June 13

Births

1934: Uriel Jones (Drummer for The Funk Brothers)

1949: Dr. Hook (Dennis Locorriere)(Singer)

1951: Howard Leese (Guitar for Heart & Bad Company)

1963: Robbie Merrill (Bassist for Godsmack)

1963: Paul De Lisle (Bass for Smash Mouth)

1968: David Gray (Singer & Songwriter)

1970: Rivers Cuomo (Lead Singer & Guitar for Weezer)

1975: Jason Michael Carroll (Country Artist)

Events

1958: A 17-year-old Frank Zappa graduates from Antelope Valley High School in Lancaster, CA.

1959: US Army Private Elvis Presley receives a 15-day furlough and uses it to travel to Paris, ostensibly to meet film sexpot Brigitte Bardot. While there, he and his entourage take up a suite at the Prince De Galles Hotel (on the Champs Elysees) and visit the Moulin Rouge and also the Lido club, home of the famous dancers the Bluebell Girls. Elvis and company take some of the girls back to the hotel tonight, a practice they would continue throughout his leave.

1964: The Rolling Stones' first major US television appearance is made on ABC's Hollywood Palace, a variety show with rotating host spots. This week's host, Dean Martin, who has made no secret of his dislike for rock in general and the British Invasion in particular, mocks the Stones at every turn for their long hair and seeming delinquency; after acrobat Larry Griswold performs several death-defying trampoline stunts, Martin claims, "That's the father of the Rolling Stones. He's been trying to kill himself ever since."

1970: Christine McVie (Fleetwood Mac) released a solo album and then announced her retirement from music. She later came out of retirement.

1971: Frank Sinatra performs his "retirement" concert at Los Angeles' Music Center, although he would return to the stage, the studio, and the television screen just two years later.

1972: R&B Singer Clyde McPhatter, original lead vocalist with The Drifters, died of a heart attack in his sleep at the age of 39 from complications of heart, liver, and kidney disease, brought on by alcohol abuse.

1973: Dolly Parton records "I Will Always Love You" in a morning session at Nashville's RCA Studio B.  In 2004 it is proclaimed the #1 country ballad of all-time in the premiere of "CMT 100 Greatest Love Songs".

1975: John Lennon makes what would prove to be his last TV appearance, performing "Imagine" and a cover of Little Richard's "Slippin' And Slidin'" on the ABC special A Salute To Sir Lew Grade.

1975: Peter Frampton played the first of two nights at the Winterland Ballroom, San Francisco, California. Recordings from these two shows were used as part of his #1 double album 'Frampton Comes Alive'.

1980: Charles Miller (Sax and Flute for War) was murdered in Los Angeles.

1986: Benny Goodman died from a heart attack in New York City at the age of 77.

1988: Stevie Wonder and a host of pop stars perform a charity concert at London's Wembley Stadium for struggling children's charities in apartheid-torn South Africa, as well as anti-apartheid causes in the UK.

1989: Jerry Lee Lewis is awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame at 6631 Hollywood Boulevard.

1992: Billy Ray Cyrus started a 17-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with 'Some Gave All'.

1992: Law enforcement officials in Texas called for a ban on Ice-T's Rock Band “Body Count”s "Cop Killer" album.

1995: Alanis Morissette released 'Jagged Little Pill'. The album went on to sell over 30 million copies world-wide making Morissette the first female Canadian to score a US No.1 album.

1995: Country Singer Ty Hernodon was arrested by an undercover officer on drug possession charges.

2000: Singer Bobby Brown admitted he was an alcoholic, saying, 'I have a disease, I am an addict, I am an alcoholic'. The singer made the admission while appearing in a Florida court.

2003: Gerry Marsden of Gerry and the Pacemakers is awarded an MBE (Member of the British Empire) in the annual Queen's Birthday Honours. Errol Brown of Hot Chocolate is similarly honored; Pink Floyd's David Gilmour is awarded the much higher CBE (Commander of the British Empire).

2004: After Rapper 50 Cent mentioned R. Kelly's pending child pornography trial during an appearance at the New York Summer Jam XI concert, chairs were thrown onstage forcing 50 Cent and his G-Unit crew to leave the stage area.

2005: After a sensational 16-week trial in Los Angeles, Michael Jackson is found innocent of child molestation charges.

2006: Heather Mills, ex-model, activist, and estranged wife of Paul McCartney, announces her intention to divorce the ex-Beatle.

2008: A Chicago jury acquitted R. Kelly of all 14 charges of child pornography against him. The US singer was found not guilty of making an explicit sex video that prosecutors had said showed him having sex with a girl as young as 13. Both Kelly and the alleged victim, now 23, denied they were the people shown on the tape, which the jury saw. The defense argued that the man in the tape did not have a large mole on his back as does Mr. Kelly, and that the tape could have been doctored.

