September 13

Births

1857: Milton Hershey (Founder of Hershey Chocolate)

1911: Bill Monroe (Bluegrass Musician)

1922: Yma Sumac (Peruvian Singer)

1925: Mel Torme (Singer)

1941: David Clayton-Thomas (Lead Singer for Blood, Sweat and Tears)

1944: Peter Cetera (Singer for Chicago & Solo)

1948: Nell Carter (Singer / Actress)

1949: Fred "Sonic" Smith (Guitarist for MC5)

1952: Randy Jones (Cowboy in The Village People)

1952: Don Was (Singer in Was, Now Was & Producer)

1954: Steve Kilbey (Lead singer / songwriter & Bass for The Church & Solo)

1956: Joni Sledge (Singer in Sister Sledge)

1957: Vinny Appice (Drummer for Black Sabbath & DIO)

1961: Dave Mustaine (Lead Singer & Guitarist for Megadeth and one time member of Metallica)

1967: Stephen Perkins (Drummer for Jane's Addiction & Porno For Pyros)

1967: Timothy “Ripper” Owens (Singer for Judas Priest & Iced Earth)

1977: Fiona Apple (Singer / Songwriter)

1979: Geike Arnaert (Singer for Hooverphonic)

1980: Teppei Teranishi (Guitar & Keyboards for Thrice)

1993: Niall Horan (Singer in One Direction)

Events

1959: While he is stationed in the US Army in Germany, Elvis Presley's friend, airman Currie Grant, brings Priscilla Ann Beaulieu to a party at his apartment after meeting her in the nearby Eagles Club, a popular hangout for officers and their families. Wearing a sailor dress for the occasion, Priscilla says "It's a pleasure to meet you" and remarks that it's a shame the Army has taken his sideburns. He plays her a few songs on guitar. Elvis and "Cilla" are immediately smitten with each other, with the singer describing her to friends as smart, saying that she treats him like an ordinary guy, and dubbing her "the woman I've been looking for my whole life."

1960: A movement to ban Ray Peterson's new single "Tell Laura I Love Her" begins in the UK when it is feared that the song's powerful story of a stock-car driver who dies young while racing for his girl's love will inspire a "death cult" amongst teens.

1960: The FCC bans "payola," the controversial practice of paying DJs for playing songs, as a result of the scandal involving, among others, Dick Clark and Alan Freed.

1963: The Hollies' Graham Nash (later of CSNY) falls out of his touring van after a Scottish gig, leaning on an unlocked door and tumbling out at 40 mph. 36 years later to the day, the singer breaks both legs in a boat accident off the coast of Hawaii.

1963: Barbra Streisand marries her first husband, actor Elliot Gould, in New York. The two would divorce in 1971.

1964: To prevent the spate of stage-rushing going on at recent frenzied Rolling Stones concerts, Liverpool's Empire Club hires two dozen rugby players to act as a human shield; the crowd of 5,000 washes right over them.

1965: Ringo Starr and wife Maureen become the proud parents of their first child, Zak Starkey (who also became a drummer). Six years later to the day, Paul and Linda McCartney celebrate the arrival of their second child, Stella.

1965: The Beatles win their first Grammys, for Best New Artist and Best Album (for A Hard Day's Night) at the awards ceremony in New York.

1969: John Lennon debuts the Plastic Ono Band at the Rock and Roll Revival Show in Toronto. So named because of the flexible "plastic" nature of the members, this lineup included Eric Clapton, longtime Beatles associate Klaus Voormann, and drummer Alan White, all of whom rehearsed for the first time on the plane trip over from England. The concert, mainly a mix of simple rock and roll oldies and stabs at "Give Peace A Chance," "Yer Blues," and John's forthcoming single "Cold Turkey," will later be released as Live Peace In Toronto 1969.

1977: Symphonic conductor Leopold Stokowski died at the age of 95.

1980: Jackson Browne scored his only US No.1 album with 'Hold Out'.

1982: David Bowie reports to the Cook Islands to begin filming his role in the movie Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence.

1985: Sting began his first solo tour in San Diego. The tour was to support the album "Dream Of The Blue Turtles."

1991: Geffen Records threw a party to launch Nirvana’s single ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit.’ The band ended up being thrown out of their own party after starting a food fight.

