September 28

Births

1902: Ed Sullivan (Television Host)

1928: Koko Taylor (Blues Singer)

1938: Ben E. King (R&B Singer)

1943: Nick St. Nicholas (Bass for Steppenwolf)

1952: Andy Ward (Drummer for Marillion & Camel)

1954: George Lynch (Guitarist for Dokken & Lynch Mob)

1966: Kenny Wilson (Ginger Fish) (Drums for Marilyn Manson)

1977: Young Jeezy (Jay Jenkins) (Rapper)

1984: Melody Thornton (Singer for The Pussycat Dolls)

1987: Hilary Duff (Singer)

Events

1953: Cpuntry singer Johnny Horton marries Billie Jean Jones Eshliman, widow of Hank Williams Sr.

1963: A full two months before "I Want To Hold Your Hand" finally breaks Beatlemania in the US, New York disc jockey Murray The K obtains a copy of the Beatles' last single, "She Loves You," and plays it on his radio show for two solid weeks, becoming the first American DJ to play a Beatles record. The response is tepid.

1968: Janis Joplin manager Albert Grossman announces that his client is leaving her band Big Brother and the Holding Company, feeling that they weren't "growing together."

1968: The Beatles started a nine week run at No.1 on the singles chart with 'Hey Jude'. The Paul McCartney song written about Lennon's son Julian gave the group their 16th US No.1 and the biggest selling single of 1968.

1972: David Bowie catapults into US superstardom overnight when he sells out tonight's gig at Carnegie Hall.

1973: The Rolling Stones appear on the premiere of Don Kirshner's Rock Concert on ABC, performing "It's Only Rock N' Roll (But I Like It)," marking their first appearance on US television in six years.

1974: Bad Company went to No.1 on the US album chart with their self-titled debut album. Paul Rodgers and Simon Kirke had come out of Free, while Mick Ralphs had played guitar with Mott the Hoople and Boz Burrell was bass player for King Crimson before the group formed in 1973.

1976: George Harrison, currently ill with hepatitis, is sued by his American label, A&M, for $6 million for failing to deliver his latest album, 33 1/3, on time.

1987: The British tabloid The Sun reports erroneously that Elton John keeps several guard dogs with their larynxes removed so that he can't hear them bark, sparking a successful libel lawsuit from John that revolutionizes the way the tabloids in England deal with celebrities.

1987: Smokey Robinson and Gladys Knight are the celebrity team players on tonight's episode of Dick Clark's $100,000 Pyramid.

1989: Jimmy Buffett publishes his first book, a collection of short fiction entitled Tales From Margaritaville.

1991: Miles Davis died from the combined effects of a stroke, pneumonia and respiratory failure in Santa Monica, California at the age of 65.

1991: Garth Brooks went to No.1 on the US album chart with 'Ropin' The Wind'. The album spent a total of eighteen weeks at the No.1 position and 70 weeks on the chart selling over 11m copies. It became the first country album to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard pop chart.

1991: Guns N' Roses released 2 albums 'Use Your Illusion I' and 'Use Your Illusion II' which debut at number 1 and number 2 on the album chart.

1991: On the week of their album ‘Nevermind’ being released, Nirvana made an appearance at the Tower Records store in New York City and then played a show at The Marquee Club in New York. Their single ‘Smell’s Like Teen Spirit’ had also entered the US Top 20 this week.

1994: R&B singer Bobby Brown witnessed a fatal drive-by-shooting in Roxbury, New Jersey. His sister's fiancé‚ was killed in the incident.

1995: Bobby Brown's car was riddled with bullets in Boston's Roxbury section. The gun battle killed his sister's fiancé.

1996: Bob Dylan is nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature for his songwriting by Gordon Ball literature professor at the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, VA.

2004: A Beverly Hills tribute concert in honor of Ray Charles, featuring Stevie Wonder, Michael McDonald, James Ingram, and Patti Austin, raises $15 million for Atlanta's African-American institution, Morehouse College.

2004: Producer Phil Spector was charged with the murder of actress Lana Clarkson in an unsealed indictment. Spector was in attendance at a Los Angeles court as the indictment about the slaying of 40-year-old Clarkson was read. He remained free on $1 million bail.

2009: Adam Goldstein (DJ AM.), American club DJ and musician died of an accidental drug overdose at home in New York City aged 36. Had worked with Blink 182, Crazy Town, Madonna. Goldstein had surrived a plane crash along with Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker in September 2008.

