Births
1911 Jazz and R&B producer Ralph Bass born in New York City.
1930 Blues harmonica legend Little Walter (Marion Walter Jacobs) born in Alexandria, LA. First harmonica player to amplify his harmonica giving it a distorted echoing sound. He died on February 15th 1968.
1939 Folk singer Judy Collins born in Seattle, WA (1968 US No. 8 & 1970 UK No.14 single 'Both Sides Now').
1944 Rita Coolidge, US singer, songwriter, backing singer with Joe Cocker, Delaney and Bonnie, solo, (1977 UK No.6 & US No.7 single 'We're All Alone'). Married Kris Kristofferson.
1945 Mimi Farina, sister of Joan Baez and a popular folk singer with her husband Richard Farina and as a solo artist, born.
1946 Nick Fortune, bass, The Buckinghams, (1967 US No.1 single 'Kind Of A Drag').
1954 Ray Parker, Jr., known as a R&B session guitarist, member of Raydio (1977) and solo artist (since 1982) born in Detroit.
1955 Nick Feldman of Wang Chung born.
1957 Rick Driscoll, Kenny, (1975 UK No.3 single 'The Bump').
1957 Steve Farris, Mr Mister, (1985 US No.1 & 1986 UK No.4 single 'Broken Wings').
1959 Phil Smith, sax, Haircut 100, (1982 UK No.3 & US No.37 single 'Love Plus One')
1962 Owen Paul, UK singer, (1986 UK No. 3 single 'My Favourite Waste Of Time').
1966 Johnny Colt, The Black Crowes, (1991 UK No.39 single 'Hard To Handle', 1991 US No.4 album 'Shake Your Money Maker', 1992 US No.1 & UK No.2 album 'The Southern Harmony And Musical Companion').
1967 Tim McGraw, US country singer, 1994 US No.1 album 'Not A Moment Too Soon'.
1968 D'Arcy Wreztky of Smashing Pumpkins born.
1970 Bernard Butler, guitar, vocals, Suede, (1994 UK No.3 single 'Stay Together', left in 1994), solo, (1995 UK No.8 single 'Yes' with David McAlmont),
1978 Chris Kelly, Kris Kross, (1992 US No.1 & UK No.2 single 'Jump'. The duo of Chris Smith and Chris Kelly were 12 and 13 when they recorded the song.
Deaths
1986 US songwriter and producer Hugo Peretti died aged 70. Wrote many classic hits including, 'Twistin' The Night Away', 'Shout' and 'You Make Me Feel Brand New.'
1992 Disco diva Sharon Reed died, (had a hit with DNA 'Can You Handle It').
Events
1931 Kate Smith began her radio career on CBS.
1939 "Lonesome Road" was recorded by the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra.
1962 The Beatles started a month long residency at The Star Club, Hamburg, Germany.
1965 The Supremes' "Back In My Arms Again" was released.
1965 Herman's Hermits started a 3 week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Mrs Brown You've Got A Lovely Daughter'.
1966 The Beatles played live on stage for the last time in the UK at the NME Poll Winners concert at Wembley Empire Pool.
1967 Elvis Presley married Priscilla Beaulieu at the Las Vegas Aladdin Hotel. They were together until 1973.
1969 Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash taped a TV special at the Grand Ol' Opry in Nashville, TN.
1969 Jimi Hendrix was arrested at Toronto International Airport for possesion of narcotics and was released on $10,000 bail.
1970 Elton John and lyricist Bernie Taupin combined for the first time on Elton’s first American album "Elton John".
1970 The Jimi Hendrix Experience played the first of 13 US shows this month when he appeared at the Milwaukee Auditorium.
1971 The Rolling Stones' "Brown Sugar" was released.
1971 Dave and Ansil Collins were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Double Barrel'.
1972 Paul Simon released his self-titled solo debut album.
1973 Bachman-Turner Overdrive released its first LP (self-titled) with former Guess Who guitarist Randy Bachman.
1973 "Marvin Gaye Day" was declared in Washington, DC.
