June 8

Births

1940: Nancy Sinatra (Singer)

1941: Clarence “Fuzzy” Haskins (Guitar for Funkadelic)

1942: Chuck Negron (Vocals for Three Dog Night)

1944: Boz Scaggs (Singer / Songwriter)

1947: Mick Box (Guitar for Uriah Heep)

1951: Bonnie Tyler (Singer)

1951: Tony Rice (Bluegrass Guitarist)

1954: Greg Ginn (Guitar for Black Flag)

1960: Mick Hucknall (Singer / Songwriter for Simply Red)

1962: Nick Rhodes (Keyboards for Duran Duran)

1965: Rob Pilatus (Vocals ? for Milli Vanilli)

1970: Nicci Gilbert (Singer for Brownstone)

1977: Kayne West  (Rapper)

1979: Derek Trucks (Guitarist & Singer)

Events

1954: US record labels started to supply radio stations with 45rpm discs for the first time, replacing the 78 records.

1963: The Crystals' "Da Doo Ron Ron" peaked at No.3 on the US singles chart. Produced by Phil Spector, who used a multi-track recording system to build the song layer upon layer to achieve a result that become known as a "wall of sound". Backing musicians include Glen Campbell on guitar, Leon Russell on piano, Hal Blain on drums and Nino Tempo on sax.

1967: Procol Harum were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'A Whiter Shade Of Pale', the group's only UK No.1. In 2004 the song was named the most played record of the past 70 years. More than 900 recorded versions by other artists are known.

1967: The Beatles 'Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' went to No.1. Costing  $42,500 to produce the album was recorded over 700 hours of studio time. It was also the first album to print the lyrics on the sleeve. The album spent 27 weeks at No.1.

1969: Having already been fired for his worsening drug use, Brian Jones officially announces that he is leaving the Rolling Stones, saying that he "no longer see(s) eye to eye (with the group about) the discs we are cutting." In less than a month he will be found dead.

1970: Deep Purple had their van and equipment impounded by East German police while on an European tour, after mistakenly driving too close to the border.

1974: Bill Wyman became the first Rolling Stone to release a solo album with 'Monkey Grip', (it peaked at No.99 in the US).

1974: Dolly Parton was at No.1 on the US country chart with 'I Will Always Love You'. The Parton penned song later became a worldwide hit for Whitney Houston in 1992.

1974: Keyboard player Rick Wakeman announced that he was leaving Yes.

1979: Marianne Faithfull married Ben Brieley of punk rock band The Vibrators.

1985: Tears For Fears started a two-week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Everybody Wants To Rule The World', the group's first US No.1.

1987: Yogi Horton a session drummer with Luther Vandross, jumped to his death from a 17th floor hotel window, having told his wife he was tired of Living in the shadow of Vandross.  He also worked with The B-52's, Diana Ross and Debbie Harry.

1989: At a Greenpeace Rainbow Warrior's press conference, vegetarian Chrissie Hynde claimed that she once firebombed a McDonalds restaurant. The following day a McDonalds in Milton Keynes, England was firebombed and Hynde was threatened with legal action.

1990: Mariah Carey released her self-titled debut album.

1991: Bruce Springsteen married Patti Scialfa, at their Beverley Hills home in California.

1998: Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher, Paul Weller and Martin Carr from The Boo Radleys were all involved in a fight at Dingwalls, Camden in London. 

2000: Sinead O'Connor revealed that she was a lesbian in an article that would later be published by "Curve" in their July-August 2000 issue.

2002: Jennifer Lopez separated from her second husband, dancer Cris Judd, after just nine months of marriage.

2002: Months of secrecy surrounding Sir Paul McCartney's wedding plans were blown when John Leslie the owner of the 17th century Castle Leslie in Co Monaghan, let slip to reporters that Sir Paul had booked the Castle for the wedding.

2007: George Michael was sentenced to 100 hours of community service and banned from driving for two years at Brent Magistrates court, north London. The 43-year-old who was arrested last October after being found slumped at the steering wheel of his car pleaded guilty to driving while unfit, blaming "tiredness and prescribed drugs" for the offence.

2011:  Rapper Ja Rule turned himself in to begin serving a two-year sentence on a gun charge stemming from his 2007 arrest in New York City.

2012: Lauryn Hill was charged with willfully failing to file income tax returns in the US. Authorities said the singer earned more than $1.6m during the three years that she failed to file returns. US prosecutors said her main source of income during the period 2005 - 2007 was royalties from her music and films. According to court papers, the 37-year-old owned four corporations - Creations Music, Boogie Tours, LH Productions 2001 and Studio 22.