September 27

Births

1944: Randy Bachman (Guitar & Vocals for Bachman-Turner Overdrive & The Guess Who)

1947: Meat Loaf (Marvin Lee Aday)(Singer)

1952: Robbie Shakespeare (Singer in Sly & Robbie)

1953: Greg Ham (Sax for Men At Work)

1958: Shaun Cassidy (Pop Singer)

1966: Stephan Jenkins (Lead Vocals for Third Eye Blind)

1978: Brad Arnold (Singer for 3 Doors Down)

1982: Lil Wayne (Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr.) (Rapper)

1984: Avril Lavigne (Singer & Guitarist)

Events

1938: Comedian Bob Hope premieres a new song, "Thanks For The Memory," on his eponymous NBC radio show.

1942: Glenn Miller plays what was to be his last concert as a civilian, performing at the Central Theatre in Passaic, NJ. In December 1944, Miller's plane would disappear over the Atlantic Ocean en route to play for fellow soldiers in liberated Paris.

1964: The Beach Boys make their national television debut on CBS' Ed Sullivan Show, performing their recent hit "I Get Around."

1966: Elvis Presley begins shooting his twenty-third film, entitled Easy Come, Easy Go.

1968: Local favorites the Jackson 5 open a Stevie Wonder / Gladys Knight concert in their hometown of Gary, IN, prompting Knight to recommend them to Motown head Berry Gordy.

1973: Rolling Stone announces that Carlos Santana has changed his name legally to add the middle name "Devadip," meaning "the Lamp of the Light Supreme" and a reflection of Santana's recent studies with Sri Chinmoy.

1976: Dolly Parton's short-lived television variety show, entitled simply Dolly!, premieres on ABC.

1979: While onstage at the Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles, CA, Elton John collapses from "exhaustion." The song he'd been performing, ominously, was entitled "Better Off Dead."

1986: Bob Dylan performs "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" for Pope John Paul II at Bologna, Italy's World Eucharistic Congress.

1986: Metallica bass player Cliff Burton was crushed to death after the bands tour bus crashed between Stockholm and Copenhagen. During a European tour members from the band drew cards for the most comfortable bunk on the tour bus, Burton had won the game with an Ace of Spades and was asleep when the tour bus ran over a patch of black ice and skidded off of the road. He was thrown through the window of the bus, which fell on top of him.  He was 24 years old.

1986: The Beatles' 'Twist and Shout' re-entered the US singles chart over twenty-five years after it first appeared, after the song was featured in the film Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

1990: Marvin Gaye is posthumously awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1500 Vine Street.

1990: Dee Dee Ramone of the Ramones was arrested for possessing marijuana during a drug bust in New York's Greenwich Village.

2000: U2 played a show from the rooftop of The Clarence Hotel in Dublin, (which they own). Over 4,000 fans gathered on the streets below.

2003: Carly Simon sues the owners of New York's famous Dakota apartment complex, claiming they kept her $59,000 down payment after rejecting her rental application.

2003: Dierks Bentley registers his first #1 single in Billboard with "What Was I Thinkin'".

2004: Legendary rock producer Phil Spector, best known for creating the "Wall Of Sound" on hits like the Ronettes' "Be My Baby" and the Righteous Brothers' "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling," is indicted for the February 2003 murder of actress Lana Clarkson at his estate in Alhambra, CA.

September 26

Births

1898: George Gershwin (Composer & Pianist)

1925: Marty Robbins (Country Artist)

1926: Julie London (Torchsong Singer)

1941: David Frizzell (Country Artist)

1945: Bryan Ferry (Singer for Roxy Music & Solo)

1947: Lynn Anderson (Country Singer)

1948: Olivia Newton-John (Pop Singer)

1951: Stuart Tosh (Drummer for Alan Parsons Project)

1954: Craig Chaquico (Guitar for Jefferson Starship)

1955: Carlene Carter (Country Artist)

1960: Doug Supernaw (Country Artist)

1961: Cindy Herron (Vocals for En Vogue)

1962: Tracey Thorn (Vocals for Everything But The Girl)

1964: John Tempesta (Drummer for Exodus, White Zombie & Testament)

1972: Shawn Stockman (Vocals for Boyz II Men)

1981: Christina Milian (Singer)

Events

1908: The first stereo advertisement, for an Edison Phonograph, appears in the Saturday Evening Post.