1974 The Carpenters performed at the White House, at the request of President Nixon for West German Chancellor Willy Brandt.
1976 Led Zeppelin started a two-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with 'Presence', the group's fifth No.1 album.
1976 Leo Sayer started a nine-date UK tour at the Apollo Theatre in Glasgow.
1976 The Bellamy Brothers went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Let Your Love Flow', the duo's only US No.1, a No.7 hit in the UK.
1977 The Clash launch their first tour at London's Roxy. Called the "White Riot" tour in honor of their first single, they are joined on stage by the Jam, Slits and Buzzcocks.
1977 The 'White Riot Tour' kicked of at the Roxy in London with The Clash, The Jam and The Buzzcocks.
1979 Elton John became the first pop music star to perform in Israel. In three weeks time he also became the first Western solo pop performer to tour Russia.
1979 Rod Stewart played the first of two sold out nights at The Uptown Theatre, Chicago.
1980 The South African government banned Pink Floyd's single 'Another Brick In The Wall' after black children adopted the song as their anthem in protest against inferior education.
1982 Barry Manilow scored his first UK No.1 album when 'Barry Live In Britain' went to the top of the charts.
1983 The Style Council played their first-ever live gig at the Empire Theatre Liverpool.
1984 Fleetwood Mac drummer and founder member Mick Fleetwood filed for bankruptcy.
1987 Tom Jones appeared on Channel 4s 'the last resort' with Jonathan Ross. Tom performed a version of the Prince song 'Kiss'.
1989 Police in California were called to a jewelry store after employees reported a suspicious person. The person turned out to be Michael Jackson shopping in disguise.
1993 Cliff Richard went to No.1 on the UK album chart with 'The Album' his seventh UK No.1 album.
1993 George Michael, Queen and Lisa Stansfield were at No.1 in the UK with 'The Five Live EP' recorded at the Freddie Mercury tribute concert.
1993 Silk went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Freak Me', a No.46 hit in the UK.
1997 Status Quo guitarist Rick Parfit had a quadruple heart by-pass operation after Visiting his Harley Street doctor and complaining of chest pains.
1997 The house where Kurt Cobain committed suicide went up for sale. The asking price for the 5 bedroom house built in 1902 was $3 million. The carriage house where Cobain died has since been demolished.
1998 Garth Brooks announced that the 4 millionth ticket had been purchased to his current world tour.
1998 Snoop Doggy Dog and MC Delmar Arnaud were each found with less than an ounce of marijuana and were arrested and booked on one count of misdemeanor marijuana possession each.
1999 The Paintings of Paul McCartney exhibit opened at the Lyz Art Forum, Siegen, Germany. The exhibit featured 70 paintings by the former Beatle, including a piece called 'Bowie Spewing' McCartney's representation of a young David Bowie.
2000 A writer who claimed Neil Young went back on an agreement to have a biography written about him filed a $1.8 million civil fraud suit against Young in Los Angeles Superior Court. Young had blocked the book's publication.
2003 Soul singer Barry White suffered a stroke while being treated for kidney failure. The singer died two months later on July 4th 2003.
2005 Coldplay became the first British band to have a new entry in the US Top 10 singles chart since The Beatles. Coldplay's latest single ‘Speed Of Sound’ entered the chart at number eight, only the second time a UK band has achieved the feat. The Beatles managed it with 'Hey Jude' in 1968.
2005 Tony Christie made chart history by hanging on to the UK number one spot for the seventh week in a row with '(Is This The Way To) Amarillo.' The last single to spend that long at number one was ‘Believe’ by Cher from October to December 1998.
2005 Bruce Springsteen went to No.1 on the UK album chart with ‘Devils & Dust’ the American singer songwriters sixth UK No.1.
2005 Matchbox 20 singer Rob Thomas went to No.1 on the US album chart with his first solo album 'Something To Be.' This marked the first time a male artist from a rock group had debuted at number one with his first solo album since the Billboard Top 200 was introduced 50 years ago.