June 7

Births

1917: Dean Martin (Singer)

1940: Tom Jones (Thomas Woodward) (Singer)

1944: Clarence White (Guitar for The Byrds)

1953: Johnny Clegg (Reggae Artist)

1957: Paddy McAloon (Guitar & vocals for Prefab Sprout)

1958: Prince (Prince Rogers Nelson ) (R&B Singer & Guitarist)

1961: Dave Catching (Guitar for Eagles Of Death Metal & Queens Of The Stone Age)

1966: Eric Kretz (Drums for Stone Temple Pilots)

1967: David Navarro (Guitar for Jane's Addiction & Red Hot Chili Peppers for a minute)

Events

1958: Yet another juvenile-delinquent movie, High School Confidential, opens nationwide, featuring Jerry Lee Lewis performing his hit title song.

1963: The Rolling Stones make their first TV appearance on ‘Thank Your Lucky Stars’ and release their 1st single "Come on".

1964: Proving they weren't quite ready for the US heartland yet, The Rolling Stones are booed off the stage in San Antonio, TX, resulting in the previous performer returning to the stage -- a troop of performing monkeys.

1967: The Beatles' third film project, the animated musical fantasy Yellow Submarine, is announced as being in development (though the band themselves will only appear in a cameo). Three new songs from the band are reported to be included: "Only A Northern Song," "It's All Too Much," and "All Together Now." ("Hey Bulldog" is cut from the original theatrical release.)

1967: Cementing the promising hippie-folk band's downfall, three members of Moby Grape are arrested for allegedly "consorting" with underage schoolgirls.

1969: Blind Faith featuring Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker and Steve Winwood perform their one and only concert, a somewhat underwhelming performance in Hyde Park, London.

1969: The Rolling Stones' Keith Richards is banged up but not seriously injured in a car crash near Sussex, England. However, his passenger, girlfriend Anita Pallenberg, suffers a broken collarbone.

1969: Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell both appeared on the first ABC TV Johnny Cash Show from Ryman Auditorium in Nashville.

1975: Elton John's album 'Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboys', went to No.1 on the US album chart, the first album ever to enter the US chart at No.1.

1978: Prince's first single "Soft and Wet" was released.

1979: Chuck Berry is sentenced to his second jail term -- four months in California's Lompoc prison for tax evasion.

1983: Jerry Lee Lewis marries wife #5, Shawn Michelle Stevens, who would die under what some consider mysterious circumstances a year later at Lewis' home.

1993: Prince changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol.

1993: Chuck Berry, Sam Phillips, Pete Townshend, and Billy Joel are among the rock immortals present at the groundbreaking ceremony for Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

1995: Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood was admitted to hospital after his ear was leaking blood. The problem was diagnosed as his arm movement from continuous guitar playing.

1997: Hanson started a three-week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'MMMbop'. Originally called The Hanson Brothers, lead singer Zak Hanson was just 13-years-old at the time of the hit. One of the biggest debut singles of all time; reaching No.1 in 27 countries.

1999: Late for his date to ring the New York Stock Exchange's opening bell, Rod Stewart decides to announce his presence by tossing soccer balls onto the trading floor.

2002: Liam Howlett of The Prodigy married former All Saints singer Natalie Appleton at a ceremony in Les Adrets, France. Guests included Liam and Noel Gallagher and former Eurythmic Dave Stewart.

2002: In Chicago, IL, R. Kelly was booked on child pornography charges. He had been arrested two days before and released after posting bond.

2002: Virgin Records announced they had dropped Victoria Beckham after her debut solo album, which cost over $5.1 million to make, had sold only 50,000 copies.

2003: Kenny Chesney headlines a stadium show for the first time in his career, playing for 61,780 in the rain at Knoxville's Neyland Stadium. Joining him on the bill: Brooks & Dunn, Rascal Flatts, Keith Urban, The Warren Brothers and Deana Carter.

2007: Rancho Mirage, CA renames a portion of 35th Avenue as Dean Martin Drive in honor of its deceased former resident.

2007: Bo Diddley is buried in Gainesville, FL, with mourners chanting his signature "Hey! Bo Diddley" as his music is played by a local gospel group. A floral tribute is also presented in the shape of his signature modified square Gretsch guitar.

2010: Former Stereophonics drummer and BBC Radio Wales presenter Stuart Cable, was found dead at his home near Aberdare in Wales aged 40.