1937: Bessie Smith died at age 43 after being critically injured in a car accident outside of Memphis Tenn.

1955: Debbie Reynolds marries Eddie Fisher in New York City, a marriage that will last just four tumultuous years before Fisher leaves America's Sweetheart for Elizabeth Taylor.

1956: The mayor of Tupelo, MS declares today Elvis Presley Day in honor of its favorite son; among others, a young Tammy Wynette is in the audience at the concert Elvis gives later.

1957: The musical West Side Story, a retelling of Romeo and Juliet with New York City gang members, debuts on Broadway at the Winter Garden Theatre. It would run for 732 performances.

1961: Folksinger Bob Dylan lands his first major gig, opening for the Greenbriar Boys for two weeks at Gerde's Folk City in New York. Critic Robert Shelton of the New York Times says of today's performance: "Bob Dylan is one of the most distinctive stylists to play in a Manhattan cabaret in months... there is no doubt that he is bursting at the seams with talent... Mr. Dylan's voice is anything but pretty... a searing intensity pervades his songs. Mr. Dylan's highly personalized approach toward folk song is still evolving." This review essentially launches Dylan's career.

1964 : The Kinks released the single "You Really Got Me” in the US.

1965: At the end of a European tour Roger Daltry knocked out Keith Moon and was fired from The Who. The band were playing two shows in one night in Denmark, when an argument broke out between all four band members. Daltry was reinstated the following day.

1965: Queen Elizabeth II presents the Beatles with the Order of the British Empire, recommended by Prime Minister Harold Wilson, who said later: "I saw the Beatles as having a transforming effect on the minds of youth, mostly for the good. It kept a lot of kids off the streets." The Beatles, who reportedly get high in a bathroom before the event, are said to be delighted, though many older and more conservative honorees return their honors in protest.

1967: Pink Floyd played the first of three nights at the Fillmore in San Francisco, the groups first ever live dates in the US.

1969: Legendary promoter Bill Graham opens the Fillmore West, a West Coast version of his popular New York "rock ballroom," in San Francisco.

1970: Motown announces that its newest singing sensation, the Jackson 5, have sold ten million records worldwide in just nine months.

1975: The Rocky Horror Picture Show, starring Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, and a young unknown singer who goes only by the name of Meat Loaf, opens in Westwood, CA. A film version of the popular off-Broadway musical hit, it is an instant flop nationwide, and is miraculously resuscitated some time later when audiences at the midnight showings in New York City begin to talk back to the screen, creating a cult phenomenon that lasts to this day.

1979: The Clash released their first U.S. single. It was their remake of Bobby Fuller Four's "I Fought The Law."

1981: Bruce Dickinson joined UK rock band Iron Maiden, (Dickinson had been the vocalist with Samson).

1984: Paul Anka is awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6840 Hollywood Blvd.

1988: "Talk Is Cheap" was released by Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards. It was his first solo album.

2002: Country artist Doug Supernaw is arrested outside a bar in Brenham, Texas, after fighting with five police officers. He's charged with public intoxication, assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest.

2003: Robert Palmer, a heavy smoker, died in Paris, France, from a heart attack at the age of 54.

September 25

Births

1943: Gary Alexander (Guitar & Vocals for The Association)

1943: John Locke (Keyboards for Spirit & Nazareth)

1946: Bryan MacLean (Guitar & Vocals for Love)

1946: Jerry Penrod (Bass for Iron Butterfly)

1955: Steve Severin (Bass for Siouxsie and the Banshees)

1961: Heather Locklear

1968: Will Smith (Rapper- DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince)

1974: Richie Edwards (Bass for The Darkness)

1980: T.I. (Clifford Joseph Harris Jr.) (Rapper)

Events

1964: The Temptations begin recording ’My Girl’ which went on to be their first US number one and the first of fifteen US Top Ten hits.

1965: The Beatles cartoon series premiered on ABC TV in the US. The first story was titled 'I Want To Hold Your Hand' and had the group exploring the ocean floor in a diving bell where they met a lovesick octopus.

1970: The Partridge Family's self-titled TV show debuts on ABC.

1975: While performing "Lonely Teardrops" onstage at the Latin Casino in Cherry Hill, NJ during a Dick Clark oldies revue, Jackie Wilson collapses from a heart attack, bashing his head on the stage and lapsing into a come from which he will remain until his death in 1983.

