February 5

Births

1941: Barrett Strong (R&B Singer)

1942: Cory Wells (Lead Singer for Three Dog Night)

1948: Nigel Tufnel (Lead Guitar for Spinal Tap)

1962: Tommy Skeoch (Guitar for Tesla)

1964: Duff McKagan (Bass for Guns ‘N’ Roses)

1968: Chris Barron (Singer for The Spin Doctors)

1969: Bobby Brown (Singer in New Edition & Solo)

1971: Sara Evans (Country Singer)

Events

1940: Glenn Miller and his band recorded "Tuxedo Junction."

1957: 5,000 fans greeted Bill Haley when he arrived from New York on the liner Queen Elizabeth at Southampton, for his debut UK concert tour. Haley was the first American rock artist to tour the UK.

1967: The British tabloid News of the World, owned by Rupert Murdoch, publishes an article called "Pop Stars and Drugs -- Facts that Will Shock You." In it, everyone from the Moody Blues to Pete Townshend is labeled as an LSD user. The tabloid is slapped with a defamation lawsuit that very day by the Rolling Stones' Mick Jagger, whom the article alleges to be hooked on Benzedrine and hashish; apparently the reporter in question had overheard the Stones' Brian Jones admitting to these things and mistook him for Jagger. The suit ignites a feud between the tabloid and the band that would lead directly to Stones' guitarist Keith Richard's infamous drug bust five days later.

1998: Elton John and Stevie Wonder perform at the White House for US President Bill Clinton and British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

1998: Guitarist Tim Kelly (Slaughter) died after a being injured in an auto accident in Arizona at the age of 34.

2004: Janet Jackson's right breast became the most searched-for image in net history, Jackson's breast was seen by millions on TV after Justin Timberlake pulled at her bodice during a duet. Search engines reported a big jump in searches for Janet Jackson and Super Bowl, as people turned to the web for images of the event.

February 4

Births

1948: Alice Cooper (Vincent Damon Furnier) (Singer)

1952: Jerry Shirley (Drummer for Humble Pie)

1960: Tim Booth (Singer for James)

1962: Clint Black (Country Singer / Songwriter)

1963: Kevin John Wasserman (Lead Guitar for The Offspring)

1975: Natalie Imbruglia (Singer / Songwriter)

1976: Cam'ron (Rapper)

1977: Gavin DeGraw (Singer / Songwriter)

Events

1959: Following the tragic plane crash that claimed the lives of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper the night before, Frankie Avalon and Jimmy Clanton take over the headlining spots on the "Winter Dance Party" tour.

1966: The Who play their first show as headliners, at the Astoria in Finsbury Park, England. Also appearing are The Fortunes and The Merseys.

1968: US Attorney General John Mitchell receives a secret memo from Senator Strom Thurmond, in which Thurmond suggests deporting John Lennon due to his antiwar stance.

1971: Diana Ross guest stars on ABC's Make Room For Granddaddy, a spin-off of sorts of Danny Thomas' Make Room For Daddy series.

1974: John Lennon and Yoko Ono mutually agree to a trial separation, which effectively kicks off John's notorious eighteen-month "lost weekend." During this time, Lennon would consume lots of drugs and alcohol, carouse on the town with singer-songwriter and friend Harry Nilsson, and -- at Yoko's request -- take up with Ono associate May Pang.

1975: Jazz & blues songwriter and saxophonist Louis Jordon died aged 66 from a heart attack. Known as "The King of the Jukebox", between 1942-1950 he scored eighteen No.1 singles and fifty-four Top Ten hits on the US R&B chart.

1976: Elvis Presley records the song "Moody Blue" in the Jungle Room at Graceland.

1977: Fleetwood Mac release the album “Rumours” that goes to sell over 40 Million copies.

1983: Singer Karen Carpenter (The Carpenters) died from "heartbeat irregularities brought on by chemical imbalances associated with anorexia nervosa” at age 32.