1993: Max Weinberg, drummer with Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, begins his new job as bandleader for NBC-TV's new show Late Night With Conan O'Brien.

1994: The debut album "Ready to Die" was released by The Notorious Big.

1996: American rapper Tupac Amaru Shakur died after being shot six days earlier when he was driving through Las Vegas. 13 bullets were fired into his BMW. The incident was blamed on East and West Coast Gang wars. Shakur was a convicted sex offender, guilty of sexual abuse. After serving eleven months of his sentence he was released from prison on an appeal financed by Marion "Suge" Knight, the CEO of Death Row Records.

1998: Lauryn Hill started a five week run at No.1 on the US album chart with 'The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.'

1998: Mel B (Spice Girls) and Jimmy Gulzarof were married.

2000: Elton John storms out of the Estoril Casino in Portugal just before his planned gig there and flies back to England, fuming that the supposedly sell-out crowd had only half arrived. Turns out they were merely lingering at a VIP dinner given just before the show.

2003: US stores Wal-Mart were refusing to stock 'Permission To Land' the Number 1 album by UK rock group The Darkness because the sleeve featured a woman's bottom.

2005: Jimi Hendrix' boyhood home in Seattle is saved from destruction after his estate and the city agree to renovate the building and turn it into a community center.

2009: Taylor Swift's "You Belong With Me" wins Best Female Video during the MTV Video Music Awards. Rapper Kanye West interrupts her acceptance speech at New York's Radio City Music Hall to insist that Beyonce should have won.

September 12

Births

1888: Maurice Chevalier (French Singer & Actor)

1931: George Jones (Country Singer)

1943: Maria Muldaur (Singer / Songwriter)

1944: Barry White (Barry Eugene Carter ) (R&B Singer)

1949: Mark Knopfler (Guitar & Vocals for Dire Straits)

1952: Neil Peart (Drummer for Rush)

1952: Gerry Beckley (Singer / Songwriter for America)

1956: Barry Andrews (Keyboards for XTC)

1956: Brian Robertson (Guitar for Thin Lizzy & Motorhead)

1966: Ben Folds (Singer / Songwriter & Piano for Ben Folds Five & Solo)

1968: Larry Laronde (Bass for Primus)

1972: Liam Gallagher (Singer in Oasis & Beady Eye)

1974: Jennifer Nettles (Lead vocalist for Sugarland)

1976: Bizzy Bone (Bryon Anthony McCane II) (Rapper in Bone Thugz-n-Harmony)

1978: Ruben Studdard (R&B Singer)

1981: Jennifer Hudson (Actress & Singer)

Events

1954: The first 'teen idol', Frank Sinatra was at No.1 on the singles chart with 'Three Coins In The Fountain,' the singer's first No.1. The song was The Academy Award winning Best Original Song of 1954.

1966: N.B.C. aired the first episode of The Monkees TV show in the US.

1970: Creedence Clearwater Revival scored their first UK No.1 album with 'Cosmo's Factory'. It enjoyed a nine-week run at No.1 in the US where it sold over three million copies.

1970: "Fire and Rain" by James Taylor was released. It was his first single.

1970: At a gig in New Orleans, Pink Floyd are the victims of thieves who steal $40,000 worth of their equipment.

1970: CBS debuts their new animated series about a female band, Josie and the Pussycats.

1986: Justin Hayward of The Moody Blues was hospitalized after collapsing from exhaustion in Los Angeles.

1986: Public Image Ltd guitarist John McGeoch needed 40 stitches in his face after a two-liter wine bottle was thrown at the stage during a gig in Vienna.

1987: Michael Jackson kicked of his Bad World Tour by playing the first of three sold-out nights at Korakuen Stadium in Tokyo, Japan. By the end of the 123-date tour, Jackson had played to over 4million fans across fifteen countries.

1987: Morrissey left The Smiths for a solo career.

1988: Pogues singer Shane Macgowan was admitted to a Dublin hospital suffering from nervous exhaustion.

1990: Stevie Nicks and Christine McVie from Fleetwood Mac announced they were leaving the band at the end of their current tour.

1994: George Jones undergoes triple bypass surgery on his 63rd birthday at Nashville's Baptist Hospital.