1980: John Bonham, drummer with Led Zeppelin, died aged 32 after a heavy drinking session. ‘Bonzo’ was found dead at guitarists Jimmy Page's house of what was described as asphyxiation, after inhaling his own vomit after excessive vodka consumption, (40 shots in 4 hours).

1981: An infamous Rolling Stones concert at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia, PA, is recorded for use in the upcoming flop concert pic Let's Spend The Night Together.

1990: The mayor of Macon, GA, renames Mercer University Drive "Little Richard Penniman Boulevard" in honor of its native son.

1990: Drummer Dave Grohl auditioned for Nirvana and was instantly given the job. Grohl’s last band Scream had recently split-up.

1992: Two fans were stabbed and 20 arrests were made after trouble broke out at a Ozzy Osbourne gig in Oklahoma City. The sale of alcohol at the concert was blamed for the incident.

1993: A Patsy Cline commemorative stamp is issued by the United States Postal Service.

1993 Country singer Sara Evans marries Craig Schelske in Boonesboro, Missouri.

1995: Courtney Love was given a one-year prison sentence, suspended for two years, fined $1000 and ordered to attend a anger management course after being found guilty of assaulting Bikini Kill singer Kathleen Hanna.

1995: Mariah Carey's "Fantasy" became only the second single to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The first artist to accomplish this feat was Michael Jackson with "You Are Not Alone."

1998: Johnny Cash suffers a relapse of pneumonia and is admitted to a Nashville, TN hospital, just one year after nearly dying from the disease.

2000: Ozzy Osbourne formally requested that Black Sabbath be removed from the nomination list for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Calling the inclusion "meaningless", Osbourne went on to say "Let's face it. Black Sabbath have never been media darlings. We're a people's band and that suits us just fine."

2001: The first worldwide broadcast of a satellite radio station takes place as XM Radio takes the air.

September 24

Births

1933: Mel Taylor (Drummer for The Ventures)

1936: Jim Henson (Muppets)

1941: Linda McCartney (Keyboards for Wings)

1942: Gerry Marsden (Vocals & Guitar for Gerry and the Pacemakers)

1971: Peter Salisbury (Drums for The Verve)

Events

1942: Bandleader Glenn Miller makes his last radio broadcast on CBS' Moonlight Serenade program before leaving to enlist in the Army.

1955: Judy Garland makes her television debut on CBS' variety show Ford Star Jubilee, breaking all previous ratings records.

1957: Legendary DJ Alan Freed debuts his fourth movie, Mister Rock And Roll, at New York City's Paramount Theatre. The film, named after Freed's nickname, features Alan playing himself and also several musical performances by Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, Brook Benton, LaVern Baker, Ferlin Husky, Lionel Hampton, and, for some reason, former middleweight boxing champion Rocky Graziano.

1966: En route from New York to London with his new manager, Chas Chandler, the guitarist formerly known as Jimmy James decides to change his name to Jimi Hendrix. Upon arrival, Jimi ends up in a jam session with British bluesman Zoot Money, witnessed by Andy Summers, later the guitarist for the Police.

1967: The Beatles film the (in)famous "Your Mother Should Know" dance segment of their film Magical Mystery Tour at the West Malling Air Force Station in Kent, England. Paul wears a black carnation when the group runs out of red ones, creating more "clues" for the "Paul is Dead" theorists.

1967: Traffic made their live debut when they appeared at Saville Theatre in London, featuring Steve Winwood.

1971: The Jackson 5 appear on the cover of Life magazine, with the headline "Rock Stars At Home With Their Parents."

1977: Just a month or so after his untimely death, the first national Elvis Presley convention takes place in Memphis.

1980: The mixing of the forthcoming John and Yoko album Double Fantasy moved from the Hit Factory in New York City to Record Plant East. During this session, John Lennon gave one of last ever interviews to Lisa Robinson from 97-FM in Buffalo.

1988: After allegedly breaking into an insurance class being held in a building he owns and waving a gun around, demanding to know who used his bathroom, James Brown becomes involved in a hour-long, two-state car chase with police in Augusta, GA, who were tipped off that Brown was behaving erratically and armed. Driving over six miles in his pickup truck after authorities shoot out his two front tires, Brown is arrested and charged with illegal possession of drugs and firearms, simple assault, carrying a deadly weapon in public, resisting arrest, and seven misdemeanors. He is released from jail after serving two years of a five-year sentence.

