April 8

Births

1941: J.J. Jackson (Soul Singer)

1947: Steve Howe (Guitarist for Yes, Asia & GTR)

1951: Mel Schacher (Bass for Grand Funk Railroad)

1962: Izzy Stradlin (Guitar for Guns N' Roses)

1963: Julian Lennon (Son of John Lennon and Singer)

1963: Donita Sparks (Guitar & vocals for L7)

1964: Biz Markie (Marcel Theo Hall) (Rapper)

1971: Darren Jessee (Drums for Ben Folds Five)

1972: The Pig (No. 2) (Paul Gray) (Bass for Slipknot)

1984: Ezra Koenig (Singer & Guitarist for Vampire Weekend)

Events

1956: The Johnny Burnette Trio makes its TV debut, performing "Train Kept A-Rollin'" on ABC's Ted Mack's Amateur Hour. They will appear two more times on the show, but never win.

1963: John Lennon and wife Cynthia are the proud parents of their first child, Julian, who would go on to have several hits of his own in the '80s and '90s.

1964: The Supremes recorded "Where Did Our Love Go" at Motown Studios in Detroit. The song would become the first of their five US number one singles.

1967: In a move that will have enormous implications for England and soul music, Stax makes its first European stop on its promotional tour, with Otis Redding, Sam and Dave, Booker T. and the MGs, Eddie Floyd, and Arthur Conley performing at London's Hammersmith Odeon.

1968: Petula Clark's first (and only) TV special, entitled simply Petula, airs on NBC, featuring guest star Harry Belafonte performing a duet on an antiwar song she'd written called "On The Path Of Glory." During taping, Clark had reached out to touch Belafonte's arm in a spontaneous gesture, causing the show's sponsor Chrysler to protest, fearing the interracial contact would upset viewers in the American south. As a result, the show is infamous even before it airs: Petula and the show's executive producer, her husband Claude Wolff, respond to the pressure by having all other takes of the duet destroyed so that the gesture would have to be aired. It was, historically, the first interracial contact to be broadcast on American television.

1971: Chicago becomes the first rock group to play Carnegie Hall, in a concert that will be immortalized on their hefty four-disc fourth album.

1972: Written after the 'Bloody Sunday Massacre', in Northern Ireland Paul McCartney and Wings released 'Give Ireland Back To The Irish.' The song was banned by the BBC and the IBA. It peaked at No.16 in the UK and No.21 in the US.

1977: The Damned played at the home of the New York punk scene CBGBS, the first UK Punk group to play live dates in the USA.

1982: New Order's bass player Peter Hook was knocked unconscious during a riot at a gig in Rotterdam.

1985: American songwriter J Fred Coots died aged 87. Co-wrote, 'Santa Claus Is Coming To Town' and the Pat Boone US No.1 hit 'Love Letters In The Sand.' He wrote over 700 songs.

1988: R.E.M. left IRS Records and signed with Warner Brothers records.

1989: For the first time in its 33-year history, ABC's legendary dance show American Bandstand moves to the USA network, replacing longtime host Dick Clark with newcomer David Hirsch. The show would be canceled for good six months later.

1989: Lol Tolhurst, keyboardist and founding member of the Cure, left the band.

1994: Electrician Gary Smith who was working at Kurt Cobain's house in Seattle discovered Cobain's body lying on the floor in the greenhouse. Local radio station KXRX broke the news at 9.40am that the Nirvana singer and guitarist was dead. A shotgun was found next to Cobain's body. A suicide note was found that said, "I haven't felt the excitement of listening to as well as creating music, along with really writing . . . for too many years now". A high concentration of heroin and traces of Valium were also found in Cobain’s body.

1994: The Recording Industry Association of America announced that Pink Floyd's 1973 album Dark Side of the Moon had become the fourth biggest-selling album in US history and had passed the 13 million mark in sales. The album has sold more than 25 million copies worldwide.