2011: Clarence Clemons, saxophonist for Bruce Springsteen's iconic E Street Band, suffered a stroke at his home in Florida.  He died 5 days later.

June 12

Births

1928: Vic Damone (Singer)

1930: Jim Nabors (Gomer Pyle and Singer)

1941: Chick Corea (Keyboardist)

1941: Reg Presley (Singer for The Troggs)

1949: John Wetton (Bass for King Crimson & Asia)

1951: Brad Delp (Lead Singer & Guitar for Boston)

1959: John Linnell (Accordion, Keyboards & Sax for They Might Be Giants)

1962: Grandmaster Dee (Drew Carter) (DJ for Whodini)

1969: Bardi Martin (Bass for Candlebox)

1977: Kenny Wayne Shepherd (Blues Singer & Guitarist)

1979: Robyn (Singer)

1985: Chris Young (Country Singer)

Events

1935: At age 17, Ella Fitzgerald recorded her first songs. The two songs were "Love and Kisses" and "I'll Chase the Blues Away.

1957: Jimmy Dorsey died of throat cancer at age 53.

1959: Sam Cooke insists on racially integrated seating for tonight's dual-headlining show with Jackie Wilson in Norfolk, VA.

1959: Bo Diddley released "Go Go Bo Diddley."

1961: Frankie Avalon begins a 12-day tour of South America, one of the first rock tours to play on the continent.

1962: Brenda Lee dislocates her neck while performing at the Latin Casino in Cherry Hill, NJ, and is hospitalized; one year later to the day, the teen idol finally graduates from the showbiz-friendly high school Hollywood Professional.

1965: Sonny and Cher make their US television debut, singing "Just You" on ABC-TV's American Bandstand.

1965: Rolling Stones release the single "Satisfaction".

1966: The Dave Clark Five break a record by becoming the first rock band to make 12 appearances on CBS-TV's Ed Sullivan Show.

1973: Grand Funk Railroad recorded "We're An American Band".

1978: Country singer Johnny Bond died of a heart attack at age 63.

1982: The largest political rally in US history occurs when three-quarters of a million people cram into New York's Central Park for the Rally for Nuclear Disarmament, a musical protest featuring Bruce Springsteen, Jackson Browne, James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, and Gary "U.S." Bonds.

1987: The Los Angeles Coroner's Office rules that blues legend Paul Butterfield died from a heart attack caused by decades of drug and alcohol abuse.

1989: The Elvis Presley Autoland Museum, a section of Graceland devoted to twenty of the King's vintage cars, opens to the public.

1992: Jordan and Danny of New Kids on the Block are acquitted in copyright-infringement charges stemming from their song "I'll Be Your Everything," which the estate of Percy Sledge claimed borrowed heavily from Sledge's 1975 song of the same name.

1994: Cab Calloway suffers a stroke in his hometown of Rochester, NY, the beginning of a series of medical events which will lead to his death in November.

1999: It was reported that Oasis had paid Gary Glitter $340,000 as an out-of-court settlement after being accused of using the Gary Glitter lyric, ‘Hello, hello, it’s good to be back’ in the song ‘Hello’.

2000: Bruce Springsteen debuts his new song, "American Skin (41 Shots)," which protests the NYPD killing of unarmed suspect Amadou Diallo, to resounding boos at Madison Square Garden.

2002: Clive Calder the man who is credited with discovering Britney Spears sold his record company Zomba to BMG Music for $2 billion. Calder started Zomba in 1975 and had hits with Billy Ocean, Sam Fox and Tight Fit.

2003: In New York, the Songwriters' Hall of Fame inducts new members Little Richard, Van Morrison, Queen, and Phil Collins.

2005: Pink Floyd announced they would reunite with former bassist Roger Waters, who left the band in 1985, on July 2 for the Live 8 London concert. This would be the first time the band had played together as a quartet since The Wall tour in 1981.

2011: Carl Gardner, lead singer of '50s group the Coasters, passed away in Port St. Lucie, Florida after an extended illness.

June 11

Births

1946: John Lawton (Singer for Uriah Heep)

1947: Glenn Leonard (Vocals for The Temptations)

1948: Skip Alan (Drummer for Them & The Pretty Things)

1949: Frank Beard (Drummer for ZZ Top)

1952: Donnie Van Zant (Singer in .38 Special)

1961: Robert Birch (Vocals for Stereo MC's)

1969: Steven Drozd (Drummer for The Flaming Lips)

1969: Dan Lavery (Bass for Tonic & The Fray)

Events

1949: Hank Williams shoots into superstardom overnight when he performs his new single, "Lovesick Blues," at Nashville's "Grand Old Opry." He's called back for a record six encores.