1988: Bobby McFerrin started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Don't Worry Be Happy', the first a-cappella record to be a No.1.  The song would go on to win Grammy Awards for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year.

1991: Nirvana’s album ‘Nevermind’ was released in America, entering the chart at No. 144 on its first week, peaking at No.1 in January 1992.

1991: The album "The Low End Theory" was released by A Tribe Called Quest.

1993: Following his recent arrest for drunk driving, John Denver is ordered to perform a benefit concert for victims of the same.

1993: Guns N' Roses reached a settlement with their former drummer Steven Adler. Adler had been kicked out of the band for not kicking his heroin habit.

1995: The Charlatans were arrested by 24-armed police after a flight to New York. The band were accused of trying to disrupt the planes flight path, passengers complained of the group being drunk, spitting and interfering with in flight TV sets.

1997: Barry Loukaitis was convicted of shooting and killing two pupils and a teacher at a school in Washington. His defence team claimed he had copied scenes from Pearl Jam's video 'Jeremy'. 

September 23

Births

1926: John Coltrane (Jazz Saxophonist)

1930: Ray Charles (Singer & Piano Legend)

1935: Les McCann (Jazz & R&B Singer)

1939: Roy Buchanan (Blues Guitarist)

1943: Steve Boone (Bass for The Lovin' Spoonful)

1943: Julio Iglesias (Singer)

1947: Neal Smith (Drummer for Alice Cooper)

1949: Bruce Springsteen (The Boss)

Events

1952: Hank Williams records "Take These Chains From My Heart," "Kaw-liga" and "Your Cheatin' Heart" in his final recording session, at the Castle Studio in Nashville's Tulane Hotel.

1967: The Strawberry Alarm Clock perform their one and only hit, "Incense and Peppermints," on ABC-TV's American Bandstand.

1969: It was reported by "The London Daily Mirror" that Paul McCartney was dead. It was the first time the rumor was printed.

1970: After his band's concert at the Olympia in Paris, Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones meets heiress Bianca Pérez Morena De Macías for the first time, beginning a courtship that will end in their first marriage the next year. Naturally, there will be a bitter divorce in 1978, leading to some inspired "tribute" songs in the Stones catalog.

1974: Robbie McIntosh founder member of the Average White Band died of a heroin overdose at a Hollywood party, (after he inhaled a white powder thought to be cocaine but was actually pure heroin). He was 24.

1980: David Bowie makes a splash on Broadway when he takes over the title role in The Elephant Man from Philip Anglim.

1980: Having already collapsed in Central Park a few days earlier, a weak Bob Marley insists on continuing his US tour, and collapses again onstage during tonight's show at Pittsburgh's Stanley Theater. It will prove to be his last performance; the tour is canceled, and Marley heads to Germany for treatment where he will defy his original grim prognosis somewhat by staying alive until the following May.

1989: Milli Vanilli started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Girl I'm Gonna Miss You', the duo's second US No.1. Also today the duo went to No.1 on the US album chart with 'Girl You Know It's True'.

1991: Izzy Stradlin left Guns N' Roses. Gilby Clarke replaced him.

1992: A scandal erupts when Jackson Browne is accused of physical assault by his girlfriend, actress Daryl Hannah.

1998: Elvis Presley, once rejected for the Grand Old Opry, is inducted into Nashville's Country Music Hall of Fame.

1999: Coolio appeared on TV's "Judge Joe" to settle a financial dispute with his backing band the Wyld Bunch. The judge ruled the band was due $4,000 in unpaid earnings.

2004: Slipknot's Corey Taylor issued a statement denying he was dead. Rumours started after a shock jock in Des Moines broadcast the announcement that the singer had died of a drug overdose, which then became a fatal car crash.

2004: A bodyguard for rapper Lil' Kim was sentenced to 12 years in prison after admitting firing at least 20 times in a shoot-out with a rival gang. The judge sentencing Suif Jackson, said society needed protection from a gun-toting man with five convictions. The shooting took place when the entourages of Lil' Kim and Capone-N-Noreaga crossed at a New York radio station.

2005: Mindy McCready is checked into Nashville's St. Thomas Hospital after swallowing about 30 anti-depressant pills, her second overdose in two months. This one comes after a phone argument with boyfriend William McKnight over finances for their unborn child.

2007: Lionel Richie guest-stars as himself on tonight's "He Loves to Fly and He D'ohs" season opener of Fox-TV's The Simpsons.