February 16

Births

1935: Sonny Bono (Singer & Producer)

1952: James Ingram (R&B Singer)

1958: Ice-T (Tracy Morrow) (Rapper)

1961: Andy Taylor (Guitar for Duran Duran & Power Station)

1965: Dave Lombardo (Drummer for Slayer)

1982: Lupe Fiasco (Wasalu Muhammad Jaco ) (Rapper)

Events

1963: Paul Anka marries Marie-Ann Alison DeZogheb in Paris.

1968: Detroit, MI mayor Jerome P. Cavanagh declares today "Aretha Franklin Day."

1969: George Jones marries Tammy Wynette in Ringgold, Georgia, six months after they announced the marriage.

1971: Hell's Angel biker Alan David Pasaro sues the Rolling Stones, claiming that the group's documentary film Gimme Shelter, a document of the infamous 1969 Altamont concert, constitutes invasion of privacy. The film depicts the stabbing of Meredith Hunter by members of the biker group, but Pasaro himself is later acquitted of the crime.

1972: During his week-long stint as host of the syndicated Mike Douglas Show, John Lennon performs "Memphis" and "Johnny B. Goode" with Chuck Berry, who Lennon refers to as "my hero."

1974: Bob Dylan started a four week run at No.1 on the US album chart with Planet Waves, his first US No.1.

1974: During a tour of America the members of Emerson, Lake & Palmer were arrested in Salt Lake City after swimming naked in the hotel pool. They were each fined $75.

1984: Jerry Lee Lewis surrenders to federal authorities on charges of income tax evasion, charges of which he is eventually acquitted.

1990: Ike Turner is sentenced to four years in prison on eleven separate charges, including possession and transport of cocaine. He is in prison when he and ex-wife Tina are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, he is released after serving eighteen months.

1999: Rap star Ol' Dirty Bastard was arrested in Hollywood for allegedly wearing body armor, a forbidden garment because of his previous arrests. ODB was initially pulled over for driving eratically.

2005: Kid Rock was arrested for allegedly punching a DJ at a strip club in Nashville, Tennessee. Police were called to the incident but Rock escaped from the club. Shortly after, he was pulled over by an officer who got an autograph but did not do a breath test despite smelling alcohol. (The officer has since been fired). The star was eventually arrested a few hours later, taken to the night court and released on $3,000 bail.

2007: Britney Spears shaved her head.

February 15

Births

1944: Mick Avory (Drummer for The Kinks)

1945: John Helliwell (Sax for Supertramp)

1947: David Brown (Bass for Santana)

1951: Melissa Manchester (Singer)

1957: Jake E. Lee (Jakey Lou Williams) (Guitar for Ozzy Osbourne & Badlands)

1959: Ali Campbell (Singer in UB40)

1967: Jane Child (Pop Singer)

1976: Brandon Boyd (Singer in Incubus)

1976: Ronnie Vannucci Jr (Drummer in The Killers)

Events

1954: Big Joe Turner recorded the original "Shake, Rattle & Roll".

1958: Due to the amazing daytime success of Dick Clark's American Bandstand, ABC debuts a new prime-time variety show called The Dick Clark Show. Guests on the first episode include Connie Francis, Pat Boone, Chuck Willis, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Royal Teens, and Johnnie Ray.

1961: Singer Jackie Wilson was left with a stomach wound after Juanita Jones a female fan went to his New York apartment demanding to see him. Jones' gun went off as he tried to disarm her.

1965: Nat "King" Cole died of lung cancer at age 45. In 1956 he became the first black American to host a television variety show.

1967: Music students at Chicago's DePaul University form a seven-piece rock ensemble called The Big Thing. Later, they would change their name to Chicago Transit Authority, and then, simply, Chicago.

1968: Beatles John Lennon and George Harrison, along with their wives, travel to Rishikesh, India to study with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The other two band members would soon follow.

1968: US blues harmonica player Little Walter died from injuries incurred in a fight while taking a break from a performance at a nightclub in Chicago.

1969: Florida hairstylist Vickie Jones is arrested for impersonating Aretha Franklin at a club in Fort Myers, FL. Incredibly, her performance is so believable that no patrons demand a refund.