1995: INXS singer Michael Hutchence pleaded guilty to punching photographer Jim Bennett outside a London hotel. He was fined $800 and ordered to pay $3,000 in medical costs.

1996: Oasis canceled their U.S. tour citing "internal differences" as the cause.

2000: Christina Aguilera released her first Spanish album, Mi Reflejo, which contained Spanish versions of songs from her English debut as well as new Spanish tracks.

2001: Garth Hudson, keyboard player with The Band, filed for bankruptcy for the third time.

2002: The son of Rod Stewart was sentenced to 90 days in jail and ordered to undergo drug rehabilitation after pleading no contest to attacking a man outside a Malibu, California restaurant. 22 year-old Sean Stewart had been arrested on Dec. 5th, 2001, after he was seen kicking the man in the face and stomach. Stewart was also sentenced to five years of probation and ordered to pay $5,600 to the victim.

2003: Johnny Cash dies at age 71 at Nashville's Baptist Hospital, of complications from diabetes, four months after the death of his wife, June Carter. The Man In Black was a member of both the Country Music and Rock & Roll Halls of Fame.

2006: Britney Spears gave birth to a second baby boy at a hospital in Los Angeles.

2006: Jamiroquai singer Jay Kay was arrested and cautioned for common assault following an altercation with a photographer after an incident outside a London nightclub.

2007: The surviving members of Led Zeppelin announced they would reform for a star-studded tribute concert in London. Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones would play at a show to remember the late Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun. The place of Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham, who died in 1980, would be taken by his son Jason. The one-off concert, the trio's first performance for 19 years, would take place at the O2 arena in London on 26th November with tickets costing $200. All profits from the show would go towards scholarships in Ertegun's name in UK, the USA and Turkey, the country of his birth. 

2008: Kanye West was arrested on suspicion of vandalism after a fight with a photographer at Los Angeles International Airport. The incident happened before he cleared security screening at the airport before boarding a flight to Hawaii. A camera valued at $10,000 was broken in the incident, according to an airport spokesman.

2011: Houston rappers Paul Wall and Baby Bash were arrested  in El Paso, Texas on suspicion of marijuana possession.

September 11

Births

1943: Mickey Hart (Drums for Grateful Dead & Solo)

1948: John Martyn (Singer / Songwriter)

1953: Tommy Shaw (Vocals & Guitar for Styx & Damn Yankees)

1964: Victor Wooten (Bass for Bela Fleck & The Flecktones)

1965: Moby (Richard Hall) (DJ & Producer)

1967: Harry Connick Jr. (Jazz Singer / Songwriter)

1969: Gidget Gein (Bass for Marilyn Manson)

1970: Ted Leo (Singer / Songwriter & Guitarist)

1971: Richard Ashcroft  (Lead Vocals & Guitar for The Verve & Solo)

1975: Elephant Man (Reggae Artist)

1975: Mark Klepaski (Bass for Breaking Benjamin)

1977: Ludacris (Chris Bridges) (Rapper)

1977: Jonny Buckland (Lead Guitar for Coldplay)

1978: Ben Lee (Pop Singer & Guitarist)

1981: Charles Kelley (Vocals & Drums for Lady Antebellum)

Events

1956: The London premiere of the Bill Haley film Rock Around the Clock leads to a riot at the Trocadero Cinema, leading to national outrage and a ban on the film in major UK cities.

1960: Nancy Sinatra marries her first husband, teen idol Tommy Sands. The marriage would last five years.

1962: At today's second attempt at cutting the Beatles' first single, "Love Me Do" b/w "P.S. I Love You," producer George Martin decides, for the first and only time, to use session drummer Andy White instead of Ringo Starr. Ringo can be heard playing on the album version of the song, but White is on the single, with Ringo on maracas and tambourine.

1964: The 16-year-old winner of a Mick Jagger impersonation contest at Greenwich, England's Town Hall reveals himself to be... Mick's younger brother, Chris.

1968: Larry Graham, bassist for Sly and the Family Stone, is arrested for possession of marijuana in London, leading to the group being kicked out of their hotel and off their planned BBC TV appearance.