1987: Liberace died from complications from AIDS at age 67.

1996: Former Milli-Vanilli member Rob Pilatus was hospitalized after a man hit him over the head with a baseball bat in Hollywood, California. Pilatus was attempting to steal the man's car at the time of the attack.

2001: Jimmy Buffet was ordered by NBA referee Joe Forte to give up his courtside seat due to the use of profanity. After a several-minute delay, the game between the Miami Heat and the visiting New York Knicks continued.

2002: On the occasion of civil-rights activist Rosa Parks' 89th birthday, Stevie Wonder sings his song "Happy Birthday" to her at the premiere of her TV-movie biography The Rosa Parks Story. The song had originally been written by Wonder to help bring about a national Martin Luther King holiday.

2003: Courtney Love was arrested at Heathrow airport for 'endangering an aircraft' on a transatlantic flight. The singer was said to have hurled abuse at the cabin crew on the flight from Los Angeles to London after her nurse who was in an economy seat was barred access to sit with Love in the upper class cabin.

2009: Lux Interior (Erick Lee Purkhiser) singer and founding member of The Cramps died aged 62. The cause of death was aortic dissection.

February 3

Births

1918: Joey Bishop (Member of The Rat Pack)

1935: Johnny "Guitar" Watson (Blues Guitarist)

1943: Dennis Edwards (Singer in The Temptations)

1943: Eric Haydock (Bass for The Hollies)

1947: Dave Davies (Lead Guitar & Vocals for The Kinks)

1949: Arthur ‘Killer’ Kane (Bass for The New York Dolls)

1956: Lee Ranaldo (Guitar & Vocals for Sonic Youth)

1965: Nick Hawkins (Guitar for Bog Audio Dynamite)

1977: Daddy Yankee (Reggaeton Artist)

1990: Sean Kingston (Hip-Hop & R&B Artist)

Events

1956: Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash held a recording session at Sun Studios in Memphis. The sessions were later named the "Million Dollar Quartet" and released.

1959: Within minutes of takeoff from the Mason City, IA Airport, at around 1:00 AM CST, the chartered Beech-Craft Bonanza airplane No. N3794N containing Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper crashes into the Iowa countryside, killing all three in addition to pilot Roger Peterson. The plane, headed for the next "Winter Dance Party" tour stop in Fargo, ND, had been chartered by Holly in order for the band members to travel in heated comfort and to arrive early for their next gig.  The tragedy was later immortalized as "The Day The Music Died" by Don McLean in his famous song "American Pie."

1960: Frank Sinatra forms his own label, Reprise Records.

1961: Bob Dylan makes his first recordings, versions of "San Francisco Bay Blues" and "Jesus Met the Woman at the Well," at the home of friends Sid and Bob Gleason in East Orange, NJ.

1977: Elton John resumes live performing in Sweden a mere fifteen months after announcing his "retirement" from the stage.

1978: On the 19th anniversary of Buddy Holly's death, Holly's Lubbock, TX birth home is miraculously saved from demolition by its new owner, who had, a few days prior, bought the house scheduled to be demolished on this very day. Neither the city nor the new resident had any idea of the home's significance.

1996: Queen Latifah was stopped by police for speeding who found a concealed weapon and marijuana, the singer was given two years probation.

2003: Phil Spector is arrested for allegedly murdering actress Lana Clarkson in his Alhambra, CA home.

2004: R&B Singer R. Kelly appeared in Court and entered of plea of not guilty to 21 charges of child pornography. Kelly, who was free on bond, did not talk during the brief hearing. Kelly had been arrested in Florida after he was indicted by a grand jury in Chicago on 21 counts of child pornography, stemming from a videotape that allegedly shows the star performing sexual acts with a 14-year-old girl.

2006: Former Dynasty star Heather Locklear filed for divorce from Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora after 11 years of marriage. Locklear who was previously married to Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee and Sambora were married in 1994 and have an eight-year-old daughter called Ava.