1997: American singer, songwriter Laura Nyro died from ovarian cancer.

1998: Rolling Stones guitarist Ron Wood and 11 other passengers are stranded in a boat off the coast of Brazil when its engine catches fire. A boat of nearby journalists, fortunately, rescues the stranded boaters just minutes before the burning engine causes the craft to explode.

1998: Tommy Lee (Motley Crue) was jailed for 6 months after breaking a probation order.

2002: Marilyn Manson denied claims that he was responsible for the death of a woman after a party at his mansion in 2001. Jennifer Syme, a former girlfriend of actor Keanu Reeves, died when her Jeep Cherokee hit three parked cars. Her mother, Maria St John, was suing the singer for wrongful death, claiming Manson was negligent in "instructing the woman to operate a motor vehicle in her incapacitated condition

2008: Babyshambles frontman Pete Doherty was jailed for 14 weeks for violating his probation and for using drugs. Doherty had been given a suspended jail sentence for possession of drugs and driving illegally in October 2007. The singers supervision order had required him to make regular visits to court for progress reports, as well as take part in a drug rehabilitation programme but he missed one appointment with his probation team and had been late for another. The sentence forced Doherty to cancel his biggest gig to date at the Royal Albert Hall scheduled for later this month

2010: Malcolm McLaren former manager of the Sex Pistols, the New York Dolls and Bow Wow Wow died from cancer aged 64. As a solo artist he scored the 1983 UK No.3 single 'Double Dutch'. He set up the fashion store Let It Rock in the late 60's with Vivienne Westwood selling rubber and fetish gear.

2011: Rapper Gucci Mane (real name: Radric Davis) was arrested near Atlanta while visiting his probation officer. He was arrested on a misdemeanor battery charge stemming from an incident in January, DeKalb County Police confirm to The Hollywood Reporter. According to a police report, he picked up a woman at a local mall, invited her out for breakfast and then tried to offer her $150 to stop by a hotel with him. When she refused, he pushed her out of his car while it was in motion. She was taken to the hospital with "soreness and pain."

April 7

Births

1908: Percy Faith (Conductor)

1915: Billie Holiday (Jazz Singer)

1920: Ravi Shankar (Indian Sitar Player)

1937: Charlie Thomas (The Drifters)

1938: Spencer Dryden (Drummer for Jefferson Airplane)

1943: Mick Abrahams (Guitarist for Jethro Tull)

1947: Florian Schneider-Esleben (Kraftwerk)

1949: John Oates (Guitar & Vocals in Hall and Oates)

1951: Janis Ian (Folk Singer / Songwriter)

Events

1956: The first national rock and roll radio series, Alan Freed's Rock 'N' Roll Dance Party, debuts on the CBS Radio Network.

1956: The Platters make their television debut on the Dorsey Brothers' Stage Show, broadcast on CBS.

1958: The Capitol label officially abandons issuing 78 rpm records.

1958: The Platters released the single "Twilight Time".

1962: Elvis Presley arrives in Hawaii to begin shooting the ocean shots for his latest film, Blue Hawaii. At his hotel, the Kaiser Hawaiian Village, he is mobbed by over a thousand fans and sprints away from them, losing several pieces of jewelry in the process. (His ring was returned the next day.)

1962: Unknown London musicians Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, attending a performance of Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated at the Ealing Jazz Club, meet a young guitarist named Brian Jones.

1967: San Francisco's KMPX becomes the first FM station to play "deep cuts" from albums, rather than merely singles, a "free-form" non-format that will soon transform rock radio.

1970: B.J. Thomas' "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head," featured in the Robert Redford / Paul Newman film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, wins Best Original Song at this year's Academy Awards.

1975: Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore leaves the group to form Rainbow. He will be replaced by Tommy Bolin.

1979: Siouxsie And The Banshees played a charity gig for MENCAP, but after crowd trouble were latter faced with a $4000 bill for seat damage.