1970: After a Sly and the Family Stone concert runs hours late and causes over a thousand dollars in damages, the Daughters of the American Revolution impose a ban against any further rock concerts at the venue, Washington D.C.'s Constitution Hall.

1975: Capitol Records rushes to release John Lennon's Rock and Roll album after a much shabbier version, called Roots, had begun to be marketed on late-night television. Roots was music exec Morris Levy's version of the "oldies" sessions, which Lennon was court-ordered to undertake as payment for a Chuck Berry line John used in the Beatles' "Come Together." (Levy's copyright was judged to have been infringed by the line "Here come old flat-top, he come groovin' up slowly.")

1975: Gino Vannelli becomes the first white artist to perform on the syndicated dance show Soul Train.

1976: Bette Midler bails out no less than seven members of her entourage from jail after their arrest on drug possession charges.

1977: Sid Vicious joined the Sex Pistols replacing bassist Glen Matlock.

1981: American guitarist Mike Bloomfield was found dead in his car in San Francisco from an accidental heroin overdose. He was a member of the Paul Butterfield band and Electric Flag and had played on Bob Dylan's album 'Highway 61 Revisited'.

1991: Rod Stewart's ex-girlfriend, supermodel Kelly Emberg, files a $25 million palimony suit against the singer in Los Angeles Superior Court.

1999: Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura -- a former Rolling Stones concert bodyguard -- declares today "Rolling Stones Day."

February 14

Births

1943: Maceo Parker (Sax Player)

1945: Vic Briggs (Lead Guitar for The Animals)

1947: Tim Buckley (Singer / Songwriter)

1950: Roger Fisher (Guitar for Heart)

1963: D'Wayne Wiggins (R&B Singer in Tony, Toni, Tone)

1972: Rob Thomas (Singer for Matchbox Twenty & Solo)

1978: Dwele (R&B Singer)

Events

1958: CBS' Walter Cronkite reports that the government of Iran has banned rock and roll for being unhealthy and anti-Islamic. The "unhealthy" claim is backed by Iranian doctors who warn of hip damage due to "extreme gyrations."

1964: Chad and Jeremy guest star on ABC's The Patty Duke Show.

1967: Aretha Franklin recorded her song "Respect" in New York.  Her Sisters sang back up on the song.

1970: The Who play a legendary concert at Leeds University in England which will become the Live at Leeds LP.

1970: Billboard Magazine reports that the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is "Mounting Total War Against Tape Pirating of Prerecorded Music."

1972: On the same day the band breaks up for the first time, Los Angeles mayor Sam Yorty declares today "Steppenwolf Day."

1972: John Lennon and Yoko Ono begin their week-long stint as guest hosts on the syndicated Mike Douglas Show.

1973: David Bowie collapses due to "total exhaustion" at the end of his Valentine's Day show at New York's Madison Square Garden.

1974: Rolling Stone reports that David Bowie has declined an offer from a gay liberation group who asked him to compose "the world's first Gay National Anthem."

1974: Daryl Dragon and Toni Tennille (a/k/a The Captain and Tennille) are married in Virginia City, NV.

1980: Lou Reed marries Sylvia Morales in New York City's Greenwich Village.

1981: Billy Idol left Generation X for a solo career.

1977: Singer / songwriter Janis Ian received 461 Valentine's day cards after indicating in the lyrics of her song 'At Seventeen', she had never received any.

1977: The B-52's made their first live performance appearing in a Greenhouse at a Valentines day party in Athens, Ga.

1978, Dire Straits began recording their first album at Basing Street Studios, London. The whole project cost $21,250 to produce.

1984: Elton John marries sound engineer Renate Blauel in Sydney, Australia. Attendees include Olivia Newton-John and Rod Stewart. The couple divorced three years later.

1986: Frank Zappa guest stars on NBC's Miami Vice. Zappa portrayed a crime boss named 'Mr. Frankie.'

1993: Harry Nilsson suffers his first heart attack.

1994: The Grateful Dead's Jerry Garcia marries Deborah Koons.