February 2

Births

1927: Stan Getz (Jazz Sax Player)

1942: Graham Nash (Singer / Songwriter in The Hollies & Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young)

1947: Peter Lucia (Drummer for Tommy James and the Shondells)

1947: Farrah Fawcett (Just Because)

1949: Ross Valory (Bass for Journey & Steve Miller Band)

1963: Eva Cassidy (Singer)

1966: Robert Deleo (Bass for Stone Temple Pilots)

1977: Shakira (Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll) (Singer)

1980: Gucci Mane (Radric Davis ) (Rapper)

Events

1957: Fats Domino makes an appearance on 's The Perry Como Show, singing his hits "Blue Monday" and "Blueberry Hill."

1959: Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper play their last show as part of the "Winter Dance Party" tour, stopping this night at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, IA. Admission: $1.25. The last song of the night: The Big Bopper's "Chantilly Lace."

1969: "Carl Perkins Day" is declared in Jackson, TN, where the singer moved with his family at 18.

1969: Yoko Ono divorced her husband Tony Cox, Yoko was granted custody of their daughter Kyoko. John Lennon and married Yoko the following month on 30th March.

1973: Emerson, Lake, and Palmer keyboard player Keith Emerson injures his hands when a rigged piano explodes prematurely during a San Francisco gig, leaving him with minor cuts and a broken fingernail.

1973: Elvis Presley meets boxer Muhammed Ali in Las Vegas, presenting him with a robe emblazoned with the words "The People's Champion." Ali responds by giving Elvis boxing gloves inscribed "You're the greatest" (left) and "To Elvis, my main man, from Muhammad Ali" (right). Ali recollects later: "I felt sorry for him because he didn't enjoy life the way he should. He stayed indoors all the time. I told him he should go out and see people."

1973: NBC debuts The Midnight Special rock variety show, its response to ABC's popular In Concert series. The first host: Helen Reddy.

1976: Genesis released 'A Trick Of The Tail', their seventh studio album and the first to feature drummer Phil Collins as full-time lead vocalist following the departure of original vocalist Peter Gabriel. After auditioning over 400 vocalists, which saw Collins teaching the potential lead singers the songs, the band decided that Collins should be the new vocalist.

1979: Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious died of a heroin overdose in New York City at age 21. There had been a party to celebrate Vicious' release on $50,000 bail pending his trial for the murder of his former girlfriend, Nancy Spungen, the previous October. Party guests, said that Vicious had taken heroin at midnight. An autopsy confirmed that Vicious died from an accumulation of fluid in the lungs that was consistent with heroin overdose. A syringe, spoon and heroin residue were discovered near the body.

1992: Todd Rundgren and wife Michele become the proud parents of a son they name "Rebop."

1993: Willie Nelson settles his $17 million tax debt with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service by paying them nine million dollars in cash and assets already seized.

1996: Gene Kelly died after a stroke he had a year earlier at age 83.

1999: Freddy Fender is awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

2007: US keyboardist Joe Hunter, a veteran session musician as one of the Funk Brothers who helped craft the distinctive Motown sound, died of natural causes in Detroit, Michigan, at the age of 79.

2010: Tim McGraw and Gwyneth Paltrow shoot concert footage for the movie "Country Strong" at Nashville's Municipal Auditorium. The Lost Trailers entertain extras during the day.

2011: Zac and Shelly Brown have a daughter, Joni Mason Brown, at their home in the Atlanta area.