1979: The Doobie Brothers went to No.1 on the US album chart with 'Minute By Minute', the group's only US chart topper.

1981: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band play their first concert outside North America, opening their new tour at the Congress Centre in Hamburg, Germany.

1981: Kit Lambert (Producer & Manager of The Who) died of a cerebral hemorrhage after falling down the stairs of his mother's house.

1985: Wham! became the first western pop group to perform live in China, when they played at the workers gymnasium in Beijing.

1985: Prince ended his 32-city tour in Miami, FL, and said that he was withdrawing from live performances for "an indeterminate number of years.

1988: While rehearsing a morbid "hanging" stunt for his upcoming tour, Alice Cooper is nearly killed when the safety rope breaks, leaving him swinging in the air for a few moments. Fortunately, a roadie quickly steps in and gets him down.

1994: Percy Sledge pleads guilty to evading taxes on $260,000 of his income and is sentenced to six months in prison (which he is allowed to serve in a "halfway house").

1994: Courtney Love was arrested on drugs and theft charges after a reported overdose. At this time, Love was unaware that her husband Kurt Cobain was dead at their home.

1995: Airport police seized a loaded pistol from Eddie Van Halen's carry-on luggage. No charges were filed.

1997: Oasis singer Liam Gallagher married actress Patsy Kensit at Marylebone Registry office, London. They divorced three years later.

1997: An Amsterdam university began offering a course entitled "Madonna 101."

1998: George Michael was arrested at The Will Rogers Memorial Park for committing a sex act in a public toilet. He was arrested by undercover Beverly Hills police officer Marcelo Rodriguez. Michael later said; "I was followed into the restroom and this cop - well, I didn't know he was a cop at the time obviously – started playing this game. I think it's called ‘I'll show you mine, you show me yours, and then when you show me yours, I'm gonna nick you!" The singer was later fined $810 after being convicted of a "lewd act."

2001: Paul McCartney bought the four-bedroom Beverly Hills home of Courtney Love for $3.995m. The gated 1930's house had it's own swimming pool and 1.5 acres of land.

2006: A fan site for the legendary psych-pop band Love reports (correctly) that leader Arthur Lee is dying from leukemia.

2008: Bob Dylan is awarded an honorary Pulitzer for "profound impact on popular music and American culture, marked by lyrical compositions of extraordinary poetic power."

2008: Olivia Newton-John begins a walk across the entire length of China's Great Wall in order to raise funds for and awareness of the battle to cure breast cancer. The walk will take three weeks and cover 141 miles.

2011: Tennessee Highway Patrol officers arrested rapper Webbie on drug possession and tampering with evidence charges after he was pulled over following a performance in Kentucky.  Webbie, whose real name is Webster Gradney Jr., was riding in a rental car that was stopped south of Nashville. Authorities say the 25-year-old rapper from Baton Rouge, La., was found with $13,000 and 2 ounces of marijuana. Troopers also say he threw marijuana out the car window.

April 6

Births

1927: Gerry Mulligan (Jazz Saxophonist)

1937: Merle Haggard (Country Artist)

1952: Udo Dirkschneider (Singer for Accept)

1965: Frank Black (Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV) (Guitarist & Singer for The Pixies & Solo)

Events

1956: Having impressed Paramount Studios with his screen test five days earlier, Elvis Presley is signed to a seven-year, three- picture deal worth nearly half a million dollars.

1956: Capitol Tower, the home of Capitol Records in Hollywood, CA, was dedicated. It was the first circular office tower designed in America. It is 13 stories tall and 92 feet in diameter.

1962: Russia's official newspaper, Pravda, warns Soviet teens of the decadent dangers of the new "twist" dance craze.

1965: The Beach Boys recorded "California Girls".

1966: The first session of what would become The Beatles album 'Revolver' started in the evening at Abbey Road studios London, with the recording of the basic track of 'Tomorrow Never Knows.'

