July 16

Births

1925: Cal Tjader (Latin Jazz Musician)

1942: Desmond Dekker (Reggae & Ska Singer)

1948: Rubén Blades (Salsa Singer)

1949: Alan "Fitz" Fitzgerald (Keyboards for Night Ranger)

1952: Stewart Copeland (Drummer for The Police)

1967: Will Ferrell (Cowbell)

1971: Ed Kowalczyk (Singer for Live)

Events

1900: His Master's Voice, the logo of the Victor Recording Company and later RCA Victor, was registered with the US Patent Office. The logo shows the dog, Nipper, looking into the horn of a gramophone.

1955: Elvis Presley makes his first appearance on the national charts as "Baby, Let's Play House" enters the Cash Box country charts at #15.

1962: The Beach Boys sign to Capitol Records following the success of their independently released 45, "Surfin'," and a four-song demo recorded the previous month, featuring work versions of "Surfer Girl," "409" and "Surfin' Safari."

1966: Ex-Yardbirds guitarist Eric Clapton forms Cream, the original "power trio," with bassist Jack Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker of the Graham Bond Organization.

1969: During recordings at Abbey Road studio's in London The Beatles worked on two new George Harrison songs, 'Here Comes The Sun' and 'Something.'

1972: Smokey Robinson performs his final show with the Miracles at the Carter Barron Amphitheater in Washington, DC. At the end of the show, Smokey introduces his replacement, 20-year-old Billy Griffin.

1976: After six years, Kenny Loggins and Jim Messina decide to split up their partnership, which had three big hits in "Thinking Of You," "My Music," and "Your Mama Don't Dance."

1976: Due the bi-coastal distance (and increasing differences) between Gregg Allman and the other band members, the Allman Brothers call it quits.

1980: Singer Donna Summer marries Bruce Sudano, former member of Brooklyn Dreams, who appeared on her 1979's hit "Heaven Knows."

1981: Singer / Songwriter Harry Chapin died in a car accident on the way to perform a charity concert.  He was 38.

1995: Rapper Queen Latifah was the victim of a car-jacking attempt that went wrong, leaving her bodyguard shot and wounded.

1996: Michael Jackson receives somewhere between $15 and 20 million for his performance at the Sultan of Brunei's private birthday party.

1996: Drummer John Panozzo (Styx) died of gastrointestinal hemorrhaging after years of heavy drinking; he was 47 years old.

2003: Salsa singer Celia Cruz died of brain cancer at age 77.

2009: A stage being built in France for a concert by Madonna collapsed, killing two workers and injuring six others. Technicians had been setting up the stage at the Velodrome stadium in Marseille when the partially-built roof fell in, bringing down a crane.

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 & Solo)

1952: David Pack (Guitar & Vocals for Ambrosia)

1953: Alicia Bridges (Disco Singer)

1956: Ian Curtis (Vocals for Joy Division)

1956: Marky Ramone (Marc Bell) (Drummer for The Ramones)

1956: Joe Satriani (Guitarist)

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

1973: John Dolmayan (Drummer for System of a Down)

1976: Jim Jones (Rapper)

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 time slot 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.

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 partying 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.

2004: U2 called in police after thieves stole a copy of the bands latest album 'Vertigo'. The CD was stolen during a photo shoot with the band in the south of France.

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.

2011: Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony split after seven years of marriage.

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.