2010: Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh was granted a restraining order against an elderly neighbor who allegedly threatened to kill him. The man was also ordered to pay more than $1,500 in legal fees.

June 6

Births

1936: Levi Stubbs (Lead Singer for The Four Tops)

1939: Gary U.S. Bonds (R&B Singer)

1944: Peter Albin (Bass for Big Brother and the Holding Company)

1944: Edgar Froese (Keyboards for Tangerine Dream)

1960: Steve Vai (Guitarist for Frank Zappa, David Lee Roth, Whitesnake)

1961: Tom Araya (Vocals & Bass for Slayer)

1966: Sean Yseult (Bass for White Zombie)

1970:  James “Munky” Shaffer (Guitar for Korn)

1974: Uncle Kracker (Matthew Shafer) (DJ for Kid Rock & Solo Singer)

1978: Carl Barat (Singer for The Libertines)

Events

1960: The RIAA presents Bing Crosby with a special platinum record honoring the sale of his 200 millionth record, a total which includes not only 125 albums but 2,600 singles!

1960: Singer Tony Williams leaves the Platters to embark upon a solo career.

1962: The Beatles audition for EMI, recording four demos, the first material the band ever recorded at Abbey Road: three original compositions called "Love Me Do," "Ask Me Why," and "P.S. I Love You," and a cover of the standard "Besame Mucho." Producer George Martin is not at the session, but is called in by engineer Norman "Hurricane" Smith when he hears something he likes in "Love Me Do." Martin is not impressed with the group's songwriting, scruffy outfits, and even scruffier equipment (one of the band's amps blows during the audition), and he tells them so, finishing, "Look, I've laid into you for quite a time, you haven't responded. Is there anything you don't like?" To which George quips, "I don't like your tie!" The tension is broken, and Martin, charmed by the group's personality, agrees to work with them. (Though he later says, "They were pretty awful. I understand why other record companies turned them down.") The band members are paid $12 each for the session; drummer Pete Best, whose skills Martin remains unimpressed with, would soon be fired from the group.

1964: An anonymous ad taken out in six American music trade papers declares: "In the public interest, watch the Rolling Stones crush the Beatles!"

1966: Roy Orbison loses his first wife, Claudette, then 25, after the motorcycle they're both riding collides with a truck in Gallatin, TX. The tragedy would haunt Orbison for years.

1969: Rod Stewart signs to the Mercury label.

1970: Syd Barrett played his first gig since leaving Pink Floyd at the Extraveganza '70, at London's Olympia. He was joined on stage by Floyd guitarist David Gilmour.

1971: John Lennon and Yoko Ono join Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention onstage at the Fillmore East in New York for a set of lengthy, chaotic, screeching jams later release as a bonus disc with the Lennon/Ono album Some Time In New York City.

1972: David Bowie releases the Album ‘The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust’.

1977: Stevie Wonder appears, sponsored by Billboard, as a guest music lecturer at a UCLA symposium, talking about his early Motown days and illustrating his points with performances.

1979: Def Leppard played at Crookes Workingman's Club in Sheffield. The gig was reviewed in UK music paper 'Sounds' and led to a recording contract with Phonogram Records.

1987: Under increasing pressure from the group to tone down his behavior, Michael Jackson officially severs ties with the Jehovah's Witnesses.

1990: A Federal judge in Florida declared that 2 Live Crew's "As Nasty As They Wanna Be" LP was obscene.

1991: Sax player Stan Getz died from liver cancer.

1992: David Bowie and his new wife, model Iman, renew their vows in Florence, Italy after some doubt arises as to the legality of their first ceremony in Switzerland.

1993: The Velvet Underground reform for the first time in 24 years for a show at London's Wembley Arena.

1993: The Who's Tommy, now a Broadway play, takes home five Tony Awards at the annual ceremony in New York.

2001: Saying he "doesn't have time to drive them anymore," Elton John auctions off 20 of his automobiles for a cool $2.75 million.

2003: Dave Rowberry (The Animals) died in London of an ulcer hemorrhage at the age of 62.

2005: A Los Angeles jury begins deliberation in the Michael Jackson child molestation trial.

2006: Billy Preston died in Scottsdale, Arizona, of complications of malignant hypertension that resulted in kidney failure and other complication.

2010: Marvin Isley, the youngest member of the American R&B band, the Isley Brothers, died, aged 56. Marvin Isley, who was the group's bass player, stopped performing in 1996 because of complications from diabetes, including the loss of his legs.