Births
1891 Cole Porter, singer, composer, one of America's greatest songwriters. Wrote countless classic songs, 'Night And Day', 'I Get A Kick Out Of You', 'Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye'. Died 15th Oct 1964.
1915 guitarist Les Paul, inventor of the Gibson Les Paul guitar who also had a 1953 UK No.7 single with ‘Vaya Con Dios’ and the US No.7 single ‘Hummingbird’ with May Ford featuring his multi-layered recording techniques. He also pioneered “close miking” and echo delay recording. He broke his right arm in a car accident and had it set at an angle so he could still play guitar.
1929 R&B singer Johnny Ace, Billboards 'most played artist of 1955'. He died playing Russian roulette backstage at a gig on December 25th 1954.
1934 Blues guitarist Wild Jimmy Spruill is born.
1934 R&B star Jackie Wilson is born in Detroit. He had six No. 1 hits on Billboard's R&B singles. He is posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of fame in 1987.
1946 Stuart Edwards, Edison Lighthouse, (1970 UK No.1 single 'Love Grows Where My Rosemary Goes').
1947 Mitch Mitchell, drums, Jimi Hendrix Experience, (1967 UK No.3 single 'Purple Haze', 1970 UK No.1 single Voodoo Chile'). Mitchell had been in the ITV's 'Ready Steady Go!' house band.
1949 George Bunnell, Strawberry Alarm Clock, (1967 US No.1 single 'Incense And Peppermints').
1949 Francis Monkman, Curved Air, (1971 UK No.4 single 'Back Street Luv').
1950 Trevor Boulder, bass, Spiders From Mars, Uriah Heep, (1975 UK No.7 album 'Return To Fantasy').
1951 Terry Uttley, Smokie, (1975 UK No.3 single 'If You Think You Know How to Love Me').
1953 Errol Kennedy, vocals, Imagination, (1982 UK No.2 single 'Just An Illusion').
1954 Peter Byrne, Climie Fisher, (1988 UK No.2 single 'Love Changes Everything').
1962 Eddie Lundon, guitar, China Crisis, (1984 UK No.9 single 'Wishful Thinking').
1963 Johnny Depp is born in Owensboro, Ken. Depp. His band the Kids opened for Iggy Pop. Depp is a permanent member of the group P that also includes former *** Pistol Steve Jones and Red Hot Chili Peppers' bassist Flea.
1967 Everett Dean Felber, bassist for Hootie & The Blowfish, is born in Bethesda, Md.
1970 Ed Simons, keyboards, The Chemical Brothers, (1996 UK No.1 single 'Setting Sun', 2007 UK No.1 album 'We Are The Night' ).
1972 Wesley Reid Scantlin, singer, songwriter, Puddle Of Man.
1978 Matthew Bellamy, guitar, vocals, keyboards, Muse, (2003 UK No.1 album ‘Absolution’, 2003 UK No.8 single, ‘Time Is Running Out’).
1980 James Walsh, singer, guitarist, Starsailor, (2001 UK No.2 album 'Love Is Here').
1983 Frankee (Nicole Francine Aiello), US R&B singer, (2004 UK & Australian No.1 single ‘F.U.R.B.’ (Fuck You Right Back). A response to Eamon's single 'Fuck It (I Don't Want You Back').
Deaths
1992 Jazz and blues singer Clarence ``Big'' Miller dies in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, of a heart attack. He was 70. He had performed with such jazz legends as Count Basie, Duke Ellington and Miles Davis.
1996 Carpenter and traditional singer Walter Pardon dies at the age of 82.
Events
1958 Jerry Lee Lewis took out a full-page ad in Billboard Magazine to explain about his second divorce and third marriage to his 14 year old cousin Myra.
1958 Johnny Mathis went to No.1 on the US album chart with his 'Greatest Hits' album.
1962 Tony Bennett made his debut in Carnegie Hall.
1963 The Beatles held the UK No.1 position on the singles chart with 'From Me To You'. Lesley Gore was at No.1 on the US chart with 'It's My Party'.