1968: Founding member Syd Barrett, already in a mental downward spiral from LSD abuse, leaves Pink Floyd.

1968: The Beatles Apple Corps Ltd. record company, management and publishing firm, opened their offices in London.

1969: Original bassist Pete Quaife leaves the Kinks.

1971: The Rolling Stones unveil their new custom record label, Rolling Stones Records, which also features the group's new logo, the infamous tongue-and-lips "pop art" drawing created by London graphic artist John Pasche.

1972: The Monkees' Micky Dolenz guest stars as himself in tonight's "Barbara Lost" episode of ABC-TV's My Three Sons.

1971: Carly Simon is introduced to James Taylor backstage after her concert at Los Angeles' famous Troubadour nightclub. Instantly smitten, they would marry in November of 1972.

1974: After initially arguing with his record company about releasing it as a single ("it's the same thing over and over"), Billy Joel gets his first Top 40 hit with "Piano Man."

1974: California's biggest annual rock concert, the California Jam, has its debut in Ontario, CA, featuring performances by The Eagles, Earth Wind and Fire, Seals and Crofts, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Emerson Lake and Palmer, and Black Oak Arkansas performing for a crowd of 200,000.

1974: The concert documentary Ladies and Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones, the first-ever such film with a quadraphonic soundtrack, premieres at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York.

1975: Labelle performs their recent hit, "Lady Marmalade," on CBS-TV's Cher show.

1979: In Beverly Hills, Rod Stewart marries George Hamilton's ex-wife, Alana. The couple would divorce in 1984.

1984: Longtime E Street Band guitarist "Miami" Steve Van Zandt, a/k/a Little Steven, announces he's leaving the group. He will return in 1995.

1987: Roger Waters' lawyers issued a statement that Roger believed himself to be the creative driving force behind Pink Floyd and therefore he would contest the use of the name by anyone else and any former members of Pink Floyd.

1990: Drummer Tommy Lee (Motley Crue) suffered a mild concussion in New Haven, CT. when he fell after swinging from scaffolding above his elevated drum kit.

1991: Ringo Starr guest stars as himself in tonight's "Brush With Greatness" episode of Fox-TV's The Simpsons.

1992: George Harrison performs his first full live solo concert since 1969, appearing in London in a benefit for the Natural Law political party.

1993: Rap grout The Beatnuts release their debut EP “Intoxicated Demons”.

1997: The Michael Jackson short film/theme ride Captain EO is shown for the last time at Disneyland.

1998: Chubby Checker, Lesley Gore, Fabian, and Dick Clark all guest star as themselves in tonight's "Opus One" episode of CBS-TV's Murphy Brown.

1998: Tammy Wynette died after years of medical problems, numerous hospitalizations, approximately 26 major operations and an addiction to large doses of pain medication, Wynette died while sleeping on her couch at age 55. Wynette's doctor from Pennsylvania said she died of a blood clot in her lung.

1998: Wendy O. Williams, former singer of the Punk Rock band The Plasmatics, died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds. Williams was known for her wild stage theatrics which included blowing up equipment, near nudity and chain-sawing guitars. In January 1981 police in Milwaukee arrested her for simulating sex on stage, later that same year in Cleveland, Ohio Williams was acquitted of an obscenity charge for simulating sex on stage wearing only shaving cream.

1999: Bob Weir and Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead appear at an Al Gore Presidential fundraiser, with Gore's wife, notorious anti-rock crusader Tipper, playing congas.

2003: Linkin Park started a two week run at No.1 on the US album chart with ‘Meteroa’ the bands first US No.1 album.

2004: Niki Sullivan (The Crickets) died suddenly of a heart attack, aged 66, in Sugar Creek, Missouri, near Kansas City; despite his good health and no indications of any illness.

2006: Eminem filed for divorce from his wife Kim less than three months after the couple re-married.