Births
1916 Bill Doggett, US pianist, (1956 US No.2 single 'Honky Tonk Parts I & II').
1941 Dave Berry, singer, (1964 UK No.5 single 'The Crying Game').
1942 John London, session bass player. He worked with The Monkees, Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor and The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. London died on February 12th 2000.
1943 Fabian Forte, singer, (1959 US No.3 single 'Tiger').
1945 Bob Marley, singer/songwriter and guitarist who had a 1981 UK No.8 single with 'No Woman No Cry', plus over ten other UK Top 40 singles and the 1976 US No.8 & UK No. 15 album 'Rastaman Vibration'. Marley died of cancer on May 11th 1981. The 1984 'Best Of' album spent 330 weeks on the UK chart. In 1990, February 6th was proclaimed a national holiday in Jamaica to commemorate his birth. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.
1947 Alan Jones, sax, Amen Corner, (1969 UK No.1 single 'If Paradise Is Half As Nice' plus five other UK Top 40 hits).
1950 Mike Batt, songwriter, The Wombles, (1974 UK No.3 single 'Remember You're A Womble') composer of 'Bright Eyes' 1979 UK No.1 single for Art Garfunkel. Discovered UK singer, songwriter Katie Melua.
1950 Natalie Cole, US singer, (1989 UK No.2 single 'Miss You Like Crazy'), Natalie is the daughter of Nat 'King' Cole.
1962 Axl Rose, vocals, Guns N' Roses, (1987 US No.1 album 'Appetite For Destruction' spent 158 week's o the UK chart. 1988 US No.1 & 1989 UK No.6 single 'Sweet Child O' Mine').
1962 Richie McDonald, guitar, vocals, Lonestar, (2000 US No.1 & UK No. 21 single 'Amazed').
1966 Rick Astley, singer, (1987 UK & US No.1 single 'Never Gonna Give You Up', UK biggest seller of 87. Scored 7 other UK Top 10 hits, 1987 UK No.1 album 'Whenever You Need Somebody' 34 weeks on UK chart.).
Deaths
1960 27 year old Jesse Belvin, who scored a 1956 hit with 'Goodnight, My Love', was killed in a car accident in Hope, Arkansas. His wife and the car's driver also died of their injuries. The three were trying to make a fast get-a-way from the first ever mixed race audience concert in the town of Little Rock, after threats had been made against Belvin's life.
1981 Composer Hugo Montenegro died in California, (1968 UK No.1 & US No.2 single 'The Good The Bad And The Ugly' from the soundtrack to the Clint Eastwood spaghetti western film).
1989 Reggae producer King Tubby died after being shot in the street outside his home. Worked with Robbie Shakespeare, Sly Dunbar, Carlton Barrett.
1998 Carl Wilson from The Beach Boys died aged 51 after a long battle with lung cancer.
1998 Austrian singer Falco was killed in a car accident. He scored the 1986 UK & US No.1 single 'Rock Me Amadeus' making him the first-ever Austrian act to score a UK and US No.1 hit single.
Events
1939 Elvis Presley's father, Vernon, was released from prison after serving 8 months for altering a check.
1943 Frank Sinatra made his debut as vocalist on radio's "Your Hit Parade."
1958 George Harrison joined Liverpool group The Quarrymen. The group who were named after Lennon's school featured John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Len Garry, Eric Griffiths and John Lowe.
1965 The Righteous Brothers started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with the Phil Spector produced 'You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'. The song was also No.1 in the UK for the duo who were not related in any way.
1965 The Rolling Stones second album 'Rolling Stones No.2' started a three-week run at No.1 on the UK charts.
1970 Eric Clapton played the first of two nights at The Fillmore East in New York City.
1970 John Lennon's "Instant Karma" with Yoko Ono's "Who Has Seen the Wind?" was released in the U.K.
1971 Richard Thompson leaves Fairport Convention.
1976 T Rex appeared at St Albans City Hall during a 15 date UK tour.
1981 Former Beatles, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and George Harrison teamed up to record a musical tribute to John Lennon. The song "All Those Years Ago" was the result.
1982 Kraftwerk were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'The Model / Computer Love', the first German act to score a UK No.1 single.
1982 The J Geils Band started a six week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Centrefold', the bands only US No.1. A No.3 hit in the UK. The bands album 'Freeze- Frame' started a four-week run at No.1 on the US album chart on the same day.
1982 Thin Lizzy drummer Brian Downey was hospitalised after being attacked after a gig in Belfast.
1986 Undertones singer Feargal Sharkey's mother and sister were held at gunpoint by terrorists in Londonderry, Northern Ireland.
1987 Gary Numan's record label 'Numa', closed down.
1987 Joan Jett made her acting debut in "Light Of Day."
1987 Sonny Bono declared his candidacy for mayor of Palm Springs.
1988 Tiffany started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Could've Been', a No.4 hit in the UK. Tiffany had recorded the song 5 years ago when she was 13.
1990 Billy Idol broke several bones in a serious motorcycle accident. As a result he could not appear in Oliver Stone's "The Doors" in a major role.
1990 Over 200 women filed court actions against Chuck Berry after it was alleged that he had been secretly filming them in the toilets of the restaurant he owned.
1993 Little Angles went to No.1 on the UK album chart with 'Jam' their only UK No.1 LP.
1994 Chaka Demus and Pliers started a two week run at No.1 on the UK album chart with 'Tease Me.'
1996 Ex Jam members Bruce Foxton and Rick Buckler reached a high court settlement with Paul Weller after suing him for more than L100,000, after claiming they were owed royalties and group assets.
2001 Guitarist Don Felder was fired from The Eagles. He would later launch a $50 million law suit against drummer Don Henley and guitarist Glen Frey, alleging wrongful termination and breach of implied-in-fact contract. Henley and Frey then countersued Felder for breach of contract, alleging that Felder had written and attempted to sell the rights to a "tell-all" book. Both parties settled out-of-court for an undisclosed amount.
2002 Celine Dion's "A New Day Has Come" was released for radio play. It was her first new song in two years.
2004 US singer Faith Evans and her husband Todd Russaw agreed to enroll in a rehabilitation programme after facing drugs charges. Prosecutors said the charges for alleged possession of cocaine and marijuana would be dropped if they successfully completed the 13-week rehab scheme.
2005 Athlete went to No.1 on the UK album chart with their second album 'Tourist'. Kenny Chesney was at No.1 on the US album chart with 'Be As You Are.'
2007 An exhibition of Kylie Minogue's stage costumes, awards and accessories was launched in central London. The display at the Victoria and Albert Museum showed her changing image from 1987 onwards, from the dungarees she wore as Charlene in the Australian soap Neighbours and the gold hot pants she wore in her Spinning Around video.
2008 A Los Angeles judge issued a restraining order against Britney Spears' manager, after her mother made the request to the court. Lynne Spears claimed Sam Lutfi, 33, had drugged the troubled pop star and interfered with her finances. In a six-page declaration, Lynne Spears said Mr Lutfi "moved into Britney's home and has purported to take control of her life, home and finances". Her declaration focused on the night of 28 January, a few days before the Grammy-winning superstar was admitted to hospital for a mental evaluation.
2008 Feist won the seventh annual Shortlist Music Prize - American's version of the Mercury Prize. The Canadian singer-songwriter won for her album The Reminder, which included the song 1234 used in an Apple iPod advert. Feist was also nominated for four Grammy awards, including best new artist.