1971: The Jackson 5's eponymous TV cartoon show debuts, naturally enough, on ABC. Unlike the Beatles' cartoon show, this one utilizes the brothers' actual voices.

1977: Elton John lyricist Bernie Taupin makes a rare acting appearance, guest starring as the leader of a fictional rock band called Circus on the "Meet Dracula" episode of ABC-TV's The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries.

1979: The Who play their first concert without longtime drummer Keith Moon, who'd overdosed the previous year. Ex-Faces drummer Kenny Jones sits in during the gig at the Capitol Theatre in Passaic, NJ, and will eventually become Moon's full-time replacement.

1987: Peter Tosh was shot in the head and killed by 3 men trying to rob him at his home.

1987: Prince's Paisley Park Studios officially opened.

1989: Hank Williams Jr.'s "All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight" debuts as "All my rowdy friends are here on Monday night" to promote ABC-TV's Monday Night Football.

1997: John Lee Hooker received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

2001: Walking to work in New York (as an comic book illustrator) Gerard Way witnessed the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center. The day's events inspired him to start a band, which became My Chemical Romance with Way becoming their lead singer.

2002: James Brown's daughters Deanna and Yamma sue their dad for alleged songwriting royalties due for songs they helped co-write, including the 1976 hit "Get Up Offa That Thing," which they would have assisted him with when they were three and six, respectively.

2003: Cher, Bruce Springsteen, Fleetwood Mac and Steely Dan all decide not to take the stage on the second anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

2003: Tommy Chong, one-half of the comedy team of Cheech and Chong, was sentenced to nine months in federal prison and fined $20,000 for selling drug paraphernalia over the Internet. The 65 year-old Chong pled guilty to the charges last May. He remained free until April, 2004, when he went to jail.

September 10

Births

1898: Waldo Semon (Invented vinyl that made LP’s & 45’s)

1945: Jose Feliciano (Puerto Rican Singer & Guitarist)

1946: Danny Hutton (Vocals in Three Dog Night)

1950: Joe Perry (Lead Guitar for Aerosmith)

1956: Johnny Hickman (Lead Guitar for Cracker)

1957: Siobhan Fahey (Vocals for Bananarama & Shakespear Sister)

1960: David Lowery (Vocals & Guitar for Camper Van Beethoven & Cracker)

1966: Robin Goodridge (Drums for Bush)

1968: Big Daddy Kane (Antonio Hardy) (Rapper)

1980: Mikey Way (Bass for My Chemical Romance)

1984: Cameron Matthew Followill (Lead Guitarist for Kings of Leon)

Events

1962: The BBC bans Bobby "Boris" Pickett's Halloween novelty single "Monster Mash," finding it in poor taste. However, in 1973 the radio giant lifts the ban, sending a re-release of the holiday favorite to #3.

1964: Rod Stewart makes his first recording, a cover of Sonny Boy Williamson's "Good Morning, Little School Girl" done with Rod's group the Hoochie Coochie Men. It fails to chart.

1964: The Kinks third single 'You Really Got Me', was at No.1 on the UK singles chart. Future Led Zeppelin founder and guitarist Jimmy Page played tambourine on the track.

1965: Beatles manager Brian Epstein begins negotiating for a cartoon series on ABC-TV bearing the name and likenesses of the group.

1969: As part of their latest exhibition, celebrating the anonymity of "Bagism," John Lennon and Yoko Ono sit onstage for five hours in a white bag at London's Institute of Contemporary Arts.

1974: After poor album sales and infighting caused by drug addiction, The New York Dolls break up for the first time.

1977: Bing Crosby invites David Bowie to appear on what would be his last annual Christmas TV special, suggesting they sing a duet. Bowie agrees.

1979: Having waited five years in vein for two #1 American singles in a row, ABBA finally begin their first US tour.

1979: Pattie Smith announced that she was performing her last show in front of 85,000 people in Florence, Italy. She returned to performing a decade later.

1988: Guns N' Roses started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Sweet Child O' Mine', the group's first US No.1.

1990: Will Smith made his debut in "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air."

1991: Nirvana’s single ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ was released in the US.

1992: Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash married actress and model Renee Suran.

1992: Howard Stern appeared as Fartman on the MTV Video Music Awards.

1998: Gary Glitter appeared in court on child pornography charges.