1996: Prince married Mayte Garcia in a Minneapolis church. He also composed a special song for his wife, 'Friend, Lover, Sister, Mother, Wife', which she heard for the first time when they had their first wedding dance. The couple split in 1998.

1999: Elton John guest stars on Fox's The Simpsons.

2000: KISS announces their "farewell tour."

2004: Dave Holland, former drummer with Judas Priest was jailed for eight years for indecent assault and the attempted rape of a 17-year old boy. The youth, who had learning difficulties, had been taking drum lessons from Holland.

2008: Oasis singer Liam Gallagher married his long-term partner, the ex-All Saints singer Nicole Appleton at a civil ceremony in London.

February 13

Births

1919: Tennessee Ernie Ford (Country Singer)

1942: Peter Tork (Keyboards & Bass for The Monkees)

1945: King Floyd (R&B Singer)

1950: Peter Gabriel (Lead Singer for Genesis & Solo)

1950: Bob Daisley (Bass for Ozzy Osbourne & Rainbow)

1951: David Naughton (Singer)

1952: Ed Gagliardi (Bass for Foreigner)

1956: Peter Hook (Bass for New Order)

1961: Henry Rollins )Singer for Black Flag & Rollins Band)

1966: Freedom Williams (Lead Vocals for C+C Music Factory)

1974: Robbie Williams (Singer)

1976: Feist (Singer / Songwriter)

1978: Hamish Glencross (Guitar for My Dying Bride)

Events

1967: The Monkees announced that from now on they would be playing on their own recordings instead of session musicians.

1970: On this day, Friday the 13th, Black Sabbath released their debut self-titled studio album on Vertigo records. Peaking at #8 on the charts, the album has been recognized as the first main album to be credited with the development of the heavy metal genre.

1972: Led Zeppelin is forced to cancel a gig in Singapore when local officials, seeing their long hair, refuse to let them off the plane.

1978: Los Angeles mayor Tom Bradley officially declares today "Al Green Day."

1980: Police raided the home of former Sex Pistol John Lydon who greeted them waving a ceremonial sword, the only illegal item they found was a canister of tear gas, claimed to be for defence against intruders.

1981: Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon becomes the rock album to spend the most consecutive weeks on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart -- 402 weeks from March 1973. It would eventually leave the charts April 23, 1988, after 724 weeks.

1982: The 300-pound gravestone of Lynyrd Skynyrd lead singer Ronnie Van Zant is stolen from the cemetery in Orange Park, CA. Police find it two weeks later in a dry river bed.

1988: Michael Jackson purchases a ranch in Santa Ynez, CA, which he renames "Neverland."

1997: Michael Jackson and wife Debbie Rowe become the proud parents of their first child, Prince.

1998: Police at Manchester Airport arrested former Stone Roses singer, Ian Brown after an incident during a flight from Paris. Brown was found guilty in August the same year and jailed for four months; British Airways also banned him from flying with the airline.

2002: Country artist Waylon Jennings died in his sleep of diabetic complications.

February 12

Births

1939: Ray Manzarek (Kayboards for The Doors)

1944: Moe Bandy (Country Singer)

1948: Joe Schermie (Bass for Three Dog Night)

1950: Steve Hackett (Guitar for Genesis)

1952: Michael McDonald (Vocals & Piano for The Doobie Brothers)

1955: Bill Laswell (Bass for Praxis)

Events

1924: George Gershwin's "Rhapsody In Blue" gets its first public performance, conducted by jazz legend Paul Whiteman at New York City's Aeolian Hall. Gershwin himself plays piano. Luminaries in the audience include John Philip Sousa and Jascha Heifetz.

1961: The Miracles' 'Shop Around' became Motown Record's first million-selling single.

1964: The Beatles conclude their triumphant first American visit with two 25-minute shows at Carnegie Hall. Afterwards, the group heads to the White House with British PM Sir Alec Douglas-Home for a visit. President Lyndon Johnson is overheard to remark to the PM: "I like your advance guard. But don't you think they need haircuts?"

