performing "I Get Around," "When I Grow Up (To Be a Man)," and "Dance, Dance, Dance."

1965: Guests on tonight's episode of ABC's musical variety show Shindig! include the Rolling Stones, Fontella Bass, and the Strangeloves.

1965: New York City is hit with its infamous total electrical blackout, causing Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones' Brian Jones, and the Band's Robbie Robertson to huddle in their room at the Hilton, lighting candles.

1965: Promoter Bill Graham puts on his first show, a Jefferson Airplane concert (for the benefit of the radical San Francisco Mime Troupe) at the Calliope Ballroom in San Francisco. One year later to the day, he opens his own ballroom, the Fillmore (later known as the Fillmore West).

1967: During a three hour session Bob Dylan recorded ‘All Along The Watchtower’ and ‘John Wesley Harding’ at Columbia Recording Studios in Nashville, Tennessee.

1968: The Monkees' first and only feature film, Head, premieres in New York. A random, angry film that attempts to make the band look hip while systematically destroying their hated teenybopper image, the $750,000 film is a complete flop at the box office, no doubt also due to the strange TV marketing campaign, which focused merely on a friend of the band saying the word "Head" into the camera. Today, however, the film has gained a cult reputation as a surreal masterpiece.

1970: Aerosmith performed their first ever gig when they played at Nipmuc Regional High School in Mendon, Massachusetts.

1972: Billy Murcia (Drummer for The New York Dolls) passed out from an accidental overdose. He was put in a bathtub and force-fed coffee, in an attempt to revive him, which resulted in asphyxiation and death.

1973: Phil Kaufman, manager of the recently-deceased country-rock singer Gram Parsons, is fined $300 for stealing the singer's body from the Los Angeles International Airport (where it was to be shipped to a Louisiana funeral home on the wishes of his estranged stepfather), then driving out to the desert instead with Gram's close friend Michael Martin, cremating Parsons, and scattering his ashes near the Joshua Tree National Monument in Twentynine Palms, CA, a favorite spot of the singer. Both men claim the cremation was Parsons' last wish.

1975: The Sex Pistols made their live debut at St Martin’s School Of Art in central London, supporting a band called Bazooka Joe, which included Stuart Goddard (the future Adam Ant). The Pistols’ performance lasts 10 minutes.

1980: After the death of drummer John Bonham, the remaining members of Led Zeppelin meet on the island of Jersey in the Channel Islands, along with manager Peter Grant, to decide what to do next. All four men agree the band would simply not be the same without Bonham, and decide to split up.

November 4

Births

1940: Delbert McClinton (Blues artist)

1954: Chris Difford (Guitar & Vocals for Squeeze)

1956: James Honeyman-Scott (Guitar for Pretenders)

1966: Kool Rock- Ski (Damon Wimbley) (Rapper in The Fat Boys)

1969: Sean John Combs (Puff Daddy & P. Diddy, Diddy) (Rapper)

Events

1961: A young Bob Dylan appears at Carnegie Hall in New York City for the first time. Unfortunately, only about 50 people attend, most of them friends of the singer.

1976: A bomb threat delays the start of Bruce Springsteen's concert at the Palladium in New York; Springsteen jokes that the threat was made by former manager Mike Appel, who's currently suing him.

1977: The Last Waltz, director Martin Scorsese's acclaimed documentary of the Band's star-studded last concert, premieres in New York City, featuring Neil Young, Eric Clapton, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Neil Diamond, the Staple Singers, Dr. John, and more.

1978: Former Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young bassist Greg Reeves sues the group for a million dollars in alleged unpaid royalties from sales of the hit 1970 album Deja Vu.

1978: Boston played their first show in the city of Boston.

1978: Van Morrison is the musical guest on tonight's episode of NBC-TV's Saturday Night Live, performing "Wavelength" and "Kingdom Hall."

1980: An ailing Bob Marley is baptized a "Christian Rastafarian" at Kingston, Jamaica's Ethiopian Orthodox Church.

1986: Country Singer Tammy Wynette enters the Betty Ford Clinic with an addiction to painkillers.

1991: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announces its 7th annual inductees, including Jimi Hendrix, Booker T. and the MGs, Sam and Dave, the Yardbirds, the Isley Brothers, Johnny Cash, and Bobby "Blue" Bland.

1992: Elton John and Bernie Taupin sign a $39 million songwriting deal with publishing giant Warner/Chappell, the largest such deal up to that time.

1993: Depeche Mode's Martin Gore was arrested at the Denver Westin Hotel after refusing to turn down the volume of his music in his room.

1998: Michael Jackson announces that wife Debbie Rowe is pregnant with his first child, denying tabloid reports that Rowe was paid to be artificially impregnated and carry the child to term.

1998: Oasis singer Liam Gallagher was arrested after an alleged drunken brawl with photographer Mel Bouzac at a London pub. Bouzac had been tipped off that Liam was in the pub wearing a Russian hat and attempted to take photos. 

November 3

Births

1948: Lulu (Lulu Kennedy-Cairns) (Pop Singer)

1954: Adam Ant (Stuart Goddard) (Singer)

1960: Ian McNabb (Guitar & Vocals for Icicle Works)

Events

1957: CBS-TV's Ed Sullivan Show accidentally cuts off Sam Cooke mid-song when "You Send Me" isn't given enough time at the end of tonight's show. Sullivan invites the singer back the next month to make up for it.