1967 Singer, songwriter John Denver married Annie Martell.
1969 Brian Jones announced he was leaving The Rolling Stones because he didn't agree with the band's musical direction.
1970 An honorary Doctrate in Music was given to Bob Dylan by Princeton University.
1972 Columbia Records boss John Hammond signed New Jersey singer songwriter Bruce Springsteen.
1975 Windsor Davies and Don Estelle were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Whispering Grass.'
1977 No. 1 US Pop Hit: ``I'm Your Boogie Man,'' KC & the Sunshine Band.
1977 George and Patti Harrison were officially divorced.
1978 Appearing at St George's Hall, Bradford, England, Ian Dury and the Blockheads.
1978 Appearing at The Russell Club, Manchester, England, Joy Division.
1978 Siouxsie And The Banshees signed to Polydor records in the UK.
1979 The Bee Gees went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Love You inside Out', the groups 9th US No.1. A No.13 hit in the UK.
1984 Cyndi Lauper started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Time After Time' a No.3 hit in the UK.
1987 Atlantic Starr has a number 1 hit with Always
1989 Prince released the song "Batdance."
1990 Carnie and Wendy Wilson's trio Wilson Phillips (with Chynna Phillips) move into the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 with their single "Hold On." 25 years to the day after their father Brian and his band The Beach Boys hold the No. 1 spot for "Help Me Rhonda,"
1990 Englandneworder started a two-week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'World In Motion'.
1990 M.C. Hammer's debut album started a record breaking 21 week stay at the top of the US album charts, making it the longest uninterrupted stay at the top since the album charts started.
1990 Michael Jackson was admitted to hospital with a mystery illness. It was later diagnosed as an inflamed cartilage in his rib cage.
1990 Bailiffs repossessed the mansion owned by the group 5 Star after non-payment of the mortgage. The group had achieved 15 top 20 hits over five years.
1992 Ben Vereen was nearly killed in an accident when he was struck by a car driven by producer David Foster.
1993 The U.S. Postal Service debuted its Legends of American Music, Rock and Roll-Rhythm and Blues stamp collection. The set featured Bill Haley, Buddy Holly, Clyde McPhatter, Otis Redding, Ritchie Valens, Dinah Washington, and Elvis Presley.
1994 Lisa "Left-Eye" Lopes (TLC) set fire to her boyfriend's house. Her boyfriend was Andre Rison of the Atlanta Falcons.
1997 The Spice Girls started filming 'Spice World The Movie'.
1998 Oasis singer Liam Gallagher and Simply Red singer Mick Hucknall were involved in a brawl at The Metropolitan Hotel, London.
1998 The Spice Girls played their first show since the departure of Ginger Spice. The event was a charity show, "Pavarotti and Friends," for poor children in Liberia.
1998 The Ronettes appeared in the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York in their lawsuit vs. producer Phil Spector. The case charged that the producer, his record label, and successor labels breached a contract by not paying royalties since 1963.
2000 Kenny G, Diana Krall, and Joe Sample featuring Lalah Hathaway are big winners at the Billboard/BET On Jazz Awards, presented at the BET On Jazz Studios in Washington, D.C. Awards include Kenny G, for contemporary jazz artist; Krall's "When I Look In Your Eyes," mainstream jazz album; Sample's "The Song Lives On," contemporary jazz vocal album.
2002 It was announced that Rolling Stone Mick Jagger was to be given a knighthood for his services to music.
2003 Former Boyzone frontman Ronan Keating raised more than 100,000 Pounds ($170,000) for cancer charities during a 23 day walk from the Giant’s Causeway in County Antrim to Kinsale in County Cork. He visited 610 towns along the way, walking an average of 32km (20 miles) each day.
2006 Robbie Williams kicked off a 16-date European tour in Dublin, Ireland ending at Wembley in London.