February 1

Births

1937: Don Everly (Singer in The Everly Brothers)

1937: Dr Hook (Ray Sawyer) (Singer for Dr Hook)

1938: Jimmy Carl Black (Drummer for Mothers of Invention)

1939: Del McCoury (Bluegrass Musician)

1948: Rick James (R&B Singer & Guitarist)

1950: Mike Campbell (Guitar for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers)

1956: Exene Cervenka (Singer for X)

1956: Chuck Dukowski (Bass for Black Flag)

1957: Dennis Brown (Reggae Singer)

1964: Jani Lane (Singer for Warrant)

1968: Lisa Marie Presley (Daughter of Elvis)

1969: Patrick Wilson (Drummer for Weezer)

1971: Ron Welty (Drummer for The Offspring)

1975: Big Boi (Antoine Patton) (Rapper in Outkast & Solo)

Events

1940: Frank Sinatra sang "Too Romantic" and "The Sky Fell Down" in his first recording session with the Tommy Dorsey Band. Frank replaced Jack Leonard as lead singer with the band.

1949: In response to Columbia's recent 33-1/3 "long play," or LP, vinyl record, RCA Victor unveils the first 45-rpm, 7-inch version, as well as a phonograph that plays the new invention. The vinyl "single" would eventually kill off the old 78-rpm record.

1963: Paul Simon graduates from New York City's Queens College.

1963: 17 year-old Neil Young performed his first professional date at a country club in Winnipeg.

1964: Newsmen learn that Indiana Governor Matthew Walsh has banned the Kingsmen's "Louie Louie," then sitting at Number Six on Billboard's Hot 100, for allegedly containing obscene lyrics. Claiming it makes his "ears tingle" to listen to it, Walsh requests that the Indiana Broadcasters Association ban the record from airplay on all radio stations in the state. For his part, the song's publisher, Max Firetag, offers $1000 to anyone who can prove that the song contains obscene lyrics. The FBI eventually gets involved, and after extensive study reports that the lyrics of this version of the song, originally recorded by Richard Berry and the Pharoahs, are so garbled as to be unintelligible.

1968: The Doors announce that Universal International film studios have offered the group an unprecedented half-million dollars to star in a feature film. An ABC television special, a group "humor book," and a book of poetry by leader Jim Morrison are also announced as in the planning stages. The poetry book alone will see the light of day.

1974: Guitarist Eric Bell leaves Thin Lizzy due to ill health brought on by alcohol abuse.

1975: On her seventh birthday, Lisa Marie Presley gets to meet her favorite singer, Elton John (a meeting arranged by her father).

1976: Despite the very public divorce of its two stars and two ill-fated solo variety shows in the interim, the Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour reappears on CBS as The Sonny and Cher Show.

1977: Led Zeppelin's North American tour is postponed due to tonsillitis in lead singer Robert Plant.

1982: Memphis, TN mayor Wyeth Chandler declares today "Bar-Kays Day" in honor of Otis Redding's backup band, who went on to success in their own right with "Soul Finger."

1985: The Eagles' Glenn Frey makes his acting debut in an episode of NBC's Miami Vice.

1986: Diana Ross weds Norwegian businessman Arne Naess in Geneva, Switzerland.

1988: The Cars disbanded (Until 2010)

1999: Four hundred people were injured at an Australian concert by Marilyn Manson when he stormed off stage after being bombarded with missiles and abuse at the show in Perth. One of Manson's guitar technicians needed treatment for cuts to his head.

2002: Winona Ryder was charged with four felony counts that stemmed from her shoplifting arrest on December 12, 2001. She was charged with theft, burglary, vandalism and possession of a controlled substance.

January 31

Births

1921: Mario Lanza (Italian Singer)

1946: Terry Kath (Guitar for Chicago)

1951: KC (Harry Wayne Casey) (Singer for KC and the Sunshine Band)

1951: Phil Manzanera (Guitar for Roxy Music)

1954: Adrian Vandenburg (Guitar for Whitesnake)

1956: Johnny Rotten (Johnny Lydon) (Singer for The Sex Pistols & Public Image Ltd.)