1960: Merle Haggard is released from San Quentin Prison and allowed to complete the more than two years remaining on his sentence on parole.

1964: Mayor Ralph Locker of Cleveland, OH, bans the Rolling Stones from playing the city ever again after a teenager falls from a balcony during the group's concert. Locker is quoted as commenting, "Such groups do not add to the community's culture or entertainment."

1967: The Beatles complete filming on their movie Magical Mystery Tour.

1972: Carly Simon and James Taylor, icons of the Seventies singer-songwriter movement and the highest-paid couple in entertainment, are married at Simon's apartment in Manhattan. Later, at a celebratory concert at Radio City Music Hall, Taylor quips: "I don't know whether to be more nervous about the concert or the marriage." The union lasts eleven years.

1977: Elton John announces his retirement during a concert at London's Empire Pool. He would return to the music business within a year and a half.

1983: RCA records signed Latin teen sensations Menudo for $30m. The line up of five young boys all had to sign a contract agreeing to leave the group when they reached 16, (when too old for the group). Ricky Martin was once a member.

1990: After being featured prominently in the smash hit film Ghost, the Righteous Brothers' version of "Unchained Melody" returns to the top of the charts after 25 years.

1990: 'Ice Ice Baby', by Vanilla Ice became the first rap record to top the US singles chart. The track was initially released as the B-side to the rapper's cover of 'Play That Funky Music', and became the A-side after US DJ's started playing the track.

1991: Legendary rock promoter Bill Graham's funeral in San Francisco is attended by over 300,000 people, though the many musical acts that perform -- the Grateful Dead, Crosby Stills, Nash and Young, Santana, Journey and Joan Baez -- may have helped the turnout.

1995: Hootie and the Blowfish reach an out-of-court settlement with Bob Dylan for an undisclosed amount after courts rule group lifted lyrics from Dylan's "Tangled Up In Blue" for their recent hit "Only Wanna Be With You."

1997: In Santa Monica, CA, Billy Preston is sentenced to three years in prison for cocaine possession and violating parole.

2004: Eric Clapton is made a CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) by Princess Anne at Buckingham Palace.

November 2

Births

1944: Keith Emerson (Keyboards for The Nice & Emerson, Lake and Palmer)

1957: Carter Beauford (Drummer for Dave Matthews Band)

1961: K.D. Lang (Kathryn Dawn Lang) (Singer/Songwriter)

1963: Bobby Dall (Bass for Poison)

1969: Reginald Arvizu (Bass for Korn)

1974: Nelly (Cornell Haynes Jr) (Rapper)

1975: Chris Walla (Guitarist for Death Cab for Cutie)

Events

1956: A riot breaks out at Fats Domino's show in Fayetteville, NC, with police resorting to tear gas to break up the unruly crowd. Fats jumps out of a window to avoid the melee; he and two other band members are slightly injured.

1963: Dion angrily walks off the set of the British ITV television program Ready Steady Go! in the middle of performing his hit "Donna The Prima Donna," claiming the go-go dancers surrounding him during the song are distracting.

1966: Paul Revere and the Raiders appear on tonight's "Dizzoner the Penguin" episode of ABC-TV's Batman.

1973: CBS airs the Barbra Streisand television special Barbra Streisand And Other Musical Instruments, featuring special guest Ray Charles.

1974: George Harrison begins the first-ever solo tour by a Beatle when he performs the first night of his "Dark Horse" tour in Vancouver, BC. The tour, which is plagued by Harrison's laryngitis, is a disaster.

1979: The Who's musical film Quadrophenia, featuring a small part played by Sting, opens in US theaters.

1978: David Cassidy's infamous flop cop TV drama David Cassidy: Man Undercover debuts on NBC, the first of only ten episodes.

1984: Marvin Gay Sr., father of singer Marvin Gaye (who added the e when he joined Motown) is found guilty of manslaughter in the shooting death of his son, but courts rule the action was taken in self-defense, and the elder Gay is given five years' probation.

1985: With his new single, "Part-Time Lover," topping the charts, Stevie Wonder becomes the artist with the longest period between Number Ones: 22 years. (This song also sets a record by going to #1 on five different Billboard charts.)

1994: Ruth Tyrangiel, former girlfriend of Bob Dylan, sues for $5 million palimony, claiming the singer reneged on his promise to marry her after she helped with his business affairs and also with his songwriting.

1994: Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young's David Crosby is hospitalized after suffering liver failure; he's fortunate enough to find a donor for a transplant.

1995: The syndicated R&B dance show Soul Train celebrates its 25th year on the air with guest appearances by Al Green, Diana Ross, Bill Withers, and Patti Labelle.

2002: Armed police arrested an international gang who were planning to kidnap former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham and her two young children. The gang had planned to ransom Victoria for $10M.

2003: Sean 'P. Diddy' Combs ran in the New York City Marathon. He finished in 4 hours, 14 minutes and 54 seconds. He raised $2 million dollars for children.

2007: Led Zeppelin's latest reunion concert is postponed when guitarist Jimmy Page breaks his pinky finger.