Births
1935 Elvis Aaron Presley, the King of rock 'n' roll. He had his first No.1 in 1956 - the US No.1 & UK No.2 single 'Heartbreak Hotel'. His first UK No.1 single was in 1957, with 'All Shook Up', and he went on to have over 100 US & UK Top 40 singles from 1956-2006. He died on August 16th 1977.
1937 Shirley Bassey, singer. First charted in the UK in 1957, 1970 UK No.4 single with cover of The Beatles George Harrison song 'Something' also James Bond theme 'Goldfinger' and 'Diamonds are Forever'.
1941 Anthony Gourdine, Little Anthony and The Imperials, (1958 US No.4 single 'Tears On My Pillow') the song gave Kylie Minogue a UK No.1 in 1990.
1942 John Petersen, drums, The Beau Brummels, (1965 US No.8 single, 'Just A Little').
1943 Lee Jackson, bass, vocals, The Nice, (1968 UK No.21 single 'America').
1943 Marcus Hutson, vocals, The Whispers, (1980 UK No.2 & US No.19 single 'And The Beat Goes On').
1945 Terry Sylvester, guitar, vocals, Swinging Blue Jeans, The Hollies, (joined in 1969). 1972 US No.2 single 'Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress', 1988 UK No.1 single 'He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother', first released in 1969.
1946 Robert Krieger, guitarist with The Doors, (1967 US No.1 & UK No.49 single with 'Light My Fire' and a 1971 US No.14 & UK No.22 single 'Riders On The Storm').
1947 David Jones, (David Bowie). First UK Top 40 single was the 1969 'Space Oddity' which became a UK No.1 in 1975, plus over 50 other UK Top 40 hits including five No.1's. Bowie has also scored two US No.1 singles, the 1975 'Fame' and 1983 'Let's Dance'. Plus two albums with Tin Machine in 1991 and 1992.
1948 Paul King, Mungo Jerry, (1970 UK No.1 & US No.3 single 'In The Summertime').
1959 Paul Hester, drums, Crowded House, (1992 UK No.7 single 'Weather With You'). Hester died on 26th March 2005 aged 46, after he "attempted suicide" and died from strangulation after being found hanged in a park in Melbourne.
1969 R Kelly, singer, writer, producer, (1994 US No.1 single 'Bump N' Grind', 1997 UK No.1 single 'I Believe I Can Fly').
1969 Jeff Abercrombie, bassist with American band Fuel.
1971 Karen Poole, vocals, Alisha's Attic, (1996 UK No.14 'I Am I Feel'). Daughter of 60's musician Brian Poole.
1973 Sean Paul, singer, (2003 US No.1 & UK No.4 single 'Get Busy').
1975 Stove King, Mansun, (1996 UK No.15 single 'Wide Open Space').
Deaths
1991 Steve Clark (Def Leppard) was found dead. The coroner ruled that the 30-year-old died of a lethal combination of alcohol and drugs.
Events
1940 Vincent Lopez and his orchestra recorded the third version of Lopez' theme song titled "Nola".
1957 Elvis took the U.S. Army pre-induction exam on his 22nd birthday.
1957 Bill Haley & His Comets started the first ever 'rock & roll tour' of Australia, playing two sold out nights in Sydney.
1960 Eddie Cochran's last recording session was held in Hollywood.
1963 The Beatles appeared live on Scottish TV's Round Up, transmitted live from The Theatre Royal, Glasgow. They mimed to 'Please Please Me.'
1965 The TV dance show "Hullabaloo" debuted on NBC.
1966 The final episode of "Shindig!" was broadcast on ABC-TV. The show featured the Kinks and the Who.
1966 The Beatles started a six week run at No.1 on the US album chart with 'Rubber Soul' the groups seventh US chart topper, which went on to spend 56 weeks on the chart. The group also started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'We Can Work It Out' the groups 11th US No.1 single.
1969 Mike Jagger and Keith Richards were both barred from an exclusive hotel for wearing "op art" pants and nothing else. They were both asked to leave the Hotel Crillen in Lima, Peru after refusing to change clothes.
1972 The New Seekers were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing, (in Perfect Harmony').
1973 Yoko Ono released "Approximately Infinite University" as a two record set.
1973 Elvis Presley sued Priscilla Presley for a divorce.
1974 KISS gave a special dress rehearsal after being signed to Casablanca Records. It was their first recording contract.
1975 Three Led Zeppelin concerts and Madison Square Garden sold out in a record four hours.
1977 Queen went to No.1 on the UK album chart with 'Day At The Races.'
1977 Taking time out from their group 5th Dimension Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'You Don't Have To Be A Star', a No.7 hit in the UK.
1979 Canadian rock band Rush were named the country's official Ambassadors Of Music by the Canadian government.
1979 Rush was named the Canada's official "Ambassadors of Music" by the Canadian government.
1981 "Elvis Presley Day" was declared in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, North & South Carolina, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
1989 Richard Marx married Cynthia Rhodes.
1993 An Elvis Presley commemorative stamp was debuted by the U.S. Postal Service. The 29-cent stamp showed the likeness of the 1950's era Elvis.
1994 Chaka Demus and Pliers were at No.1 in the UK with 'Twist And Shout.'
1995 The musical revival of "Guys and Dolls" closed after 1143 performances.
1995 Eddie Vedder (Pearl Jam) hosted a national late-night radio show broadcast titled "Self Pollution Radio" from Seattle, WA.
1996 A Los Angeles court found Robert Hoskins guilty of five counts of stalking, assault and making terrorist threats to Madonna. Hoskins had twice scaled the walls of the singer's estate and had threatened to slash her throat from ear to ear.
2000 Christina Aguilera started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'What A Girl Wants.' She ended Santana's 12- week run at No.1 with 'Smooth.'
2000 It was reported that police foiled a Ł1 million ($1.7million) kidnap plot to snatch Victoria Beckham and her baby son. The plot was uncovered after a tip off to the police. The gang had planned to kidnap the pair when husband David was away playing football.
2001 A woman who believed that Axl Rose communicated with her via telepathy was arrested for stalking the Guns N' Roses singer for a second time. Police detained Karen Jane McNeil after she was spotted loitering outside his house.
2002 The Black Crowes released a statement that said "For the time being, Chris Robinson is pursuing a solo career. Steve Gorman has left the band for personal reasons."
2004 The estate of George Harrison started a $10 million (Ł5.8 million) legal action against Dr Gilbert Lederman of Staten Island University Hospital, claiming the doctor coerced Harrison to sign souvenirs. The main allegations of the legal action was that Dr Lederman got an extremely sick Harrison to sign his son's guitar and autographs for his two daughters.
2006 The Strokes went to No.1 on the UK chart with 'First Impressions Of Earth' the bands third album and first No.1.
