July 14

Births

1912: Woody Guthrie (Folk Singer)

1952: Chris Cross (Bass for Ultravox)

1952: Bob Casale (Guitar & Keyboards for Devo)

1962: Jeff Olson (Drummer for TROUBLE)

1966: Ellen Reid (Keyboards for Crash Test Dummies)

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

1971: Nick McCabe (Lead Guitar for The Verve)

1975: Taboo (Jaime Luis Gómez) (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 opening for... Herman's Hermits.

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

1973: A drunk driver killed guitarist Clarence White of The Byrds while he was loading equipment after a gig in Palmdale, California.

1977: Elvis Costello and The Attractions made their live debut supporting Wayne County at The Garden, Penzance, Cornwall, 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.

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 & Solo)

1946: Cheech Marin (Comedian)

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

1966: Gerald Levert (R&B Singer)

1969: Mark Greenway (Singer for Napalm Death)

1970: Steve 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."  He was 24 years old.

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.

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. Regarded by some as the first Disco No.1, it was a New York City club hit first and was written by K.C. of K.C. and The Sunshine Band.

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 Zeppelin, 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.  The first act to perform was Status Quo who played at 12:01 am.

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. It 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.

1997: Red Hot Chili Peppers singer Anthony Kiedis underwent five hours of hospital surgery after being involved in a motorbike accident in Los Angeles.

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 Beach 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

1937: Bill Cosby

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

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

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)

1967: John Petrucci (Guitar for Dream Theater)

1969: Jesse Pintado (Guitar for Napalm Death)

1972: Brett Reed (Drums for Rancid)

1983: Kimberly Perry (Singer in The Band Perry)

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 sax player 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 (singer for 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.

2005: Lost Highway releases Willie Nelson's reggae album, "Countryman." The cover features a drawing of a marijuana plant, except in Wal-Mart stores, where the artwork is a palm tree.

2005: The soundtrack album to “Hustle and Flow” was released featuring the Three 6 Mafia song “It’s Hard Out Here For A Pimp” which won an academy award for best original song.

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.

2011: Nick Oliveri, the former bassist for Queens of the Stone Age and currently with Kyuss Lives! was arrested after a five-hour standoff with a S.W.A.T. team at his Hollywood home.

The incident began with an argument Oliveri and his girlfriend had during which the rocker struck her. She left but returned  to gather her belongings and move out when the two started arguing again. A neighbor called 911 to report a disturbance and the 39-year-old Oliveri locked himself and his girlfriend inside the apartment.  When police arrived, Oliveri wouldn't let his girlfriend leave. A S.W.A.T. Team was called and a standoff ensued until Oliveri released his girlfriend and later gave himself up without incident. The police found a loaded rifle inside the house.  Oliveri was booked on felony domestic violence charges. He was released after posting $100,000 bail.