1961: Lloyd Cole (Singer / Songwriter)

1964: Jeff Hanneman (Guitar for Slayer)

1967: Chad Channing (Nirvana 1^st Drummer)

1981: Justin Timberlake (Singer in ‘N Sync & Solo)

Events

1959: Just three days before their death in a plane crash, Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper play the Armory in Duluth, MN. In attendance: a seventeen-year-old Robert Zimmerman, who would be inspired to become a musician by this performance. We now know him as Bob Dylan.

1961: NBC airs the Bobby Darin And Friends television special, originally meant as a pilot for a weekly variety series.

1963: A seventeen-year-old Neil Young makes his stage debut at a country club in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

1969: Bobby Darin walked off the set of the "Jackie Gleason Show" when he was not allowed to sing "Long Line Rider."

1970: In New Orleans, LA, the Greatful Dead were busted for possession of LSD and barbituates. The event was alleged to be the inspiration for the song "Truckin."

1970: The Jackson Five went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'I Want You Back'. The song was originally written for Gladys Knight & The Pips and was the first of four No.1's for the group.

1978: Greg Herbert, saxophone player with Blood Sweat & Tears, died of an accidental drug overdose in Amsterdam, Holland aged 30.

1979: Bo Diddley opens up for punk band The Clash at the beginning of their first US tour.

1988: Herb Alpert performs the national anthem at Superbowl XXII in San Diego, CA. (Chubby Checker performs at the halftime show.)

1985: Creedence Clearwater Revival's John Fogerty gives his first live performance in fourteen years at the Chaplin Stage in Hollywood, CA.

1998: The Bruce Springsteen "Come Together" benefit concert, organized for the family of a New Jersey police officer killed in the line of duty, turns into an impromptu E Street Band reunion that also features Southside Johnny and other Jersey musicians.

2001 - It was announced that Peter Criss was leaving KISS (again) and that he would be replaced by Eric Singer for the remainder of dates of the farewell tour. Criss' last show was on October 7, 2000.

2010: Beyoncé set a Grammy record for females when she won six. The six awards were Song Of The Year, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance, Best R&B Song, and Best Contemporary R&B Album. 

January 30

Births

1938: Norma Jean (Country Singer)

1942: Marty Balin (Singer for Jefferson Airplane & Starship)

1947: Steve Marriott (Guitar for Humble Pie & Small Faces)

1949: William King (Trumpet for The Commodores)

1951: Phil Collins (Drummer & Vocals for Genesis & Solo)

1959: Jody Watley (Singer in Shalamar & Solo)

Events

1961: The Shirelles became the first girl group to have the number one song on the US chart when 'Will You Love Me Tomorrow?' reached the top.

1969: The Beatles give their last public live performance on the roof of their own Apple Studios, 3 Savile Row, London. The band had come up with the idea of a rooftop performance a few days earlier, but the roof had to be shored up first in order to handle the weight of the group's equipment. The concert, which lasts 42 minutes, comes to an abrupt end when police, tipped off by the complaints of a nearby shop owner, shut the concert down.

1973: KISS play their first concert, at Popcorn (The Coventry Club) in Queens, New York. They wear makeup onstage, but not the look they would become known for.

1974: Greg Lake of Emerson, Lake, and Palmer is arrested for swimming nude in a hotel pool in Salt Lake City, NV. The pool was clearly visible from the street.

1982: American blues guitarist, singer Sam Lightnin Hopkins died of cancer at age 70.

1988: INXS had their first US No.1 hit single with 'Need You Tonight'.

1990: Unhappy with the re-issue of the bands early single 'Sally Cinnaman' The Stone Roses trashed their former record company Revolver FM's offices and threw paint over cars. The band were arrested and charged with criminal damage.

1998: Elton John recieved a knighthood in British Prime Minister Tony Blair's first New Year's Eve Honours List.

2007:  R&B Singer Brandy (Brandy Norwood) was sued for wrongful-death by the parents of a woman that was killed in a car crash involving Brandy on Decenber 30, 2006.