1958: Jerry Lee Lewis finds that the marriage scandal involving his 14-year-old second cousin has migrated back to the States when he is booed off a New York stage. The second show is canceled due to poor ticket sales, and Lewis' career, for the time being anyway, is ruined.

1964: The Rolling Stones hold an attention-grabbing "press conference" in the middle of Michigan Avenue in Chicago, just outside Chess Studios; it's promptly broken up by the local police.

1964: Queen Elizabeth orders Beatles to her birthday party, they attend.

1965: Buckingham Palace announces that the Beatles are to be awarded the MBE (Members of the British Empire) award by Queen Elizabeth II, an award traditionally only presented to upper-crust members of the community. Several members immediately return their awards, complaining that they have become "debased."

1966: Britain's Melody Maker reports that one of the first "supergroups," Cream, has formed from former members of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Manfred Mann, and the Graham Bond Organization.

1966: European radio is abuzz with rumors that Roger Daltrey, lead singer of The Who, has been killed in an auto accident days earlier. In fact, guitarist Pete Townshend was in the wreck, but survived with minor injuries.

1968: During the recording of the Rolling Stones' new song, "Sympathy For The Devil," London's Olympic Studio mysteriously catches fire.

1969: David Bowie releases the single "Space Oddity" to coincide with the first lunar landing.

1971: A drunken Dennis Wilson, drummer for the Beach Boys, accidentally puts his hand through the glass door of his home, severing nerves that keep him from his instrument for the better part of three years.

1976: Wild Cherry releases the single "Play That Funky Music".

1977: Joe Strummer and Topper Headon were detained overnight in prison in Newcastle upon Tyne having failed to appear at Morpeth Magistrates on May 21st.  Both Clash members were to answer a charge relating to the theft of a Holiday Inn pillowcase. They were both fined $170.

1977: KC and the Sunshine Band became only the second group after The Jackson Five to achieve four US No.1's when 'I'm Your Boogie Man' went to the top of the charts.

1978: The Rolling Stones released the Album "Some Girls."

1983: Drummer Alex Van Halen married Valeri Kendall in Los Angeles, California. Brother Eddie Van Halen was best man.

1988: Nelson Mandellas 70th birthday tribute took place at Wembley Stadium, London, featuring Whitney Houston, Phil Collins, Dire Straits, Stevie Wonder, Tracy Chapman, George Michael, Eric Clapton, UB40, The Eurythmics and Simple Minds. The event was broadcast live on BBC 2 to 40 different countries with an estimated audience of 1 billion.

1990: The United Nations appoints Olivia Newton-John as its first Goodwill Ambassador to the environment.

1992: U2 has ABBA's Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Anderson join them onstage at their concert in Stockholm for a rendition of ABBA's 1975 smash "Dancing Queen."

1998: Scott Weiland (Singer for Stone Temple Pilots) skipped a scheduled court date and checked himself into a drug treatment facility.

2000: Aaliyah went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Try Again'. It became the first "airplay-only" song to reach No.1 on the US singles chart (no points from a commercial single release).

2002: Three hundred guests, including Elton John, David Gilmour, Chrissie Hynde, and former bandmate Ringo Starr, attend the wedding of Paul McCartney to former model and current activist Heather Mills at St. Salvator Church in Glaslough, Ireland. Paul's three children from his first marriage all attend; Mills walks down the aisle holding eleven "McCartney" roses specially developed for the occasion. The couple would divorce in 2008.

2003: Adam Ant was arrested after going berserk and stripping off in a London cafe. The former 1980's pop star had thrown stones at neighbour's homes smashing windows before going to the nearby cafe.

2004: Courtney Love surrendered to US police after allegedly assaulting a woman at the home of her former manager and ex-boyfriend. Ms Love was charged with assault with a deadly weapon. She was later released on bail. The charges related to an incident on 25 April 2004, when Ms Love allegedly assaulted a woman with a bottle and a torch at the LA home of Jim Barber.

2008: Nancy Sinatra appears before the US Congress pleading for legislation that would require all performers, not just songwriters, to get paid for songs played on commercial analog radio.

2009: Pete Doherty was released on $80,000 bail to await trial accused of driving dangerously after a gig. The Babyshambles frontman was stopped after police saw a car being driven erratically in Gloucester. The 30-year-old appeared at Stroud Magistrates' Court and pleaded guilty to possessing heroin and to having no driving license or insurance.

2011: Singer Lily Allen marries long time fiancé Sam Cooper in Gloucestershire, England.