1967: A squad of fifteen police officers enter Rolling Stone guitarist Keith Richards' home, "Redlands," in West Wittering, Sussex, England, and raid it on suspicion of narcotics possession. Finding "various substances of a suspicious nature," officials arrest Richards and his companions, Stones singer Mick Jagger and his girlfriend, singer Marianne Faithful, on May 10. The arrest sets off a national furor, since it is alleged the raid was orchestrated by the News of the World tabloid for revenge against a Jagger libel suit.

1968: John and Michelle Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas become the proud parents of their only child, daughter Chynna.

1968: Jimi Hendrix returns to the high school he dropped out of, Seattle, Washington's Garfield High School, to perform a concert there. Officials present him with an honorary diploma and the key to the city.

1972: Al Green went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Let's Stay Together', his only US chart topper.

1974: The legendary rock club The Bottom Line opens in Greenwich Village, New York City.

1989: Tiny Tim declares his candidacy for mayor of New York City.

1995: Van Halen scored their first US No.1 album with 'Balance.'

1997: David Bowie is awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

2005: A train was named after Clash frontman Joe Strummer at a ceremony in Bristol. The diesel train owned by Cotswold Rail, was named after the singer, guitarist who died aged 50 in 2002.

February 10

Births

1937: Roberta Flack (Singer / Songwriter)

1949: Nigel Olsson (Drummer with the Elton John band)

1962: Cliff Burton (Original Bassist for Metallica)

1978: Don Omar (Reggaeton Artist)

Events

1942: 'Chattanooga Choo Choo' by Glen Miller and his Orchestra becomes the first recording to be awarded a Gold record. It was actually just a master copy of the disc sprayed with gold lacquer by RCA as a publicity stunt. The actual award recognized today as a Gold Record would not be initiated for another sixteen years when the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) borrowed the idea and trademarked the Gold Record. The first Gold single was awarded to Perry Como in 1958 for "Catch A Falling Star" and the first Gold album was given to Gordon McRae for the soundtrack to Oklahoma.

1964: The American press reports that millions of teenage boys are suddenly sporting Beatle-style hairdos (or attempting to) after last night's historic appearance on CBS' Ed Sullivan Show. Meanwhile, the Beatles give yet another press conference, this time from the lobby of New York's Plaza Hotel, where the group is staying.

1965: Chad and Jeremy guest star on CBS's The Dick Van Dyke Show.

1966: Bob Marley married Rita Anderson a singer in the group The Soulettes. The couple had three children together.

1971: Carole King's Album "Tapestry" was released.

1973: Liverpool's Cavern Club -- where the Beatles were born -- is given three months to close down by British Rail, who need the site to complete their new underground railway.

1974: Producer Phil Spector is seriously burned in a mysterious car crash while en route from Los Angeles to Phoenix, AZ, leading to extensive plastic surgery that furthers his reclusiveness.

1975: Dave Alexander, the original bassist for The Stooges died from pneumonia aged 28. He was fired from the band in August 1970 after showing up at a gig too drunk to play.

1976: Elvis Presley is made an honorary Captain in the Memphis Police Department.

1977: The Clash started recording their debut album at CBS studios in London, England.

1978: Van Helen’s debut Album is released and is a total of 35:13 minutes long and has sold over 10 Million copies in the US alone.

1993: ABC's prime-time Oprah Winfrey special features the first interview with Michael Jackson in 15 years. In it, Jackson makes his famous claim that he suffers from Vitiligo, a skin condition that accounts for his loss of pigmentation. The singer also claims he's only had two minor plastic surgery operations.

1997: Brian Connolly singer with the 1970's Glam rock group Sweet died of kidney and liver failure aged 47. Connolly replaced Ian Gillan (later of Deep Purple and Black Sabbath) in Wainwright's Gentlemen who became Sweetshop and then shortened to Sweet.

2004: Diana Ross was sentenced to two days in jail after pleading 'no contest' to a drink driving charge. She was allowed to enter her plea over the telephone from New York; her lawyer said the singer would serve her term at a prison near her Los Angeles home. Ross was arrested in December 2002 after tests indicated she was twice over the drink- drive limit.